Repost from BD but thought you guys might enjoy.
I had to go to Texas for some CCA meetings. My CCA Texas buddies are hunting and fishing fools. When they asked me to come out I said "any reason to bring my bow?" The response was hell yes we will go kill a pig! This would be my first pig hunt and I had just gotten a new Bowtech Prodigy and couldn't wait to get it bloody.
The plan was to come out a day early and Robert from the CCA was gonna take me down to his lease an hour and a half south of Houston.
Robert scooped me up and we grabbed some supplies and headed south. He had set up a pop up blind and a feeder a week and a half earlier for me.
The plan was to fish a little and scout a bunch since the hogs weren't hitting the feeder in the am but they were there in the pm.
It's an awesome piece of property. It's 4000 acres of Texas savanna and marsh land. The place was super green and wet. I guess the el Nino ended their drought in a big way. Only bad thing was lots of tall grass to hide the rattlesnakes. I hate rattlesnakes. Fortunately I didn't encounter any despite my new snake boots.
After catching some redfish, flounder, trout and gar we went to reload the feeder.
Sure as shit the pigs had been in there that am. Dammit! Robert was super bummed but confident I would find one in the pm.
Around 5 he dropped me off in the blind. What used to be a clear grassy patch was a big, wet pig wallow. My hopes were high.
After about an hour I look to my right and I see a black snout, ears and a pig tail sticking out of the weeds. This little guy worked his way all around the blind but never got comfortable enough to come out into the clearing.
About another hour goes by and the feeder goes off. Shortly after this cool looking blonde piggy comes out from my right and then bails. Then a few minutes later he comes back and starts feeding in the grass. I had to sit for about 10 minutes and watch this guy feed around the feeder without giving me a shot. I even had time to snap some pics.
Because this was my first pig I didn't want take a chance with anything less than a quartering away shot. Finally he screws up and turns away at 25 yards. I draw for about the third time, put the gap between my 20 and 30 pin right on the engine room and let it go. I knew as soon as it went it was a perfect shot placement. The pig bolted and i heard a quick crash followed by the sound of him going night night. I didn't know where he was but I knew it wasn't far.
I was SUPER stoked. My first pig down and I was sure we would find him. I texted Robert and he was as stoked as I was! I recollected myself, reloaded and sat back waiting for another one.
I could hear what sounded like a big pig coming in from behind me and then wind me. Then he would circle and come back in, then back out. I had all the other windows zipped and the anticipation was killing me. Finally he bailed, but shortly after blackie came back for another look. He quickly jammed right in front of the blind at 5 yards and didn't bust me, but he was staring right at me and I couldn't draw. He worked around a bit and also hauled ass. I was so bummed but it was cool to see that guy so close up and to have his ass fooled.
Just as it was getting dark a new pig came in from the left. He came right in, sniffed and backed out. Then a minute later he came back in, I drew and he turned, no shot. Then I watched him for about 10 minutes feed head on and had no shot. So I took another pic.
Finally he settled in and showed my his armpit. I drew back and while I was breathing out blackie shows up and spooks him. I panicked a bit and let it fly. BAD Shot and I knew it! It was high and back but he stumbled off and wasn't looking so hot. I hit him with a Rage Hypo and I was hoping that big blade would make up for my crappy shot.
I texted Robert and he and the ranch manager showed up in a few minutes to help me find them. We looked for pig #2 and found a ton of blood and bloody poop. This eventually led us a a piece of intestine on a branch. That had to hurt and was a good sign. We looked for a bit and decided to go look for #1.
We go back to the far site of the feeder and look around. Find my arrow and it's a mess. This pig didn't go far. We turn around and light up the bush to the left and there he lay. He didn't make it 10 yards! I was so stoked but Robert was ecstatic to get me my first. So rad and a perfect size eating pig.
We snap a few shots and load him up. Charles the ranch manager says, "I bet I know where that other pig is" and I'll be damned if he didn't drive right up to it. The second pig was a good bit smaller and we loaded him up and went headed back for the ranch to clean the animals and do a little grilling.
Robert cooked up a killer meal of Sand Hill Crane (aka Rib Eye in the Sky), Axis backstrap and skin on Redfish grilled with pico de gallo on top. Needless to say dinner and cocktails were epic.
