Trad Gang

Thanks for taking us along, almost like being there. Looking forward to more...

Kenny the bow is a 58" R/D,50# black glass and zebra riser.Still tinkering with the design. That was the latest version. Just put the fill coats on the next model.

QuoteOriginally posted by tippit:
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That is amazing.

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Sunset on the ranch

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Snow day

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Huntin' Rig

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Scenery

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I bet y'all spent $500 at the coin operated car wash getting that excursion fit to be returned to Miss Kim!  :D  

Great pictures everyone!

Still waiting ont he snake story, Coots!

I love those threads with lot of pics,thanks for sharing.

I can't believe how many good pictures you guys took! Great job just keep them coming.  Ben

Hey Guys...there is more hunting tales to be told also....The snakes are coming soon....got a ton of Snake pics....It really is amazing. Hang on....Beautiful Point Tippit....we missed out on the Flint knapping somehow....COOL pics Chris.

That point is AMAZING!!!

You guys all came home with tremendous trophies...the photos...they are incredible.

My one & only photo of the week;

And they told me mudboggng was a spectator sport....

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Just to give you an indication of just how muddy the roads were, this picture was taken at lunchtime on day one. Before it got really dirty!

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With the "Pig bomb" set, Don and I spent the next couple hours still hunting along the river. The sign was phenomenal!

Where a boars was "hooking" with his tusks and rubbing...
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A little break.....
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Don checking out a pig bed....
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Don looking over some prime country....
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We shot a few "stumps" on the way back to the truck. Don made a great shot on this prickly pear.

Can you tell what kind of point and how many feathers he was using?
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Don's as good a hunting partner as one could ever ask for. We're the same age, and think a lot alike.

He's a lot of laughs as well. He had us all crackin' up several times. Just an all around great guy that I love to share time with....

Let me tell you something...Rob had to be a Red-neck Mudder in a different life....Just ask anyone who rode with him the Last Day across the Mountain. We made record time. He said the Mud Alone was worth the price of Admission! It was kinda fun. Just ask the Boys.

Wow what a week it was!!! Mine started on the Thursday before the hunt. And I fly into DFW airport, and worked a trade show until Sunday afternoon. It was one of those wishing your life away, will Sunday ever get here   :scared:  At least the snakes where to cold to chase you   :pray:

hammerhead and four fletch---Did I win?

That was easy!   Pretty cool pix aren't they? I know I wouldn't want to get hit with one of those!

This has been one of the best topic posts I've yet to see.  Keep it comin'!!!

QuoteOriginally posted by Larry Surtees:
This has been one of the best topic posts I've yet to see.  Keep it comin'!!!

X2---- This is an awesome thread!!!!!   :thumbsup:

For those of you who are reading this thread and thinking how great it all sounds - you are absolutely right!  If you ever have an opportunity to take part in one of these group hunts with other Trad Gangers - DO IT!  

I went on my first group hunt 5 years ago.  Didn't know a soul, save for reading posts here.  From that one trip have blossomed more trips and more great friendships than I could have ever though possible.  

This trip is a perfect example.  The weather was downright lousy.  The hunting was tough.  But I think each and every participant had the time of their lives.  

Make it a goal of your own to get on a list to participate in one of these hunts.  Texas Sweat, Pig Gig, Bear Quest, Solana, and on and on.  All are wonderful ways to meet people who think and feel and live the way that you do.  And THAT is what makes for a great hunting trip!

First day hunting, and not 20 minutes into it. Smiley and myself are still hunting separate but parallel to the river. And I spy a nice hog out front of me. It is busy rooting around and working towards me. It is so busy, it was no issue to sneak right up to it. I mean embarrassingly close, a man with no respect could have spit on it. Oh this is so easy     :knothead:    Yup shot right under it     :banghead:        :banghead:    how could it be. That pig had enough of that and was outta there. I run forward, snag my arrow out of the dirt. All the time keeping my eye on the ham running away. The hog moved out towards Smiley's position. At least I thought it did as I had lost site of it. Not wanting to interfere with his area. I kept my course, and worked down river better part of a mile. Wow what a trip that was, as the bank narrowed. And I was on a muddy hog trail, dangerously close to the waters edge. I worked up a heck of a sweat not getting wet     :jumper:    I made a hook back around towards Smiley. And had made it almost back to where the poor shooting took place. And see Smiley trying to get my attention. I sneak over to him and find out he is bird dogging the one I missed. Well that hog gave us the slip. Smiley says to me, you shoot a hog. And I tell him I had shot under that very hog. He says he is leaving a light blood trail. I say no way there is no evidence on my arrow. As I put my glasses on and look at it, wups with those on. There is a trace of blood on the shaft and I mean a trace. But absolutely no evidence on the fletching or broadhead of a pass thru. It must have just grazed the hair hide line.

I forgot who was telling in camp about some else that said. If your arrow falls short you didn't miss as it didn't get there. But if you shot over that is a miss    :D

EXCELLENT photography and story-tellin' all around!

Thank you for sharin' with the Trad Gang!

Shoot straight, Shinken

"This trip is a perfect example. The weather was downright lousy. The hunting was tough. But I think each and every participant had the time of their lives. "
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Congratulations on the pigs, gents, and also on your tough perserverence in trying conditions.

I guess my story is real similar to the rest of the guys.  Left Ohio following a 13" snowstorm making a long drive even longer. My hunting partner of many years, Denny Castle, was traveling with me and we were smart enough to be pulling the travel trailer, which turned out to be a big plus with all the rain, snow and mud. We hunted the southeast portion of the ranch and found good sign near the river. This is where we concentrated our efforts during the week and on Wednesday morning, Denny connected on a 75lb. black and white boar.  The drag was over one mile back to the truck...just couldn't park any closer due to all the mud...and the little boar was almost bald on one side by the time we loaded him up for the drive back to camp. At camp we went ahead and skinned, butchered and loaded him into a cooler. Gene and Barry then pulled into camp and invited me to hunt their area that evening. They had numerous hog pics from the trail cam at this spot so it was a no brainer to take then up on this generous offer. Long story short...I sat there for three hours that evening but nothing came into the bait...guess that's why they call it hunting. The snow started that night and continued into the day on Thursday. We walked 5 or 6 miles of the river bottom and found nothing moving.  That evening we went back to our baited spots after dinner and sat in the dark until 10PM hoping for some feeding activity but no luck. I didn't take a shot all week but did a couple of stalks getting within 50-60 yds. of pigs then running out of cover or losing out to a swirling wind.
The company and food was first rate, just like last year, and that saved the trip IMHO. I guess good friends can make nasty weather and conditions seem a little better than they actually are. It was great seeing everyone again and meeting the few new guys.  Dry conditions and a big dust storm last year....wet, muddy, snowy, nasty conditions this year.  I wonder what mother nature and the twins have in store for us next year......

Brent's plan to cross the river in a boat worked fine until the snow storm arrived.  The river bank was steep and like grease to begin with.  After the snow...well I'll let Smiley tell how slippery it was.  Brent, Smiley, and I were kinda like these three crossing the river   :smileystooges:  

The sign along the river bottom was every where.  Here's a power line pole rub...Doc

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Dick,
I got next year figured out.  I'm borrowing my son-in-laws fire fighting gear for Pig Gig 2011    :eek:  Doc

this is good stuff.

Awesome Guys Keep the pics coming

After months of preparation, packing, repacking, culling, adding and generally totally absorbed in getting ready for this hunt, the day had arrived. Rob and Grant rolled into BentBow Farms Saturday morning to find Chase and I jittery with anticipation and eagerness to get on the road. Hugs and a few warm coffee mugs later we were reliving old hunts and planning the new one. Chris, Don and Skyler showed shortly thereafter and we then spent the next hour trying to figure out how to get all the stuff Don and Sky brought into the camper    :biglaugh:

I should have taken a picture of the gear...we looked like a cross between Cabela's , 3 rivers, and the rack of 5 different custom bowyers. Pulling out, I had a brief period of panic as I realized the stuff in the camper was worth more than the camper itself...and I had 2000 miles to haul it around without incident.

We rolled through the  rest of the day and well into the night; Alabama, Mississippi, and eventually Louisiana. I got a call from Rob who was tailing us with Grant...."Can we stop soon?" I'm notorious for a camel bladder so stopping on a long drive is something I forget other people need to do. "Gotta pee? We are planning on a waffle house as soon as we seen one to grab a hot bite too."  "Well, no...you see I've lost a tire." "Oh, we'll pull in right up ahead and fix it." "Well, no....you don't seem to understand...I'VE LOST A TIRE!"

Thankfully the next exit had a super Walmart that just so happened to have a bolt pattern that fit. Of course, it wasn't the same size as the one good wheel so Rob had to buy two. I know someone took a pic so I'll wait for them to post that....but I hadn't seen anyone grind the shoulders off a wheel using the interstate before.

The rest of the trip went uneventful, we showed up at Dallas around 2am, found the walmart that was closest to the airport and piled into the trailer for a nap. Rob stayed in the truck because he wanted to read...apparently he doesn't nap well (at least he doesn't think he naps well, but we know different. Long about 9, I realized we had no heat; I checked all the normal stuff and it sunk in that we might be without heat, with temps into the 20's and wet...why the heck did I pull this thing all the way here? Miss Kim miraculously found via the internet from home a mobile RV repair service who would come out and look at it after his church services (it was sunday in the bible belt after all). So we passed the time with license purchase, a few last minute grocery items and picking up Curt at the airport.

Always good to see Curt, I value the time we've spent together and eagerly looked forward to this trip with him and the rest of our team.

Back at the RV, we had to wait until the guy showed, only to tell me he didn't have the part...but could have it tuesday...and I'd have to drive back to Dallas to get it put in. So, plan B...I went into wallyworld and bought another small electric space heater, just in case. Barry said we would have power hook up and I thought it would be better than freezing. Obviously, it worked...cause Curt thought the heat was fixed.    :D

The delays had us behind schedule headed to the ranch. It was someone's bright idea to volunteer for the first night's dinner (the same guy who delayed things trying to get his trailer fixed) so we arrived into camp greeted by 20 starving hunters whose bellies did their best impression of boar grunts and growls. We did a quick round of warm greetings with friends old and new,  set up the trailer in record time, fired up the monster burner grill and got the oil hot....southern fried catfish and gator, cole slaw, potato salad...everyone flew into action to get the crew fed. It seemed to have been worth the wait...we couldn't keep the fish bowl full as guys came back for 2nds....and 3rds....and    :bigsmyl:

Weather was already nasty but as Gene and Barry pointed out our territory, we had high hopes and big plans for the week. It was going to be something else! The first night we drifted off, exhausted but comforted by the anticipation that only comes at the beginning of a hunt...

