But not one I am proud of!

Had two hunters in this past week and the only damn pigs we saw were 8 smaller pigs divided between 2 traps waiting to be loaded and taken to the buyer.

We made 5 seperate hunts over 3 days and never saw a pig. Saw plenty of deer and they all looked in good shape.

Guides are always full of excuses and the only one I have is that this area has experienced the strangest weather patterns for ANY September in my memory and that of all the other folks that I have talked to that live in the area.

In the past month, in this area alone we have had between 8 and 12 inches of rain, about 2 inches fell while the hunters were here so we were limited as to where we could go.

All the vegetation has greened up, including the freshly sown wheat, which was another strike.

Our Archery season started today, which meant more folks had started up their feeders in the past 30 to 45 days or so and on top of all that we had a big old bright Comanche Moon every night, so when it wasn't actually raining, you could go out at midnight anmd damn near read a newspaper.

Since I have not had a hunter on the properties since early June, I figured we would have gotten a copuple of pigs or at least seen pigs, but it didf not happen.

That is why I say it was a record because to the best of my memory this is the only hunt were we did not see any pigs let alone get off a shot at one.

Around here, not only is everything green but the live oak acorns are all over the ground! Pig pictures are few and far between. Pigs are even scarcer. Between the bugs and rain the acorns will rot fairly quick. Full moon, crazy wind, and too much food: Pigs 6, me 0!

With the exception of the acorns, we don't have a lot of oaks over much of this area.

These are a few the skeeters haven't skewered and choppered away!












ya!


GWB

I would have given anything to have been in that situation.

I know that I can not make pigs show up where I have my clients set up, but to not even see one is painful.

Whether the client can put their shot where it needs to go and these two individuals proved on the first afternoon that at 100 yards they were more than capable of getting the job done, IF they had something to shoot at.

quote:

Originally posted by Crazyhorseconsulting:
I would have given anything to have been in that situation.

I know that I can not make pigs show up where I have my clients set up, but to not even see one is painful.

Whether the client can put their shot where it needs to go and these two individuals proved on the first afternoon that at 100 yards they were more than capable of getting the job done, IF they had something to shoot at.

It happens!

You and I know that it ain't like ringing a dinner bell. This is six miles in off HWY 77, 3 miles south of Woodsboro Texas. Sixty thousand acres of low fence/no fence surrounded my hundreds of square miles of cattle ranches and cropland. It ain't like they gotta show up to survive! Back during July and
August I had a period of about two months where I had no pix of hogs after 7:15 in the AM and before approx midnight at this very same location. They went elsewhere.

Whenever I have folks down to hunt with me, I tell them up front, the only thing I will guarantee is that I will bust my Azz to make sure they have an opportunity, adult beverages, good grub, a dry bunk and A/C.

ya!


GWB

GWB
That's some of the bigger hogs I've
seen posted here.
That one on the 15th, just his butt shown
behind the feeder leg looks like a monster.

Any guess what that one might weigh?

Randall: don't knock yourself out man.
That happens a lot, maybe not to you.

George

I'm probably the worlds worst at predicting what a hoglet will weigh. IMHO pigs are one of the critters that folks considerably over-estimate weight. I typically fall into that category. If I'm curious, I use a scale and weigh them.

If I get a chance to perforate this guy, and recover the carcass, I'll put him on the scale.

A couple more "shots"







ya!



GWB

If a hog or deer is shot, it is loaded up and taken to the cabin where we weigh it. We don't gut anything in the field.

It is just a practice we started a couple of years back, just out of curiosity mainly.

JMO, the places I've hunted in Texas, bringing the animal back whole to camp for gutting and skinning seems to be local custom.

The "Roche Division" where I hunt just south of Woodsboro is an intensely managed working cattle ranch. They move cows by helicoptor from pasture to pasture depending on the time of year and breeding cycle (from what I've observed this last year! Bulls are kept in a separate pasture and only mixed with the cows when its time to breed. If you leave a gate open and cows get in a different pasture than where they are sequestered, you get a bill for the helicopter time. Rules are you bring all animals back to camp for skinning, jaws from does are taken along with live weight data. Bucks are scored before you leave. Carcases and offal are taken a half-mile or so away to the "bone yard". If a deer is not recovered they bring in dogs. Buzzards are a keen indicator of a dead critter, specially one the size of a cow.

ya!

GWB

We are not quite that intense but do somewhat similar.

quote:

Originally posted by Crazyhorseconsulting:
We are not quite that intense but do somewhat similar.

I've mentioned I have much more fun at my "Beer Lease".

As many hoglets,













and a lot more fun!




ya!

GWB

I'm deep into withdrawal - haven't seen a pig in the last month - live or on camera! We have 9 corral traps with cameras covering them and trapped about 350 hogs last year, but no pictures on any of them. The deer and raccoons are enjoying the corn instead. If I had to live outdoors after all this rain the Hill Country has received (and the resulting mosquito crop), I would be hiding in a hole or covered in mud except for a couple of hours in the middle of each day. Haven't fed the skeeters this much since the day I lost my bug juice in the Altamaha swamp in Georgia!

GWB, I like your pig-loader, that's a good idea.
Lots of acorns in Navarro County, seems like every oak tree has dropped a ton of 'em. Havent seen many pigs in the last month or so, although my son shot a pretty good one last week. Pigs and deer have been noticeably absent from my feeders, plenty of coons but few deer or pigs on camera. I broke out the secret weapon yesterday, I mixed one bag of Record rack Golden Deer Nuggets to three bags of corn in the feeders, usually only takes a couple of days before the pigs start using the feeders again, the berry smell really seems to attract them. I'll check camera cards Thurs or Fri and will be surprised if there aren't a bunch of pig pictures.

