Who's been to Matador?

[tx_basser]

Have a couple of questions... as I got drawn there for the Pig hunt in March.

Game Retrieval - is terrain is suitable for using game cart, or do I need to get a sled, quartering/packing out, or just drag to nearest road and throw in truck.

Typical Shot Distance - Thinking about just bringing my two muzzleloaders (1 scoped, 1 Traditional) instead of AR. Shot plenty of pigs, but really like using my smokepoles.

Hunting Style - Is hunt typically a spot and stalk or is it a sit/wait type of deal.

Eats in Paducah - Got a room at Hunters Lodge, but wondering about eats. Are there places to eat in the evenings or do I need to bring some stuff to eat or have precooked to eat.

[mwk128]

Have a couple of questions... as I got drawn there for the Pig hunt in March.

Game Retrieval - is terrain is suitable for using game cart, or do I need to get a sled, quartering/packing out, or just drag to nearest road and throw in truck.

Typical Shot Distance - Thinking about just bringing my two muzzleloaders (1 scoped, 1 Traditional) instead of AR. Shot plenty of pigs, but really like using my smokepoles.

Hunting Style - Is hunt typically a spot and stalk or is it a sit/wait type of deal.

Eats in Paducah - Got a room at Hunters Lodge, but wondering about eats. Are there places to eat in the evenings or do I need to bring some stuff to eat or have precooked to eat.

I would say most of the area is suitable for a game cart, or at least to where you could drag a pig a couple hundred yards to where it would be suitable. Most of the compartments are huge and road access in some of them isn't great, so quartering and packing out could be considered, depending on how much walking you plan on doing. They have a couple of game carts at the office so if you can always borrow one if you don't bring one. Muzzleloader will work fine if that's what you want to use. In my experience the pigs like to hang in the thicker areas in and around the canyons that run throughout the property in which case shots should be inside of 150 yards or so. I've also seen them a lot in the river bottom, which could be a longer shot. If I were you I might take both in case you end up in a compartment where shots are likely to be longer. Spot and stalk vs sit and wait is entirely up to you. You'll be in a compartment by yourself or with your hunting partners so you are free to roam as you please. I have generally liked to sit in the morning and evening for an hour or two and spend the rest of the day walking. As far as food in town I do not know as I have always camped onsite. I think there is only 1 or 2 restaurants in Paducah and they don't stay open real late, so I would definitely at least bring a little bit of something to eat incase you kill something late in the day and don't get back into town in time. There are a bunch of restaurants in Childress, but that's in the opposite direction from your motel. Good luck. Matador is my favorite public area in Texas that I've hunted.

[tx_basser]

My main game retrieval plan (23 year old son) backed out and did not want to go after 7 years of applying and did not accept the hunt online.. so told him ole dad is 58 and doesn't know how many more hunts I have left in my life, but this is going to be one of them even if I'm going solo

Thanks for the info, will probably throw AR in truck just to be safe in the event I get one of those open type compartments. Just something about watching the old roundball put one down.

[Yak blue]

It’s a fun hunt
Last pig hunt I did there I spotted a group of pigs at 200 yds and snuck within fifteen yards of them using the terrain and the wind. Opened up with open sight rifle is always fun.
The wind always blows…it’s west Texas, use it to your advantage.
You can pack out or drag out. Or if it’s a stinky boar that you don’t want to utilize you can leave it.
As said above, the pigs are all over. You can find them in thick brush and cover during the day if it’s warm, you also will catch them going to water. One guy I hunted with killed a few off of one of the windmills and he never walked more than 200 yards from where he parked.

When I had my pig hunt I walked probably 8 miles a day. Worked and walked up canyons and ravines. It’s really how hard you want to hunt.

[Aggiebush]

A cart should work for most areas, you may have to work around some terrain though. As said above, if you see them quickly, you should be able to stalk up pretty close.
We stayed at the Hunters Lodge, decent place to stay, but virtually no place to eat there. The cafe was good just not open very much. We ended up eating in Childress most nights and packed sandwiches to eat in the compartment for lunch.
Beautiful country and decent roads.

[lmartin5]

The Dixie Maid drive inn makes a dang good burger!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[SC-001]

Been long ago. Probably the coolest draw hunt I've ever been on, ever cooler than devils river, yes the Matador is a special place.

[Blank]

We drew a couple years ago. Stayed on site in the camp area in my RV. Lots of pig sign around any of the water holes and down along the thick river bottom areas. It is a fun hunt. We used my two wheeled cart for retrieving 3 deer. Never had any problems, but some areas required two people to pull in the steep or rough spots

[C-dubyah]

We stayed in Paducah and there were 2 hotels. One had an upstairs with no elevator so we declined having to carry our gear up and down every night. The other one you can back your truck right up to your door but it looks like something out of a horror movie.

A side note: When we hunted there, I shot a pig early in the hunt and the WMA manager would not let us use the cooler for pigs, it was deer only. Just something to consider for game storage.

[RobynHood]

Haven't done Matador but passed through Paducah a few times. There's a little drive in burger joint off the main strip

[RobynHood]

Got me to thinking
How difficult would you say this hunt is to draw?

[Redfeathers]

Been a long time since I was there but it was a blast, saw all sorts of animals!!

[donpablo]

Get an APH permit and go hunt quail there. It can double as a scouting trip.

[BarBBar]

Get an APH permit and go hunt quail there. It can double as a scouting trip.

I busted a covey while hunting whitetail there. First time I had that happen in forty years when quail were common in the hill country, and it felt great .

[tx_basser]

Following up. This was a good hunt and the staff made everybody welcome and very friendly. 1st day was cold, windy, sleet/snow, then gave way to just cold and windy.

Killed a large sow 1st day with my muzzleloadeand and it took me several hours to get it out as I was over a mile from the truck. Switched over to my recurve the rest of the week and got two more opportunities.

Main hunting method was spot and stalk as I would cover ground in the AM and find a good overlook. I could get to within 25 yards and that was pretty much it due to limited cover.

Overall good experience and WMA is well managed. Pigs are smart and if you pressure them too much you will run them out of your area.