Texas Radio and the Big Beast 2

[Missouri CK]

I've been away at work only to find that the story telling has begun without me. I thought I should contribute with some details of my own.

For those who don’t know me or recognize my picture, it’s because I’ve only been a casual onlooker to the trad gang since its inception. I’m still fairly new to traditional archery, and so it never seemed natural for me to try to give advice or state my opinion. Instead I have simply enjoyed reading about the hunts of others while soaking up all the good advice that is available.

In this case I have the rare opportunity to be the one telling the hunting tale which is certainly new for me and admittedly exciting.

Before I begin, some of you might be wondering how I managed to fall into the company of such a motley crew as Charlie Lamb and Curtis Keller. Fortunately for me, Charlie is a friend of my father-in-law and I meet him while hunting here in northwest Missouri. We got to know each other better when I convinced him to build me a recurve of his own design. Charlie has always been willing to share his knowledge and experiences of both hunting and life. In this case he shared with me the opportunity to go hunting in South Texas with his friend Curtis Keller. He told me this was going to be a great hunt and it certainly lived up to his billing.

I met Curtis Friday afternoon and found him to be as affable and generous as he had seemed in our e-mail conversations. The first night in Texas I had the opportunity to sit in the bamboo blind that Curtis has constructed on his property. While I must admit it was a strange looking structure at first glance, it turned about to be the perfect perch for an evening hunt for which I will not soon forget. While being serenaded by the sounds of Curtis goose as well as Charlie’s ghostly calls from the house, I proceeded to have a blast shooting at rabbits and coons. I managed to knock down three bunnies, but the raccoons seemed to dance in their own shadows while avoiding my carbonwood arrows. Maybe my excitement had something to do with that as well.

I even managed to hear the sounds of the hog Curtis had described to me earlier. He never appeared out of the shadows but the hogs deep breathing and low grunts made the adrenalin run through my body at a heart pounding pace.

I was hooked and I hadn’t even laid eyes on a hog by the time I crawled out of the blind at 9 pm. I must admit that my pace was quick on the way back to Curtis’ house. The seeds Charlie and Curtis had planted in my mind took hold of my imagination as I walked through the mist. Curtis had named this hunt, “The Texas Sweat hunt”. Little had I known that it would be a cold sweat running down the back of my neck.

[Dave Bulla]

Hey Chris, sounds like you had a great time!  I'm working on arranging a pig hunt in TX myself somewhere east of Dallas.  It'll be my first hog hunt too.

How long have you been in the Weston area?  Heck, I'm just south of the KC airport about 6 miles.  I go to Weston a couple times a year to hit the America Bowman restaurant and pub and a couple antique shops for the wife.  Cool little town.  If you ever hunt at Platte Falls, I might even have met you already.  You aught to drop me an email and maybe we could get together sometime to shoot or look for sheds or somethin'.  It's getting to be that time of year.

[huntsmanlance]

It sure sounds like yall had a blast!!! Im sorry i missed it.

[herb haines]

Hey Chris wished i could have made it then we could have be "afeared" together LOL you are very lucky ---- herb

[Charlie Lamb]

Hey guys! I think this is working out great!! Of course I KNOW the stories.    

As Chris mentioned, he did have a brief encounter with "the Beast".
If not the same "Beast" from my previous trip he's at least a twin brother and sneaky to boot!
He's got the bamboo blind all figured out and has a real good idea what can go on there.
His approach to the ambush is always from the downwind side, which most times is also the blind side. He'll come in real close, in the dark, until he gets a whiff of hunter with that huge, rough old nose. That's all that can be heard and the key to his presence.  SNIFF...SNIFF! GRUNT!!! GONE! That was all Chris heard of him that night.

Anyway, after coming in from looking for Javies we were soon loaded and ready for the short trip down to Tilden, Texas.
Curtis (as most locals usually seem to do)took us a large portion of the way on back roads. Turning here, curving around there, past this ranch and right by that one. Guess it's just to confuse the new guys...it worked for me!
The cool thing that I did notice that I had forgotten about since last time was the condition of the back roads.
They were paved. I'm talkin narrow (one lane only), paved with asphalt roads. A couple of times I forgot that there just could be someone coming around the corner heading the opposite direction... but there never was! Kinda cool actually!

It only took an hour to travel south to Tilden, but in that short space of time the country changed dramatically.
Where the land around Curtis' place is farm ground and often turned and tilled, this land around Tilden was more "otherworldly" with century plants and walls of cactus and other "pointy" stuff lining the roadsides. This was the country I'd remembered from a Javelina trip years before. I itched to get out in it with bow in hand.

