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Glenn and Ed met me at my office on Thursday afternoon, just after 4:30
pm. Glenn's pickup adorned it's newly acquired, one of a kind
TexasBowhunter.com window decal!
After a brief stop at Bass Pro Shops in Katy for some last minute
goodies and some corn, we made our way to my dad's ranch just outside of Encinal,
arriving just after 11:00. We unhooked the trailer and unloaded the
essentials, then drove around the ranch to see if we could find some hogs.
It didn't take long, as less than a quarter of a mile from the gate we spotted a
couple of pigs working a pasture less than 50 yards from the road. Ed and
I decided we'd attempt to stalk the hogs under the full moon, even though they
were walking away from us at a steady pace. We walked quickly behind as
the hogs entered the edge of the brushline. When we reached the brush, we
stopped and listened to see if we could figure out which direction they went,
but unfortunately, they were just moving to quickly.
We corned some roads, then returned to camp and decided to get a few hours of
sleep. We planned to wake up before daylight and spend some time hunting, then come back to
camp for a nap while we waited for Casey and Les to arrive sometime around
noon. Ed was up just seconds before the alarm on his watch sounded.
His stirring woke me, and we both made our way to separate windows to take a
peek out behind the cabin. 25 yards behind the cabin were three
does. What Ed couldn't see, due to his vantage point from the kitchen
window, were two hogs that were less than 5 yards from the corner of the
cabin. After pointing them out to Ed, he decided he would attempt to stalk
around the side of the house and shoot one of the hogs.
Ed managed to get into position for a shot, and sent his Thunderhead tipped
Epsilon into the hog. The hog squealed loudly as he spun 5 or 6 times in
place, while the other hog watched in amazement! The arrow penetrated up to
the vanes, and we could see that it hit behind the shoulder, just above the
midline of the body. Ordinarily, on any other species of animal, I would
have been confident of a quick recovery, but having seen a number of hogs that
seemed to be a sure thing, only to never recover them, I knew that the shot
might be just a bit high. Ed attempted to nock another arrow as the hog
pirouetted 15 yards in front of us, but by the time he was able to get the arrow
from his quiver, the hog had regained its composure and headed back into the
thick brush.
We went back inside the cabin and awoke Glenn, who had missed all the
excitement! We decided we would drive around the ranch until after
daylight, then give chase on Ed's hog. That would allow us a good 45
minutes to an hour to let the hog expire. Before Glenn could even dress,
Ed took another look out the back window, then turned to Glenn and asked if he
wanted to shoot a hog. Would you believe the second hog had
returned?! Glenn quickly grabbed his bow and made his way around the side
of the house. This time the hog was farther away from the house, somewhere
around 25 yards. Glenn waited patiently for the hog to present a broadside
shot. After teasing several times, the hog finally presented Glenn with a
good shot opportunity. Glenn drew back, placed his pin on the hog's
vitals, and triggered his release. The arrow sailed harmlessly over the
hog's back, and we watched as the hog disappeared once again, and this time for
good, into the brush.
We drove around the ranch until daylight, then returned to begin the search
for Ed's hog. We found blood immediately, and were able to easily follow
the trail as the hog meandered through the thick growth. The hog finally
entered a shallow draw and began following it east of the cabin. The sandy
soil in the draw caused the blood droplets to ball up and cover with sand,
making it more difficult to spot, but we were able to follow it until it hit a
road, some 500 yards from the cabin, and then followed the road to the
north. The blood droplets in the sand became smaller and smaller, until
finally it became near impossible to locate. Adding to the frustration was
the fact that the balled up droplets were difficult to distinguish from small
pieces of red clay that were also in the sand. Ed, Glenn and I searched
each trail trying to determine where the hog might have left the road and
entered the brush, looking for any sign of broken twigs or sticks, but were
unable to find anything among the thousands of trails intertwined through the
brush. Ed continued the search until almost noon before finally conceding.
Casey and Les arrived just before 1:00. After briefly exchanging
pleasantries, we decided to head west toward the 5 Star managed ranch.
According to our maps, the road on which our ranch is situated should have cut
through directly to Mines Road, entering that road within a half mile of the 5
Star Ranch. Using his mapping software, Ed was able to determine that the
trek should be little more than 21 miles from the cabin. Unfortunately,
after driving in five miles or so, we encountered a locked gate, forcing us to
turn around and backtrack nearly 45 miles to access the ranch.
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