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The days seem to run together some...I always bring my journal but have yet found time to sit and write everything down during a hunt. Just to little time to hunt and socialize already so I always skip it, and am always sorry.

I can't remember if it rained that first night or not...but the roads were muddy and slick none the less. I've never hunted this part of Texas before; typically I've hunted San Antonio area and south, where heavy rains bring flash floods but the sandy soil poses no real serious problems...the worse you may need 4wheel drive for is to get over the rocks and through holes...but no mud. Well, this reminded me of fantasies I had back in college when I had an old '74 FJ40 Landcruiser when all I wanted was the thickest nastiest mud I could find. Well...it's in Texas son. Miss Kim's 8000# Excursion and relatively mild tires were no match for the mud even with 750+hp from the hot diesel. We could go some places, but I just couldn't get to where our hunting area really started. That, and I purposefully erred on the side of caution; I did not want to explain to her how I had torn up our truck and honestly didn't have a dime to spare to pay someone to pull us out or repair whatever damage I might do. Just the way it is...but we needed it to pull the trailer and ride 6 in relative comfort for 2000miles. I felt like I held us back the whole week but my friends did their best to diminish my self inflicted chastising with great understanding and sympathy. Not the best mudder, but we made due the first day.

We did some scouting  in the morning...thankfully, Rob let us use the four wheeler for that afternoon and the remainder of the week while he and Grant took his truck (with much more capable tires). We owe ya bro!

The boys were with Chris and me to start out with, we poked around and found a hilltop to get a better view. Finding places that would have been surrounded with hogs during drier seasons wasn't hard. It was really beautiful country once you got away from the mud of the main roads.

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Chris split off to check out a feeder round the other side of the hill while Skyler, Chase and I decided to see if the area had any pigs we could blunder into. Two fine young men, I was honored to spend my afternoon glassing, slipping (both figuratively and literally), and stumping with them.

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We worked our way down to one of the ponds, and then another, finding numerous pig sign but the majority had been prior to the recent monsoons the area had been hammered with.

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Making our way back out to the road, we worked our way back to where the truck was parked and we would eventually meet back up with Chris and then later Don and Curt who were out scouting on the 4wheeler.

One thing, we could make a bundle marketing that mud as a supreme bowhunter's tool. After a few seconds on the road, we could walk through the brush with impunity using our "New and Improved!" stalking shoes.

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Back near the truck Chase noticed a peculiar hole in the ground near the sight of an old barn.

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Evidently, it was a cistern of some sort in years past, with a pipe entering high and another exiting low...cattle water for dry times maybe? Having had my experience with old farm wells in the past (don't ask), we approached cautiously. "Look at that huge dead snake!" Chase said, carefully peering over the edge. Sure enough, a big rattlesnake lay belly up in view of the bottom of the hole. Chase found a branch and with a bit of effort, fished him out of the bottom of the hole.

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Sadly, the snake was a bit "juicy" and had been dead for too long to make any use of it. While the boys examined it, I took a step or two around the other side of the hole to see if there was anything else of interest in there...

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What...is...that...OH MY....MY GOODNESS!

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Immediately my stomach sank as I recalled Chase precariously perched over the rusty hole just a few moments before...and Sky and I looking on in innocent oblivion. God's grace is sufficient for me and mine....that is for certain!

It was cold so the snakes were inactive, but the soulless gaze of a pit viper is enough to tickle that portion in your brain that says "I don't care how cold it is, that thang ain't gonna suffer no foolish behavior!"

Chris joined us shortly thereafter and we showed him our inadvertent discovery. I've heard of them before, but never really seen a snake den...and never expected one outside of a rocky mountain hillside deep within one of the countless holes there.

After the adrenaline of our find wore off, Chris told us of his crossed paths with a few hogs near the feeder we had seen. He showed us the general direction as he laid out his "plan b" if we couldn't get to our primary area down near the river.

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We spent the remaining light just enjoying the Texas brush, serenaded by the thump of a nearby pump jack...

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Don and Curt arrived at dark, first to see the snake pit, then to recount their day of traps laid and corn trickled. If we could get to it, tomorrow may bode better for pig sightings.

We took the long slippery ride back to camp, arriving with only a minor 3" tall crease in my seat from the wheel work I had just done.    :scared:

Hot plate of spaghetti courtesy of Dick and Denny was a welcome sight. The pictures of the snake pit brought lots of questions...mainly posed in request for it's location to empty the contents after they heard Gene reiterate the ranchers desire to eliminate any such potential threats to their cattle.    :readit:

Great story tellin' as usual, JC! For those who weren't there- these hunts are real "Bucket List" events. I'll go as long as I'm able to walk the sendaros. I can't say enough good things about the men in this camp- in this part of the country they used say "he's a man to ride the river with." There were twenty-eight such men on one trip. If I can get caught up at the office I'll try to tell my little piece of this story but it'll be tough to follow these guys- they know how to spin a yarn.  Grant

The next morning dawned clear and cold, the high winds would help dry things out hopefully. We made our way a bit further than the previous day and planned on separating to hunt near the areas Don and Curt had seen the day before. Don and Sky split off on the 4 wheeler down one trail, Curt and Chris headed down the main road towards the river, and Chase and I went to an area on a ridge where Curt and Don had run a trickle of corn. Amongst the three groups, we had all elevations covered and should be able to at least narrow down where the pigs might be. I've found, unless you are just really lucky or have previous experience with the place, it takes  a couple of days on these types of hunts to narrow down where the game is. We felt like we were getting closer so the day had high hopes.

The top of our ridge was cold...the skies were clear and blue but the sun did little to relieve the cutting wind. We glassed some off the cliff looking out into the flood plain of the river.

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It was beautiful and definitely looked like we were getting nearer to more viable territory. This was Chase's first real trip away on a hunt so I took all the time I could to continue his lessons as a growing hunter. The most valuable thing about this entire trip were the precious moments I spent alone with my son, away from the distractions of the rest of the world, watching him learn and grow in something that is dear to both of our hearts. I have many more pictures carved into the walls of my memories after this trip that are far more precious than gold...

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After the wind had taken it's toll to the point where the tears in our eyes blurred our vision, we continued on across the ridge towards our planned rendezvous point with Don and Skyler.

We found a feeder around the opposite side of the ridge and then picked our way through countless deer beds on the leeward hillside. I don't think I've ever seen that much deer sign in one place before. This place must just be covered at certain times of the year. As others have mentioned the sheer number of sheds and skulled racks we found are testimony to the ranch's immense deer herd.

Eventually we met up with Don and Sky, learning of their findings in the river bottom and we hatched a plan for that afternoon. We got our first taste of piling on the 4wheeler as we accepted Don's offer to ride back to the truck. The road we took to get there had been pounded by what must have been 10,000 head of cattle...churned into a gooey soup with ruts feet deep. Ever seen a 4 wheeler get stuck? Well I have!    :eek:  

Meeting back up at the truck to find Curt and Chris, we slid down the road to some lunch and refitting back at camp.

Some more pix of the blow out!

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Back at the drop off point, Chris and Curt headed down the main road towards one end of our area along the river while the rest of us wrapped ourselves around the only reliable transportation we had into the rough territory we would travel for the remaining miles. You saw the pic of Don, Skyler, Chase and I on the 4wheeler in Woody's post...but the pic does not do justice to the experience. I had stuff hurt after that ride I didn't know that I had...and I ride horses! Covered in mud from the slinging tires, 45 minutes later we arrived in the river bottom. Now I've never owned a 4wheeler and I've even been quite vocal in my beliefs against them offroad...but on the road we traveled it was a God-send...I was happy to have it instead of the miles walking in rubber boots.

Don and Sky dropped us off at the spot they had set a trap for earlier that day near the river. A feller may go his whole life and not find a friend who will ride miles over rough terrain balancing a 50# bag of corn fighting mud, rocks, and ruts to get to a spot where he thinks will be a good ambush point....and then turn around and tell you that spot is for you. I'm very blessed, I have many such friends...and Don and Skyler are certainly two of the finest.

They headed on towards the spot we had come to call "The Corral"...pics of that fine spot you've already seen.

Chase and I made our way angling upwind through the sparsely covered area as best we could towards the spot Don had indicated. As we neared the edge of the bank that we would discover to be a ditch before the river, we spotted two small bucks on the pile they had set. We stood for a few heartbeats admiring them...until one looked up and decided we looked like something that didn't belong there, not surprising considering we were standing flat footed away from cover. As the bucks vacated, we winced and hoped there were not pigs leaving as well. The scenery changed on the other side of the berm; green lush grass and multiple ambush spots had my mouth watering as the shadows lengthened...this was a REALLY good spot.

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Other than the deer, obviously no pigs had hit the spot yet. Chase and I backed into a likely corner with plenty of cover behind our silhouette...

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It took a few minutes to get covered better and fall further into the ambush predator's pace. Settling into that stillness learned from hours of practice sitting in the stand and makeshift ground blinds just like this one. That familiar feeling...the one where you sit so still you don't necessarily go numb, but your limbs seem to simply "float" in a feeling of heavy nothingness. It's so quiet you can hear inside your head the vertebrae in your neck creak as you slowly move you head, scanning. The feeling of near invisibility as the wind makes more noise and movement than you do now....a sweetness of sensations that can only be grasped by those who have lived it.

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Any word from the second week group? I heard a truck went into the river?

I've been visiting this thread off and on since I got up this morning, and it sure has put a smile on my face. You guys look like you were having a great time. Thanks for sharing.

As the sun began to disappear over the ridge we had glassed from earlier that day, we expected the pigs to show any minute. It grew close to the time we needed to leave for the long ride out in the dark...and suddenly all heck broke loose 100 yards into the woodline. Pigs screamed like there was an axe murder in their midst, Chase's eyes went wide and I saw his knuckles go white as he reflexively crushed the handle of his bow. A brilliant moment...the sounds, the initial look of shock in Chase's eye that transposed into a smile as it continued, the prickling on the back of my own neck, the clean smell of the wind that carried the cacophony to us, the dryness in my mouth as my heart began to pound with anticipation of getting close to game....absolutely priceless.

