2nd Draw draw! Somerville hog

[Mule Skinner]

Two years in a row I've been drawn for second draw. Last year was mule deer at Big Bend Ranch State Park.

Today, hog at Nails Creek Somerville. Only took 14 years to get drawn for the hog category.

I'll do a search but interested in hearing more about hunting at Nails from those with experience.

[JackRyan]

Congrats to you! My boys and I got second draw a couple of weeks ago on NWR Exotic so we were super excited. Then ths morning I got another second draw email for Spring Turkey!!!

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[Mule Skinner]

This hunt is next week. Bump to see if any other TBHers are going.

Or if any have done this hunt in the past and have any tips.

[McLovin]

I did the hunt two years ago. Camped at Nails Creek SP. My compartment was across the creek at Newman's Bottom and we had success by walking slowly into the wind in the open areas adjacent to the creek bottom listening for them grunting then put the stalk on them.

[Beargrasstx]

I did the hunt two years ago. Camped at Nails Creek SP. My compartment was across the creek at Newman's Bottom and we had success by walking slowly into the wind in the open areas adjacent to the creek bottom listening for them grunting then put the stalk on them.

This...I hunt the regular Somerville archery only unit. All you have to do is walk around with the wind in your face and you will find hogs eventually. They are everywhere out there

[Mule Skinner]

I did the hunt two years ago. Camped at Nails Creek SP. My compartment was across the creek at Newman's Bottom and we had success by walking slowly into the wind in the open areas adjacent to the creek bottom listening for them grunting then put the stalk on them.

Thank you for your response!

[Mule Skinner]

This...I hunt the regular Somerville archery only unit. All you have to do is walk around with the wind in your face and you will find hogs eventually. They are everywhere out there

Thank you sir. Headed that way in the morning.

[Mule Skinner]

Haven’t seen a pig in two hunts. Plenty of sign though. Had some up close in thick brush yesterday at the end of shooting time. We can’t drive into our compartments. Most of the open areas are full of grass and weeds at least 3 feet tall. Plenty of water in my compartment as I have Nails Creek as two of the boundaries. Yesterday lugged half a bucket of corn in a mile or so and hand tossed some roads. The deer found it quick, I’ve seen plenty of them.

Two more hunts to go, I’ve put quite a few miles on these old Redwings and they are fixing to get some more.

[Beargrasstx]

Just keep plugging away. Always be mindful of the wind and you should sneak up on some

[Mule Skinner]

To update this hunt from my last post, Wednesday afternoon I hand carried in some corn, baited, and sat. I wanted to give walking a rest as I had done it on the previous two hunts.

Legal shooting time ends and I start walking out, round a bend and there is one 40 yards away in the road. I hadn't baited there, guess he was eating grass. Anyhow, he bailed out quick and I heard is friends in the brush as I continued to walk out.

Yesterday morning was the last hunt. Finally decided to go light, i.e. no backpack with flashlight, extra cartridges, sitting stool, and all the other extra crap that ends up feeling like spare tonnage. Started walking in at 6 a.m. with rifle, four rounds, Bog Pod, a couple quart ziplocks, knife and four feet of toilet paper. After 15 minutes in, I came to the crossroads. Go left into the wind to the back of the compartment, or go right with a bad wind for a shorter walk to where the pigs had been the past two evenings.

Went left into the wind for the long walk. Just after light set up on the channel that goes into Flag Pond to see if any would be leaving the open prairie to cross the channel and bed down in the thick stuff for the day. Walk slow, stop, walk slow, stop. Wind is good. Next thing I know it's 8 a.m. and not a pig seen. It's overcast though, so I slowly walk to where I had corned the afternoon prior. Wind is at my back at this point and naturally all the corn is gone.

With the hunt winding down, I decided to go get off the roads for the first time and go walk through the brush and the woods. With nothing to lose, I start heading in to a general area where I think they are bedded. Following Nails Creek along and with the grass, tall dead weeds, leaves, etc. it's nearly impossible to traverse quietly. I get to a grove of 4-5 big live oaks (all the acorns are gone) and sit on a felled tree at the edge of a clearing at around 9 a.m.

Now it's nearly 9:30, it's hot, and about time to put this hunt in the books. Sometimes you just have to chalk up a hunt to a learning experience and glean the success from that as opposed to pulling the trigger.

The evening before I had checked out a couple of hog sounds on Youtube. While I had forgotten about it, I'm sitting on the tree and pull up TBH and lo and behold there is a hog calling thread. So for grins I go to Youtube and pull up a hog sound file. I play about 45 seconds on my phone with the volume cranked up and then stop. A minute or two goes by and I grab the rifle because you never know.

I hear what sounds like pigs approaching from behind me. As the photo shows, my view and shot is obstructed.



The next thing I see is black ear tips sticking out of the tall grass 40-50 yards away in the clearing. It turns and bails. Dang it.

But here comes another one to take its place. Top of of head, ear tips at full alert, grass obstructing the rest of it, no time to get the rifle on the sticks, crosshairs at where the shoulders should be, hope the bullet doesn't graze that branch.



I can tell it's hit and can hear it so I wait about 10 minutes. Insert 6.5 CM jokes here. Get to where it was standing--a slight opening in the tall grass--and no pig. And no blood. Check some nearby trails, nada. Go back to where I pulled the trigger, go back and do some more looking. No way I missed it. Check one more trail and there she was about 40 yards from point of impact.



After a quick look, this appears to be where I hit her. Not sure how I hit here there unless she was quartering toward me more than I thought.



After extracting the backstraps, this hunt was finally in the books. I've killed a lot of hogs over the years and have done quite a bit of spot and stalk but this hog hunt was definitely one of the most challenging. With sign literally everywhere, you'd expect one to be behind every bush. They are there but you've gotta work for them.

Having only rifle hunted north, west and south of San Antonio, it was enjoyable to hunt somewhere east with tall trees and actual woods. And copious water. Here are a few pics from my compartment.

[bbbuck]

Well done. Enjoy those backstrap’s.