As the sun inched its way towards the horizon chasing away the frigid Texas night, cardinals and brown thrushes began to appear and break their nightlong fast on the corn that had been scattered by our guide. Mark Zimmerman huddled against the assault of the record breaking cold; hoping that the last morning of his hunt would produce the feral hog he had been hunting for the past several days.
By day’s end, the young hunter would be on his way back to Ohio. This was the last day of his quest into the Lone Star State to pursue wild boar; and he longed to make his hunt successful. The presence of my video camera and me documenting his pursuit for a feature length hunting production had little if any effect on the confident, young man.
As the morning light continued to gain strength with the rising of the sun, the muffled flutter of bird wings alerted the 14-year old as the dining songbirds unanimously broke into flight. Mark caught movement along the heavy line of black brush as a boar pig emerged from the protection of the thick cover and began to inhale the corn kernels that lay scatted on the ground.
Mark picked up his crossbow and placed it on his lap. It appeared that the Lady Luck was smiling down on the young archer. She was going to provide him with an opportunity to fling an arrow at his unsuspecting quarry as it noisily crunched the yellow kernels of corn into a soggy mash.
Mark and I were concealed in a Double Bull Blind on the south end of the Halff Brother’s Ranch, which lies about an hour south of San Antonio, Texas. Mark had arrived several days earlier with his father, Lee and family friend, Riley Foster. The plan was for Mark to go into the field the first morning and harvest a feral hog with a crossbow. A good plan, but not realistic as it turned out. Hunting can be that way.
Lack of cooperation on the part of the “piggies” (the only word used by our Mexican guide to describe the hogs) made it necessary to extend the stay at the ranch in order to continue to hunt for the hog that was eluding the young archer.
A javalina spot-and-stalk hunt the day before had gone awry when a cell phone rang as a handsome boar stood broadside less than 30-yards away. The unsuspecting animal had walked onto a dirt road as it hungrily searched for nourishment. It stopped, completely unaware that a crossbow was aiming at its chest and a video camera was about to record its miraculous escape.
As it paused, seeming to sense that danger was near, the high pitched twitter of the cell phone broke the intense silence that shrouded the scene. The big javelina’s head snapped in our direction and then it exploded into motion, as its body became a dark blur and instantly disappeared into the heavy cover of the black brush that lined the road.
The rest of the day had passed without another opportunity at a javelina or feral hog. The evening hunt provided us with an opportunity to see hogs, but they wisely avoided coming close to the Double Bull blind that was secreted in the heavy brush. We later learned that Almondo, our guide, had seen a large cougar along the riverbed just a quarter of a mile from where we were sitting for the evening hunt.
Mark found the prospects of possibly seeing a mountain lion exciting, while I found it easy to understand why such a creature would make the Halff Brothers Ranch its home. With all of the hogs, whitetail deer and cattle, it was a virtual super market for the big cat and had all of the comforts of home for a wily cougar.
Ranch Manger, Jim Miller shared some of the rich history of the ranch we were hunting, giving us a deeper appreciation for where we were. It had been in the Halff Family since the 1800’s, originally being almost three times its current size of 19,000 acres. Cattle have always been the principle product of the operation, however, hunting is currently a very large portion of the ranches annual income.
A large and healthy whitetail deer herd is the primary hunting objective of most hunters. The hogs and peccary (javalinas), however, provide an exciting off-season hunting opportunity. An opportunity that is beneficial to all involved, including the hog herd.
The feral hog is a destructive creature that multiplies like a master mathematician and has a voracious appetite. It will eat nuts, acorns, grasses, fruits, roots and tubers, which they root out with their snouts and tusks.
They will also eat whatever animal food they can catch, including snakes, crayfish, frogs, salamanders, fledgling birds in ground nests and young rabbits. Larger hogs have been known to eat fawns and young livestock. Also included in the diet of the feral hog is any form of dead and rotting flesh that they may come across in their daily travels.
A herd of hogs can destroy large areas of cropland and pasture as it tears up the ground with tough, leathery snouts in search of insects and roots. This nasty habit alone makes the feral hog a nightmarish liability to the modern rancher. There is no such thing as killing “too many” hogs on a Texas ranch and the hunter plays a key role in keeping the pig population in check.
Sows can have as many as two and half litters per year with up to a dozen “piggies” to a litter. It’s hard for the hunters to keep up with that kind of production, especially when it's assisted by other natural advantages.
The feral hog's intelligence and survival instincts are second to none. Their sense of smell and hearing are extremely acute. Their weak eyesight is their Achilles Heal, but the animal compensates with a unique ability to reason and an uncanny sense of caution to possible threats. If it even suspects danger, it specializes in “getting’ gone”.