We low crouched duckwalked towards the sound, doing our best to catch up to the wild sounder but as the light faded, we were left behind but with the budding hope that we had finally found the spot.

Meeting back up with Don and Sky, we relayed our story and our plan to set more traps closer to where we heard the pigs....and climbed on for the ride back.

Some hours later, back at camp we found another hot meal waiting for us. The group cooking worked out well I thought...only the last guys in camp often had to claim the last morsels from those who had hit the pots multiple times already    :saywhat:  But, as you can tell from the pics, I didn't starve    :goldtooth:

Don hit the ibuprofen hard, wrestling that 4wheeler had taken it's toll. "You'll need to get you some of that tomorrow brother...I'm done with it for a while." Oh...joy. Well, at least we had access.

Sleep came easy...I thanked God for a wonderful day with my son and dear friends...and for a warm dry trailer as the day quickly faded into dream.

QuoteOriginally posted by JC:
 The group cooking worked out well I thought...only the last guys in camp often had to claim the last morsels from those who had hit the pots multiple times already     :saywhat:    

Kind of like growing up in a big family JC.  If you wanna eat good ya better be on time -specially with the twins at the front of the line  ;)    :bigsmyl:

QuoteOriginally posted by Herdbull:
Any word from the second week group? I heard a truck went into the river?

According to Kevin Bahr hogs continue to be killed.  But he attributes the truck in the river story to being a vicious rumor or urban legend.  :readit:    :biglaugh:

Wow....really sorry I missed this trip.  Sounds like fun and excitement was had by all. I'll be there next year.   :readit:    :thumbsup:

Whip, now that you mention it, I DO remember the Wensels ALWAYS being there with dirty plates by the time we got in. How'd they do that?

Jerry, I'd have given a paycheck to have any of my horses there with me...would have been a non issue...we'd have just skirted the bad spots through the brush. Only problem with a winch was there was nowhere to attach to. You need trees to pull an excursion unstuck...and all we had were bushes 99% of the time. There's a guy that sells surplus pinz and unimog here in Georgia...I sure would love to have one but just can't afford that kind of money for something I can't use as a daily driver. Cool rigs though, certainly more than capable of tackling what we went through.

Missed you too Barney, sure hope to see you next year.

Plans quickly solidified over breakfast: Don and Curt would bail off the ridge (where Chase and I had glassed) to get to a spot where pigs had been seen on the plain between the ridge and the river. They were to set a pig bomb...you've seen the pics. Chris would head to the river down the main road, while Chase, Sky, and I would 4 wheel back to where Chase and I had sat the previous night.

The wind was still up enough to continue drying out so we got to our parking area pretty easily. A few more days of that and I'd be able to take the truck all the way to the river. I ferried Don and Curt on the 4wheeler up the big hill to their jumpin off spot to save some time. Returning to get the boys, I had found they had already made their way towards me...no flies on them!

Another rough ride...it took me about 5 minutes to realize what Don was talking about. I hear power steering is real popular on them now; I know if I owned one that would be criteria number one after driving this one loaded down through what we went through. We arrived at our spot on the river without incident, and did our best to move into the hunting area undetected. I wanted to see what it looked like in the direction of the previous evenings commotion.

Not 200 yards upriver from our initial spot, we ran into a seriously "hoggy" area. Started to smell like a barnyard...we all fell into stillhunting mode as our eyes feverishly searched the surrounding area for the inevitable pig. We almost fell into "The Honey Hole"...

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v701/recurvhuntr/Pig%20Gig%202-10/IMG_0633.jpg)

Not just sign, but a LOT of sign....enough fresh pig tracks to make a feller think it was a stockyard. Oh yeah, tonight was going to be a different story.

We worked our way further up the main trail another 100 yards or so admiring the heavy and fresh sign. We couldn't go very far without running into

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v701/recurvhuntr/Pig%20Gig%202-10/IMG_0636.jpg)

or

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v701/recurvhuntr/Pig%20Gig%202-10/IMG_0637.jpg)

We were in the living room of the big boys now. We hustled back out as quietly as possible, got our corn and laid the trail from the bedding area to the hole, seeded the hole, and from the hole to our first night's spot. We decided to return and put up a trail camera....only to interrupt 2 pigs who had already begun following the trail from the bedding area we had just left!

One evaporated back the way it came and the other crossed the ditch and headed back in the direction of the road, away from the river. Not exactly spooked but not sure why the first one had left so quickly (I don't think this one saw us). Chase and Sky pursued trying to catch up...but as any pig hunter can attest, even if they are flat out running, you have little hope of catching up to a mature pig on a mission to be somewhere else using it's bouncy trotted gait.

Which way did he go?

 (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v701/recurvhuntr/Pig%20Gig%202-10/th_MVI_0641.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v701/recurvhuntr/Pig%20Gig%202-10/?action=view¤t=MVI_0641.flv)

I think he went that way...

 (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v701/recurvhuntr/Pig%20Gig%202-10/th_MVI_0642.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v701/recurvhuntr/Pig%20Gig%202-10/?action=view¤t=MVI_0642.flv)

Dang! I think we lost him....

 (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v701/recurvhuntr/Pig%20Gig%202-10/th_MVI_0644.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v701/recurvhuntr/Pig%20Gig%202-10/?action=view¤t=MVI_0644.flv)

Just a great thread to all involved. I will 2nd or 3rd the "pics are fantastic" thoughts already expressed.

Awesome hunt story. Will be anxious to read as this one carries on!! Thanks for thinking of your fellow TG'ers by taking all the pictures.

QuoteOriginally posted by JC:

 (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v701/recurvhuntr/Pig%20Gig%202-10/IMG_0637.jpg)

Good Lord! That'ns shat a glove!

First Class descriptions & pix of a First Class hunt. First Class Folks to top it off! Thanks for the stories.

What happened to the pig stuck close up by the phantom arrow (little blood & none on the feather)? Maybe I missed it.

This pic is worth retrieving from the now-abandoned Pig Gig thread.  They were all smiling -- probably because they got to stop moving for a minute.    ;)  

(http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c360/krf123/PigGig20102.jpg)

Here's a link to the thread with a bunch more pics...some are absolutely stunning. You sure can tell who was shooting a "real" camera.   Pig Gig Update (http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=084694;p=1)

I am not the story teller most guys on here are and my typing is pretty bad so I'll just post a few pics. I have a couple videos too and I have never posted video before  so we'll see how it works out. Had a great time he first week playing in the snow and being with a great group of guys. I stayed for a second week but had to cut it short to get home to help out with sick kids. I passed a few second week and switched to my Howard Hill longbow, did draw a little blood but no pictures, just carrying it around was kinda cool in itself.  (http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k209/hogdancer/P1030457.jpg)  (http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k209/hogdancer/P1030466.jpg)  (http://i89.photobuc[img]http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k209/hogdancer/P1030540.jpg)ket.com/albums/k209/hogdancer/P1030527.jpg[/IMG]

(http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k209/hogdancer/P1030527.jpg) (http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k209/hogdancer/P1030540.jpg)
and here is my buddy Kevin, he actually killed two hogs with one shot, here is one of them we found the other later
(http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k209/hogdancer/P1030532.jpg)

Carry on with the stories, JC.  More, please!  We'll have to make sure you go on lots of hunts so we can enjoy the superb story telling.     :readit:      :thumbsup:

some video ...if it works
 (http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k209/hogdancer/th_SANY0036.jpg) (http://s89.photobucket.com/albums/k209/hogdancer/?action=view¤t=SANY0036.flv)

Thomas, I'll trade my good story for your 5 hogs   :readit:  Well done, for you and Kevin! I'm not sure there's ever been a pic on Tradgang of a pig killed in the Texas, in the snow, with a boat involved! Sorry to hear about the family, prayers for their healing.  Great vid...I had eyed their heavy equipment many times while we were there...wondering how much they would charge me to come pull me out.

Thanks Woody, high praise indeed and fully undeserved. But I'll keep rattlin anyway    ;)   More to come....

Cool Pics Thomas...Hope your women folk are better....How did the second week crew do before you left? Did you ever get down to MK and the little spot across the River?

when I left there had been a few hogs killed and the guys in the MK had killed a few, I did make it across the river  but I was driving their truck so I was a little more adventurous      :)  
Thanks for the concern about the kids, my oldest had the swine flu the week before but my 8 year old started running fever Wed. and  her Daddy just being on the way home made her feel better.

I missed this one....Twice !!   :knothead:  

  (http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k209/hogdancer/th_SANY0056.jpg) (http://s89.photobucket.com/albums/k209/hogdancer/?action=view¤t=SANY0056.flv)

Thomas- Great to see you again and great job on the pork! Hope your little girl is feeling better and the trip was uneventful.   GY

JC - Firstly I don't know where my post went but anyway.

I drive my pinz as a daily driver. You need a PULL PAL

Google it  - you don't need a tree just a PULL PAL - that's what I use up here in the tundra.

The horse is my best mode - but not always practical depending on how far we are going and what the terrain is like. Use him when ever I can though.

Jer Bear

Thanks Grant, wish we could have visited longer !

Thomas you are one heck of a hunter that is for sure.

JC great story man.

Looks like you all had a lot of fun for sure.

Well-done, Thomas!

Thanks Ben just lucky I guess, I want to come hunt with you !

All I can say is WOW, and thank you all so much for brining us along!

Motley Crue for sure, wish I could have been there!

Awesome thread, guys! Thanks for taking those that couldn't make along for the ride! Congrats on the good times and great critters!   :bigsmyl:    :thumbsup:

QuoteOriginally posted by robtattoo:
 

QuoteOriginally posted by JC:

  (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v701/recurvhuntr/Pig%20Gig%202-10/IMG_0637.jpg)

Good Lord! That'ns shat a glove! [/b]

Don't care who you are, that's funny right there!!!

:thumbsup:  Great Pictures Folks ! Thanks for sharing!

Only trad bowhunters get excited over pork poop!

So where are the snake skin pics???

Ok, on the stuck truck 2nd week thing, first not a river..

