Hunting Hospitality
Copyright © 2006 Wild Boar USA, Inc. All rights reserved.
The Hutto Family
Jay, Miriam, Michael, Anika, Lisa (from left to right)
There are times in life when heaven smiles down on you and blessings happen. The weekend of August 28, 2009, was one of those times. Jay Hutto of Hutto Hounds recently applied to become an official scorer for WWT. When I called him for follow-up, we started talking about hounds, hogs, and huntin‘ (of course faith and family were included). Jay extended an invitation to our family for a hog doggin’ adventure. We arrived at an exit off I-10 around 10:30 p.m. with Jay parked and waiting for us (it wasn’t suppose to be that late but it's a bit more of a haul from Halletsville than we had figured). Abandoning our vehicle at the exit, we immediately transferred into Jay’s truck to meet up with a team of hunters anxiously awaiting our arrival. The adventure started at about 11:00 pm with hunter Trey Burch & friends, Jay and his son Caleb, my wife Holly, and four of my five kids: David, Madelanne, Noah, and Zebediah. While Trey and friends took the lead, Jay loaded our crew in his monster bronco and commenced to driving through some of the country side that defines Texas. Once we were deep in the ranch, the dogs were set loose to scout the territory. Jay's team of hounds were amazing to watch as they worked the countryside in search of hogs. Amongst the hounds was Sounder - a name earned from his yodeling bay (music to the ears). We didn’t get to hear Sounder that night but I sure enjoyed the evening. I wish my words could express the coolness in the air, the brightness of the stars, the moonlit countryside, and the look on my wife’s face while she was living for the moment. Our accommodations included a "cabin" owned by Dr. Ralph Greenlee (friend of Jay‘s) and was built upon an original stone foundation from the 1800‘s. It was roughing it as the satellite cable wasn’t working (if that tells you how primitive of a "cabin" it was). Everything was provided from dishes to washing machine. The wrap-around porch overlooked a field in which the original area schoolhouse stood as an official Texas Historical Marker.The next day Jay invited some of his hog hunting friends and families over for us to meet. I say families cause Jay is not opposed to making hog hunting a family outing. Jamie Ellebracht and family, Steve, Chase & Casey Stengel, and Tom, Dana, Tanner & Dakota Martin. I’m not sure if I’ve named everybody but that might be due to the fact I was focusing on the pork that my host cooked up…not to mention all the fixin’s made to park beside the pork. That evening we headed out for another family style hog hunt on Jamie’s ranch with Jay and son Michael, Jamie and son Owen, Tom and his family. After about seven miles of scouting, we were on the last leg of the loop around the ranch, when music reached my ears - Jay's dogs bayed up a nice boar. Omie, the catch dog, made friends with the boar in short order. My son David was introduced to Omie’s new friend. This was David's first chance to meet face to snout with a hog and he had a point to make. That’s a snapshot I won't forget - seeing the look of pride in my son's eyes, as he was having photos taken of him and Mr. Boar. We rested on the Sabbath and enjoyed lunch with Jay and his family. Jay shared ideas he had to promote TDHA along with some insightful recommendations for cut vests and collars. After lunch I endured the task of swimming with the kids in a nice cool creek that ran through the property of the cabin while my awesome wife got us packed and ready to go. Jay, thank you for: 1) an incredible weekend, 2) being steadfast in your pursuit of promoting ethical hunting to tomorrows generation, 3) your efforts to promote safe hog dog gear and 4) your efforts to promote TDHA. My prayer is that you will experience a huge blessing - like my family experienced thanks to you!-JC
.
The Kid Crew
David's First Hog