Soon we had hooked up with Eric Zuniga (Southtexaspighunter) and were stowing gear in our well appointed home for the weekend.
Eric and I hit it off right away. He's a Marine vet (like me...sorta   :D  ) so there was instant bonding. There'd be no lack of conversation between us and that was for sure.
Eric is a long time south Texas brush rat with a lot of experience guiding hog hunters. The ranch we were hunting was one of the outfits he guided for, so he knew this property and the animals on it, like the back of his hand. That would come in real handy!

The first order of business was to get us out in the brush and start getting an idea of how the ranch roads lay. I never did catch on all that well.
They seemed to be layed out like a maze, though I knew there was probably a pattern to the way they were laid out.
Guess I need to take my GPS out and look at Terraserver now that it's over.

We got a tour of different feeders and which one's were being hit on some kind of schedule, Eric pointed out different locations where bobcats had been seen regularly and which patches of cactus and brush held the most cottentails.
We managed to harrass a few bunnies while we were at it.
At one point, Eric had just told us about a site that was being visited at mid day by at least one hog.
Low and behold as we rounded a corner and could see the feeder in the distance, we could make out the outline of a hog busy finding food.
I was urged to get out and make a move on the grizzled boar, which I did with no hesitation. Curtis grabbed up his bow and was moving with me.

With a word of encouragement that the hog wouldn't stay long because of the lack of feed on the ground we moved forward.
All I had to do was find quiet footing as I made the approach. A mesquite bush (or whatever bush it was) provided me with cover. It was within shooting range of the pig, if I could just make it there undetected.
At twenty yards I caught site of the pig throught he screen of brush, just as he raised his head in my direction. An instant later he was scooting off for parts unknown.
Dammmit!! Oh well, first crack at game and all that!

We spent the remainder of the afternoon preparing ambush spots for each of the members of our party.
There were best laid plans to put Chris in the best spot. We all agreed that he needed a hog experience.
I've been in that spot before. You know, try to do your best to put someone in the action.
There had been a time when I'd had some guys come antelope hunting with me in Wyoming. I'd prepared blinds and kept tabs on movement for months before they arrived.
In the week they were hunting with me I put them in supposed hot spots each day and would take what I thought were the "bad" spots for myself. I shot three antelope that week and the boys got zip! (well, they did all have shots!)
I had a sneaky hunch that it could work that way for Chris, but didn't mention it.

(cont)

[Littlefeather]

Well, Like Charlie said, we made the treck into Tilden with no problems.  Shortly after arriving, Eric Zuniga came rolling up in his white, 4wd truck and after a few breif introductions we were away to start our journey.

Eric is one of those rare individuals who you feel like you've known for a lifetime even though you may have only spent breif interludes with him. He is a gentle, soft spoken fella, that has a politeness about him that makes you wish he was spending time looking after your kids. Eric has earned his place in his daily routine after spending a great part of his years fighting for us on foreign shores.  He has seen his fair share of combat but seems to harbor no ill-feelings or begrudge anyone.

The months leading up to this trip had all of us anxious to hit the brush as soon as possible. This we did with hair raised excitement that was only compounded by our early encounter with the hog Charlie mentioned. Heck, we'd only been on the ranch for 15 minutes! Is this the way the weekend will unfold? You better believe that's what we were all wondering!

The time after the first hog encounter was spent constructing makeshift brush blinds and trying to figure out the travel corridors that the local fauna was using.  The sun was growing lazy in the Western sky as we all prepared ourselves and made a final check of our gear. We were ready.  Were the hogs?

As I got comfortable in my little pile of brush, my mind wandered and I thought of what the rest of the world must be doing. I was surely the fortunate one to be here in this virtual game paradise.

As the shadows grew long, the colorful birds of the region fluttered in the cactus and the cottontails hopped to and fro. I decided to pass some time shooting a few rabbits.  The score was two for me and zero for the bunnies.  Snap! A twig broke to my left and a doe appeared. Time may never reveal the hiding place she emerged from but when I finally noticed her she was at a meer four paces, followed by a small buck.  The deer continued to come, with the final tally being eleven deer before the shadows grew together into darkness. Tomorrow will bring me a new day. I only hope I can sleep before the dawn.