However Wanger and I had been on worse looking stuff earlier in the day, we decieded to try to get further back on the Overton pasture and with my encouragement Kevin made a try at the track that was pretty slimey looking but no worse than anything we'd already been through. Of course my experience with off road and mud has been with my Chevy's  :D  , not a 6,000 pound Excursion without Posi. The treads filled right up and looked like slicks. Needless to say we never dropped to the frame. We just sat on the bottom spinning.

We hunted the area around the beast and txted Hogdancer to rescue us.

Thomas and Kevin Shay showed up about an hour after dark with great asperations of yanking us out with 10 ft of chain...LOL thankfully he also had one of those 3" wide Ratchet straps and we used all of it and he yanked us out.

We had a blast, met new guys and even shot a couple pigs. Mark Wang and Rick Stillman both shot nice hogs but Kevin and I were not able to pull a string on hogs though we did see a few, there was always a fly in the ointment when it came to closing the deal.

I had a great time and picked up a few sheds and saw a lot of nice deer and lots of coyotes and othe flora and fauna.

I think there was a vehicle that went in the river to cross and water came over the hood but I'll let someone else tell that story.

Hey Thomas, you were the man that night, that pig would not move without your assistance. Thanks for your hospitality as well. It is a pleasure to have met you and I hope we can share a camp agian sometime.

thanks Greg, look forward to seeing you again at PBS !

wow, what an AWESOME thread!!!!  

snow and mud and all not withstanding, wish i wuz there.     :wavey:

Thank you guys for sharin' the stories and the photos!

This has been a great couple of hunts.

Shoot straight, Shinken

We needed to meet back up with the rest of the crew and knew we had a long ride back...we saddled up and rode out. Back at the truck, we all told our tales and laid out the plans. Tonight would be the night.

Sky and Curt separated to go hunt with Thomas, the roads were finally dry enough for them to move around away from their cabin that had been isolated for the last few days. We had a hot lunch courtesy of Miss Tammy Wilson and headed back out for what we just knew was going to be a round of bloody arrows.

Don was going to hunt upriver of Chase and I. We thought between him moving down river, and our moving upriver to the honey hole, someone was bound to get into hogs.

As Chase and I made our way to the previous night's spot, we had high expectations...the wind was 1/4'ing the right direction for both Don and us. We moved as slow as we could and still make it to our spot in time enough to get settled before primetime.

It wasn't long before we saw 3 black forms making their way through the timber coming down the trail towards our ambush spot. Three shooter sized size pigs...two around 125-150 and one probably pushing 200. The bigger pig was in the lead, the two smaller pigs trailing behind to clean up the scraps. They fed down the hill towards the hole, now moving into 30 yards. One of the smaller pigs made the mistake of trying to brush past the big pig. Chase had never seen the brutality of a boss boar...and got a front row seat as the bigger boar hooked the smaller pig as it moved past him...literally picked it off it's feet and slung it back over it's shoulder as if it were a toy. Chase glanced out of the corner of his eye with a grin..."Wait till they get below the bank and then make your move". A few moments later the hogs were in position, hidden from view, but we could easily hear the three as they grunted and squealed between each other. Chase half crawled to towards the edge of the bank, arrow in the string.

I stayed back, acting only as backup if something went awry, hoping to give Chase the ability to make it, or not, completely on his own. Up to his knees he went into shot motion...tension on the string as the bow raised to position. He waited, I saw him lean slightly, more tension on the string...he shuffled slowly to his left...leaned a bit more...something wasn't right....why didn't he shoot...the wind swirled.

One pig bolted to the left, ran 20 yards and froze...the bigger pig ran up the hill and froze behind a tree. Chase was frozen, bow still trained down in the ditch at the 3rd pig. He ever so slowly began his draw again...the big pig turned a slowly trotted up the hill...the pig up the draw grunted and took off...the one in the bottom had heard enough and was off like a shot. The grunts faded into the distance and a few heartbeats later the woods were silent.

"That DANGED branch!" Chase said in an exasperated whisper..."the other two were moving so much I couldn't focus on a spot..and the third one that stood still stayed behind that danged branch the whole time!"

"Couple of things to learn from that...first, pigs almost never stand still...you've just got to be ready for that split second they stop moving...you've got to be ready to take the shot, very rarely will they just stand there and take it. Second, if there's a branch, inevitably it will position itself between you and the pig. Third, the wind is almost never constant for long...don't wait to long to take the shot, you may only have a few seconds more of steady breeze. Fourth...aw heck son, that's just huntin."

Thus endeth the lesson...

He was dejected as the light fell, but I was proud that he had done so many things right. Chase hasn't been on any hunts like this, and even though many small game animals have fallen to his stickbow, and many deer have fallen from his powder, he's yet to kill a big game animal with his bow. It would only be a matter of time...maybe tomorrow?

We met back up with Don in the dark, to hear his tales of pigs encountered and listen to ours. It was another long ride back, we were all lost deep within our own thoughts, replaying the evenings events in our minds like watching the game films after a big play. A bittersweet bevy of close calls had us both elated and a bit disappointed...that flavor we as hunters so often must taste that we even learn to enjoy it.

Another fine meal awaited us, and we all shared the stories amidst laughs and jokes and much good natured prodding of each others wounded pride.

We had found them, we knew we could get too them, and we had already been close enough to make it happen. The forecast said maybe a rain and snow shower. We could still be able to make it...I mean, it said a shower right? Couldn't be any worse than the first night's rain right?

I heard Curt get up for an early morning break...the trailer door opened...and I didn't hear him go out. The door creaked a bit and I heard him whisper under his breath "You've got to be kidding me..." "What's wrong Curt?" "There's a good 3-4 inches of snow on the ground." "That's not funny Curt." "No....it's not."

 (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v701/recurvhuntr/Pig%20Gig%202-10/IMG_0647.jpg)

 (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v701/recurvhuntr/Pig%20Gig%202-10/IMG_0648.jpg)

Sometimes yer the windshield and sometimes yer the bug. But either way, you have to pick out the high points of the situations life presents you. As I looked out incredulously over the white powder as more fell from the sky, I shifted my perspective from disappointment to contemplation....it was really beautiful.  Then, I understood how inconsequential our inconvenience the weather had caused.  We were merely visitors, actors in the play of life, not the director...and we were not the ones in control, no matter our grand delusions we suffer from in this modern time. It was after all still winter, even here in Tejas.  A time for the closing of the season before the renewal of Spring....simply the way of things.

 (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v701/recurvhuntr/Pig%20Gig%202-10/IMG_0650.jpg)

You sure do spin a nice story JC  :thumbsup:  
One of the highlights of this years hunt was getting an opportunity to share camp time with both Chase and Skyler.  And what a great memory you two made sharing this trip together.  No doubt at all that this one will always be remembered!
You and Don both have so much to be proud of  :notworthy:    :notworthy:

Tremendous thread guys.  Thanks for the effort to post the stories and pics.  THAT is what I'm in this for.  Family, friends, learning and growth as a hunter.  Good on ya.
I am going down week #5 to the same ranch.  I normally don't hunt using an ATV but wondering if I should bring one along considering the access shown here.  Are ATV's welcome on the ranch or for this hunt?

We fired up the stove and thought at least we'd have a conciliatory hot breakfast...all that snow seemed to make our usual bagels and cereal seem a bit inadequate. What I remember most about that morning is all the laughter in the camp. The situation really was comical...here most of these guys come to Texas to get away from the weather and the weather ends up being worse than a 1000 miles north. It was comforting to know everyone was taking it in stride...after the initial shock I think everyone switched into gear trying to figure out how to adapt their previous night's planning to the current conditions.

Rob decided he needed a nap...he hadn't slept too well in his 4 (cough) season tent. Chris wasn't feeling too well after the previous night's chili cookoff (he would later suffer some pretty severe GI issues that eventually were diagnosed as a reaction between the spicy food and his medications). We looked at the mud tires on Rob's truck and did our best "Ol' buddy, ol' pal" sales pitch...of course Rob was more than happy to loan out his huntin rig to a bunch of nuts who wanted to see if the snow would give better traction than the mud.

Putting the packs in garbage bags, the bows in the tool box and squeezing the rest in the cab, Chase, Sky, Don, Curt and I set off with the hopes that our spots along the river would be full of hogs searching the snow for either the green grass that grew thick there or the kernels of gold we had scattered for their dining pleasure. The going was slow as Don wound his way through the ranch, not so much because it was really slick, but because us Southern boys are just keerful in the snow...we don't see much of it you know.  In four wheel low, Rob's beast climbed the hills and fjorded the mudpits now slushy with the addition of 4 more inches of frozen semi-water. We stopped at the top of the plateau to look out over the area we had hunted the past few days. The view had changed dramatically from just a few days ago when Chase and I had glassed from this spot.

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v701/recurvhuntr/Pig%20Gig%202-10/IMG_0653.jpg)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v701/recurvhuntr/Pig%20Gig%202-10/IMG_0657.jpg)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v701/recurvhuntr/Pig%20Gig%202-10/IMG_0660.jpg)

Keep the stories coming very enjoyable.

Thanks for the great adventure

Enjoying the tales.  Some year...

Yes, a truck did indeed "go into the river" at "high water" and miraculously came out the other side.  Unlike the most of you other lucky guys:^), my week #2 group's area was basically barren of anything resembling fresh hog sign.  There was lots of old sign, including a lot of boot prints from the previous week, so I guess the hogs got the message that the jinx was up and decided to head for safer surroundings!  after a few days of seeing nothing desperation set in so I decided to ford the Brazos at the now infamous "McFadden Crossing" in the hope of finally finding some hogs. The concrete had collapsed last summer which created a heck of a steep angle of approach AND departure! The soupy brown water came higher and higher until it was even with my wipers!!  Yes, I said WIPERS!  We basically made like a Wisconson "Dells Duck"  managing to drive/float across . . . once on the other side my SUV spurtered to stop.  After 45 minutes of "air time" my distributor finally dried off enough to crank up and be on the way.  After gluing together every aerial map I had in the truck, plus filling in the blanks with a few outright guesses, I managed to drive though a maze of dirt roads north, then NE to the nearest black top highway and back to square one.  Now you know "the rest of the story".

PS: We had a blast.

Glad to hear you made it Gary. The last rumor we heard up hear was that your hat floated down river. It didn't sound good.... so we're glad to hear you had a good time!

Mike, I survived the "Gig" but not the drive home.  My SUV came back home on the back of a tow truck.  Nothing bad, or to do with the river adventure, just bad luck on the way home.  I'll tell you about it later.

