Better lucky than good
This wasn't a bow kill, but it was fun times with family from far away nonetheless, so I thought I'd share.
My step-dad's uncle, who is in his 70's and lives in Montana, came to town for a couple weeks and I promised to take him pig hunting. We went out to my neighbor's place in Milam County (high fenced w/ some exotics, etc.). This place was recently purchased, so the feeder locations are in flux and there aren't any permanent stand locations (yet).
Upon pulling up to the gate, it seemed like every animal in the place was out in the front pasture (about 15 acres). There were 7 elk, about 3 dozen fallow, and a group of pigs. The pigs immediately ran as we opened the gate - everything else stayed put (guess who does and doesn't have hunting pressure).
It was very muddy, so after walking through the mud for a while, we set up a pop-up at the edge of the open field and fed some corn. I brought my bow in case we got anything close enough, and we both had rifles in case that didn't work out. All the elk and fallow came back out, and it was fun to watch for a while - but no pigs.
Finally, about 20 minutes before dark, I decided we should walk down toward one of the feeders (which was knee-deep in mud - it's being moved next week) to see if any pigs had come out. We got out of the blind and started walking across the field toward the next patch of trees, which were about 500-600 yards off.
We were about half way across when I see this black pig running straight at us at top speed (he was actually heading for the corn behind us, but it took me a second to figure that out). He was about 200 yards away when I spotted him. I pointed him out to my uncle, and we hit the deck. I had my bow in one hand and my .270 in the other. Given the situation, I opted for cheating.
My uncle can't shoot freehand very well anymore, so he was putting down the bipod on his .243 and trying to get in position for a shot. I had the pig in my crosshairs for what seemed like an eternity, but I really wanted him to shoot. The pig was still coming at us when he finally spotted us at about 60 yards. He was turning to run away, so I shot. He shot at the exact same time.
We both missed.
The pig turns to run back where he came from, and I chambered another round. He's running away at full speed about 75 yards away - quartering away just slightly. I tried to lead him and shot again. Again, he didn't slow down.
My uncle decides to go see if there's any sign of him at the tree line - which ran along the driveway entering the ranch, and I told him I was going to go put my bow in the truck and get my blood light, then meet him to see if we could find anything. After I went to the truck, he met me about half way down the driveway and informed me that the pig was laying dead in the middle of the driveway (very convenient, especially given how muddy the rest of the place was).
When we skinned him, we determine that the only shot that hit was my last one, which entered just in front of his right hip, took out his guts and lungs, and went out his neck.
He's got about two-inch tusks, and he was still young enough to be tasty. We didn't weigh him, but estimated him at about 120 lbs. We had a great evening and following morning of hunting, and it was nice to have something to show for it. It looks like we'll get to chase some more pigs in Bandera this weekend if the weather holds out.
(Notice the elk in the background of the pictures - they're curious like cows. They were probably 50 yards away when we shot three times, and none of them cared in the least. Then they followed us everywhere else we went. The bull is actually a pretty nice 5 X 6)
My step-dad's uncle, who is in his 70's and lives in Montana, came to town for a couple weeks and I promised to take him pig hunting. We went out to my neighbor's place in Milam County (high fenced w/ some exotics, etc.). This place was recently purchased, so the feeder locations are in flux and there aren't any permanent stand locations (yet).
Upon pulling up to the gate, it seemed like every animal in the place was out in the front pasture (about 15 acres). There were 7 elk, about 3 dozen fallow, and a group of pigs. The pigs immediately ran as we opened the gate - everything else stayed put (guess who does and doesn't have hunting pressure).
It was very muddy, so after walking through the mud for a while, we set up a pop-up at the edge of the open field and fed some corn. I brought my bow in case we got anything close enough, and we both had rifles in case that didn't work out. All the elk and fallow came back out, and it was fun to watch for a while - but no pigs.
Finally, about 20 minutes before dark, I decided we should walk down toward one of the feeders (which was knee-deep in mud - it's being moved next week) to see if any pigs had come out. We got out of the blind and started walking across the field toward the next patch of trees, which were about 500-600 yards off.
We were about half way across when I see this black pig running straight at us at top speed (he was actually heading for the corn behind us, but it took me a second to figure that out). He was about 200 yards away when I spotted him. I pointed him out to my uncle, and we hit the deck. I had my bow in one hand and my .270 in the other. Given the situation, I opted for cheating.
My uncle can't shoot freehand very well anymore, so he was putting down the bipod on his .243 and trying to get in position for a shot. I had the pig in my crosshairs for what seemed like an eternity, but I really wanted him to shoot. The pig was still coming at us when he finally spotted us at about 60 yards. He was turning to run away, so I shot. He shot at the exact same time.
We both missed.
The pig turns to run back where he came from, and I chambered another round. He's running away at full speed about 75 yards away - quartering away just slightly. I tried to lead him and shot again. Again, he didn't slow down.
My uncle decides to go see if there's any sign of him at the tree line - which ran along the driveway entering the ranch, and I told him I was going to go put my bow in the truck and get my blood light, then meet him to see if we could find anything. After I went to the truck, he met me about half way down the driveway and informed me that the pig was laying dead in the middle of the driveway (very convenient, especially given how muddy the rest of the place was).
When we skinned him, we determine that the only shot that hit was my last one, which entered just in front of his right hip, took out his guts and lungs, and went out his neck.
He's got about two-inch tusks, and he was still young enough to be tasty. We didn't weigh him, but estimated him at about 120 lbs. We had a great evening and following morning of hunting, and it was nice to have something to show for it. It looks like we'll get to chase some more pigs in Bandera this weekend if the weather holds out.
(Notice the elk in the background of the pictures - they're curious like cows. They were probably 50 yards away when we shot three times, and none of them cared in the least. Then they followed us everywhere else we went. The bull is actually a pretty nice 5 X 6)
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