                                                                                                                                    (cont)

[herb haines]

Curtis,
last year i saw maybe 6 or 7 deer in whole season and that was a lot for me closest was maybe 50 yds . ---- herb

[Charlie Lamb]

I posted on a spot that showed a lot of sign and good cover downwind of likely areas of movement.
Almost as soon as I got settled into my hide activity around me increased. Little south Texas cottentails were hopping here and there in the brush and cactus with the occasional hell raiser that figures it'll be cool to race through the middle of a covey of blue quail just to see them fly.
A Roadrunner, gliding along fast and smooth like an arrow shot close to the ground, blurred past me.
I'd resigned myself to leaving the bunnies and quail alone. I wanted a pig like the one I'd stalked earlier.
An hour into the sit, a chunky black form appeared in the brush 20 yards away. A fat sow was coming toward me and at the last minute swerved to cross in front of my bow.
I wasn't too worried about shooting right away, so I stood patiently waiting for her to trot into a shooting lane I'd picked. She'd be ten yards and slightly quartering. I figured I could handle that!
The sow never made it to the open. While she was still behind cover, she switched ends and ran back where she had come from.
I knew the wind was favorable and it was strong and steady as well. She couldn't have seen me.

Suddenly she was back and following the path she had followed intitially! I knew she would repeat her footsteps and continue into my ambuscade.
Slowly I readied my recurve, pointing "Herbie" the arrow into the shooting lane.
Just as quickly as before the hog stopped behind the brush in the same spot and whirled to leave once more.
I anticipated she might return and bring a group with her this time, but even though I waited quietly and still until dark, she never returned.
Both Chris and Curtis had a slow evening if you don't count stringing up some more cottentails and a quail.

(cont. later today)

[Missouri CK]

I’m sure my degree of inexperience added to the excitement that I felt about the impending hunt. I felt like a kid waiting to open his presents on Christmas morning as we were driving around the ranch scouting the locations. I couldn’t wait to get out and look around at every spot.  I had the opportunity to watch the brief stalk on the hogs from the road. While I was disappointed that Charlie and Curtis had been unable to connect, it seemed appropriate that the hogs were not going to be that easy. Deep down I think we all want the game to make us work for any success we achieve.

Consistent with the general theme of this weekend, Charlie and Curtis put me on the best looking spot available for my first evening hunt. I appreciated their obvious attempts to help put me on a spot with the highest likelihood for success. I too was aware of the fact that sometimes the best-laid plans can still go array. Regardless to the outcome I knew I would have a blast on this trip. The Texas landscape had such a foreign look for my Missouri-eye’s that I my senses were overwhelmed. From the cactus and whitebrush with their inhospitable barbs, to the smell of the blooms of unfamiliar plants, and even the birds that gladly consumed the offerings of the feeder. I was viewing things from a different prospective than even Charlie or Curtis since everything was new for me. I hastily made a ground blind backdrop from the cover available. The prevailing wind limited my choices. In hindsight, my choice of spots was too open but I was a little apprehensive about tromping around in the brush to collect more ground cover for fear that I might disturb any hogs that were in the vicinity. Regardless, I hunkered down in my spot and attempted to keep my excitement in check. It took me a while to find a comfortable feeling in my set up and get myself into a hunting mode.

I the midst of my thoughts I had a young spike buck quickly run into the feeder. He nervously feed for the better part of five minutes while I mentally tried to practice waiting for the perfect shot opportunity. I finally got my bow into position as I was going to attempt to come to full draw in order to simulate a hunting situation on this unsuspecting buck. He wouldn’t stand for the slight movement of my bow and causally trotted off into the brush. Not five minutes later a young fawn sprinted into the feeder with a more cautious doe pausing to check the surroundings from the rear. I managed to get a look at her without spooking them both. However, they both soon vacated the area for some unknown reason. I would soon find out why, as my first hog sighting was about to occur.

I heard what I thought was a low grunts in the background cover to my north. Soon the dark shapes of a pig appeared through the cactus. I had told myself earlier to be patient and not rush any shooting opportunities. So when the first hog ran in towards the feeder I held myself in check in order to minimize any movement. I wanted them to settle down before I tried to draw. Unfortunately the hogs taught me my first lesson in hog hunting, which is that hogs rarely ever relax here in Tilden. The pigs were a blur of nervous energy, which ironically matched my own level of excitement.The two hogs that I could see never stopped for more than a second before they would dart off towards cover. Much like Charlie’s experience, the group came in towards the feeder several times but never actually stopped to offer me a shot. I’m sure a more experienced, faster shooting hunter would have been able to get off an arrow, but I tend to be pretty deliberate when I shoot.  I never had what I would consider a real shot opportunity. Like Charlie, I expected the pigs to return as they had twice previously, but the failed to reappear as twilight ended my first experience with the pigs.

