Hog hunt

[K3]

I just got back from a South Texas hog hunt. I got 3 pigs, the largest of which was a 150# sow with a lot of fat. She should be some good eatin'.

I didn't use a rifle or even a bow. We used dogs to locate and pin the animal, and when the catch dogs got it down, I stuck it in the heart with a knife.

What an incredible hunt. I was down there to do some varmint hunting, but conditions were not favorable, so the guide and I changed gears and decided to do this instead.

Anybody else ever hunt hogs like this?

 

[magnumman44]

Where in South Texas? I hunted them on the Junco last spring, but we used pistols.

 

[K3]

Between Uvalde and Crystal City.

 

[Dksimon]

Never been hog hunting but it sounds like a good time. I dont think i am brave enough to stab one tho!

 

[K3]

I didn't think I was either, but the guy talked me into it. Now, I plan to make an annual trip out of it.

I watched one of his videos yesterday. They had a big boar, and that pig was throwing dogs all over the place. Now THAT would have been exciting!

 

[Bear2000]

Can you give us some more details, like the ranch and the cost? How about butchering the animals - was the a service that was provided, and was it well done?

I'm going to be passing through that way this summer and am thinking of getting a hunt in.

 

[K3]

http://www.fourseasonshunting.org/trophywildhog.htm

Butchering is not provided. The guide has access to many ranches in the area. I was on one that had a scorpion on the gate. Can't remember the name though. I did the cheaper 'meat hunt'. Next time, I think I'll go after one of the big boars on the trophy hunt. I want to see the pit bulls really work.

 

[Harley Quinn]

Sounds like a real good time and plenty of excitment, bet you were pumped up afterwards

 

[K3]

Sounds like a real good time and plenty of excitment, bet you were pumped up afterwards

That's putting it mildly! I remember somebody mentioning this type of hunt on THR a while back, and I thought 'That's crazy!'. I never thought I'd do it.

Then I just did. That big sow I got put up a heckuva fight. The small pit had her throat clamped though, and I don't think even a big boar could have shook that dog loose. Even after I killed the hog, he wouldn't let go. The guide used a break stick to get the dog off, and then I had to pull the dog over to a tree and tie him off. He nearly broke a 2-1/2 inch mesquite! Biggest tree I could find, so I'm glad it held.

When I stuck the hog and turned the knife, one of the blackmouth curs started licking and nibbling on my hand. He told me they would try to do that. Didn't hurt, and I just rotated my arm in and kind of nudged the dog away.

When the dogs get the pig, you hear the fight. Then you charge through the brush and mesquite and take care of business. The nastier sounding the fight, the bigger the pig is likely to be. When we started in towards the big one, the guide said it would be a decent one. I can only imagine what a 3 or 4 hundred pound boar would be like.

 

[MCgunner]

The guy I ran dogs with, we used a filet knife and stuck 'em in the carotid. They died pretty quick. It's sorta scarey doing a big bore. I stood back and let him do it while I had my hand on my .45. LOL! I did a sub 200 lb pig or three. Chasing dogs is an athletic endeavor. Best to be in decent shape. I haven't done it in quite a while. Probably kill me, now, LOL! Of course, we were chasing 'em in rice fields, about the worst possible place to try to walk, let alone run.

 

[K3]

Well, I dropped the big hog off at the butcher. He called and said that it had a stink to it when whe went to skinning it. It had abcess (sp) behind both shoulders and in many other spots. So, the meat was no good. She must have had some kind of infection.

Dagnabbit, I was looking forward to some ham.

 

[Harley Quinn]

I have seen that before also, those pigs running wild are some rank animals. The older males always have an odor to them because of the testosterone. I knew a guy that ate the meat with a special sauce to hide the taste and odor. He was older about 70, said it helped keep his testosterone levels up.

That was 35 years ago when he told me that, now that I read about the loss of the big T in older men, I wonder if he was right or not

 

[MCgunner]

I ain't killed one yet that wasn't good. The boars stink a bit, they have ticks on 'em that can be irritation when you're skinnin' 'em. I get 'em skinned an on ice, though, asap especially in the heat of spring/summer.

 

[koja48]

Sounds exciting & you get a man-pin for that hunt! Never hunted hogs before, but would like to . . . at 60-years-young, howsomever, if I ever get the chance I reckon my knife will have a trigger on it. Well done.