Let me start off by saying it was a raining all day Friday, Saturday and Sunday in south Texas where I was hunting. Saturday morning pouring rain and I shoot a 7 point...no biggie. The guy I am with gets his 4wd golf cart to get my deer. Well we are leaving and it gets stuck bad in the mud. So we winch it out, and since it is a electric 4x4 cart he melted the battery post on one of the batteries. So we walk to get his tractor and I drive (Steer actually) the broken cart and he is pulling me and the cart. Pouring rain the whole time. The ruts we were making was crazy.

I decide for the evening hunt to go by myself, not really going to shoot but mainly to watch. I am sitting in the blind watching it rain, then let up then pour....and some piggys show up. Keep in mind this is a friends place and I am sitting in his personal tower blind. I decide to shoot one of the pigs. I line up my 7mm mag and Boom, he is (DRT) dead right there about 80-90 and yes a complete perfect head shot. (I have a video of it on instagram..it's awesome)...so not thinking before I shoot,,,it sets in how am I going to get the pig out of this area and it's getting dark soon. I have to get the dead pig away from feeder first of all because my friend plans on hunting there Sunday morning. I get to the pig and drag him about 80-90 yards back towards the blind, he probably weighs 100lb. It was very difficult but the slippery mud was a help and a hurt, I couldn't get good footing but the mud did help the pig slide a little easier. It was a biotch to say the least. Now I have to get the pig, no way I can drag the pig 1/4 of a mile. What am I gonna do,..as the rain is pouring...I know, I'm gonna take my new clean 2017 Superduty 4x4. So I walk back to where she is parked and say we can do this ( again, I am alone...I am not crazy my truck and I awe a we.) The whole time my mind is thinking how heavy that engine is knowing I am gonna get buried. So alone(see above) I crank her up (push button) and me and Megatron go into the rainy wilderness of mud and forestry....I know a little dramatic, but want to keep you guys interested.
First a little about the terrain....the first part of the road is a cut hey field,...so I I can get decent traction at that point. The pig and blind area is in a low area...so down hill from the hay area. The oak trees are near the trails leading down the grade to the bacon. As I slowly, in 4x4 high start this perilous part of the journey I look at the road and can see what looks like a river flowing down the ruts specifically there for a path in between the trees. Every time I hit the brakes because of the deep ruts and incline I slam into the front rut and boom get knocked in a different direction, but still manageable. I am fully aware that these ruts I am making are got going to be easier going back,....and on top of that i will be heading uphill. Finally making it to the pig I get out and drag him one more time up on top of a large raised hill on the side of the rutted road so my tailgate will be high enough so I can muscle her into the bed. Keep in mind, I did not want to field dress the pig near his feeder or blind out of respect even though piggy was a heavy SOB....again getting the pig loaded is a story for another day...

Now for the journey back. Before I begin I call my buddy who lives an hour away and talk to him about my options if I get stuck. His first comment is "leave the pig, don't go down there you won't make it" Well I tell him I am by his blind and he says "Your kidding!" I said no let's get back on task...what are my options? I know what you guys are thinking,. Just use the tractor, right? Well that's what I said....he said he locked the barn. Dang! Well I told him worse case I will sleep in the truck and I won't call him no matter what. He has small kids and let's say his wife would be pissed...that's again another story...

So pig in truck, I'm half way turned around, remember I had to drag that pig up on top of the hill next to the road (loose term used) to get him loaded in the bed. Believe it or not that tailgate step was VERY helpful to say the least.

Got my mind around this...1/4 tank of gas enough to get me till morning listening to radio, heater to stay warm, pig for a sushi snack if needed...kidding. So I crank her up (button) and look forward to my right, wrong direction for me but there is some grass, brush and a flat area to get a "running start" to my pathway to a hot shower and a warm bed. Here we (me, Megatron, piggy in back)...piggyback....lol sorry....as I aim for the grassy area the tires are already spinning slowly giving her diesel, weight from piggy in bed does not help,..damnit! I make it to the grassy spot and begin my turn towards the uphill muddy hell tracks......then boom I slide towards the rut track wall. And then it happened....I stopped!! In the mud! My front bumper is towards the raised side on my right, I cannnot go forward. So I back up, no go! Then I say this calls for 4x4 Low! Put her in neutral and flip the switch....while I am reading "in progress' dash screen...my brain is wondering what's taking so long,...I'm sinking in this quicksand as this process is happening.....not really but the stress is there. After the adjustment, I put Megatron in reverse and I move maybe 3 feet, then nothing,...so naturally forward again...then back and she shot out like a slow turtle crossing the road. The mud was flying in all directions like fireworks on the Fourth of July. I get my aim back for the uphill muddy river road and no stopping this time,...or so I thought. I am gassing her, or dieseling her up the ravine making good headway. I get to the part where the four wheeler earlier gets stuck and I have the pedal literally to the metal, actually carpet...but to the floor...I feel like I am in a muddy tractor pull literally. I am actually enjoying this moment and terrified at the same time. I am steering left but going right due to the ruts and the way this mind of its own road wants me to go. I am picturing me slamming into a tree once it bites, if it bites....I have to actually guess on when she will catch so I don't over steer and whap. Then the horror stories of aluminum repairs start popping in my head as I can't even see out of the front windshield from all of the mud and rain. Then it happened again, oh no! ...wheels spinning...have the pedal to the "carpet" she stops going up the incline. What to do? ......(pig sushi it is) but I have more faith in Megatron....I put her in reverse and want to take another run at the hill. So I floor it in reverse and again the turtle reference, and move about 6 feet down hill. This time I have to skirt a tree on the right to do this right. Here we go,....floor/carpet up hill.....bouncing, redlining, steering wheel almost breaking my wrist at one point,...well not really..but it was crazy....barley missing a tree and powering through the rut while redlining the whole time in 4x4 low. Finally made it to the cut hey field and I knew at that point I was home free. The feeling was like when I was young and made a homemade ramp to jump with my mongoose bicycle and the board didn't break and I actually made it with out a scratch. It was jubilation all over again.

So all in all this Megatron 4x4 is full of off road awesomeness.

Enjoy it when you can, can't wait to go back.......well once it dries up a bit...

 

Great story! I really enjoyed reading it! Thanks! (Some pics if you have them please)

 

nice story, pics of the mess for rememberance

 

Great read. I was trying to picture it in my mind but pics would be outstanding!

 

I didn't happen... unless Pics

 

 

 

Good read. Thanks.

 

Now you have a truck you can work, no longer show room clean. Those tires were the cause of the most of the struggle.

 

The pig dragging hill.

 

Love it. Thanks

 

Even more amazing on those Michellins. Great story. We should have more of these.

 

Hay Field.

 

Great read! I can picture myself being in this for some of the places we take vehicles on the farm. Although we don't have a brand new SD to tell about.

 

I bought an ATV so I didn't have to go through this kind of story with my truck. Glad you made it! When do we get to see the cured bacon???