Chris

[so tx pighunter]

I guess I will take over and fill in now. When I first pulled up and to be honest I was ten minutes late( had a real good reason though ) I saw Curtis and these other two individuals that looked like they were really itchin to get started. I figured "well if they really want to get poked, bitten, stuck, scratched and tormented by the South Texas Brush then who am I to slow down the process." We all introduced ourselves and then amde our way to the camp house where we stowed the gear and then started off in search of "Mr. Snooter Rooter". After I showed the fellas around the ranch and they all had there piggy appetites whetted up a little bit by the first hog of the day, I helped set up blinds and scour game trails which all looked really promising. The only thing was that with the weather as goofy as it was I wasn't super sure of which areas would be hotter than others. All the areas that we checked looked as if they would produce but I figured that the wind would keep them tight to the brush and that they would be pretty jumpy so the boys would really have to cover up work the wind and be extra stealthy. Alot of folks underestimate the capabilities of pigs but they really can be smart. They can pattern hunters just like we pattern them, they cant see really well but dont be fooled if you twitch at the wrong moment they are gone with a blow and three quick woofs to let you know that they busted you, their hearing is probably as good as a deers if not better in my opinion and his nose is unmatched and by far superior to any other animal. So for anyone to think that this hunt was going to be easy for them ya best think again or even better come down and see me and I will make a believer out of you. Anyhow after setting up we went back in got a drink and fine tuned hardware for the hunt. It was finally time to hunt (A good two hours later)and I set the guys out with a good luck and shoot straight and went to settle in my little area where I spent the afternoon plunking at small game for the cook pot. Now in this time I learned something really cool. I learned that a Roadrunner is abit of an oppurtunist because while wathcing a covey of Blue Quail a single Roadrunner swooped in from an overhead branch that he had been perched on and nabbed a little Red Cardinal bird which began to scream and shriek. The little bird couldn't get away from the bigger and I watched in amazement as the Roadrunner dispatched the smaller by thumping it on the ground until it passed on and then ate it until there was nothing left but a few feathers. The Roadrunner then went on his way. I guess we weren't the only hunters out that evening I wish I would have had my video unit with me. The quail went back and forth until dusk and all was looking really good when I leaned over to adjust the brush in front of me one last time when I heard "beep" the little two way radio that CK and I were to use in case of emergencies sqeaked out just a little squelch and right after it happened I knew that I had been majorly busted because I heard a distinct wooooof and an even more distinct blow of air that was emitted by the boar hog that had somehow snuk in without me noticing it not tweny five yards away. I grunted at him to try and ease him some but he was'nt having any of it, he was gone and I was pretty dumbfounded. It just goes to prove that something that is percieved as fat loud and dumb can really make you feel that same way at times.
  Until later, keep em sharp and walk the way of the hunter.

[the Ferret]

Hey you guys write pretty good as a team. no one is missing a beat..this is cool  

[Charlie Lamb]

The next morning was a champ. We were up and out early in the very chilly morning air. It would be a premier day, weather wise.

The set that morning was brief and we gathered around nine a.m. The plan was to check out some ground and look for a few bunnies for the pot.

I'd already bagged a couple and they were thick in different places. We managed to find several places where there were a few. Chris and CK took the lead on the bunnies.
I was really liking the weather, which was getting warmer by the minute under a bright and very warm sun.
Some guys just can't let a guy dream. At one point Eric and I were cruising through some whitebrush and cactus when he got my attention with a slight wave. With a sly smile he spoke just loud enough that I could hear across the ten feet that separated us as he said, "watch out for mister No shoulders.
He was right. It had warmed up enough that we could encounter a big ole rattler layin in the sun. I watched the cover differently from then on.

We had time to talk that morning in between sightings of deer, coyote and bobcat and shooting cottentails. And I might add, watching some superb game shooting by both Chris and Curtis.
The stash of bunnies in the cooler was growing!
Plans for the afternoon and evening were refined and new spots selected. There'd be a couple of blinds to set up as well.

The thing about the south Texas brush country is that anything can happen at any time. One minute you can be totally alone with nothing happening and the next just about any kind of animal you can imagine will come hopping, loping, browsing or running along in front of you. It keeps you primed and cocked.

Except for a spike buck deer that got wise to me early in his approach my evening sit was pretty routine.

