"Season of Hogs", by Adger Colley

Some of you may know that I am an avid reader of the Texas Hunting Forum and have been for about 6 years. This article was written by a fellow forum member AdgerC. Adger is a great personality and major lover of the outdoors. Not to mention one hell of a writer. Enjoy , JW

Season of Hogs: “The only decision to be made is WHICH ONES TO SHOOT...”

MARCH 5, 2010- What better to do with spare time in the spring than a little Texas hog
hunting? As it goes during March in Central Texas either the wind is blowing, the rain is pouring
or the sun is shining and beautiful. Well I guess that actually goes for just about anywhere in the
south any time of year. This is one of my favorite times of the year to get out and sit in a tree
stand; turkeys are love struck and gobbling all around, song birds a singing away, rodents are
playing all hours of day and for certain, the hogs will be on the move. As long as the weather
permits, still hunting for hogs in the spring tends to prove quite productive; the dirty vermin are
hungry and feeding while totally content with numerous waller’s and wet spots for play time;
God willing we get our rain.
  Spring semesters for me are much slower at school; no football games to attend, no need
to run off to the deer lease at every given opportunity, and with summe-ritis no intention of
studying! As the stars line up though, my escape to Bell County is greatly anticipated. I can
justify that even if the turkeys are quiet, the hogs are inactive, or perhaps a wily raccoon might
give me the slip; but I still get to head into Belton for some Schoepfe’s BBQ, the Smoked
Chicken in particular. Luckily for me, spring time tends to usually boast a pretty eventful hunt no
matter what. I was all packed up and one the road by midday on Friday afternoon; frustrated of
course that I couldn’t get away on Thursday for a four day weekend.
    As I get through and lock the gate I notice the onslaught of clouds rolling in and feel a brisk west wind connect with my face. I know there was no rain in the forecast so I welcome the
overcast and cool weather with open arms and wandering eyes. I hurry up the house and get
changed and ready for an afternoon stalk before I head the stand. The weather man had lied and
told me Salado had gotten less than an inch of rain in the last week, but my rain gauge said I had
gotten nearly 1.5 inches and it NEVER lies. This was good news so I hurried down the hill and
headed into some thick oak and cedar stands to snoop around. Within minutes I heard some
movement and spot a small singleton piglet working around in a briar patch. To make it more
appealing, the inattentive little booger is white and spotted. As if it was written I make my move
to being the stalk and the little feller plows straight towards me, unfortunately it’s too thick for a
shot. We bob and weave a few times until finally I am paralleling this guy on a road headed
towards a feeder; so I decided to take the initiative and get downwind and set up near the feed
pen. As soon as I can see over the Bluestem I notice more movement just beyond the feed pen
and to my amazement here comes a whole group of pigs in various sizes and colors. I scramble to
get my video camera up on a tripod and ready to shoot some footage while at the same time I
nock an arrow and pick my path to shoot. All is well on my end except that these Bell County
rascals never get the same script I do and they head straight past the feeder and out towards a
nearby tank. Naturally I kept the camera rolling and waited patiently for my opportunity to strike,
but as luck would have it the spring growth was just too thick for my liking. I had been roaming
the woods for a good hour or so and decided to make my way to the stand I had picked out for
night hunt.
    I always make extra sure to slip into this sit as quiet as possible as it is highly likely
something will be at the feeder, probably hogs. As I approach I hear the rummaging and excited
breathing carrying down the thick road to where I stood; I offloaded some gear and set the pace
for my approach. In short time I had a visual of a half a dozen piglets and a sow chowing down
on the yellow candy I so graciously provide. With little awareness of what’s going on around
them, these focused little feeders allowed me to sneak in to within 30 yards of their allotted
dinner table. I was able to get in on hands and knees and set up my camera with a great angle of
the quarry in my sights. I had drawn my bow with my G5 Montec ready to find its mark in wiry
hair and flesh and to steady my shot I knelt forward to station my knee on softer ground. As luck
would have it, someone had placed a large dry leaf in the road and my knee made quite a ruckus
on contact. Well things went south in a hurry and the pigs instantly bolted for cover but as the
large sow rounded the feeder leg I decided to loose an arrow for the cameras sake; only 12 yards
into flight my arrow struck a cedar branch and plummeted dreadfully into the dirt leaving a
healthy hog free to terrorize some more.
   Discouraged and frustrated I gathered my gear and headed up the ladder only a few yards
from where I had set up my assault. It was still fairly early and I knew the odds of another visitor
were greatly in my favor. The weather was nice and the breeze was comfortable blowing directly
into my face just as I had suspected. I passed an hour or so by reading and watching the woods
work their magic as the evening sun began to set. On cue with the usual dinner bell a large
sounder of hogs came barreling down a trail from the creek pointed directly towards my feeder. I
was ecstatic when I saw the quickly growing number of bodies passing through the thick brush;
within seconds I had a few dozen dinner table sized hogs enjoying an evening snack twenty three
yards in front of me. I sat quietly and still for a few minutes just to be certain that there were no
bruiser boars hanging at the tree line like I have seen so many times before. Finally convinced I
began to roll footage and get my bow placed and ready for the shot. Ah how it pleases my
Mathews Z7 to be put forth into action so many times in one evening; I was steady and stealthy
as I drew the string and found my anchor on my cheek. The peep sight naturally fell into place on
the lower point of the elbow and a tasty little sow stood quartering away just to the left of the
feeder. My drawing motion had alerted a few other pigs who decided to take quick action and
abort their feeding frenzy, luckily my chosen target was a few seconds to late. The Gold Tip
arrow was set into flight on a deadly path; the kind of shot that you smile upon release knowing
exactly where the broadhead would enter and exit unscathed by any sort of shield or hard bone. It
was all in the snap of a finger; I heard the string stop, the arrow smack and the pig squealed an
agonizing death scream that satisfied my predatory senses. I heard the pigs split up and run in
every direction and moments later heard the distinct crash of a fallen animal. With a blood trail
that looked like a fire lane I was able to recover the kill in a matter of minutes; she had chosen a
thick pile of dead cedar to expire in. The drag out was quick and easy and all the more appealing
after such an eventful evening hunt. The red sow weighed in at ninety pounds and field dressed
into a perfect amount of meat for my freezer at home.
   Another wonderful experience in the woods where things feel into place just as they have
not so many times before. It is a hunt like this that makes me appreciate the fact that I am able to
take advantage of my freedoms as an American Citizen and a hunter in the wild woods of Texas.
God Bless out troops and thank you for your service and dedication to this country!

HERE'S THE VIDEO OF THE HUNT !

Gear List:

Bow: 2010 Mathews Z7 in 28.5 inch draw length and shooting 70 pounds

o Gold Tip XT Hunter 5575 arrow

o G5 Montec 100 grain Broadhead

o TruGlo Microbrite 5 pin Micro-Adjustable sight

o Trophy Taker Xtreme FC Top Slot arrow rest

o Hawglight Mini-Sniper red light (pictured but not used for kill)

o Sony DCR-SR65 40GBHandycam

o Primos The Truth camera arm