Anyone want to hog hunt east tx? (4/22-4/26) already making plans for next year!

[Hackbow]

Finally, I want to thank every one of the guys that came for their willingness to travel so far, commitment to hunt, have fun, share resources and for becoming friends.

I especially want to thank Randy and Kristie for treating us all as special guests by planning and organizing this as well as bringing a camper, a boat and an entire meal. His truck never stopped moving hunters around and he stayed concerned that everyone had the best chance possible to see/kill hogs. He worked his butt off to make sure we had a good time in some very challenging conditions all the while taking care of his concrete business and crew. This near-constant rain not only created hunting difficulties, but has seriously put him behind on his work. I consider myself fortunate to be able to see and hunt with him regularly and very proud to call him a friend.

Now, let's see more pics and hear tales of close encounters of the porcine kind!

[Hackbow]

Oops...I forgot about Wally's ribs! He and Jim ran into town and picked up some ribs then masterfully prepared them. The juicy meat was not camouflaged by any heavy sauce. Just light seasoning and the delicious flavor of the meat. We hunted hard, but with all these culinary creations I think I gained a pound or three!

[akdd]

Wally's ribs or what was left of them by the time I got my camera out. They were delicious.

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[Crittergetter]

Like Darren said, I too am proud of these guys! They came from near and mostly far. Everyone had great attitudes despite the conditions. Freinds were made, stories shared, and some close encounters to boot! I would gladly share camp with each and everyone of these guys and hope to again soon! I am also thankful that most everyone got to see a few pigs and a few of us got shot oppertunities. I bumped a few earlier in the week and I got to pull a good stalk on a group of about 8 pigs on Sunday morning. I first heard them from about 60 yrds off and got a glimps of one. I checked the wind all all was good so I began to sneak down the trail they was on feeding. I kept a small bush between us and checked the wind several times as I got closer and closer. I made it to the bush without being seen, heard, or smelled. When I got there the 2 bigger ones I had seen had moved off on either side of the trail and the 5-6 little ones about 30-40 lbs we're feeding in the trail. I was ok with shooting a smaller one since we was a pretty good ways away From the truck! Lol. So I was trying to make up my mind weather to shoot thru a small opening in the bush or take a step to my left and shoot. I decided to take the step and come to full draw at the same time since the had their heads below the grass feeding and probably wouldn't see me move. I began to put tension on the string and shift my weight when suddenly I felt the wind do a 180 and a half a second later a pig on my left that I never saw let my presence be know with a growell and a blow. They all took off for deep cover. I circled around and cut them off but once agin the dad gum wind blew my chance of getting close. This went on for a little while until they pulled a fast one and made an escape in a direction unbeknown to me! All in all a great hunt and a great time in camp with some great men! I'll let the pics do the rest of the story telling!        

[Crittergetter]

       

[John Scifres]

Cool.  Thanks for sharing guys.  I'm glad no one drowned  

[Crittergetter]

     

[monterey]

Have enjoyed following this immensely.  Nice photos.  The fungi is very interesting.  Have never seen such.

Thanks to all of you for sharing this adventure.

[wooddamon1]

Great pics, looks like a blast!

[bowhuntingrn]

Thanks for the pics! I was really hoping to make it down, unfortunately it just wasn't in the cards. Maybe next year.

[Wudstix]

Man o man you guys make me sorry I didn't push back harder to get up there. Please let's do this again and I'm all in.

   

[Izzy]

Congrats on pulling off a classic hunt.

Looks like a great time indeed!

Bisch

[Wannabe1]

To bad about all the wet weather but, looks like some good time were had along with some good eat'ns. Thanks for sharing this post and experiences. Wish I lived a little closer.

[Jon Kaw]

Sorry it's taken me so long to post, I've had to catch up with things at home since I got back.

First of all I want to thank Randy for all of the work he put into making this a successful hunt. I think everyone except Darren got to see some pigs and I was given more than my fair share of opportunities. This being my first hog hunt I was focused on soaking up as much experience as I could.

I arrived last Wednesday evening to an empty camp.  Everyone was still out hunting so I made myself a quick meal an relaxed after the long drive.  Darren, Dan and Marty arrived and,after quick introductions I was graced with a couple of bowls of Darren's chili.

After a good nights rest we were up early for some breakfast and a morning hunt.  We hiked along an ATV trail to the place we were hunting.  The plan was for Darren, Dan and I to make a push through the swamp towards Marty and Randy.  The area was very wet and I felt fortunate to make it through without water spilling over the top of my boots.  Darren was not so lucky.  

   

We headed back to camp for some lunch and to prepare for an afternoon hunt.  We decided to go to an area where Wally and Jim had seen hogs the previous days.  We arrived and trekked into the area along some power lines. While Randy and Dan hunted the east side Marty and I spread out to hunt the west side.  The area was more open and not as wet as where we hunted in the morning.  

   

Irises were in bloom.

   

We hunted with the wind in our face all the way back to parking lot but had no luck.

[Jon Kaw]

Friday morning we woke early so we could get out before sunrise.  Marty and I decided to go back to the area we had hunted the previous afternoon except we wanted to hike in farther.  We hiked to the north west corner of the area and began to see more hog sign.

   

We pushed into an area thick with vegetation.

   

 We were looking for a place to split up when I heard a grunt and looked up to see a black hog 15 yards away.  He was staring right at us.  I managed to get an arrow nocked but the hog spun and lit out of there.  Marty and I looked at each other and smiled, both of us having our first encounter with our quarry.  