Loved this whole thread!
Thanks all for sharing!

chris <><

Thanks for the story and pic sure looks like a good time.

Gary, sounds like quite an adventure

Guys, thanks for taking the time to share all of your stories. I enjoyed it thoroughly!

At the bottom of the hill we split our respective ways. Don, Skyler and Curt would take the same route Don had the previous nigth...Chase and I would come up from the bottom.

As we walked through the snow down the road towards the spot we would enter the woodline in route to the river, I reminisced of grade school. Remember when you had  new pair of tennis shoes on a rainy day? He who could make the loudest, most obnoxious squeaks on the hallway floor wore a badge of honor. Sadly, in the woods it was about as welcome as the Principal stepping out just in time to catch your antics. So much for sneaking up on them in this snow...at least we had a good ambush spot and maybe they would be so busy rooting/foraging they wouldn't be able to hear us.

As quietly as we could, we made our way to our spot hidden a few yards from "the hole". A cursory search of the area quickly told us all the corn we had rebaited with had made it through the entire night untouched. Apparently, every critter in town had felt the storm coming and had holed up to see it through. The snow still fell...whispering faintly as it fell through the cold air only to land in the powder at our feet to become a blanket of white silence. I love the way the woods sound during a snowfall...the depth of quietude is intoxicating.

We settled into our hide and did our best to quickly pack down the snow at our feet and where we would need to move to shoot. To our left the river gurgled and sputtered in a muted voice....the snow around us absorbing its laughter as the muddy water mocked the starkly contrasting flakes that fell into it's depths... to disappear without a trace.

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v701/recurvhuntr/Pig%20Gig%202-10/IMG_0662.jpg)

We sat a while as the snow began to pile on the tops of heads and our immobile arms and shoulders. I remember Chase's red face and his smile as he too realized how special the moment was. How I pity those remain constantly locked inside the false reality of civilization...of those who never get to experience the hundreds of sensations that cannot be fully explained or described unless you are graced by God with the opportunity to sit at the edge of a muddy river in Texas, during a freak snowstorm with a fine bow in your hands, a sharp broadhead on  a straight shaft, and your son smiling at your side. How fortunate I am indeed.

The minutes ticked by into an hour, maybe more, but eventually the predator's voice in my stirred me from my stillness. For whatever reason, I knew nothing would come of this ambush...we would need to take the game to the game.

We walked ever so slowly, glassing and scanning with our eyes for any movement that should so easily stand out in the whitewashed landscape. It really was a beautiful area and the snow only increased it's appeal.

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v701/recurvhuntr/Pig%20Gig%202-10/IMG_0670.jpg)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v701/recurvhuntr/Pig%20Gig%202-10/IMG_0681.jpg)

Good stuff JC!!!  You are without a doubt a top notch storyteller...I wish I had your way with words bud    :notworthy:  


Sorry to leave anyone hanging with my part of the story and pix....today I'll get caught up...been away for three days....

I wondered Curt   :thumbsup:  

Everybody is doing a great job with this one, Great picks and story telling I'm enjoying this  :)  

Tracy

Barry flagged me down on the road one day and yelled. "Hey, I found you a hot spot if you want it; it's on the north side of the "McFadden Crossing."  Very funny . . . I can't repeat here what I called him:^)

Wow! You folks make me proud to be a bowhunter & more proud to be Texan! Stuperfundicatious (as GW might say)! More stories folks. JC, you have telling talent.

Like JC said earlier, Skyler and I got a chance to hunt with Thomas on Wed. afternoon. Thomas' area that we hunted was just perfect for a spot and stalk. He'd been corning a couple roads that looped back around to a common spot. Skyler got one, and I got the other.

Here's a few pix of the area I hunted. A lot flatter than where we'd been hunting. With great close access to the river.....  
•  (http://www.tradgang.com/upload/curt/P1060445.JPG)
•  (http://www.tradgang.com/upload/curt/P1060446.JPG)
•  (http://www.tradgang.com/upload/curt/P1060447.JPG)
•  (http://www.tradgang.com/upload/curt/P1060448.JPG)
•  (http://www.tradgang.com/upload/curt/P1060449.JPG)
•  (http://www.tradgang.com/upload/curt/P1060450.JPG)
•  (http://www.tradgang.com/upload/curt/P1060451.JPG)

Most of the corn had been clean-up by the time I started my hunt, and he'd just corned earlier in the day!

Tracks of hogs, deer, turkeys, and coons littered the sandy roads.

Although I didn't see any hogs, I was grateful to Thomas for the invite to hunt with him and a chance to see another part of this incredible ranch...thanx again bud!

Of course, as you know by now we woke up to this the next morning!

•  (http://www.tradgang.com/upload/curt/P1060452.JPG)
•  (http://www.tradgang.com/upload/curt/P1060453.JPG)
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Thanks to Rob, and the use of his "beast of a truck" we were able to hunt Thursday.  For anyone who's never had the privilege of meeting Robtattoo, you owe it to yourself to try to sometime. I guarantee it'll be worth any effort it takes to do so. He's just an awesome guy that I'm proud to call a friend...Thank you again bud for helping us out!

Out into the Great White..."south"??
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Look like a great time even with the weather gods against you.

Great pics Curt! Man, those pretty, clean roads must have been somewhere else than the ranch we were on    :rolleyes:    :biglaugh:  

Back to my story...

The noise we made walking in the snow was more trace than I wanted to leave. Chase and I would creep along, scanning and glassing...listening. Only the hush of falling snowflakes, the burble of the river to one side and the "SQEEEAAAKKKK" of snow underfoot. We stopped frequently and sat, hoping to see a pig before they heard us.

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v701/recurvhuntr/Pig%20Gig%202-10/IMG_0675.jpg)

On one such pause, a single coyote made a bark/yip/howl not too far from where we sat. Within seconds a another joined it....then another pair in another direction, further off...then a trio...then another...then another. I'll bet there were 10-15 coyotes howling from different positions from 9 to 3 oclock from where we knelt. Chase turned with a grin as wide as Texas and said "That, is the coolest thing I've ever heard. Kind of scary, but still fun at the same time." Talk about priceless moments...the snow is falling, the coyotes are howling, we knelt side by side in the snow just listening to their eerie, lonesome songs.

It was hard to capture with my little camera but if you turn your sound all the way up, you can get some of it. Trust me, nothing could do justice to the serenade we were blessed with.

 (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v701/recurvhuntr/Pig%20Gig%202-10/th_MVI_0679.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v701/recurvhuntr/Pig%20Gig%202-10/?action=view¤t=MVI_0679.flv)

Eventually we made our way to the point we felt was far enough but not to far as to not encroach on Don, Sky, and Curt. The river's stark contrast against the snow only seemed to increase as the snow continued to fall.

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v701/recurvhuntr/Pig%20Gig%202-10/IMG_0686.jpg)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v701/recurvhuntr/Pig%20Gig%202-10/IMG_0688.jpg)

Wow more great pics.

We turned and slowly made our way back, walking in our previous tracks in an attempt to diminish the noise of our passage. Nothing had passed through since we had...time was growing short for our meeting back at the truck but we still had a few hours to look around, just in case we might stumble on a one-eyed, blind, deaf, and suicidal pig.

We crossed a few more tracks downriver of our favorite spot. Sometime recently a hog had spent considerable time rooting not more than 30 yards from where we sat the first night. The tracks had not yet filled with snow. I laughed to myself at the irony....once again, we "zigged" when we should have "zagged".

 (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v701/recurvhuntr/Pig%20Gig%202-10/IMG_0689.jpg)

As Chase tracked the pig with high hopes of at least seeing one today, the trail turned away from the river and back towards the road. Picking our way through the thinning brush, I glassed lest we bust the hog out of his serenity while rooting or taking a nap. As we got further from the cover of trees, I thought I heard a truck running on the road....not long after I could see the road and Skyler standing on the truck box of Rob's truck...looking in the direction of "the corral."

Apparently, Don had the same idea I had. The temps had only risen a few degrees but enough that the snow was now slush...in the mud it was going to be interesting getting back to camp up and down those hills. In the process, they decided to check out the corral and see if there was any sign...of course, you saw the devastation in the pics posted earlier. Seemingly every pig in 5 miles had decided to converge on the corn at that site while we were all somewhere else. Welcome to hunting 101...where no matter what you think you know, you'll soon realize you don't know that much at all.

Curt smiled and said "I think it's time to go get some snakes..." that was about all the impetus we needed. We folded ourselves back into Rob's truck, slid it into 4wheel low and crawled our way back up the mountain, through the mud, and back down out to the area where we initially found the snake pit.....

Now I'll preface this next part for those that may be offended with the upcoming pics: I'm not a bloodthirsty killer that hunts out and kills poisonous snakes for the thrill of it. None of those in our party fall into that category. While some feel there should be a live and let live mindset for all those things you don't "eat", I've spent my life around farms in one fashion or another and "pests" can come in many different forms. If cattle is your lively hood, I know for certain a young calf hammered by a big snake is going to have issues. Not to mention the trouble they can cause to the cowboys and horses that work those cattle.   In addition, when we initially showed the pics to the Gene and Barry, they were adamant about the rancher wanting the snakes gone, albeit the slim chances of us encountering them in the current weather. I will also say that we wanted the skins for use as bow backing and integration into knife sheaths, armguards and the like. This is not a whining justification to make us feel better for the killing of these snakes, it's simply some background for my personal mindset and a portion of which was shared by those with me at the time (I cannot speak fully for them and their motivations).

So.....

Arriving at the hole we looked around the abandoned barn area and scoped out a pole and some heavy wire. Using paracord I keep in my pack, we lashed the wire to the pole and Curt commenced to "fishing"....while Chase and Sky stood ready with the shovel and a hatchet for quick dispatch of the snakes. Don and I did the camera work.

I have movies, but fear they may be too graphic for those with sensitivity towards the killing of these snakes. The end result was I believe 18.

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v701/recurvhuntr/Pig%20Gig%202-10/IMG_0697.jpg)

So I will let Don and Sky tell the story in their pics as further detail...I know Don got some awesome shots of the expedition....

Don?

If it slithers Kill It! Good job guys on the snakes. Looks like you guys had a great trip even with all mother nature could throw at you. Some good trad gang buddies is all it takes. Thanks for sharing your adventures.

