RE: First hog with a bow
 

I started my quest seriously about 6 weeks ago. Took aerial photos and used them in conjuntion with the landowner plat as I drove the county roads looking for sign. From that I made a list of likely suspects to call and ask permission to hunt. Once permission was secured then I began stand selection, setup, etc.

I hung my stands, laid my pig pipe, and waited. For several weeks I had nothing, then all of a sudden I was getting hammered hard every night. I let that rock on for a week or so, then it was time. Saturday before lunch I took my gamecam down, and put up my feederlight. I got home and checked the times on the pics, and knewwe would have to be there early.

I took my bow, and Dad a 12 ga with 00 buckshot. We had two stands 10 feet up and 18 yards out from the pipe, close enought together we could whisper to each other. As the sun went down the feederlight kicked on, bathing the area in a sinister red glow. We didn't have long to wait. The hogs came in, cautiously at first, but then they settled down and began to feed. I stood there, with my sight pin light on, waiting for the right shot. The red glow of the feederlight gave the whole area a hellish aspect, appropriate for the task at hand. Finally, the right shot presented itself.

The string came back, the sight pin settled. I punched the button for my Hawglite, and as the blue beam lanced through the night I knew my aim was good. The arrow lept off the string, the lumenock burning a trail through the air like a missle, following the razor sharp 4 blade stinger through both shoulders and out the other side. Pigs scattered in all directions, and soon all was quiet but for the eerie death moans of the dyinghog some distance away.

I told dad we needed to stay quiet, because there was another group of hogs we hadn't seen yet. He told me if they came in to shoot again, he would rather watch me than shoot one himself. After 30 minutes or so we had our wish.

Another group was coming in. As they entereed the kill zone I drew my bow, only to find I had pulled a rookie mistake! I was at full draw, but hadn't turned on my light for my sight pins! I'm pretty sure I could have made the shot, it would have been a slam dunk with the light on, but I decided to let down and turn it on. As I did I accidentally touched dads stand with my bow and instantly the hogs were on the alert. As they backed out to leave, dad decided it was now or never and dropped the second pig of the night with a load of 00 to the back of the head. All in all a very successful night for the first time out.

RE: First hog with a bow
 

Nice hog and great story. I wish we had them wild here in Va.

RE: First hog with a bow
 

Good story. Good idea on the scouting and landowner contact methode, very thought - through. My mother in law is a real estate appraiser, I should use her computer software to find some good places and contacts.

Great hog!

RE: First hog with a bow
 

Around here they use the dry creekbeds as a highway system to access the cropland they use for food. They cruise the creekbeds, bedding where they want to untill that food souce is gone, then they move on. Very nomadic, you can't evenbegin to put them in the same behavior pattern as deer. Being on the rolling plains of Texas, our roads are set up on a1 square mile grid running N-S and E-W, most of the properties are in square blocks, so it makes it real easy to scout out and really get to know the area. On the aerial photos the creekbeds really stand out onthe cropland. So you just drive to where one crosses the county road, and look for tracks, If so, drive around to the other side and see if they come out again. You can get a real good idea what they are doing real fast. But then you must react, because if you wait too long they will be gone and you have to go looking again.