Five AM came early and I was ready to go again. Got in the blind early and immediately realized I had forgotten my cooler bag with my THERMACEL in it. I didn't worry about it too much because the bugs didn't hardly bother me the night before. That was a bad decision.
For the next 3.5 hours I got absolutely hammered by mosquitos despite wearing a long sleeve shirt and sun mask. I have more bug bites on the back of my head than I have had in the last ten years combined. The little bastards were merciless.
Just as the sun is coming up, I can hear a pig behind me again. He sounds much bigger but who knows. He kind of worked around for a bit and then took off. Shortly after I hear a couple come in from my left and they are REALLY close. They come and go for 20 minutes but I never get to see them. I can just hear them snorting and walking around in the wet mud.
They kind of slide away around 8 am and this guy shows up.
It's a big, prehistoric turkey vulture. I decide I'm too cheap to lose an arrow on him and just watch him for a bit. Scary creature.
I sat for another hour or so and had one more pig come in behind me that I never saw. That pretty much wrapped up the hunt.
One other note, This was the first hunt I have used my new Bowtech Prodigy on. I've only had a couple of hours to shoot it at home and it is really smooth and holds great. The thing that impressed me is the new Powershift Technology which allows you to adjust the "hump" in the draw cycle. Since I knew I was going to be hunting in a pop up blind and drawing in a chair, I set it to the smooth Comfort setting. The bow drew so easy and smooth it was perfect for hunting in a compact area and still remain stealthy.
I bought an Experience a couple years back because I was impressed with it's super smooth draw cycle and steady hold but this bow really takes it to a new level. I couldn't be more impressed with this new piece of equipment.
After the mornings hunt was over, we packed up and headed back to Houston for a couple days of CCA meetings and a banquet. All the meetings were great and I can't tell you how excited the CCA folks are to have California on board. After seeing first hand how they work together to raise money and fight for fishing rights I was really impressed. These guys have a recipe for success that has been proven in 18 states. If you haven't learned about the CCA or joined yet, please check out http://www.ccacalifornia.org/
I had to go to Texas for some CCA meetings. My CCA Texas buddies are hunting and fishing fools. When they asked me to come out I said "any reason to bring my bow?" The response was hell yes we will go kill a pig! This would be my first pig hunt and I had just gotten a new Bowtech Prodigy and couldn't wait to get it bloody.
The plan was to come out a day early and Robert from the CCA was gonna take me down to his lease an hour and a half south of Houston.
Robert scooped me up and we grabbed some supplies and headed south. He had set up a pop up blind and a feeder a week and a half earlier for me.
The plan was to fish a little and scout a bunch since the hogs weren't hitting the feeder in the am but they were there in the pm.
It's an awesome piece of property. It's 4000 acres of Texas savanna and marsh land. The place was super green and wet. I guess the el Nino ended their drought in a big way. Only bad thing was lots of tall grass to hide the rattlesnakes. I hate rattlesnakes. Fortunately I didn't encounter any despite my new snake boots.
After catching some redfish, flounder, trout and gar we went to reload the feeder.
Sure as shit the pigs had been in there that am. Dammit! Robert was super bummed but confident I would find one in the pm.
Around 5 he dropped me off in the blind. What used to be a clear grassy patch was a big, wet pig wallow. My hopes were high.
After about an hour I look to my right and I see a black snout, ears and a pig tail sticking out of the weeds. This little guy worked his way all around the blind but never got comfortable enough to come out into the clearing.
About another hour goes by and the feeder goes off. Shortly after this cool looking blonde piggy comes out from my right and then bails. Then a few minutes later he comes back and starts feeding in the grass. I had to sit for about 10 minutes and watch this guy feed around the feeder without giving me a shot. I even had time to snap some pics.
Because this was my first pig I didn't want take a chance with anything less than a quartering away shot. Finally he screws up and turns away at 25 yards. I draw for about the third time, put the gap between my 20 and 30 pin right on the engine room and let it go. I knew as soon as it went it was a perfect shot placement. The pig bolted and i heard a quick crash followed by the sound of him going night night. I didn't know where he was but I knew it wasn't far.
