Super Duper Hog info thread

[bluegrassbowhunter]

Real good thread...keep on going with it...
Curtis,i hear that horne brushbow you've got shoots some serious smoke......

[Ted]

Yahooo!!  I am very glad to see this opened up again.  I am relatively new to hog hunting and I have been soaking up ALL of this info like a sponge.  Thanks Troy and Curtis for presenting both sides to a controversial issue and thanks again for sharing so many hard earned insights - I am a better hog hunter due to your generous sharing.

Ted

[swampbiologist]

Thanks Curt for reopening this thread. There is too much information here to let it die. Down south here, hoggin' is wide open since deer season is now over. Things are calming down and hogs will have to hustle a bit more to fill the viod and there are plenty of hogs that need killin'! Go get 'um guys and gals!

[southpawshooter]

Awesome!!! Thanks for opening the thread back up and allowing us 'newbie' hog hunters learn from more experienced folks    

[gregg dudley]

Good move to open this thead up.  Good information here.  Let the lessons resume!

[Tradesmen4]

All this information is going to cost me money. Now I want to go shoot a bunch of hogs. Thanks Curtis keep it coming!!!!!!

[Littlefeather]

Dabble, dabble, dabble(toes touching the water)......The heart is warm but the water is a tad cold. Im gonna rest tonight gang. Just a tad rung-out at the moment.

Like I said at the beginning of the thread, there's a hand full of full blown pig killers round this site that could be sharing their info too. I kinda feel like I've been on stage alone so far. The fact is that we all hail from different states where laws are different and peoples upbringings mandate their own techniques. That spawns different feeling about techniques as well. Not to mention legalities    . Of course I think I've said that after posting many things so far.  The fact is, you've only heard "my" techniques, developed in deep south Texas. I feel I must be truthful and open if I am going to be able to share. Truthfullness keeps getting me in jams. Everything I've said so far is legal here so understand that up front. Im not advocating bait, or night hunting or anything else if it is not legal where you live. "My" successes are based on the whole spectrum mentioned above. Sorry if theat breaks ethics. Once again, Ethics are all together a different subject. I'll drop by tomorrow and see how things are progressing. Good evening gang! Rest well! CK

[trashwood]

well for better or worse let me tell ya the story of a BIG red pig and Wingnut.  I was hunting swamp rabbits down in the boggy bottoms
when I first spotted Rojo Grande.  He was by my guess the biggest feral pig I had seen.  Wingnut (my hunting partner) had never shot a pig
and had a real hankering to do just that.  I called him on the phone to see if he is interested.....he was, real interested      

I went down to the boggy bottoms the next day to kinda get thelay of Rojo's lair.  I saw him agian but stayed well out of his way. the next day Mike (wingnut) came out to look the situation over. While we were looking around we stumbled on to Rojo again.

Rojo didn't give us any ground at all.  Stood his ground a sent nasty pig challanges our way.  Wingnut had just unstrung his bow, I still
had my strung.  Rojo was beded down in tall grass in an open spot as they often will during the day.  He hauled butt to the edge of the
thick stuff and there he told us what he thought of us and what  he was gonna do if we came into his kingdom.  I got a shot at him
but it was sent haywire by a mesqute limb.  I was glade really cause I thought this would be a great pig opener for Wingnut

round 1 goes to Rojo Grande

[trashwood]

The next day Mike comes by and we take 100# of corn, tree stand, and some strap on steps to rojo's place.  We found a tree in a good spot to put the stand in, and put the stand and steps up.  We scattered 25# of corn out in a good area for a shot.  

I can't remember if it was the next day are the day after the Wingnut made it back to our pig sit up.  Rojo had been feasting well but was a no show that day as I remember.  Wingnutty put out some more corn.

Rusty

[beachbowhunter]

Holy Hogbreath Batman, this thread is about to head into Trashwood Country! Cant wait for Round 2....

[wingnut]

Man I remember that day like it was yesterday.  I'd just put my bow in the Jeep unstrung when all heck broke loose and a red VW Bus came out of the tall grass and headed for the trees.  I remember looking at my little 50# BBO and saying I gotta get more bow.  He wasn't holding his ground like Rusty said, He was coming, slow steady and with attitude.  I was yelling at Rusty to shoot, not to kill it but maybe to turn it til I got in the Jeep.

Rojo Grande was a very big pig.

Ok more story

mike

[trashwood]

After the first day on the stand with all the corn gone, Mike set the stand for two days running without a sign of hide nor hair of Rojo.  I was going to go in the third morning a set the stand.  I got there a bit late and Rojo Grande was in on the corn.  I backed off the stand without bothering him and called Mike.  Mike went that afternoon.  When I got off work I went to the stand to try to sneek in   and get some video......I was too late but I'm gonna let Mike pick up the story here.  Rojo Grande! We luv you     all 400# of ya (give or take a pound or two)

rusty

[Doc Nock]

Does my sagging cranal synapse tell me I read this story some years back?  If so, it's like all the TV shows now...favorite re-run times. I can't wait to hear this even if it's the 2nd time...shoot, I can't recall what I had for breakfast..let alone rmember a story in detail!

[wingnut]

The first couple times in the stand were nerve wracking.  I wanted a pig in the worst way but wasn't real sure about a pig that big.  I mean I'm a big guy and this pig was bigger.

Anyway I sat and waited and waited and waited.

Finally Rusty called and said Rojo was back and that he was on the bait that am.  I was only hoping he didn't clean up the 100# I had thrown out.  After all he cleaned up a 40# bag the first night.

