"OFFICIAL" Granger Hog Hunting Thread

[Archer23]

Wanna hit it early Morning?? I have to be out of the woods and on the road by 10

[Wudstix]

Still waiting for GPS grids.

[Zipshod]

7 pigs came by my deer stand at 8:30 and 6 ran away!!

[TXFireFighter]

7 pigs came by my deer stand at 8:30 and 6 ran away!!

What area are you in?

[Zipshod]

Below dam. But it's the first time I have seen pigs in numerous deer hunts. In fact some hunters came by my stand about 1.5 hours after I shot the pig. In talking with other pig hunters the area has not been very productive. No pecans at all

[TXFireFighter]

Had a good morning. Muzzy and I met up with Crod and pushed a few areas and moved some pigs around. Spooked a group bedded down in front of me and shot a boar. All he presented me was his neck/head so I drilled him. He ran with my arrow in tow slapping trees. Unfortunately we didn't find him or my arrow. Also walked up on one down in a Creek bottom that appeared to be sleeping. Smoked it also only to find out it was already dead! It was less than a week old. They were both about 125 lb'ers. Had a great time! Here's a pic of the dead hog.

[TXFireFighter]

Not a great pic. You definitely couldn't tell it was dead walking up on it.

[TXFireFighter]

Below dam. But it's the first time I have seen pigs in numerous deer hunts. In fact some hunters came by my stand about 1.5 hours after I shot the pig. In talking with other pig hunters the area has not been very productive. No pecans at all

Thats also what Ive heard about below the dam. Although we saw pigs, I was sure we would see more than we did. We hunted up river from primitive camp. Boy was there a lot of random popup blinds out there. Out in the open and not brushed in.

[NightStalker]

Blood on the Thread



Stuck a little one today. Guess they thought none of the man-things would be out in this weather. And I admit that field dressing her in the dark in 25 degree weather was not my favorite thing.

Here is my sordid tale, i was blessed with a mixture of good and bad luck:
Went to gate 7 about 3:30 pm. Sky was a high but solid overcast, 26 degrees. Wind out of the NE at 7-10 mph. It seemed steady in the parking lot, but once down in the trees it was: less, and variable, moving 45 degrees left and right of the basic direction. Yellow line on the photo is 100 yards long, for scale. I confess to using a crossbow. My preferred weapon is a 55 lb Black Bear compound, but I have not been practicing enough lately and did not have confidence in my grouping, so I copped out and used a Barret 150 lb crossbow a friend had left at my house. (with mechanical broadhead)


My path was the red line on the photo. I was doing spot-and-stalk. I had a 7x35 pair of binoculars. I would take 10 steps, the then glass to the SE and NE, (crosswind and upwind) Repeat.

About halfway to A on the map, I spotted something that was a little too dark colored and had the wrong texture. I put a tree between me and the object and started my stalk. As I got closer, I realized it was an old tire. Krap. Back to spot and stalk.

Things were not breaking my way. I had hoped the ground would be wetter and thus quieter, but it was dry enough to make small pops and rustling as I walked. The wind was calmer in the trees, and thus also not covering the sound of my movement.

At the point labeled A on the map, I saw some hogs. A sonder of 4 yearlings (125 lbs?) and a dozen piglets were moving steadily to the NE, at a range of 40 yards, all were jet black. Due to the motion, I saw them first with my naked eyes, not the binoculars. They did not seem to be spooked, but were moving with a purpose, not foraging. I did not have a good shot due to the distance and motion. They did not spot me and moved on. Back to spot and stalk, but I was encouraged, I had been worried the hogs would not be moving due to the cold, despite the overcast skies.

Got to point B. I spotted something in the binoculars that was a little too dark colored and had the wrong texture, again at about 40 yards range, to my SE. I watched for a moment, and then it moved! It was a nice sow, about 150 lbs, and after a moment, I saw other dark blobs and motion, she had about a dozen piglets with her. They were foraging under a large white oak tree with light brush all around under the tree. I was in a more open area when I spotted them. I put a tree between the sow and me and started my stalk. (no way to hide from them all, but I figured the sow would be the most alert) I covered the first 10 yards just moving slowly, on my feet. I reached the big tree I had been using for cover; I went to hands and knees to cover the next 10 yards. At 20 yards I was again behind a (too small) tree and rose to a squat. Just at that moment, a heavy grunt sounded to my East, and the hogs all bolted away to the NE and out of sight! Krap!

But I stayed silent and watched. In about two minutes, I heard rustling from the direction the hogs had run. They had startled, but had not run far away. They were coming back. I raised my crossbow and waited. It was 5pm and getting dim. They slowly returned and resumed foraging.

The sow was staying close to the base of the oak, and there was light brush between us. She presented me a nice quartering away shot at 20 yards, but it was through the brush so I did not take it.

Finally one of the piglets came to the edge of the brush, range 15 yards, and presented me a full broadside. I decided to take what I could get, as the sonder was moving slowly SE and might catch my scent any moment. (that durn variable wind, remember?)

I put my aimpoint right behind the (moving) piglets elbow and let fly!

Well, it was a terrible shot. I later figured out I hit 5 inches left and three inches high, a high gut wound. The arrow passed completely through; i never found it. The pigs all scattered again. But here is where the luck came in. It was a gut wound, so no blood. But it had cut the big artery that runs along the backbone, the pig ran 20 yards and lay down to die. It screamed twice as it was fading, so I knew where to go look, despite the lack of a blood trail. (when I was field dressing, the body cavity was filled with blood)

I found it within 3 minutes, dead as a door-nail. Now, it was getting really dark and time to get back. Here comes the un-luck. My magnetic compass had quit working! The needle floated freely, but it would not seek north! Aint that a heck-of-a-note! And, the wind had faded (I had been keeping my direction during the hunt using the wind). Krap.

Well, I dragged my prize in the direction of the least dense trees, thinking that would the the open land to the north. No, the least dense trees turned out to be the river, with all the snags and deadfalls that accumulate near the river. So, I kept the river to my left, fought my way through the snags, until I reached the boat launch ramp, and then walked back to where the truck was parked. I was VERY glad to be dragging a little piglet through all that, rather than a 150 lb sow. Very dark by the time I got back to the truck. That cup of coffee from the thermos was a welcome treat!

And that, is my story. The old timers will be bored, but the newbys might learn something. Hmmm, why is the hog photo showing up twice?

[Speedgoat]

Woo Hoo!! Any success on spot n stalk on Granger is good!!! Congrats!!

[Removed]

Good job! Congrats on your pig.

[Neano]

Congrats. Looking forward to January.

[Zipshod]

Great story!! Congrats!! Any deer sightings?

[NightStalker]

Saw just one white tail doe, running away. No big tracks either.

[mudrunner]

Good lookin hog