If you are a bow hunter and are looking for some real action, you
owe it to yourself to book a hunt at Steve Currin’s Hog Haven just
outside of Athens, TX. Partner and Hog Haven hunting guide, Luke
Clayton, had been telling me about his and Currin’s operation for a
few months and suggested that I come down and check it out after
deer season. It was everything it was touted to be, and more. I’ll
be back the very next chance I get.
Currin and Clayton’s operation has just over 50 acres of ideal—and I
do mean ideal—hog hunting habitat under high fence. But don’t let
the words “high fence” deter you or jade your thinking that this is
like shooting fish in a barrel. Far from it. The hunting area is
situated on a sloping hillside amongst hardwoods, dense plum
thickets, a well overgrown creek and bottom that meander through the
lower half of the property, small areas of open meadow for cold
weather sunning, and small stands of cedar that provide great cover
and respite for the hogs during the heat of the day. Add to that a
couple of wallows, some tangled blow-downs, and 6 well-placed stands
with feeders and you have—well—a hog haven.
I met Luke at the camp cabin about a mile from the hunting area on a
Wednesday afternoon about 2:00 p.m. It was perfect. The cabin was
clean, comfortably slept six, and came complete with a fridge,
stove, and bathroom with shower. Having spent many a night with far
less, I was already a happy camper. After chitchatting with Luke,
and stowing my bedroll and gear, Luke and I headed over to the
hunting area for the afternoon hunt. It was about 2:30.
I parked my truck at the gate, donned my Scent-Lok duds, and warmed
up by flinging a few arrows at the 3-D boar that was set up outside
of the fence. Luke then explained the game plan. We were going to
work the fence line in a northerly direction, head west along the
northern fence towards the hardwoods to get the wind in our favor,
and then work due south into the wind. This plan had us stalking
along the tree line, and then varying our stalk to work patches of
plum thicket. It was an excellent plan because, with two people,
the shooter can stay off to the side within sight and slightly ahead
of the driver. It was also an excellent plan because the woods
ended in a point, near a feeder at the end of the point. On the
other side of the feeder was a stand of cedar and dense cover—more
on this later.
As we executed our stalk I could feel the adrenaline working in me,
anticipating where I thought hogs might be bedded up, and
anticipating where I thought I might get a shot. That’s the
beauty of this type of stalk and shoot hunt. You just never
know what is going to happen, or when. The element of the
stalk keeps your senses sharp. It is both thrilling and
invigorating. To be sure, it is one of my favorite methods of
hunting and one of my favorite quarry to hunt with this method.
Nothing quite compares to staring down a 200 lb boar at 20 yards
when both you and he are on the ground.
We failed to jump any hogs during the initial stalk. Luke and I
then moved to a different part of the property for another stalk
along the creek bottom. No luck there either, but by the time we
finished that stalk I had gotten a pretty good lay of the land and
it was now about 4:30. Luke suggested that we move to stands for
what I call “the killin’ time,” the last hour of daylight.
Luke put me on a stand that was situated at the natural funnel
between the point of hardwoods and stand of cedar with dense cover. I
told you there would be more on this later. The hog trails leading
to the feeder from opposite sides were well worn and easy to see. I
waited. Just past sundown and still within legal shooting time, I
saw a dark shape in the cedar moving in my direction, then two, then
three, then four. By the time they moved in to the feeder, there
were twelve! They ranged in size from 50 lbs to 200 lbs. Then two
of the big boys arrived, at least 250 lbs, and probably closer to
300 lbs. Daylight was gone. I wanted to shoot. I raised my
Mathews LX. I could see their outlines under the feeder, but not
clearly. I could barely see my 20-yard pin. When I centered my pin
in my peep I couldn’t acquire the animal and the pin through the
peep. Not enough light. They would have to wait until the
morning. After a meal back at the cabin of pheasant and
sharp-tailed grouse over rice with gravy, shot in North Dakota and
expertly prepared by Luke, we turned in.
Thursday morning was all stalk and shoot. Luke and I decided to
work the densely overgrown creek bottom shortly after first light.
