Big Barr Hog - by Larry Parker

From the April 2016 issue of Tuskers Magazine

  The water was up and we decided to hit the river and see if we could maybe catch us a good barr. We sure have cut enough of 'em! Anyway, we all gathered up here at the house Tuesday morning. There was 2 boat loads of us and 3 baydogs, a pup of mine and 2 catchdogs. We had to launch the boats off an old oil well road that goes to the river, the rest of the road to the river was flooded where our boat launch is. We loaded up and pulled out on the river headed south. We hit an old pipeline and run out to a ridge I knew would be out and its got some good briars on it. We pulled up to the ridge and saw a little sign on the bank. We turned out 2 dogs and my puppy. Hogs must have been bedded 'cause it only took a few minutes and my sons dog Todd bayed about 150 yards out in the briars. Soon as the other dogs bayed, they broke and hogs scattered everywhere. The dogs would bay, then break, bay, then break. Some would hit the back water and swim off. After we caught a couple of the dogs I said turn Sue loose. I had kept him tied at the boat, after a while we heard him jump about 400 yards strait out from us. At about 750 yards he bayed, well my pup had never been in a boat and me and Jimbob stayed there to catch him, while my son Barry and Dusty cranked up their boat and headed to Sue. Barry and Dusty ran back out to the river and headed further south to an old run around that dries up in the summer but was flooded now. They hit a slough that took them in to where Sue was bayed. When they got to him he was baying a sow in a briar patch. They turned the catchdog loose and caught her, she'd been sucking pigs so they cut her loose and by that time we had caught my pup and met them where the slough put out in that old run around.
After that we headed north and hit another old slough off the river and went in to another big ridge. This time I kept that dang pup tied in the boat, hahahaha. We sent 3 baydogs out, it was about 5 minutes and we heard my sons Todd dog bayed about 400 yards south of us then Sue, then Roscoe, Dusty's dog. We grabbed up catchdogs and headed to 'em. As we were headed to 'em we heard the hog break for just a bit, but there was just too much heat on him to make it far. He had broke across a slough or was bayed across the slough to start with anyway, we walked up on a slough where they were bayed just on the other side. Whooow, somebodies gotta go get the boats, we said. Ain't nobody wanted to swim that slough cold as it was. Well, Barry and Jimbob headed back to the boats while me and Dusty stayed there with the catchdogs tied to trees. We seen it was a boar hog and he would run the dogs and break a couple times but didn't make it 30 yards at a time and they'd stop him. After a bit we heard Barry and Jimbob coming down a slough to us. We loaded the catchdogs and eased on up to the bank on the other side. We walked up perty close and sent the catchdogs, and I told 'em, "Get ready boys, he's gonna hit the water if they miss him at al" Sure enough, he bailed in a slough. Hahahaha, them young boys (men) tore out when the catchdogs were turned loose. As I was headed in, man I could here whoooow heeeeyyyyy whooooow. I though, "man, must be a sure nuff good hog." It was! Dusty was chest deep in that slough, hahahahaha and Jimbob too, and he claims he's an Arkansasian but he ain't hahahaha, but he don't like water too much. Anyway, it was a boar hog, but just a rank little sucker about 140 pounds. After we got loaded back up we headed out to the river and headed north. We run a ways to where I knew some blow downs from that hurricane had made some big briar patches right off the river bank. We bumped the bank and sent all 3 dogs, they circled out and around for a while and old Todd bayed again. The dogs was split apart a ways but didn't take too long and they covered. The hog broke and actually run toward us 3 times then ended up 120 yards from the boats. (I like that ) The way they were bayed we figured it was a good hog, we got up about 30 yards from the bay. Around here you can't hardly get up too close 'cause if they see you they will break bay. We send the bulldogs and he was bayed behind a log. They hit and by the big grunts and crashing you just knew it was a good one. Them boys I hunt with will tie a bear perty quick if we'd bay one! They caught him and I heard one holler, "Big barrhog." That's a heck of a sound all hog hunters love to hear ringing out through the woods. We decided to go ahead and kill him to make it easier to handle dragging and in the boat back home ......GOOD DAY