At about 4:00 I slipped into the stand and started the vigil.  Birds were churping and squirrels running to and fro.  Then all went quiet.  I'm thinking theres a bear coming then remembered that I was in Texas not Canada.  And this bear might have been a bigger challenge.

Then about 100 yds out I see him.  Dang he's kinda big and he just start grunting and coming right in.  I could tell he was used to having his way anywhere he went.

He seemed to sense that something was wrong and spent the first 10 minutes eating while facing me.  He kept looking but not up at me but rather past me and behind.  later I would find out that Rusty was trying to sneak in to video.

Finally he shifted and offered a broadside.  I had decided that I only wanted a quartering away shot.  but my nerves were shot and I had a lot of bow.  I was shooting my 60# Sley LB with tapered maple arrows weighing nearly 800 gr and woodsman BH.

Any way as he turned I picked a spot tight to the elbow and drew.  The arrow hit with a smack and seemed to slow down but continues to penetrate.

Now most animals shot, run and die.  Not Rojo, he turned towards me and ran over under my stand.  The stand was only 8 ft up so he was close.

He stood under me and called me everything he could think of.  I then saw the arrow sticking out both sides with blood pouring down the shaft.

I knew he was done. . .but he didn't.

Finally after a good minute of cussing me, he turned and started off.  As he went between two trees the arrow caught on both sides and I heard it break.  This set him off again, he turned back and started the string of pig cussing again.

He repeated the sequence three times. On the fourth turn back, I saw his feet go up in the air and all was quiet.

I know I was going to go check him alone so I backed out and went to call Rusty.  When I got to the truck I was surprised to see the Jeep parked behind it.  I tried the radios with no answer and then called his cell.

He answered and was whispering, I said where are you.  And he said right behind you.  I said Iwas at the truck and that Rojo grande was no mas.

He came a running and we jumped around and hooted and hollored before we went back to find him.

It took a few minutes but Rusty finally said, Here he is and there is no ground shrinkage.

I got there and was impressed.  We tried to drag him intact the 40 yds to the skid road.  We couldn;'t get 4 ft.  so we decided to field dress him then move him.  We got 10 ft.  so I decided to make a 4x4 road to him.  that worked until we tried to get him in the truck.  I would pay to see that video.  it took nearly an hour to get him up there.

[wingnut]

Anyway here a couple of pics of Rojo.

 

 

Now we didn't have a scale big enough but in comparison, I'm 6'4 and weigh 285

Mike

[trashwood]

I figure I can outshoot Wingnut if I just practice a bit......at the 3D range.  Wingnut has got sumpin I don't have though.  When the pressure is really on, adrenaline spiking, ya just pushed all your poker chips in the pile...Wingnut is cool.  He is a much better game shot than I am.....oh yeah, that is when it counts.  Just to show ya that all Texas boyz don't shoot pig in the butt...here is mike's shot

   

keep in mind with this shot the pig still lived several minutes (guess on my part but three laps to tell Mike what he thought of him)

rusty

[Horne's Archery]

Wow Mike,that is one hose hog.Rusty might have mesed you up,it will be hard to top that hog.
I think Ill hunt with Rusty.What was his number again.

Mark

[hogzndogz]

Wingnut was armed with the dreaded Sley Bow. No greater pig killing device has been invented. They are born with major pig killing mojo. Congrats and great story.

[trashwood]

LOL, Mark there is black and white sow down there that looks like a '60 VW bettle.  I think she will out weigh Rojo pretty easily.  I have take 3 or 4 of her 50-60# offspring.  she is just too big for me.  may take all three of us to get her in the freezer.

Now here is reasons for the way we hunted Rojo.  The area is a very good area to spot and stalk so why did we bait him.  well first of all he had shown himself to be pretty aggersive if not real aggersive.  Either Wingnut or I would be hunting the stand alone.  If I had couple more guys close around to help drag my body off I might have given stalking him a try. Another thing is on a pig that big I wanted Mike to have the best shot he could possible get.  If Rojo ran off to the boggy bottoms I don't think we would have ever found him.

I have taken several spot and stalk pigs from the area but I made sure they were in the 50-60#  range.  I can carry them out by myself and I have not found them particuarly hard to stop.  

As I commented to Mark there is one big sow down there and tracks of other prety big pigs.  They have not been hunted by anybody but me for the last 12 yrs.  they don't fear man too much and ain't gonna put up with any of his stuff.

I have found  true feral hogs to be more aggressive than the spanish hogs are....and they can be a lot bigger.

rusty

[trashwood]

here is a real good tip for ya that Wingnut taught me.  I could not figure out why in the world (except for bear) we were in such a hurry to get elk meat boned down and cool.  Heck fire the tempeartue is below freezing.  Well Wingnut told me about bone sour???  I had never heard of it before.  On big aminals the meat next the bone can taint from the body heat before the cold has time to reach it.  the trick is to get he meat in smaller piece so it can cool properly.

when he told me about this I tought about all the "big" pig I had eaten that was less the delightful.  Well Wingnut used the same process Rojo.  Got him boned and on ice in less than 1&1/2 hours.  Rojo was the best wild hog meat I have eaten.  I figure the same thing can happen to a big pig as an elk and to make it worse we don't have the sub-20 degree temps to help it at all.

So if ya take a big pig and want it to be table fare, ya might put the Wingut process to work.  get in boned into smaller piece and on ice.

rusty