As we snuck and inched our way along, we heard some squeals moving
in our direction along the creek. They didn’t know we were there
yet. Luke motioned for me to stay put. He slowly started a wide
arc to nudge (not drive) the hogs in my direction. It was a lethal
plan. First I heard them, then I saw them, then a 150 lb boar
stepped out in front of me in a small clearing across the creek. I
raised, drew, and squeezed. The Carbon Express Terminator armed
with a 100 grain Grim Reaper mechanical found its mark behind the
shoulder plate, but deflected upward into the spine. The hog
dropped like a sack of corn, and let out a high-pitched squeal. A
second arrow put him out quickly. Luke heard the commotion and came
running. He was all smiles, and so was I. I love it when a stalk
and shoot plan comes together.
There are so many things that I liked about Hog Haven, it is hard to
say what I liked the most. That said, if you are looking for
five-star hotel-like accommodations you should book somewhere else.
But if you are looking for a great hog hunt where you can get as
much or as little guide supervision as you desire, then Hog Haven is
the place for you. You can hunt out of stands or stalk, or both.
Some of it will depend on how many are in your hunting party. You
will get two full days of hunting, accommodations, guide services,
and two hogs. You can dress them out and skin them yourself, or
have the guide do it for a reasonable fee. The facility also has a walk-in
cooler for meat storage until the end of your hunt. You will need
to bring a bedroll and towels, and your own hunting accoutrements.
For more information or to book a hunt at Hog Haven, contact Luke
Clayton at
972-476-8881 or visit his web site at
www.lukeclayton.com. (email
lclayton@koyote.com)
Or you call Steve Currin at 903-675-1109.
I parked my truck at the gate, donned my Scent-Lok duds, and warmed
up by flinging a few arrows at the 3-D boar that was set up outside
of the fence. Luke then explained the game plan. We were going to
work the fence line in a northerly direction, head west along the
northern fence towards the hardwoods to get the wind in our favor,
and then work due south into the wind. This plan had us stalking
along the tree line, and then varying our stalk to work patches of
plum thicket. It was an excellent plan because, with two people,
the shooter can stay off to the side within sight and slightly ahead
of the driver. It was also an excellent plan because the woods
ended in a point, near a feeder at the end of the point. On the
other side of the feeder was a stand of cedar and dense cover—more
on this later.
Luke put me on a stand that was situated at the natural funnel
between the point of hardwoods and stand of cedar with dense cover. I
told you there would be more on this later. The hog trails leading
to the feeder from opposite sides were well worn and easy to see. I
waited. Just past sundown and still within legal shooting time, I
saw a dark shape in the cedar moving in my direction, then two, then
three, then four. By the time they moved in to the feeder, there
were twelve! They ranged in size from 50 lbs to 200 lbs. Then two
of the big boys arrived, at least 250 lbs, and probably closer to
300 lbs. Daylight was gone. I wanted to shoot. I raised my
Mathews LX. I could see their outlines under the feeder, but not
clearly. I could barely see my 20-yard pin. When I centered my pin
in my peep I couldn’t acquire the animal and the pin through the
peep. Not enough light. They would have to wait until the
morning. After a meal back at the cabin of pheasant and
sharp-tailed grouse over rice with gravy, shot in North Dakota and
expertly prepared by Luke, we turned in.
There are so many things that I liked about Hog Haven, it is hard to
say what I liked the most. That said, if you are looking for
five-star hotel-like accommodations you should book somewhere else.
But if you are looking for a great hog hunt where you can get as
much or as little guide supervision as you desire, then Hog Haven is
the place for you. You can hunt out of stands or stalk, or both.
Some of it will depend on how many are in your hunting party. You
will get two full days of hunting, accommodations, guide services,
and two hogs. You can dress them out and skin them yourself, or
have the guide do it for a reasonable fee. The facility also has a walk-in
cooler for meat storage until the end of your hunt. You will need
to bring a bedroll and towels, and your own hunting accoutrements.