The summer months have faded
away, and deer season is still three weeks away. What are we supposed to do?
Well, we got lucky and got an invitation from Buster Vickers to hunt
Tasajillo
Bowhunting Ranch in Sweetwater, Texas. After a short four-hour drive, my
hunting partner and friend Don Sherpy and me found the ranch and headed to the
bunkhouse. Now, the bunkhouse is really a nice house that is set up to
accommodate seven hunters. All you need to bring is food and bedroll because
everything else is provided. After we unloaded our gear, Buster who owns and
runs Tasajillo, had just come in from setting up a stand and greeted
Don Sherpy and me.
After some small talk, we
loaded up in the ranch truck for a tour of the property. At one spot, Buster
stopped the truck to tell us about some really nice Axis bucks that like to bed
down in this part of the ranch. We looked around but did not see any Axis, so
we moved on only to stop a few minutes later to see a very nice 20 plus inch
axis buck running away. The ranch is covered in prickly pear patches, mesquite
flats and tasajillo cactus, which will make for some serious hunting.
After driving around awhile, we
spotted a really nice black buck in the CRP field. Don said he wanted an
opportunity at this buck, so Buster drove to a corner of the ranch where this
buck liked to cross over into the mesquite trees for cover. Once the blind was
setup, we drove around to a small pond that Buster said would be a good spot for
my hunt tonight. There was lots of hog sign, so I decided I would hunt there
this night. I spread out some corn around the pond and then it was time to go
back for our gear.
Buster dropped Don off first
and then me. Once I was on the stand, it was not long before I saw a young
Fallow buck working his way to the pond. I was after hogs, so this Fallow was
safe. Give this Fallow another year, and he will look great on my wall. The
Fallow walked a zigzag pattern only to get down wind of me and decided it was
not safe and left in a hurry.
 Well, I was not alone for long
because I could see three more Fallow bucks working their way to the pond. This
time the Fallow bucks came right in, and I got a good look at two future trophy
bucks and one trophy buck. The one Fallow buck had at least 28-inch main beams
and hand size palmations. I figured these bucks would stand at the edge of the
pond and drink, but no, they walked right in up to their bellies and started
drinking. After about 40 minutes of drinking water and eating the corn I had put
out, the Fallows moved off. The sun was fading fast and this evening's hunt was
coming to an end. I called Don on my walkie-talkie and told them to come get
me. Buster and Don picked me up we headed back to the bunkhouse. Back at the
house, Don said he did not see the black buck, but still had a nice evening
hunt.
After supper, we sat around and
told some stories and planned where we would hunt for tomorrow. I decided to
hunt over a feeder and Don was going back to the Double Bull Blind. The game
plan was set and we went to sleep with anticipations of getting another shot at
some wild hogs and big exotics.
When the alarm went off, I
could not believe I had been asleep for six hours. It felt like I had just
fallen asleep. Since I was there to hunt and not sleep, I got up and showered.
Don had already been up drinking coffee with Buster and Terry. Terry is the
guide on this ranch, and he would be taking us out today. I got my gear and
loaded up the truck.
 Terry decided to drop me off first and I was ready to go.
The feeder was 25 yards in front of me with a small clearing to the left and
behind me. Terry said the hogs would come across the field to the feeder. I
said okay and I got in my stand. Terry corned the road right in front of my
stand and drove away.
Now it seemed like a good idea
in the dark, but when the night gave away to the day, I could see the corn was
too close to my stand. I was hoping the hogs would go to the feeder and not to
the road.
Twenty minutes had not passed
when I heard the distinct sound of hogs grunting behind me. I turned around and
saw eight hogs heading my way. The wind was perfect and I was ready. I turned
to the left to get a better look and the seat squeaked causing the to hogs ran
off. It was not very long before the hogs came back. They came right at me.
The corn was in front of my stand and the feeder had not spun yet. The hogs were
only 10 feet in front of me and I could count the eyelashes on these hogs. This
group had about fifty hogs ranging from about 10 pounds up to 150 pounds. I
decided to shoot a nice 50 to 60 pound hog for the grill. Now here was the
difficult part.... shooting a moving pig at 10 feet. I was at full draw when one
finally stopped and I squeezed the trigger on my release. It happened so fast
that I thought I missed, but I had hit the hog.