Tryin' to get caught up with Joe on the story....

On the way over the "mountain", we stopped at one of the many overlooks to check out things below us. With all the snow it was easy to see that the "pig bomb" hadn't been detonated yet. I sure was hoping that the hogs had found it.

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We had others plans today anyway as JC has already spoke about. We would would split, Joe and Chase hunting one end.  Don, Sky, and me  hunting the other end, and working our way toward Joe and Chase.

Just like Joe has already said, the snow was not what you'd think it would be as far as sneaking around. Try as we might, toe first, heel first...no matter how we tried to step....it was disappointingly noisy!

But we moved slow and used our eyes as much as possible. Although the noise factor had increased with the snow to our disadvantage, the snow would without a doubt increase our eye-site!

We hadn't gone very far along the river when I saw a hog and got Skyler and Don's attention. Then there was 2...3...4...5......then a smaller 6th pig could be seen!  

Only one problem.....they were on the other side of the river!!!!!
 We watched for a while, and paralleled them while hunting our side of the river, but soon lost them as they went on with their daily quest to find something to eat.

A little further along Don came upon some tracks of a rooting hog from earlier in the morning...
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The whole "hunting in the snow in TX thing" was kinda surreal. If not for the occasional prickly pear sticking out of the snow to remind us we were in fact still in TX, it felt more like a hunt in CO. or WY....it was an experience I wouldn't have even come up with in my imagination...very cool!
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Spending time with Don and Skyler is always very special and something I look forward to doing a lot more of!

Skyler seems to have grown up right before our eyes here on TG...
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Great pics and story telling by all. JC and Guru, you fellas have a gift.

JC - no excuses at the top of the food chain,
unless you want to end up at the bottom. GOOD WORK!

Curt reminded me (getting old I guess), I left out the part where we saw pigs across the river too. I saw a sounder that had a sow that I'll bet would have gone 300#. How do I know it was a sow from that far a way? Well, if a 300#+ boar had turned it's hind end to me like the sow did, you would CERTAINLY know it was a boar.    :readit:  Seeing those pigs across the river was the fuel the guys would need for their trip to the other side on Friday....but I'll wait for the others to tell that one.

O.K. Everyone....I was kinda worried about how the Snake "Havesting" would be viewed but he hit it on the head......We don't mean to upset anyone and they will be put to good use including several St. Judes Projects....Here goes.......  (http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k209/rickybob_2006/DSC_0188.jpg)  (http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k209/rickybob_2006/DSC_0225.jpg)  (http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k209/rickybob_2006/DSC_0217.jpg)  (http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k209/rickybob_2006/DSC_0235.jpg)  (http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k209/rickybob_2006/DSC_0212.jpg)  (http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k209/rickybob_2006/DSC_0203-1.jpg)  (http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k209/rickybob_2006/DSC_0201-3.jpg)  (http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k209/rickybob_2006/DSC_0193-1.jpg)

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(http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k209/rickybob_2006/DSC_0331.jpg) (http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k209/rickybob_2006/DSC_0354.jpg) (http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k209/rickybob_2006/DSC_0341.jpg) (http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k209/rickybob_2006/DSC_0344.jpg) (http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k209/rickybob_2006/DSC_0349.jpg)

On the way out to go get the snakes, we drove along and were approaching a gate to open to go thru...Don yells "hogs by the feeder"!!

A little sounder of hogs had found to feeder we'd been shaking corn out of earlier in the week.

They were on to us and "getting away" quick. With the boys all tangled up in the backseat. I asked them to hand me my bow and I was off.  There was only a slim chance I'd  get close, but there I was running in the snow to try.....

Before I knew it I was trotting along, paralleling the hogs as they moved on the shelf below me....

The lead hag has already out distanced me, but I'd actually gotten slightly ahead of some little one's and a good size spotted hog. They were about 25yds. below me....I stopped and got ready to shoot as they came trotting by...

But... as much as I tried to find an opening to shoot thru....it just wasn't there.... and off they went.....

I recognized that I was now close enough to the bluff that I could walk to it and check the "pig bomb"....besides it would be easier for the guys in the truck to pick me up there....

The bomb had been detonated!!!

There was 4 hogs at the hole, and 5 more eating all the corn on the trickle trails....

A quick text to JC to let them know and they drove over to me. Don got out and came over to the edge....Don has already posted pix. Maybe he'll post them again here...

We talked about it for a second...the wind was perfect, the hogs were busy eating',  I had to try it...this might be my only chance...

When I left Don at the top of the bluff, all the hogs were at least as far out in the flat as the pig bomb.... and that would give me an excellent opportunity to sneak in.....

But by the time I got down there, they had come right into the area where I was planning to come out of the bottom and up on the flat.

Not expecting them to be there, I peeked up slowly only to find them only 20yds in front of me and in a terrible spot for this to be happening!!!

They had no idea I was there as I got into shooting position. But this area was just too thick, leaving me only on opening about a foot wide in front of me to shoot. But they were coming right to it....

I had tension on the string of my 63# Kwyk Styk as they approached...15yds....14...13...12...11...at 10yds the lead hog was one step from hog heaven...but her instinct kicked in....she held up just shy of my only opening...

She stood stone still for about 30 seconds, knowing "something wasn't quite right"...but then started to take that one step forward. As she did, I started to draw and she saw the movement and turned into my lane and walked in to about 7 steps from me....staring right at me...She growled to alert the other and very soon I was all by myself!!  Dang it!!

Had I been in an area with better shooting opportunities and not only one little spot to shoot, I would have let her walk past and drawn as she quartered away....I didn't have that option and had "to go for it"....I turned around and hiked back up the cliff...we had snakes to catch....


My feelings are exactly as Joe described about the snakes...nobody on the ranch wants them around...and we'd put every one of them the very good use.

Another surreal experience that we never could have imagined....catching snakes in the snow in TX!

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What can be said but...   :thumbsup:  

Looks like you had fun!

The Texas Snake Wranglers great pics.

Them's some baaad boys- good job guys. I had a chance to see the "scene of the crime" but sat sulking in the truck cause I'd lost my old bowhunter kit with a forty year old Puma Nicker in it. The folks at PumaUSA have a replacement on the way from Germany, btw- great folks. Beautiful pictures Curt and JC- I really had blocked out how cold it was. This was one of the best experiences of my hunting life and its been a long and good one- perfect terrain and the best company anyone could hope for. Curt- it was great meeting you and everyone else, great to see you again. I can't wait to see what Barry and Gene do to us next year, LOL.    Grant

Here is Curt and Dad's Pig Bomb....Look just left of center at the bare earth showing and look closely for the Hogs...... (http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k209/rickybob_2006/DSC_0175.jpg)

Great thread, guys!  

Gregg

Great story telling and pictures. Thanks for sharing!
Did anyone cook up any of the snakes? I happen to like the taste.

Thanks again!
God bless,Mudd

Don feeling the effects of 4 days a of very tuff hunting...
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Friday morning....
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Not hard to pattern us....the bathhouse.....
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"Whip"...now here's another one of the finest fellas a guy could ever ask to cross paths with,  an absolute fine gentleman!  Just wish I could have had more time to spend with and around Joe. He's one of those guys that when you meet him, you just "know"....
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Four more fine TG'ers....Bill Kissner, Hillboy, Hormoan, and Gatekeeper...
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"Miss Kim's" rig also feeling the effects of the hunt. Joe was on his way to town for a repair!
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We had a late start  to get out hunting trying to get the truck situation figured out. But Rob took us out in his beast. I would stay back and watch over the "pig bomb" and check feeders. Rob,Sky, Chase, and Don would try to get to the other side of the creek for the first time. We knew that's where we needed to be, but because of the weather we just couldn't!  They'll fill you in on their fine afternoon!  
Grant would hunt the other side of the river.

They dropped me off, we wished each other good luck, and they drove off....as I approached the bluff it was very apparent the "pig bomb" had been hit hard since I'd been there the evening before.....
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A closer look...
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Walker,Erick and I emptied our quiver in an open field on some busted hogs.Erick went to try and head them off Me and Bob ran down a runt and decided it was a whole lot easier to catch hogs then shootem (http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff194/mlw015/DSCN1211.jpg)

Great Pic Mike! Re-size it and get it back up for everyone to see.....I thought Bob could move really fast if he had too....

Let me Say this before we finish posting Pics and this Tale Ends.....JC and I both know we are very Lucky To have Sons who enjoy the Outdoors and Hanging out with their "Old Men"...It makes me proud of Skyler when My Buddies and New-found friends speak so highly of him....It really was a Tough Week of Hunting but it was a Great Week also...Like Curt said "Everything happens for a reason"....Maybe that reason was for our little Group to become Closer..Who Knows for sure....I just know that our group was Great...Chris, Curt, JC, Chase, Skyler and Myself in a Camper for a week, in this Kind of Weather and we didn't kill one another  :)  We had Great Traveling Buds in Rob and Grant..What a Pair! .......OK now for some Weird Stuff....15 miles from nowhere and I find these 2 Items in the Brush. They were About a Mile Apart and Quite a Ways from any road. The first is a Refridgerator sitting in some thick Brush....inside was an old Folgers Coffee Can...Did anyone else see it?????  (http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k209/rickybob_2006/IMGP0383.jpg)

Next was a Brick...now I know that if you could have seen where this was at, you would've Scratched your Head....Absolutely no reason for it to be where it was....Somebody had to have carried it there and for what reason?...Again, it was a long way from No where.....Strange.  (http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k209/rickybob_2006/IMGP0387.jpg)

The awesome stories and pictures continue.

Don the reason that everyone speaks so highly of skyler is because he was taught well and you are a great DAD. I am sure that in the years to come Skyer and Chase will be saying that they cannot thank there DADS enough for the gift you have taught them.

Great stories and pics, guys!  Sure can tell you were there to have fun and nothing was gonna spoil it.  :clapper:

This was my first Pig Gig and the Twins put on a good gathering. The Lambshead Ranch was a different kind of Texas hunting for me - a place where spot and stalk for hogs was a real possibility. One day I had Woody drop me off a couple miles down river from our spot and still hunted back towards Matson's Crossing. It was cold but the snow had not yet fallen and as walked the river bottom I enjoyed a wonderful day afield.

