Early Season Pigs | Buffalo, TX
We decided to take a weekend trip to my stepdad's ranch a couple hours away to finish setting up some stands and hunt some pigs to prepare for my elk hunt in a couple of weeks. I wanted to get a kill under my belt to build some confidence with it being the beginning of the season. Well, it was my lucky weekend, because I came home with TWO! All within 24 hours!
Saturday morning my husband dropped me off at the "cubby hole" treestand right at 6:00am. This is earlier than I normally get in because he was hunting on the other side of the land. I kid you not, 4 minutes later, a sounder of 9 hogs came running in. I couldn't believe what I was seeing, or should I say NOT seeing? It was so dark still and I obviously coudn't see my sites yet. All I could see was a big black blob about 20 yards in front of me and I could hear them going to town on that corn he just put out. 15 minutes go by and I grab my bow hoping my site would pick up the tiny bit of natural light coming through the trees. I could barely see my first pin, but as I drew back and pointed at the biggest hog I could see, the glow of the site disappeared. I could only pick up the green if I held my bow toward the light, so I had to let off. This was GREAT practice for me because you never know when you'll have to let off with animals all around you. It's not something I like to practice because of how it pulls my shoulder muscles, but it's necessary. Luckily, it didn't scare them at all. About 5 minutes went by and I began to worry that the corn was almost gone. I came to full draw again and was able to make a clean ethical shot at a sow. I was shooting a Helix broadhead because a fixed blade is required for my elk hunt and I needed a test round. Although we typically shoot Rage broadheads, I am extremely impressed with the results of this broadhead. I had a complete passthrough, even going through the shoulder. The Helix provided an awesome blood trail and she ran about 40 yards then crashed into the brush.
I stayed in the stand for another hour and a half hoping another pig would come in but I ended up seeing 1 spike, 1 doe, and a fawn until my husband came around the corner. During this time I was getting eaten alive by mosquitos, worse than I've ever experienced. When you bow hunt, it's extremely important to not carry any strange scents with you, but I had to do something! We ran into town and picked up 2 Thermacell Mosquito Repellents to try during the evening hunt. They worked fantastic! I had does walking less than 10 yards from me that weren't alarmed at all by the smell. I found this strange because it was SO strong to me, but it works and I didn't have a single bite until after I turned the device off. You just can't beat it!
Saturday evening I headed to my stand around 5:45pm. I had a couple does and a spike that hung out the whole evening hunt and they were really spooked by the slightest sound or movement. They kept their eyes on me almost the entire time which really tested my ability to sit still as I poured sweat and my legs were falling asleep. I had my Ozonics with me to help cover up the smell of my sweat. Right before dark, when I thought NOTHING was going to show up, a boar came in by himself. He sounded like a deer, going slower than normal and being real cautious, so I didn't even have my bow in hand. He came straight to the base of my tree, snorting real loud and running off. He did this multiple times and circled my tree. I thoroughly enjoyed watching this, it made me laugh to myself! He knew something was up, but he couldn't figure out what it was. He went into the brush and circled back to the feeder. All the movement in the brush caught the attention of the deer in front of me, and I took that opportunity to stand up and grab my bow. It's SO important to make sure the animals around you aren't focused on you, and it can be extremely challenging when there are multiple sets of eyes. I saw the boar about to come out of the brush and came to full draw. He couldn't of eaten 3 pieces of corn when I released my arrow. It was so close to dark that I couldn't waste any time. I made a perfect heart shot using a Thunderhead broadhead. It's really important to me to test different broadheads on pigs before I ever try them on a deer, elk, etc. I didn't get a complete passthrough, but he did 3 full spins and ran into the brush. It left a great blood trail and the pig ran about 65 yards.
WHAT I LEARNED:
1. Do NOT track a wounded hog without some sort of defense, other than a bow. I found it difficult to crawl through the thick brush with my bow ready. I should've had my .45 S&W with me and honestly it's such a rookie move for me not to have it. Pigs tend to be very dangerous when backed into a corner. Lucky for me, he was expired and no harm was done.
2. Always bring a Thermacell Mosquito Repellent with me during early season hunts, especially in Texas! I am covered in bites from Saturday morning's hunt. It was tough to be camoflauged when you're swatting at mosquitos left and right.