The other hogs stood around
wondering what had just happened. The remaining hogs relaxed and then started
feeding on the corn again. I grabbed another arrow and came to full draw
again. This time I missed and the hogs scattered into the brush. I waited
about thirty minutes before getting down to look for blood. Once down I got my
arrow and found I made a hit, but I did not find any blood. I looked for about
an hour before I called Terry to come get me. Terry had picked up Don and we
all three looked, but could not find a single drop of blood. I was not happy,
but I did everything I could to recover the animal.
Don's hunt
was uneventful. Nothing showed up so we took the blind down and
decided to find another spot for him to hunt. It was lunchtime
so we headed into town for a bite to eat. After lunch it was off to the store for supplies. Don was
cooking venison burgers after the evening hunt. We got our supplies and headed
back to the ranch and watched a video of Don hunting in Africa. Now there is
dream hunt for me and another story to write.
The afternoon did not drag on
because Buster came back from town and the stories were being told again about
past hunt and some future hunts. Don and I really enjoyed talking with Buster.
He knows a lot about bow hunting and how to make sure each hunter has a good
time.
Since it was getting time to
hunt again, I told Don to hunt the ladder stand that I hunted near the pond.
Maybe he would get a shot at that nice Fallow or a hog. I was going back to the
feeder to get me a hog.
We dropped Don off first. Once
Don was comfortable in this stand, we headed to my stand. This time, I corned
about 18 yards away from the stand. I wanted to get the hogs in one area so I
could make a clean shot. Well the evening hunt was uneventful until the feeder
went off. Well, actually while the feeder was going off. A large group of hogs
ran straight to the feeder as it was going off. Now this was a larger group
than this morning and there were two monster hogs in this group. These two hogs
were over three hundred pounds each. I wanted one, but those two did not stick
around long enough for me to get a shot. I was left with some very nice
100-pound hogs.
 The wind was starting to swirl
around them and my scent was being picked up. Some of the group ran off, but
the majority just kept feeding. I picked one out and settled my sight pin right
behind the shoulder and squeezed the trigger on my release. The arrow was a
little high, but it was a pass through. The hog ran off next to some trees and
broke my arrow in half just below the vanes.
I watched the hogs run off and
let the world around me settle down. I got down and found my broken arrow. I
walked to the road and started looking for blood and found a nice blood trail
leading to the brush. I trailed the hog to the edge of the brush and called
Buster for help. Now Buster is a blood-trailing expert. He trailed this hog for
about six hundred yard before the blood disappeared. Judging by the blood, I
did not make a lethal shot on this hog. It was just a muscle hit and the hog
would survive. I thanked Buster over and over again because it was hot and the
mosquitoes were eating us alive. We met up with Don at the fence and walked
back to the truck. Once again, we did everything possible to recover this hog.
I was satisfied that I did my part and got my focus back on the next mornings
hunt. The ride back to the bunkhouse was quiet.
After we changed out of our
hunting clothes, Don got the grill ready. The venison burgers that night hit the
spot. We sat around the table sharing stories again and it is a real pleasure
listening to people who really understand what it means to be a bow hunter. It
was getting late and I headed off to bed. I slept well until the storm of the
century hit. We hoped it would pass, but when it was time to hunt everything
was soaking wet and it was still raining. We decided not to hunt in the
pouring rain and started gathering my gear to
load up for the ride home. Don and I
 had great time on
Tasajillo and looked
forward to returning. We loaded up and said goodbye to Buster and ensured him
we would tell all of our friends and visitors to the site about this place. It's
a great place to bow hunt for hogs and exotic game.
If you
are looking for a great hunt at a great price I highly recommend that you
contact Buster at 830-367-4338 or visit their web site at
www.tasajillobowhunting.com.
You will
not be disappointed.
God Bless,
Timm Getts, Field Editor
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