Caryonah!
In March, I took my 6 year old son, Justin, on our very first wild boar hunt. Before we left on the trip, we posted a request on the Bowsite's Hog Forum for help from the experts. We received alot of good advice and encouragement, which was much appreciated.
We felt at home immediately at Caryonah Lodge in Crossville, Tennessee. Although I'm sure it's not every day they have a woman and a 6 year old kid going boar hunting, they certainly went out of their way to make us feel welcome. Our guide, Bill, was as friendly and helpful as anyone could be. We left for our hunt after breakfast, riding in a Suburban into the Lodge's 2000+ acres of hunting land. Bill had several dogs in the back of the truck. We parked the Suburban and walked, following the dogs, and getting excited every time it appeared that the dogs had a trail. After several false alarms, we kind of got used to the routine. By noon however, the dogs had found a REAL trail, and bayed 8 hogs against a bluff. One shot from my .243 did the job. The hog didn't take 10 steps....I had hit him in the heart.
Back at camp, a group of very nice guys who worked at UPS invited us to their cookout in the shelter, and little Justin got to tell them his "hunting story." It absolutely made my son's trip. We had the boar's head mounted, it won't be ready for a year.
The meat was double wrapped and labeled for us, and we packed it in coolers for the 5 hour trip back to Virginia. The freezer is full, and our family and friends raving about the meat. Our regular Saturday evening meal: BOAR-B-Q!! We marinate it overnight, then slow cook it all the next day in the crockpot.
I plan to return to Caryonah in the Fall, and try bowhunting for hogs this time.
The meals were excellent, the people were friendly and the hunt was successful; I really couldn't ask for anything more.
For more information:
Caryonah Hunting Lodge
220 Wild Boar Lane
Crossville, TN, 38555
615-277-3113
Caryonah Hunting Lodge
220 Wild Boar Lane
Crossville, TN, 38555
615-277-3113
Thumbnails:
Announcing: First Annual Women's
Hog Hunt and Boar-B-Q has been moved to coincide with the Bowsite guys MHH3 in the 1st week in May, 2000.
Dates: May 1-7th, 2000
Where: Caryonah Hunting Lodge, in Crossville, Tennessee
Who: Any Yahoo Women's Hunting Club Member & their guests.
Let me know if you are going,
then send your
NON-REFUNDABLE deposit to Caryonah.
Deposits ($100 per hunter) need to be send DIRECT to Caryonah, at :
Caryonah Hunting Lodge
220 Wild Boar Lane
Crossville, Tennessee 38555
Put "Women's Hunting Club" Trip and "MHH3" on the Memo area of your
check!
These are no longer valid!
Copy of the original e-mail invitation and subsequent notes:
OK, ladies, (and gentlemen) let's go hunting! Who would be crazy enough to join me in a boar hunt this October in Tennessee? A group of guys who met on the Bowsite have reserved Caryonah Lodge in Tennessee for a hog hunt together....why can't we do the same?
Hogs are a great choice because of the year round season, and they are great eating! It would be a great chance to meet each other.
Let's say, October 9th and 10th? The cost is $525, including 2 nights of lodging, 2 meals a day for 2 days, and 2 days of guided hog hunting (if 2 days are necessary). If you get your hog the first day, there are plenty of fishing ponds for day 2! Butchering your hog ($40-$60) and the guide's tips are the only extras that I can think of. If you don't get a hog, you only pay for food & lodging ($100/day).
If we have enough interest, I'll take care of making the arrangements, ordering "First Annual Ladies Hog Hunt" :-) sweatshirts, and coordinating a first night cookout (Boar-B-Q!) in Caryonah's picnic shelter. Caryonah requires a $100 per hunter deposit, NON REFUNDABLE. The lodge sleeps up to 32 people, so I'm sure they could accomodate us. October is a popular month at Caryonah, so we would need to get moving on this....say, let me know by May 10th? I'd like to have at least 8 people to make this work.
You can see their website at www.caryonah.com for more information.
WE CAN DO THIS!!!!!!
Some clarification.
Dates:
We will arrive at Caryonah the evening of Fri. October 8th, and hunt on Sat. & Sun.
the 9th & 10th. I have called Caryonah, and they have booked rooms for 8 people for
me, just "on my word." We'll have to follow up with deposits soon.
The rooms there have 2 beds in them, I suppose if you are not bringing a
spouse/friend/kids, you may want to share a room? I'm not sure how that works.
Everyone is welcome! That includes spouses, kids, etc. Remember, Caryonah WILL charge you
a food & lodging fee for non-hunting guests, separate from the $525 "hunting
guest" fee. I think it's $60 a day for an adult, and $30 day for a kid. I fully
intend to bring my 6 year old son. I'm not bringing my daughter because she's only 2 and
would need too much supervision.
If you have questions, Caryonah's phone # is: 931-277-3113 ask for Bobbie Jean. We are
booked under the name: Women's Hunting Club. Deposits need to be send DIRECT to Caryonah,
at :
Caryonah Hunting Lodge
220 Wild Boar Lane
Crossville, Tennessee 38555
Put "Women's Hunting Club" Trip on the Memo area of your check!