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v613/shaunw/TX10037.jpg)

I found sheds and explored thickets at the base of the bluffs. At one point I spotted hogs ahead and it was two large sows with piglets. Too far to hit the piglets and two far from the road to drag a large sow, so I took some pics and thought about a stalk.

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They were feeding on native pecans and rooting away. The wind was in my favor. Then from behind me - in the thickets I had passed - came a warning growl. The sows paused and a second growl from over my shoulder sent them to the thick stuff. I figure some old boar was watching me and did not like my looking over his flock.

I missed a shot at a fat sow that had beat me to the Bros' ladder stand they sent me to on Thursday. Then the last day I cut the fresh track in the snow of a big boar that Woody had seen earlier in the week. This boar had a gimpy leg and left a distinctive and huge track in the snow. I followed his spore and was soon rewarded with a glimpse of him ahead across a draw. He stepped out of the brush and looked back at me broadside. My arrow was away and had heart written all over it - until I realized that what Woody had described as "The biggest wild hog I've ever seen." - was actually standing at 40 not 30 yards. They don't make a 3D hog target that size and I had seriously misjudged the range.

Wonderful gathering of the cream of the trad archery hunters. I often reflect that these hunts could be held in a hotel in Chicago because the real thrill is the camaraderie. Weather might be warmer too.

Hey Curt there's a few zillion more y'all missed! Oddly enough I took a series of pictures from the Lookout at Reynold's Bend that same day around 4 pm. Basically I was in the middle of the first landscape pic about 4 miles out looking right back at you guys...I have them somewhere. Glad y'all liked Lambshead.

Great to see you back from the Sweat, Shaun!  Not only looking forward to great stories about that hunt, but wanted you to be around to talk about the gimpy-legged boar.

I originally ran across him when I was still-hunting along the river.  First I bumped a couple of 150 pound boars out of their beds.  I didn't see them until they stood up, as they'd been laying on the far side of a clump of bushes.  We played hide and seek for couple minutes in the thick stuff.  No chance for a shot before they tired of the game and headed straight up a ridge into a thicket.

The encounter made me even more cautious, hoping that I'd found the local hogs' bedroom.  I slipped along another fifty or sixty yards and through the grass and greenbriar vines
and saw something twitch.  It sure looked black and hairy, but I couldn't make it out.  It flapped one more time and I realized it was a very large ear belonging to a massive hog.  

Not quite sure of which way he was facing, I eased up to about 18 yards.  The wind was perfect - a steady breeze into my face, so I settled onto my knees, bow up, to wait for the hog to finish his nap and stand.  That didn't take long, though, as a mob of bluejays went berserk over something close to the river.

The hog jumped up and was into cover in a flash.  He relaxed pretty quickly, though, and through a screen of young mesquites and greenbriars I watched him scratch, flop his ears, and take a long piss.  There was something obviously wrong about his gait, though, and it became clear he was favoring his right rear leg.  

For about ten minutes I got to watch the big guy do his mid-afternoon routine.  It was a real treat to watch an undisturbed hog do all of his leisurely hoggy things, but there was always an arrow on the string.  I wanted to let it fly.

The boar ambled out of the thick stuff into an open lane.  He parked himself there in the warm sun, facing straight away from me.  All I could see was his backside, which looked the size of a #3 washtub.  The debate between my ears was loud and boisterous.  Two, maybe three times I started to draw, but couldn't convince myself to shoot.  

He moved back behind scrub bushes and snuffled around.  I don't what alerted him, but he stiffened and became aware of me.  With only three good legs to move all that bulk, he jiggled impressively fast up the steep slope into the thick stuff.  And I mean acres of "get on your knees and crawl" kind of thick stuff.
Not a place to follow.

Here's a photo of his bed.  I think he used it regularly -- maybe daily.  The bow is 64" and it almost fits...

 (http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c360/krf123/PigGig20109.jpg)

I went back in there twice more over the coming days and both times came face to face with a coyote.  I suspect he was checking on the hog, too.

On the afternoon of the big snow, Shawn and I went back to that stretch of bottomland.  Shawn headed uphill while I made a loop along the river.  I found this:  

   (http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c360/krf123/PigGig201023.jpg)

The big guy was out and about.  The tracks looked brand new.  After a few more steps, there were turds -- still steaming.  He couldn't be more than a couple minutes ahead of me.  Arrow on the string, fingers split around the nock, eyes ahead for movement.  God, it's good to be alive.

Another 100 yards and new tracks crossed the hog trail -- Shawn!  I could see that he'd stepped across the boar's tracks and immediately taken a right turn to follow them.  This is going to be good...  Go get him, buddy!

I took one more look around the creek bottom before heading back to the truck.  Shawn was there waiting.  Hard to say who was more pumped.  It's great to go a round with a big boar, but it's worlds better when your hunting partner gets in on the action, too.  

 (http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c360/krf123/PigGig201025.jpg)

 (http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c360/krf123/PigGig201024.jpg)


The boar was standing broadside on the upper bench when Shawn shot.  Not much there to help gauge the distance.  


 (http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c360/krf123/PigGig201022.jpg)

 (http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c360/krf123/PigGig201020.jpg)

Woody and Shaun    :thumbsup:    :thumbsup:  

That hog must have been an old monster, lame leg and all    :notworthy:

The sky was clearing and the snow was melting. Good and bad!  Good because it made sneaking very quiet, but bad because it made the mud even worse!
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I had a "game plan" I would work on this mid day hunt. With two feeders(We had shaken corn out of both) in walking distance of the bluff overlooking the "pig bomb", I would work a circuit between the far one(where we kicked the hogs off of the day before and I chased down), and the bluff. Halfway between I could glass the other feeder without having to walk toward it.

The wind was perfect for all the spots if a stalk was in order...I was set.

This is the feeder/shooting house that I could glass while working my circuit. Easy to see the green shooting house,but the feeder is a small silver box over on the left side of the picture...
•  (http://www.tradgang.com/upload/curt/P1060499.JPG)

Fence line I followed between the feeder and the bluff(bluff in the backround)...
•  (http://www.tradgang.com/upload/curt/P1060500.JPG)

Cactus in a bit of a struggle...
•  (http://www.tradgang.com/upload/curt/P1060505.JPG)

Snow melting and starting to look like Texas again. The "Pig Bomb"....
•  (http://www.tradgang.com/upload/curt/P1060506.JPG)


I glassed and watched the guys trying to cross the creek for the first time. They disappeared into the river, and for several long, long minutes they didn't come out. I mean there I was 5-4 miles away, watching helplessly and getting worried about why they hadn't come out on the other side yet....not a good feeling knowing your buds are in the truck crossing a creek they weren't familiar with!

After about 10 very long minutes out pops "The Beast"!!!  Whew...what a relief!

I watch them park and go off hunting...knowing they'd finally gotten to the "better sid"e of the creek and they'd have some good stories and hopefully some pork!!  Rob's "Beast" in the distance....
•  (http://www.tradgang.com/upload/curt/P1060507.JPG)

Glassing the "pig bomb"...
•  (http://www.tradgang.com/upload/curt/P1060511.JPG)

Snow almost gone...
•  (http://www.tradgang.com/upload/curt/P1060512.JPG)

A couple reminders that we were in fact still in Texas....
•  (http://www.tradgang.com/upload/curt/P1060514.JPG)
•  (http://www.tradgang.com/upload/curt/P1060516.JPG)

 Although the feeder that I was going back and forth to had been hammered again since we'd been by yesterday. Nothing was around just yet....
•  (http://www.tradgang.com/upload/curt/P1060517.JPG)

Back and forth I went...glass the "pig bomb", work toward the far feeder, and stopping half way between to glass the other feeder....I bet I walked 5-6 miles thru the mud working my circuit...
•  (http://www.tradgang.com/upload/curt/P1060523.JPG)


But with it being mid day, and us having to leave before prime time....it just wasn't going to happen. I would have bet $$ that if I could have stayed for the last couple hours of daylight that something would have showed....back to camp to start getting ready to leave tomorrow    :(

What an adventure.  Hope to go on a free ranging pig hunt some day.

Looks like you had a great time Curt regardless of the weather.Really nice pics.You would have made Steve Irwin proud the way you were working that snake extractor. glen

Why would you kill all those snakes? If it was cold enough to snow, they sure wern`t going anywhere. I`m sure the rodent population will thank you in the coming months.

Maputahi, from my previous post:

"Now I'll preface this next part for those that may be offended with the upcoming pics: I'm not a bloodthirsty killer that hunts out and kills poisonous snakes for the thrill of it. None of those in our party fall into that category. While some feel there should be a live and let live mindset for all those things you don't "eat", I've spent my life around farms in one fashion or another and "pests" can come in many different forms. If cattle is your lively hood, I know for certain a young calf hammered by a big snake is going to have issues. Not to mention the trouble they can cause to the cowboys and horses that work those cattle. In addition, when we initially showed the pics to the Gene and Barry, they were adamant about the rancher wanting the snakes gone, albeit the slim chances of us encountering them in the current weather. I will also say that we wanted the skins for use as bow backing and integration into knife sheaths, armguards and the like. This is not a whining justification to make us feel better for the killing of these snakes, it's simply some background for my personal mindset and a portion of which was shared by those with me at the time (I cannot speak fully for them and their motivations). "

Thank God for Trad Gang!!!!!!

Nothing like reading about and seeing pics of hunts you couldn't attend.

Thanks for sharing guys.

JC and Curt you know how to tell your stories that is for sure.

This is a great thread, thanks guys!

Looks like alot of fun for sure. the weather seems to change like i change my underwear though...well maybe more quickly  :bigsmyl:  

JB

I'm going to have to make this hunt one year. I hunted south texas for hogs but it wasso thick you couldn't do any spot and stalk. This ranch seems like it is perfect for a great hog hunt.

Was there any hogs killed last week?  I haven't read all the post but didn't see any pictures of hogs.  I was hunting about 30 miles away and was planning on stopping over one night but never made it.  I missed one big boar on Tuesday night and some close calls on the ground.  The boar was so nervous and jumpy he had me all jumpy.

There were several taken in week 2, too.  The Pig Gig Week 2 thread is floating around someplace.

There were several hogs killed during week one and there are pics of some of them in this thread. You have to read or at least look at the pages. There is still several that could be be posted but they may not. Sorry your hunt didn't work out.

The fun of the last night in camp. Eating a wonderful meal and soaking in all the camaraderie we could before we had to say goodby the next morning....