[herb haines]

Ferret , do you get the feeling that they are leading up to something    .you can feel something is coming.   :D  -- herb

[BJOHN5244]

Hey guy's this is great reading. Bet your gonna drag this story telling out for a whole week or so. Don't know if I can take this. Sitting on the edge of my computer chair waiting in anticipation
for the next chapter to come to life is just like sitting on a stand and waiting for game to come in. Great job.

bjohn

[Littlefeather]

The morning Sun was fast approaching as I bailed from the confines of Erics truck.  Today I would be the first to take up solice in the brush as the others continued on to a future unknown.

Mornings in the South Texas brush are kind of a magic time. The abundant game is waking from slumber and the brease carries the fragrance of blooming Currant bushes and Prickly Pear flowers. Time always seems to stand still in the waking hours and I find myself drifting in thoughts of what the day may hold. This morning certainly was unfolding into a beautiful sunrise and my excitement grew the higher the Sun rose.

Only a short time into the sit I begain to grow restless as I had bunnies on my mind. In a moment a small bunny appeared and in the same moment I sent a blunt to greet him. Before I could get settled back down good the deer Id seen the evening before begain to emerge from the tangle of green that surely only they could penetrate. My bow was gently eased to the ground as I reached with the other hand to find my camera.
This was crazy! Six deer. Wait! Seven, eight, eleven deer! Where are they all coming from, I asked myself?  I found the window of opportunity slowly closing for my chance at a pic without spooking them. My thoughts were proven correct as I slowly eased the camera into position. The dreaded snort and white flags were everywhere!

Im starting to find my comfort zone in all the clothes this morning to be going the wrong direction. I decide to take a few moments to lighten the load of clothing that had me looking nothing short of Nanook of the far North.  As I shed the final layer I begain to see movment in an unsuspecting area. Deer? How could this be? Five more deer? Geeze, why had I waited till so late to come here. Two weeks earlier and I would have been legal to harvest one of these beautiful animals.

The morning surprises slowly begain to decrease in frequency as I found myself standing in the middle of the dirt road. Im holding my two bunnies of the morning with great pride. They aren't the biggest targets you know.

 I hear the truck approaching from somewhere across the ranch. Had one of the other guys faired better than I? I can only hope.  
                                            (cont)

[herb haines]

real good thing you guys are out of reach    -- herb

[Guru]

TOO COOL        

[Littlefeather]

Chris Kinslow, where are you? Its your turn Buddy!

Here is a pis of Charlie and Chris on a midday scouting mission. Beautiful country in its own sort of way. Enjoy!

 

[Tracy McQueen]

Great thread!    

One of these days I'm gonna make it out to Texas and do some hunting. I swear it!

[Missouri CK]

Work is really getting in the way of my storytelling!

Saturday morning found me at the same location I had spent the previous evening. The sun was on its way up and I could tell from the initial rays that hit my back it was going to be a warm Texas day. It was a nice change from the six below zero temperature I had experienced when leaving Kansas City on Friday .

Soon after daybreak the same spike buck revisited my feeder. I couldn’t help but smile at him as he went through the same routine as the previous evening. He gave me a couple of inquisitive glances as he nibbled up the corn on the ground. It’s nice to that close to an animal in a non hunting situation because I was able to pay attention to all the small details of his actions. Looking eye to eye with any deer gets my adrenaline flowing.

He was soon joined by a nice eight pointer who also stayed in the background. I was disappointed that I hadn’t gotten any pictures the previous evening so I tried to get a shot of this more impressively racked deer. The limited movement I made lifting the camera off the ground was enough to send both the deer into a mild alert mode. I got my picture but it didn’t turn out as good as I had hoped. Soon they were both gone into the brush. About thirty minutes later I was pondering the idea of taking aim at some of the birds under the feeder until I heard the sound of pigs. This time I saw two smaller sows and their piglets to the north of my feeder. They showed the same tentativeness and apprehensive posturing that I had seen the previous evening. The tiger stripe pattern of one of the piglets caught my eye. I had instructions from the power’s that be to not hesitate on a sow even if she had little ones. However this group of hogs made my decision easy for me as they bolted back into the brush before reaching the feeder.

I had noticed some changes in the wind direction as the morning had progressed and I think they might have gotten a whiff of me on their way in to the feeder. Several grunts and the sound of running hooves told me they would not return for a second look.
Around 9:00 I decided to take a shot at one of the blue quail standing under the feeder. Not a minute after my carbonwood bludgeon found its mark did I hear the sounds of Eric and Charlie driving towards my stand. Pretty decent timing as I was ready to get up and collect my bird. Although it wasn’t shot on the wing, I was still pretty happy to have collected my first blue quail with a bow.

Christopher