Every hunting camp or hunting club has a mythical or legendary animal that is too good to be true. Each year when hunting season draws near, the legend grows and each hunter has dreams of being the one that brings this mythical animal back to camp. The legend may be a buck that is so big that even the seasoned hunters would have to take deep breaths to keep from hyperventilating when he appears or a boar that has tusks so long that he could cut a small car in half with them. No matter which it may be, as time passes and he is not harvested, one thing is certain, he will continue to grow in the stories around the camp fire.
In most cases no one can tell you how this mythical animal was discovered or how anyone knows he exists , but all are sure that he does exist! As time passes stories will be told about how a hunter observed the large buck hooking large oak trees, two foot in diameter, or the boar tearing small buildings down with his tusks . Each year the hunters will set out to harvest this massive creature. When a hunter is fortunate enough to catch a glimpse of him, the myth will grow in size and notoriety. It is kind of like the fishing stories, the big one always gets away.
At Wilderness Calls we are fortunate enough to have two such massive creatures roaming the woods. Our version of " HOGZILLA " , a huge boar that has only been seen by our trail cameras. To this day no one has ever seen him in the light of day, it is as if he only roams his domain in the cover of darkness. Even the trail cameras are not fast enough to catch a glimpse of him in the light of day. What makes such an animal a great part of hunting is when a hunter is fortunate enough to harvest a large boar, the first question asked by the other hunter is, "is it Hogzilla" ? When it is established it is not, the legend grows.
This year at Wilderness Calls we have discovered a buck that is worthy of such legendary stature. His rack appears to be over 20 inches wide and has 10 points. The G2's and G3's are close to 10 inches long . Yes a massive set of antlers ! When in rut, his neck is as large as a mighty oak tree and he appears to weigh over 250 lbs. He is now known to the guides at Wilderness Calls as "Spread Nasty", due to the size of his antlers and the first impression of them being "wow them horns are nasty!" He has been caught on the trail cameras at night several times, but never in the light of day. The week after Thanksgiving this year Little Samuel and myself set out to harvest this massive buck. After a week of hunting, we had not as much as caught a glimpse of him! Then, the day before we departed the camp, the trail camera was set up 100 yards from the camp, to get a few doe pictures. As we scrolled through the pictures, the doe's were all looking in one direction with their ears perked up, as if something was coming. It was "Spread Nasty"! Yes, only 100 yards from the camp! It was as if he were making fun of us as we slept. Letting us know that he was still around! It is unknown where he sleeps in the day or if he ever sleeps! We only know if he roams the wilderness in the day light, he has been invisible to us.
Such myths and legends have been around for 100's of years. They are a part of hunting and will never change, just continue to grow. It gives hunters a reason to get up before the light of day, go out in below freezing weather and hunt. As if they needed a reason to hunt!