Damned near looks like twins!!

George

Sorry you're having a dry spell for hogs. Got any cameras to put out at other parts of the property? Got to be hogs somewhere.

quote:

Originally posted by Crazyhorseconsulting:
But not one I am proud of!

Had two hunters in this past week and the only damn pigs we saw were 8 smaller pigs divided between 2 traps waiting to be loaded and taken to the buyer.

The problem has corrected itsself, now that I do not have any hunters in!!!! Starting when the two hunters were here for the hunt I described and had that roiund of rain, we are continuing to have rain spells move thru and now the weather has cooled off and the pigs are moving all day.

It is simply the way hunting goes, but I really like seeing my clients kill some pigs.

I continue to maintain that on low fenced/no fenced properties where spin cast feeders are used to attract deer and hogs, just because the dinner bell rings, it don't mean that critters are going to show up.

Acorns are dropping now and where I was seeing deer and hogs all night long and for a portion of the day, almost nothing for the last week or so. Only been the last two days that I'm starting to see critters again.

I like the saying, "that's why they call it hunting, not shooting!

ya!

GWB

I agree with that to a point, the point being we really do not have that many oaks in this area. The vast majority of our trees so to speak in this area are mesquites/hackberriers/cedar elms along with a scattering of Live Oaks and Native Pecans.

On the properties I hunt and on bthe surrounding properties there really are not enough oaks to hold any hogs or deer or turkeys away from the feeders.

We had plenty of deer coming into the feeders every time we went out. Not having a hog killed bothers me, but that is life, not seeing ANY hogs is highly unusual, to the point that this is the First tyime I can think of that happening.

Ah yeah. That's the way the mop flops sometimes.
Nice to hear 'em out and about.

quote:

Originally posted by Crazyhorseconsulting:
The problem has corrected itsself, now that I do not have any hunters in!!!! Starting when the two hunters were here for the hunt I described and had that roiund of rain, we are continuing to have rain spells move thru and now the weather has cooled off and the pigs are moving all day.

It is simply the way hunting goes, but I really like seeing my clients kill some pigs.

Today was a great example, while making my daily rounds I saw 20 to 30 pigs of varioius sizes including one 230 to 250 pound boar that let me get within 50 yards of before hauling ass.

Nice!

It would have been a lot nicer if I could have run on to that sucker whem my last clients were here.

I'm hoping that this one will be dead meat by this time next Friday!




ya!


GWB

Hope you get te chance.

So do I,

I'm sufferin' a terrible case of SDD (Shooting Deficit Disorder).

I don't think I've killed a hoglet in a month.

Every time I think I'm gonna get out of town something happens.

I thought I would go Thursday, then Friday. Now it looks like next Wednesday.

I'ma itchin' anna scratchin'

ya!

GWB

During a 10 mile or so stretch of my Rain Gauge run on the 19th., yesterday I saw 3 dozen or so hogs, between Noon and 1:30 p.m.

It was still cloudy with a light rain falling and the pigs and deer were moving!

I've no shortage of hoglets on my game cam pix.

I've also seen them out and about in the mid morning.

ya!

GWB

After a dry spell with few pigs I started with the deer nuggets and the pigs returned quickly. With the start of deer season a week or so away, I spread 50 lbs of deer nuggets close to one of my stands and last Wednesday it looked like the ground had been plowed by the pigs (I have cell photos if I can figure out how to post). On Saturday, opening day, there was no shortage of pigs waiting for the feeder to go off and when it did go off a group of 22 joined those at the feeder (should have game camera pics of those)and promptly started chasing the deer that came to the feeder. The pigs came and went most of the morning and chased any deer that were around, so...I started shooting them, the sows and boars first then the little ones. When the shooting was done I had gotten 11 of them. That's a record for me. I shot them with a suppressed AR-15 and a suppressed .22 LR, when I shot the AR they would run off and come back in a minute or two. With the .22 LR and CCI standard velocity ammo most times they didn't even run (7 with the AR and 4 with the .22). On Sunday morning there were no pigs so I guess they got the message, but there were plenty of deer. In the past, when I've shot them up they vacate the area for a couple of weeks.

Here are a couple of photos...3 like the big one and 8 of the little ones...

Deer nuggets, go figure.
Nice pile o' hogs Karl. Sounds like fun.

quote:

Originally posted by Geedubya:
I'm hoping that this one will be dead meat by this time next Friday!




ya!


GWB

Well,

He is dead meat, (at least I think this is the same hoglet) but my buddy shot him last Saturday morning, opening day of rifle seeason.



This picture was taken about 5' to the right of the location of the picture above.

Another one bites the dust!


ya!


GWB

Either way, a dead hog is a Good Hog!!!

Stocky bugger. Might go 180#?

Photos of the ground where I spread the golden deer nuggets

Most of this part of Young county looks like that.

Yes. Gato's place in the N.E. had a lot of that stuff as well.

Well GDub:
What did that sucker weigh??
Since you kill so many, it's great to see your buddy got that big one. Still: what did he weigh??
'
Karl: Damn, they must like those nuggets!

Now you know how to get the field plowed over night. Ha!

Great pics guys. Lets see more,

George