Bill, Kevin, Steve, Gene, and Hillboy...
•   (http://www.tradgang.com/upload/curt/P1060525.JPG)
•   (http://www.tradgang.com/upload/curt/P1060526.JPG)

Chase, LC, Barry, and Woody...
•   (http://www.tradgang.com/upload/curt/P1060528.JPG)

One regret from this trip is not spending more time around this guy...Woody Blackwell.  One of the nicest, most sincere, and truly talented guys I've ever met. I wish I would have seen him work his magic with stone.
But I was the recipient of a few of his works of art to haft to an arrow and kill something with. Thanks again bro, I'll do ya proud!
•   (http://www.tradgang.com/upload/curt/P1060529.JPG)

Hogdancer, Whip, and Paul V....
•   (http://www.tradgang.com/upload/curt/P1060531.JPG)
•   (http://www.tradgang.com/upload/curt/P1060532.JPG)

Tippet and Hormoan "slaving away in the kitchen"...
•   (http://www.tradgang.com/upload/curt/P1060533.JPG)
•   (http://www.tradgang.com/upload/curt/P1060534.JPG)

Paul, Sky, Thomas, and Shaun...
•  (http://www.tradgang.com/upload/curt/P1060535.JPG)

Thru the smoke...Eric and Barry....
•  (http://www.tradgang.com/upload/curt/P1060536.JPG)

Bill, Kevin, and Skyler...
•  (http://www.tradgang.com/upload/curt/P1060537.JPG)

Bill, Gene, and Barry warming up his but-tocks..
•  (http://www.tradgang.com/upload/curt/P1060538.JPG)


•  (http://www.tradgang.com/upload/curt/P1060540.JPG)

Thomas, Kevin, Tippet, and Whip....
•  (http://www.tradgang.com/upload/curt/P1060543.JPG)

Barry pretending that he's my friend.  I still can't believe I hunted in the same camp with Gene and Barry Wensel.....means more to me that I can put into words....
•  (http://www.tradgang.com/upload/curt/P1060546.JPG)

Tom Phillips with a big smile...
•  (http://www.tradgang.com/upload/curt/P1060548.JPG)

The lead up to these 2 pix was absolutely hilarious for anyone who saw it!  Well maybe not for Tom Phillips    :scared: . Maybe he'll tell the story...
•  (http://www.tradgang.com/upload/curt/P1060549.JPG)
•  (http://www.tradgang.com/upload/curt/P1060550.JPG)

So if I come through texas in early june could I hunt there (a canadian).

Do you have to hunt with an outfitter or just another trad member?

jB

Looking at those landscape pictures, I'm really suprised how closely that bush resembles the 'Bosveld' in South Africa! Apart from the snow that is. Really making me home sick!!!! Great pics guys, keep them coming!

QuoteOriginally posted by DW:
 (http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k209/rickybob_2006/DSC_0331.jpg)  (http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k209/rickybob_2006/DSC_0354.jpg)  (http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k209/rickybob_2006/DSC_0341.jpg)  (http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k209/rickybob_2006/DSC_0344.jpg)  (http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k209/rickybob_2006/DSC_0349.jpg)

Nice Sky!
Plenty of good eating right there and plenty Of good skins for some bows.     :thumbsup:

I sure hope them boys Washed Their Hands for they got home..    (http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d171/IronBull_/Smileys/shark.gif)


I'm sure by now, that Miss Kim and Miss Tammy are   NOT following this thread    (http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d171/IronBull_/Smileys/runforhills.gif)

Either that or Don and JC are banned from the boys forever     :biglaugh:

Jerry,

Texas does not discriminate against Canadians, yet! All you need is a five day type #157 license for $48.00 at Wally World and your good for two havies and any # of hogs you want. Of course ranches may have limits.

Vance,
We had some mighty good pecan pie at the Sweat and we was thinking of you. Missed ya, hope you feeling better soon.

Vance, We missed you Buddy....and you're right about the Ladies not watching.....Has anyone told you about the food????? It was great and you were mentioned Several times  :)

Knew there was a reason I never went to Texas, SNAKES ******Don't like SNAKES*****

I'd just like to say a HUGE thanks to Grant, for sharing his piggy with me.....

(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y110/robtattoo/Ribs.jpg)

Mmmmmmm gooood!

You must have been hungry Rob.   :biglaugh:  Wish I had some fresh pig to eat.  Hope to see ya in Nashville next month.

Wow, them there ribs look yummy.   :D

Yea...........What's left of them, looks good (http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d171/IronBull_/Smileys/thamazon.gif)

What sauce is that on em?    :saywhat:

And son, you'd get run outta town leavin that much meat on a rib down here!    :biglaugh:

I had a small resizing issue earlier so I want to start over with the fact that walker and I  were the only ones in camp to catch a hog.We chose not to use such high tech weapons as the others in camp.Thats for sissys. (http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff194/mlw015/DSCN1211.jpg)

On arrival I found out that My bunk house was not only many miles away but also had some other minor issues so Bob accomadated me the first night in his tent.Well I woke up needing relief.Ya know Bob does things in his sleep that I just don't.Things like snoring,talking,fartin,coughing etc     So the rest of the week I bedded in a shelter such as this the Wensel brothers accomadated for the camp.  (http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff194/mlw015/DSCN1212-1.jpg)

This was good.Loyed and I took ownership of this fort and would be entertained by visitors such as Woody,Eric, and Doc.All working to be like Woody. (http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff194/mlw015/DSCN1215-3.jpg)

QuoteOriginally posted by JC:
What sauce is that on em?      :saywhat:  

And son, you'd get run outta town leavin that much meat on a rib down here!      :biglaugh:  

Well Sir, the sauce is your'n & Miss Kim's special secret sauce & that's a 'before' picture. (It wasn't a 'ribby' pig) You don't wanna see the 'after' pic. Put it this way, I just got outta the bath....

(http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b175/CLSurt/P1000750.jpg)

(http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b175/CLSurt/P1000752.jpg)

(http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b175/CLSurt/P1000754.jpg)

(http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b175/CLSurt/P1000755.jpg)

(http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b175/CLSurt/P1000756.jpg)

(http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b175/CLSurt/P1000762.jpg)

(http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b175/CLSurt/P1000758.jpg)

I love this stuff - great pics - great video - great country - great ribs

AND GREAT RIBBING  :biglaugh:

Chris, how'd you manage to stay so clean?    ;)

Man I feel like I was right there with ya!  Well not really, I'm jealous as he!!   :bigsmyl:    Great stories and pics and just and all around great time!!!!! Thanks for sharing!!   :thumbsup:    :thumbsup:    :thumbsup:

Wow Chris...how do you like Texas gumbo? Get a shot at the black one in the pic?

Great posts guys !! The pictures were awesome.   :wavey:    :coffee:

Rob- You are welcome. Slow smoked a whole shoulder for my son and his college buddies Saturday. It disappeared pretty quick. See you in Nashburg.  Grant

I think this is the first camp I have been on that it actually came a big snow.But it was cool visiting and carrying on in camp like it was just another hunt  (http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff194/mlw015/DSCN1216-1.jpg)

Great thread guys.  Thanks for sharing.  I've really enjoyed it.

QuoteOriginally posted by JC:
 How I pity those remain constantly locked inside the false reality of civilization...of those who never get to experience the hundreds of sensations that cannot be fully explained or described unless you are graced by God with the opportunity to sit at the edge of a muddy river in Texas, during a freak snowstorm with a fine bow in your hands, a sharp broadhead on  a straight shaft, and your son smiling at your side. How fortunate I am indeed.

Nicely put, I've had that same thought and feeling a number of times while sharing a ground blind with my sons.

The last morning...having to say goodbye...never easy...

Had to take this one for my bud Wayne "Biggie" Hoffman...This is another Wayne Hoffman "Smiley" on TG...
•  (http://www.tradgang.com/upload/curt/P1060551.JPG)

Rob and Grant packin' up...
•  (http://www.tradgang.com/upload/curt/P1060553.JPG)

Chase and Sky...a victim of the truck grill...
•  (http://www.tradgang.com/upload/curt/P1060555.JPG)

"Whip's" rig...
•  (http://www.tradgang.com/upload/curt/P1060556.JPG)

"Our" whole crew..JC, Chase, Barry, Don, Sky, Me, Gene, and Chris...
•  (http://www.tradgang.com/upload/curt/P1060558.JPG)

Another picture I'll treasure...
•  (http://www.tradgang.com/upload/curt/P1060563.JPG)

Barry, Sky, and Gene...
•  (http://www.tradgang.com/upload/curt/P1060564.JPG)

The Lone Star...
•  (http://www.tradgang.com/upload/curt/P1060569.JPG)

Sorry for slipping in on your week #1 thread but you guys might enjoy this. I took this photo the last day of week #2. I wonder if this technique helps or hinders the brother's digestive track???  It would be a shame to withhold the word on this new technology:^)

(http://brothersofthebow.com/CUZworkout.jpg)

(NOTE: Hit F5 to refresh your page if the pic fails to appear)

:biglaugh:     :jumper:

Thanks Brothers    :notworthy:    :notworthy:    :notworthy:


 Very;Very MUCH   :pray:    :pray:

Vance, it was a GOOD time.  Would have been even GOODER if you'd been there.  Next year?    :pray:

Just a great read. I can't wait to get back to Texas.

Thanks Dirtybird! I jusr went thru the entire thread and added a hunt to the bucketlist!

I was really enjoying this thread (first time I've seen it)...up until the snake pics!!!

:)

Someday would love to hunt with some of you guys...

Well we are going to be starting p another thread here soon. As the next pig gig is just 6 short weeks away!  I seriously can't wait. This hunt in 2010 was super fun. I met some awesome people and got to hunt with some I have in the past.  We got to share a lot of time in the teepee because we weren't hunting due to the snow.  We lost about 4 days.  So for me this will be a great treat especially if it doesn't snow.  Which I've been doing a funky pleas don't snow dance.  Stay tuned.

Good luck, Matt. I will be chasing hogs in Texas in just under a month.  Always a good time.

Nice pat! How's the pig situation been in your neck of the woods?

Six weeks? Already? I better get busy rounding up stuff.

I'll send you a text, Matt.

What great stories and pics you guys had ...someday I hope to make it you guys are the first class!!!!!!