Recently in the forums here at ArcheryWorld.com, I posted a question about "hog hunting in Georgia". Mike McCombie answered stating that in all the books and articles he'd read, it said that Horse Creek Wildlife Management Area (WMA) has one of the best populations for hog hunting in the area. He offered that “Anytime I wanted to go just get in touch with him and we would see how good the hunting really was down there. The only way that we could prove that was to hunt the land ourselves.” Sounded like a plan.

For those not from the area, Horse Creek, is a WMA that is located about 175 miles south of Atlanta and is just north of the Ocmulgee River in Telfair county. They have 8559 acres of land, a third of which is lowland swamp area. If you’re not into hunting hogs, they have a great population of bobcat, fox, and deer as well. Ocmulgee River is also a great place to do a little bass or cat fishing. Scores of hunters flock there in the beginning of deer season, but towards the middle of the season their numbers greatly reduce. There will be only a few hunters on the weekend and even fewer during the week.

Mike McCombie, the ArcheryWorld.com senior staff shooter and web administrator, decided that we should do a little pre-hunt scouting. Mike arrived around 6:00 am, and after a brief introduction we loaded all the gear into his truck and hit the road. It was a long ride full of anticipation. As soon as we turned off the interstate in south Georgia we could see that there were palmetto bushes everywhere. This was the first time I have been feral hog hunting, but I knew from talking with other people they love to hide in the palmetto bushes. I was so exited, I couldn't wait to get out of the truck (after a two and a half hour ride, who wouldn’t be?). When we arrived at the check in we found that there was only one other group of hunters and they were going to hunt the opposite side of the WMA. We had all the swamp to ourselves!

We parked in the swamp area which was almost down to the river. As we got out of the truck we noticed how much the temperature had changed. It was quite a bit warmer (about 15 degrees). The scenery was so amazing. I found myself taking photographs of almost everything. We walked down to the bank of the Ocmulgee River. After a few more pictures we started to walk upstream along the edge of the water. At times the palmetto bushes and underbrush were so thick we could hardly get through them. We figured that we would stay around the thick stuff since it looked like a great place for animals to stay out of the sun and away from predators. We had not seen any pigs yet, but the hog sign was unbelievable. You couldn't walk 20 feet without seeing evidence of bedding or feeding. Most of the sign was very fresh. A large portion of the bedding areas were along the river bank or within a thirty foot radius of any wet, marshy area.

Eventually we got a glimpse of a small group of pigs just north of us about 100 yards. Unfortunately, they were upwind from us and smelled us coming from a mile away. Mike and I continued to follow them for a couple of hours. We had hoped that we could get within range but they stayed one step ahead of us the whole time. We were thinking that they might lead us to more hogs as well. They never met up with any other hogs and finally lost us. We were both pretty tired from walking all day so we decided to pack up our things and adjourn till the morning.


On the way home we decided to leave a little earlier the next day so we could get ahead of the pigs and catch them early. When we arrived it was still dark (about 6am). On the way to where we thought that the pigs would be, three deer popped out of the woods in a full run. They were headed towards the private land that was straight ahead about 80 yards. We decided that it might be a good idea to walk the property line and catch the pigs that were going to the "safety zone".

By now the sun was starting to come up. As we walked along the property line Mike heard a loud crashing noise. He spun around and whispered "PIGS". I froze because I couldn't see them and didn't want to make a sudden move that might spook them. He slowly drew his Oneida Black Eagle back and waited patiently to get a good clean shot. Unfortunately, they were partially blocked by a small group of trees. As soon as they started to walk out from behind them they caught wind of our recent footsteps in the mud. By now I had turned around and was able to get a good look at the pigs. They were looking around agitated by the troubling smells. Both decided that they weren't sticking around to see what the odd smell was so they bolted away. As they ran they went behind a big patch of palmetto bushes and disappeared. Mike definitely had a shot at one of the two, but he would have run the risk of only wounding the animal. There was no way he could have made a good clean kill, and as so, passed up the shot.

Still, the wind was in our favor as we continued with the intent to see more pigs. We were now traveling south but we weren't quite to the river yet. Mike and I thought it would be best if we split up in the hopes that we could drive hogs into each other. Mike was approximately 35 yards ahead of me when I heard what sounded like a herd of elephants running through the woods. I couldn’t see what was making the noise but as I looked over to see what Mike was doing I saw something moving in the corner of my eye. It was four deer running through the woods with their tails straight up in the air. All I could figure was Mike had stumbled upon them while walking, or something had spooked the deer and drove them my way. They ran away from me and then made a "U" turn and ran back towards me. I was standing close to a tree so the doe and the three yearlings didn’t see me because they stopped about 10 feet in front of me and just looked around. I tried to stand as still as I could because this was an amazing sight for me. I have never been this close to a live deer before. I must have made a small movement or she caught my scent because her eyes almost doubled in size and then she took off. Her yearlings were not far behind her. My heart was pounding about ninety miles an hour. The deer was absolutely beautiful and if it was still deer season I would have had the chance to harvest an enormous doe. That’s the way it goes sometimes. It seems like when it’s deer season you will hardly see anything, but when the season is over you see them all over the place.

We continued on for a few more hours but it got to the point to where we weren’t seeing the hog sign anymore. We decided that it was time to get back to the truck and head home. We were both a little disappointed that we were going home empty handed. On the way back to the truck Mike’s GPS 12 went out on us. That will give you an uneasy feeling in your stomach when the device you rely on to get you out of the woods just broke. Luckily, we found some markers that another hunter used to get to his spot and followed them out of the woods.

By the end of our trip we saw seven deer and four pigs. Even though we didn't get any trophies, I still believe that the hunt was a success. It’s a thrill to go and see plants and wildlife that you don’t get to see on an everyday basis. I am sure there are some members that have had successful trips out to Horse Creek. I would love to hear your stories!

If any of you would like to visit Horse Creek WMA, and your not sure how to get there just email Mike at MikeM@ArcheryWorld.com