As we were deciding what to do next we heard a squeal and a group of hogs ran out from the same area where the first one had appeared.  We hurried in the direction that they ran.  We heard splashing and wondered if the pigs would swim across the flooded channel that was surrounding us.  As we moved towards the pigs our question was answered when we saw a group of four pigs running away on the other side of the channel. The water was too deep for us to follow so we tried to find another way around.  We eventually found shallower water and hunted our way back to the parking lot without another encounter.

[Jon Kaw]

Friday afternoon Dan and set out to meet Randy at some private land he had access to.  After an unplanned detour we made to the property.  Randy had two feeders set up. One had a tree stand hung in the vicinity and the other had to be hunted from the ground.

 I chose the one without the tree stand.

   

 I set up next to a brush pile that was downwind from the trail that Randy said the pigs were most likely to enter from.  As I waited I watched cardinals and mourning doves fly into the feeder to feast on the corn.  

Around 7:50 I heard something crashing around in the timber.  I looked over as a 200lb beast of a hog appeared on the trail not 10 yards away from me.  He looked right at me but I had the wind in my favor and, though he wasn't sure what I was, he continued into the clearing.  He would take a couple of steps and turn to look at me, then take a couple more steps.  As he made his way into the clearing he turned so he was cornering away from me.  I figured it was now or never so I began to draw.  Before I made it to full draw the hog turned and looked one last time.  I've never seen such a large creature turn and run so quickly.  I loosed my arrow but it clattered harmlessly to the ground behind the running hog.  

As I was gathering myself from all of the excitement I noticed that a smaller pig had entered the clearing away from the main trail.  I got another arrow nocked and promised myself that I would be more patient with this pig.  The sunlight was steadily waning as I waited for the pig to get to the feeder.  He finally started rooting 20 yards from me and I drew back.  I released and shot right under the little guy. He scurried around but didn't leave immediately so I reached for another arrow.   As I was grabbing my arrow the hog saw me and quickly exited the clearing.  I tried to calm myself after having two shots in such a short period of time.  Randy picked me up and was excited to hear about my encounters.  

We weathered a severe thunder storm before making it back to camp.  I fell asleep that night thinking of missed shots and future opportunities.

That's it for tonight.  More to come tomorrow.

[Jon Kaw]

Saturday morning Randy arrived with his boat and we made plans to ferry upriver to a spot the WMA biologist said was high ground.  It had rained heavily the night before and we were hopeful that the hogs might concentrate there.  We all loaded into the boat and had a leisurely trip upriver.  We spread out a couple hundred yards apart from one another and pushed through the area.  While the ground was higher there was still lots of water, it was just foot deep instead of knee deep.  No one saw much sign and we headed back to camp to make plans for the afternoon.

Darren left that afternoon so only Dan, Marty, Randy, and I remained.  Dan and I decided to sit at the feeders again while Marty opted to hunt the area where we had seen hogs Friday morning.  

The wind had shifted from the previous night so I tucked into the brush bordering the clearing that held the feeder.  

 

I was hoping that the hogs would circle the edge of the clearing before coming into the feeder as they had done before.  Unfortunately my night ended without a single hog sighting.

[Jon Kaw]

Sunday morning arrived early.  We were up before sunrise in an effort to make the most of our last day.  Dan had left during the night and the three of us that remained had to leave that afternoon.  

Marty had a plan to hunt a portion of the area where we had previously seen hogs.  The was a finger of dry ground that was surrounded on three sides by a slough.  We planned to follow the slough and make our way down the finger.  

We spread out and started our hunt, always keeping the slough on our right side.  

   

Marty and I met up and began to make our way down the narrow peninsula.  It was only about forty yards wide so we each took an edge.  As we progressed the swamp started to open up a bit.

   

We started to see more sign.  This picture doesn't do justice to the amount of sign we began to see.

   

Marty was downwind from me so I let him ease forward a bit in an effort not to spook any pigs that may have been between us. Suddenly I saw Marty waving his hand and pointing ahead.  I turned to look and saw the silhouette of a hog rooting in some brush.  The patch of brush was at the very tip of the dry ground, surrounded on three sides by the slough.  I had the wind in my favor and began to slip towards the hog using trees for cover.  Finally there were no more trees and I had 15 yards between me and the hog, but I wanted to get closer.  The hog was focused on rooting so I began to slowly stalk closer.  When I was at 10 yards the hog turned broadside and I decided to chance a shot into the brush.  I came to full draw and released only to have my arrow deflected by a branch and skid under the pig.  The brush patch exploded in a fury of swine as four pigs tried to escape.  One ran directly at Marty and didn't realize he was there until it was ten feet away.  It wheeled around and made a wide turn to run between Marty and I.  For some reason these hogs seemed intent on staying out of the water.  They scrambled down the peninsula behind us and out of sight.

I looked over and saw a huge smile plastered on Marty's face.  We both agreed that this encounter had put an exclamation point on the end of our hunt.  We hunted our way back to the parking lot without seeing another hog, but with smiles on our faces the whole time.

I want to thank everyone who participated in this hunt.  I had never been on a group hunt or a hog hunt and this exceeded all my expectations.   Randy and Kristi's hospitality was unmatched and if Randy decides to host another hunt I will do my best to be there.

Thanks for coming along.      

[Wudstix]

This needs to become an annual event. Have the Granger Ranger Xtreme Hunt the  third week of Feb. and this.could become another must attend event.