Myself and 10 others are heading down to Dilley, Texas Thursday after work. We plan on trying to thin the hog and coon population this weekend and make sure the stands are ready for the upcoming deer season. Its been DRY and HOT down there as with most of the rest of Texas. We plan on setting pop ups on the remaining water holes hoping to ambush the hogs coming to water. We usually don't hunt the water sources for deer but we make exceptions for the hogs. Will post up (hopefully) the numerous pigs killed this weekend. It will beat working and all though it will be a long exhausting weekend, we hope to recharge our batteries to get ready for our year end push at work.

Good luck on the hunting, and be careful with the heat.

Of course, there is an upside to hunting in that extreme heat: the tenderloins are medium-well before you get back to camp.

Oh my goodness it was hot. 15 hogs killed, 5 at night after the moon was up and the rest eiter at sunrise or sun set. Got to ctch up at work will report details and pictures ASAP. Still got to catch up on my sleep. Going to bed after 2 am and getting up at five for the last three days is killing me.

All that lost sleep is a terrible price to pay for all that fun!!!!

Glad you had a good one--I sat last night and only saw a coon and a doe.

quote:

Originally posted by dustoffer:
All that lost sleep is a terrible price to pay for all that fun!!!!

Glad you had a good one--I sat last night and only saw a coon and a doe.

No doubt about that! It's a price I am always willing to pay!

Will I looked at my notes and we killed 16 pigs with two big boars going 250# and 260#. Yes the lack of sleep is worth it. I count myself very lucky to be able to have the opportunity to hunt as often as I can in South Texas.

To the hunt, and my six pigs. Friday morning I had a small boar in my cross hairs when another animal walked across the field of view, I looked up to see what it was but it had already walked into the woods, as I got back on the small boar it just bolted and was gone. That night after the evening hunt with no luck, I went to check on the pig trap we set and wanted to set at a water hole for a while. Nothing in the trap, but I did run off a large hog under one of the feeders. I eased the truck down to the next stand and at about 200 yards I could see pigs under the feeder. I stopped the truck and got my 22-250 out with the scope light and started walking towards the feeder. At about 75 yards I turned the red light on and they scattered. I turned the light off and waited for a minute and noticed they came back out. I eased up to within about 50 yards and noticed I could see the pigs and cross hairs without the light. I waited to get one profiled just right and pulled the trigger, DRT. I went back, got the truck and loaded up the sow. Drove to the next stand and there were four pigs under another feeder, same thing, saw them at 200 yards, parked truck, and walked to about forty yards and dropped a pig DRT. Grabbed the truck and loaded the small boar and realized everyone would be a sleep and not help me clean the pigs so quit hunting to go put these two into the cooler. I have to give credit to my BIL, he did get out of bed and come assist me in cleaning the hogs, thanks Alfred.

The next mourning (Saturday) I set in a tripod that I had set up on a fence line where I had been seeing pigs cross. I had some small meat pigs come out at 60 yards and start moving through the brush to me, as they came to an opening at 40 yards I adjusted my angle to them and the chair squeaked, one took off but another peaked out from under a tree and my STW about took his head off, 140 grn Berger bullet at 3300 fps left an exit would that was unreal. About another hour passes and a group crossed the fence line at about 200 yards and I put one down just as it hit the brush line. I was not able to lead as the pigs head was already into the bush so she walked into the bullet as it hit her rear hind quarter. I got the truck and loaded the first pig and noticed that the second one was gone. I trailed it into the brush and she took two more 22-250 bullets to seal the deal, she had a strong will to live that one.

That night the group decided to stay out in their stands until about midnight. I walked down from my stand just before dark and checked out a small pond that still had water, stood there for about twenty minutes and headed back to my stand. As I was walking away I felt something, turned around and there was a hog staring at me, I waited until it settled down and headed to the water, I quickly took a sitting position and put the cross hair upon him and just as I squeezed the trigger the pig rolled over in its wallow and I just shot over him, oh well. I went back to the stand to wait for the moon to rise, about 10:30, enough light was being cast that I could see about six pigs under one feeder and I kept thinking I could see a pig in the shadows of the other feeder. Finally the moon rose enough that I was sure of the lone object in the shadows was a pig and it was a big one. I eased out of the stand and stalked to with in 40 yards. We were both in the same shadows and it was difficult to get the AO adjusted to clearly see the pig, he finally stepped out into the light enough for me to put the cross hairs on him and let the 7mm STW bark. The muzzle blast blinded me for a bit and I finally was able to see that he dropped in his tracks.

The next morning (SundAY) I set in a pop up at a water hole, nothing but a coyote came in before I could see well with the scope reticule. I finally got up and broke down the blind and headed to the truck, another coyote kept barking in some woods behind a nearby field so I decided to see if I could call it in. That didn't work but a group of meat pigs moved under a feeder in the field. I stalked up to within about 120 yards before on of the pigs didn't like my looks and started for the brush with the others on his tale. I took a rushed shot and missed, then connected to another on a dead run. Found good blood and trailed for a while, but I really didn't want to find this hog as we were fixing to break camp, I decided to let the coyotes have this one.

All in all it was a slower year than the past, either we are finally making a small dent or the drought is hurting the population or a little of both. We took 95 pigs off this property this year, not bad and a lot of fun.



First pig


140 grn berger at 40 yards 3300 fps wow


Part of morning haul



My 250# boar, I'm 6'-5"


Our two biggest hogs, 265# left, 250# right

Nice work Harold! Congratulations and thanks for posting the report and pictures! Now I am ready to get back out there.....if only......