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"Spot & Stalk
Bow
Hunting for Hogzilla"
"Hunting monster boars in the Texas Heat"
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By Tyge Floyd,
Editor
Email
Tyge here. |
If
you find yourself waiting around the house trying to figure out what
you could do to pass the time between now and the opening day of
deer season like I do, you might want to get your gear and head for
the water. That's right, water is the key to finding hogs and
especially big trophy boars in the summer months of June through
August in Texas. Hogs must
keep cool when the mercury rises by utelizing cool ground, mud or
water. Small stock tanks and creeks
that hold small pools of water are the best places to start your
search and are where you will find the majority
of hogs. Find the water and you'll find the hogs!
I
just returned for one of the most productive two days of hog hunting
I have ever encountered in my hunting career. I was contacted by Dan
Moody of Four Seasons Hunting Service not long ago about hunting his
property near Nixon, Texas. Dan told me he specializes in monster
boars, with an average boar tipping the scales in the 250lb plus
range, with 400lb monsters taken on a good day. Now I'm a realist,
and when someone tells me they routinely take hogs in that weight
class I'm automatically a little apprehensive. Not that I thought he
was pulling my leg, but hogs that weigh between 250-400lbs are not
an every day occurrence in most places. If you asked the
average hunter what his biggest hog taken to date is, you'll find
most are on the short side of 250lbs, with an occasional hunter
connecting with a 300lb plus boar. I booked a date with Dan and
looked forward to seeing this for myself.
I
arrived in Nixon just after daybreak and found Dan waiting for me on
the back porch of his home. We said our hello's and he invited me
get my gear together and get started on our hunt. We drove a short
distance to the ranch we were to hunt that day. Along the way he
explained that the property we were going to was his 'trophy' spot.
 He
had a good population of monster boars on the place and we would be
looking for one in excess of 250lbs to be taken with my new bow, an
Alpine Archery Fatal Impact model.
The plan was simple. The temperature would top out around 90 degrees
that day. This forced the hogs to bed either in the
water along a creek that ran through the property or the mud along
the banks. We were using the wind in our favor and slowly stalking
up the creek while very carefully glassing for hogs when ever new
ground came into view. Each step was a planned move. Our pace was
slow but Dan explained that in order to slip up on these bedded
hogs, we must be as quiet as possible. This proved to be a very effective plan, as
30 minutes into the stalk we were on a sleeping boar, at a range of
less than 15yds! I placed my ten yard pin just to the right of his
backbone and let the arrow fly. WHACK! As the boar stood, he looked
around to see what had disturbed his slumber. He then exited the
creek bottom in a flurry of grunts. I noticed as he left the arrow
shaft was sticking out of the top of his back, nearly all of it. Not
a good sign, penetration was minimal. I must have either hit the
heavy rib bone at the top of his back or glanced off the spine. We waited for several minutes
before looking for sign of blood. The bad news was we couldn't find
a single drop of blood. For over three hours we searched and
searched to no avail. I hate to loose any animal, but loosing a
trophy like this really hurt. I would have to pick my shots a little
better next time.
We spent the next several hours slowly working our way up two
different creeks in search of more hogs. What happened in this short
time span is still hard for me to believe. In all, we spotted 10
boars that day using this stealthy method. 4 of the boars would
approach the 400lb mark, three were at least in the 300lb range! One
boar was just a black monster asleep in the cool running water, just
passing the day away when Dan spotted him from around 70yds
downstream. We knew he was what we had been looking for and that the
position he was in would not be conducive to a clean shot.
We worked our way closer ever so quietly, stopping at a range of
44yds according to my rangefinder. I wanted to get a picture of the
beast before we continued closer.
(Picture at right is the
bedded hog we were stalking)
I needed to be closer and also wanted a better angle at his vitals
before I attempted a shot. I whispered to Dan that I wanted to
change the angle of our attack, one that would put me within 20yds
or closer with a broadside or slightly quartering away shot at this
hog. We slipped along at a snail's pace toward the spot I had chosen
to take the shot. With only some 10-15yds between me and the
target, I clipped my release onto the string. Just as I did, the big
boar exploded out of the creek and up the bank! He was the biggest
hog I have ever seen, at least 400lbs and jet black. Again, it was
very disheartening, but the adrenaline was pumping I can assure you.
This was everything Dan told me about and more. What a rush!
That evening, while feeding some roads on another ranch, we busted
some hogs at a stock tank. They had been bedding around the tank in
the mud to stay cool and we knew they might return tomorrow to the
same spot. We got an early start the next day, spending time
checking some of the waterholes on an almost dry creek bed for the
biggest part of the morning. We made our way up to the stock tank
where we had seen hogs the day before with hopes of catching them
there again. I slipped over the dam of the tank very slowly and
searched the edges
 of
the water. I looked back underneath the willows and saw a dark spot
that looked out of place. It was hogs! Three of them. All I needed
to do is back away and keep the wind in my face to get closer. I
came back up over the dam where I would be in range, picked out the
biggest sleeping hog and drew back my bow. Once the pin settled
behind the shoulder, I sent the arrow into the lungs of the
unsuspecting boar. At the shot, the boar jumped up and into the
water, swimming a short distance to the opposite bank. Upon reaching
dry ground he headed for the brush that was close by. Not far into
the cover, I heard him go down. He was out for good.
Though hunting hogs where you find water might be the key to
increasing success during the hot summer months, one thing you
should remember is how these hogs were spotted. Glassing waterholes
and creeks while very slowly moving is the real key. Anyone can walk
up over a tank dam and startle bedded game. The use of stealth and
taking your time will pay dividends. Take plenty of water and
fluids, spend as much time looking for an ear or dark spot as you
would for a big buck and I think you'll find hunting hogs in the
summer time can be exciting. Do all this on a piece of property
where the odds are you'll find hogs and you can kiss the summer
time, nothing's in season blues goodbye!
At full draw,
Tyge Floyd-Editor
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