Survival Arts

Hog Hunting in East Texas, by Franklin D. van Ardoy Jr. (part 1 of 2)

[This is the first of two articles contributed by my friend Franklin David Van Ardoy Jr. - Russell]

The most exciting hunt of my life occurred late last month, March 2006, in Texas. My friend Frank Maestri invited me to the family ranch in Mount Pleasant for a week of hunting feral hogs. I took my Browning BAR in .30-06 with a Tasco Illuminated Reticle Scope. I had zeroed the rifle and scope with 150 gr. Winchester Power Point bullets. Frank used his new lightweight Weatherby in .25-06. Both rifles were up to the task of hunting the big fields of the ranch.

The first four days of the hunt were unproductive. Only Frank’s father, Mike, saw a hog. He shot the young boar through the heart at 75 yards with his .243 caliber “truck rifle.” The constant rain of the first half of my visit drove the animals into the dense woods along the creek and the river. Apparently, feral hogs do not like cold, heavy rain and they were seeking cover. The hogs did not begin to appear until the day after the rain slowed to a gentle shower.

The first encounter with a group of hogs left us without meat. The animals ran for the woods from the field in which we found them rooting. Both hogs ran for the woods before Frank and I could get into a good shooting position. The second encounter with hogs in the field was just as disappointing. The hogs, mostly young and not yet weaned, followed a trench along the fence separating one of the large fields from the wooded creek bed. To get a shot would have required actually moving to the edge of the trench. No other angle provided a good shot. We could have gotten a good shot had we went to the fence and waited for them to return.

After unsuccessful hunts with our rifles in the fields, I spotted a coyote in one of the fields. I called Frank’s attention to it and when he saw it, at 200 yards or so, he stopped the truck and grabbed the rifle. The coyote was running at top speed perpendicular to our direction of travel. Frank suddenly said that he would lead it by five feet. He fired just before the coyote ran behind a small rise. The animal appeared on the other side of the rise with something hanging from its midsection. The 115 gr. bullet had eviscerated it. Upon inspection, we noticed that the bullet had passed through the front paw prior to impact on the lower abdomen. The bullet’s path opened the abdomen from side to side. We left the coyote for the buzzards.

It was then that we got good news. Frank’s friend Clayton Cameron called to see if we were interested in hunting hogs with dogs. This is the hunt I had anticipated the most: fast, furious, dangerous and very bloody. I had no idea exactly how exhilarating the chase and kill would be.

Clayton came to the ranch with his crew and gear. His crew consisted of his capable and amiable friends Justin and Chris. The non-human part of the crew consisted of several hounds, two muscular Pit Bulls, four-wheel ATVs, and a trailer that transports all of these items. The trailer itself was very impressive: a compartment for each of the two ATVs, a cage for the hounds, and one small cage each for the Pit Bulls. Clayton even had room for beer! On the hunt, each dog and human had a job and all must work together in order for the hunt to be successful. The method of this hunt, available in another article, impressed me so much that I will never forget it. I told Clayton and his friends at the end of the hunt that I had engaged in some exciting activities, such as diving with barracuda and skydiving, but nothing was as exhilarating as hog hunting with dogs.

The last day of my hunt was actually productive. Frank and I drove to the woods by the nearly dry creek. We entered at different points and followed separate tracks. I followed tracks of fifteen to thirty hogs, probably the latter as the trail separated into three trails making it easier to count. The trails converged into a single trail before entering a thicket. It was here that I found the hogs.

I first sought a position between the thicket and the creek, knowing that the pigs might seek cover by running into the creek bed. Then upon realizing that the hogs were all in a long ditch that ran through the far side of the thicket, I changed locations. I found the trail that entered the thicket and moved a few yards into the dense woods. The position I decided to take gave me a clear shot at any hog appearing at the top of the ditch along the trail. It was the best location I could identify in such short time. This was going to be my ambush point, about 15 yards from my position. One hog walked out of the area it had just rooted and onto the trail. It walked to the beginning of the rise then stopped. There were too many trees and bushes in the way to make a shot so I waited. After a few minutes, the hog turned and walked back along the ditch. I waited for more movement deep in the thicket. Several minutes later, another hog followed nearly the same course. It, too, stopped at the beginning of the rise. After five minutes, it walked back along the ditch. At no time could I get a clean shot.

At this time, I was getting a little anxious. I was determined to take the first reasonable shot rather than wait for a clean shot not at all obstructed by grasses and very thin branches. I had to wait no more than two minutes before a huge sow walked up the bank out of the ditch no more than 20 yards beyond my ambush point. There were only tall grasses between us so I was prepared to fire. The sow stopped on the other side of two trees: one barely covering her snout, the other at her shoulder. That was the profile I needed, so I took the shot.

The shot entered the sow’s neck just behind the ear. She fell over dead, the only movement being twitching of the lower legs. It was a good, clean, instantaneous kill.

The bullet probably struck some grass or a very thin branch before reaching my target. The entrance wound was at least .40 inch in diameter and the exit wound was only very slightly larger. The sow was really big. She probably provided 125 lbs. of meat for my freezer.

As I walked out of the woods to meet Frank, I saw three large and fifteen small hogs in a clearing. The shot would have been easy. But I already had enough work ahead of me with the huge sow I had shot earlier. There was no need to shoot another one.

Recommendations for Those Unfamiliar with East Texas

1. Wear thick clothing and gloves for protection against the thorns. It is only a problem when on an ATV. You can remove the heavy, thick clothing and gloves before walking on the hunt.

2. Do not use a light bullet. Use the heaviest bullet you can find in your caliber of choice. My 150 gr. bullet was probably too light for the thick woods.

3. Use an illuminated reticle or illuminated dot scope. Once you are in the thick woods, there is very little light. An illuminated reticle stands out against the background.

4. Wear tall rubber boots. Tuck your pants into the boots to avoid getting wet and cold.

5. Take a flashlight or a headlamp. You are likely to walk out of the woods after it has become too dark to navigate without an artificial light source.

6. Take the ATVs with you to the hunting location. Do not leave them only to have to return for them if you get game.

7. Drink plenty of water. The humidity gives you a false impression that you are properly hydrated.

8. Decide whether you want a meat hog, a trophy hog, or the first hog to present a good shot. You may find that you have clear shots on twenty hogs in the same area, but you may only get off one shot.

9. Use a semi-automatic rifle rather than a bolt action rifle. There are times when a quick second shot will bring down a second hog as they do not always run far upon hearing the first shot.

10. Hunt the woods. That is where you find hogs hiding and eating. They only rarely eat in the fields. Hunt the fields during travel to the woods and during low light hours.

11. Walk very slowly while following sign. Hogs are loud during rooting.

12. Identify an ambush location, or if possible multiple locations, from a comfortable shooting location. Stay still and wait for the hogs to come to you.

13. Hunt the fence line. Hogs appear to feel secure while walking the fence line.

14. Be very patient. Hogs will appear along a trail where you see their hoof prints. It is only a matter of time.

Posted by Russell Whitaker at May 14, 2006 05:43 PM | TrackBack