I was SUPER stoked. My first pig down and I was sure we would find him. I texted Robert and he was as stoked as I was! I recollected myself, reloaded and sat back waiting for another one.
I could hear what sounded like a big pig coming in from behind me and then wind me. Then he would circle and come back in, then back out. I had all the other windows zipped and the anticipation was killing me. Finally he bailed, but shortly after blackie came back for another look. He quickly jammed right in front of the blind at 5 yards and didn't bust me, but he was staring right at me and I couldn't draw. He worked around a bit and also hauled ass. I was so bummed but it was cool to see that guy so close up and to have his ass fooled.
Just as it was getting dark a new pig came in from the left. He came right in, sniffed and backed out. Then a minute later he came back in, I drew and he turned, no shot. Then I watched him for about 10 minutes feed head on and had no shot. So I took another pic.
Finally he settled in and showed my his armpit. I drew back and while I was breathing out blackie shows up and spooks him. I panicked a bit and let it fly. BAD Shot and I knew it! It was high and back but he stumbled off and wasn't looking so hot. I hit him with a Rage Hypo and I was hoping that big blade would make up for my crappy shot.
I texted Robert and he and the ranch manager showed up in a few minutes to help me find them. We looked for pig #2 and found a ton of blood and bloody poop. This eventually led us a a piece of intestine on a branch. That had to hurt and was a good sign. We looked for a bit and decided to go look for #1.
We go back to the far site of the feeder and look around. Find my arrow and it's a mess. This pig didn't go far. We turn around and light up the bush to the left and there he lay. He didn't make it 10 yards! I was so stoked but Robert was ecstatic to get me my first. So rad and a perfect size eating pig.
We snap a few shots and load him up. Charles the ranch manager says, "I bet I know where that other pig is" and I'll be damned if he didn't drive right up to it. The second pig was a good bit smaller and we loaded him up and went headed back for the ranch to clean the animals and do a little grilling.
Robert cooked up a killer meal of Sand Hill Crane (aka Rib Eye in the Sky), Axis backstrap and skin on Redfish grilled with pico de gallo on top. Needless to say dinner and cocktails were epic.
Five AM came early and I was ready to go again. Got in the blind early and immediately realized I had forgotten my cooler bag with my THERMACEL in it. I didn't worry about it too much because the bugs didn't hardly bother me the night before. That was a bad decision.
For the next 3.5 hours I got absolutely hammered by mosquitos despite wearing a long sleeve shirt and sun mask. I have more bug bites on the back of my head than I have had in the last ten years combined. The little bastards were merciless.
Just as the sun is coming up, I can hear a pig behind me again. He sounds much bigger but who knows. He kind of worked around for a bit and then took off. Shortly after I hear a couple come in from my left and they are REALLY close. They come and go for 20 minutes but I never get to see them. I can just hear them snorting and walking around in the wet mud.
They kind of slide away around 8 am and this guy shows up.
It's a big, prehistoric turkey vulture. I decide I'm too cheap to lose an arrow on him and just watch him for a bit. Scary creature.
I sat for another hour or so and had one more pig come in behind me that I never saw. That pretty much wrapped up the hunt.
One other note, This was the first hunt I have used my new Bowtech Prodigy on. I've only had a couple of hours to shoot it at home and it is really smooth and holds great. The thing that impressed me is the new Powershift Technology which allows you to adjust the "hump" in the draw cycle. Since I knew I was going to be hunting in a pop up blind and drawing in a chair, I set it to the smooth Comfort setting. The bow drew so easy and smooth it was perfect for hunting in a compact area and still remain stealthy.
I bought an Experience a couple years back because I was impressed with it's super smooth draw cycle and steady hold but this bow really takes it to a new level. I couldn't be more impressed with this new piece of equipment.
After the mornings hunt was over, we packed up and headed back to Houston for a couple days of CCA meetings and a banquet. All the meetings were great and I can't tell you how excited the CCA folks are to have California on board. After seeing first hand how they work together to raise money and fight for fishing rights I was really impressed. These guys have a recipe for success that has been proven in 18 states. If you haven't learned about the CCA or joined yet, please check out http://www.ccacalifornia.org/
