My wife and I had a few extra days in Florida after a family cruise so we looked into some options and booked a 1 1/2day hog hunt with Ross Hammock Ranch. See http://www.rosshammockranch.com/ for details.

We didn't take any pictures of the lodge but the accommodations are first class. They are capable of handling large parties and are a perfect setup for business clients and such.

We sat on a feed stand the first night for kicks and to see what might come in as the ranch offers many exotic species as well as the indigenous hogs and deer. A handful of exotics came in and about 17 smaller hogs floated in about dusk. We'd booked a dog hunt and wasn't going to shoot anything the first night. The ranch consists of pine plantations and oak/palmetto hammocks offering a tremendous amount of cover.



The next day dawned cloudy and windy and we were out in the field by 7:45, right at daylight. Within 15 minutes, the dogs bayed a hog and we rushed in.



It was a small boar so it got hog tied, we pulled the dogs off and let it go. The wind was making it tough to hear the hounds working but the handler was able to determine thier direction with tracking collars.




As we bayed the third boar, the clouds darkened and an absolute deluge blew across. Luckily, the rain squall (although a total soaker) was over in about 20 minutes and we were close to the truck. Immediately upon the rain letting up, we were back at it.

From daybreak to 10:30, the dogs were able to bay five boars and the final one was a shooter. He wasn't the largest in the woods but was an uncut, knarly old boar of about 200lbs. He was giving the dogs a hard time and kept them at a running bay. He did sit still long enough for me to shoot him twice in the chest with a Ruger .44 and he soon expired.



In all, my wife and I had a great time and will heartily recommend this outfit for anyone looking for a first class hog hunt in Florida.

Very nice PWS!

I imagine this hunt was a nice change of pace from AK. Which did you enjoy more, the cruise or the hunt?

Nice boar, story, and photos. Thanks.

Matt

Sounds like fun was had by all... but the piggies. Packy

Nice going!

Thanks for the report.

Where is this place? The web site doesn't seem to say?
Peter.

Looks like a real fun trip. What breed are the dogs?

My wife and I had a laugh at your question hnts4fun!

The short story is... My dad has been trying to get us kids together in one place for the holidays for a looooong time now. I suggested "someplace warm, like Arizona, where we could go on a dry ground mountain lion hunt". All he heard was "someplace warm..." and he bought a four night Bahama cruise for the whole family.

We had a good time but party boats aren't really my wife's and my thing. That trip might be our "once in a lifetime" cruise but no way are we not going hunting again!

Peter,

The ranch is located just north of Inglis along Hwy 19, about an hour north of Tampa or two hours from Orlando. Harold Ross gave us excellent directions and it's easy to find.

ShanksPony,

I didn't ask about the dogs but they looked like typical Black&Tan and Walker type crossbreeds. The handler didn't have a catch dog at the time but usually has a big pit bull in case they get into something the hounds can't handle. He'd let two dogs out at a time and release more if they were having trouble holding bay. I think the most we had out was five at once on the boar I shot.

If you look closely, the boar doesn't show much for cutters as he'd broken both off sometime in the past. Still managed to get two good hooks in the hounds and that sealed his fate!

PWS

Glad you toughed out the Bahama cruise but the hunt add on was a good move!

Cheers
Matt

Thanks PWS. I am in Jacksonville so I was just curious as to exactly where they were.
Peter.