The keen survival instincts of the wild boar are aided and abetted by the rugged environment that it chooses to inhabit. The wilder and thicker the cover, the more it is appreciated by these unique animals. The country we were hunting is a classic example of what good hog country is all about.
In south Texas, it seems like every wild thing will cut you, bite you, stick you, tear your cloths and make you bleed. If it doesn’t, it’s probably a rock and in that case, it will only puncture the tires of your vehicle. The thick, thorny vegetation of the Half Brothers ranch not only provides shelter for the wild hog population, it encourages it.
Feral hogs will move throughout the day, but are most active during the night with peak activity occurring at sunrise and sunset. Coaxing the animal into the open by hunting over bait, either around feeders or on Senderos, is done at the day’s beginning and end. Mark Zimmerman and I were currently at the day’s beginning.
The boar that had emerged from the thick brush worked feverishly as it crunched the hard yellow treats and then packed the finished product into its gut, while keeping a vigil for possible danger. The animal’s location made it impossible for me to get a clear shot of it with my Canon XL-1. I could barely make out the dirty-brown shape of the hungry animal through the thick brush.
Rising from my chair, I moved so that I was looking out Mark’s window over his shoulder. There it was in its full and uncovered glory! As I zoomed in on the animal and adjusted the focus, Mark moved to afford me a bit more room. It wasn’t the best scenario, but we were adapting and overcoming.
As the camera captured the animal making a pig out if itself on the corn, I told Mark that I was on the animal so he could shoot whenever he was ready. He whispered back that he thought it was too far. It was about a thirty-yard poke. I knew that the NitroHunter he was shooting was capable of making an effective kill-shot from that range.
“This could be your only chance,” I said in an undertone. “You can do it!”
He considered the facts for a minute then adjusted the Dial-A-Range up one notch. He raised his bow using his knee for a rest and lowered the crosshairs to the chest of the busy boar. At that point, the animal slowly turned away from our position offering Mark a clear shot at its rear end. Mark lowered his bow.
His body was surging with adrenaline as he waited for an open shot. In spite of the boost the natural chemical was giving his body, his head remained clear and functioning as he studied his quarry.
The hog turned back offering a quartering-away shot at its vitals. Mark brought the bow back to his shoulder and drew a bead on the animal’s rib cage. The angle at which the hog was standing, provided an open window to the vitals. It was a very narrow window, however.
I knew the bow was capable of delivering a fatal blow at that range. The only thing I didn’t know was whether or not this kid could shoot. The moment of enlightenment was at hand. As I framed the boar in my lens, Mark’s finger slowly depressed the trigger of his bow.
His NitroHunter exploded in a noisy release of energy, launching the arrow at the hog. I watched as the alarmed animal started to turn towards the brush in an attempt to flee to safety. When it did so, the target narrowed to just a couple of inches.
Zoomed in for a close up, I watched through my lens as the florescent orange vanes flew straight to the very center of that two-inch bullseye, following the broadhead as it sliced its way through the hapless hog’s vital organs. It was a perfect shot.
Any questions that I may have had about Mark’s ability to accurately shoot an arrow from a crossbow, under extreme pressure, had been answered and put to rest. When the heat was on, the kid could shoot!
When the hog disappeared into the thick brush, I swung the camera to the young archer and was treated to an animated face of a very excited young man.
“I heard him go down!” he brightly exclaimed. He shared that with me because his mom and dad had taught him to be kind and considerate of old people. After several days in the blind with me, Mark knew my ability to hear was very limited and questionable and he considered me to be an “old people”.
We decided to give the animal a few minutes, knowing that it hadn’t gone far before crashing into a pile of ham and bacon. We recorded Mark’s impressions of what had just happened, capturing the young man’s excitement over his very first harvest of a feral hog.
After a reasonable amount of time had passed, we exited the Double Bull Blind. “There it is!” Mark exclaimed as he pointed through the brush at the brilliant orange vanes, which pointed towards the morning sky just forty-yards from our blind. The hog had run only 28-yards from where it had been violated by Mark’s Assassin broadhead. A cleaner and more humane kill could not have been possible.
We busied ourselves with photos and more video as the morning sun rose causing the day to open up into full bloom. When we had finished the customary duties to honor both hunter and prey, we hauled the chairs out of the blind. As sat back and enjoyed the early morning, we relieved the events that had transpired shortly after daylight over and over.
It had been a good morning! Our objective had been reached! We had met some wonderful new people over the course of the past few days and Mark had taken his first feral hog with a perfect shot to the “pork’s pantry”. As we shared the passing moments waiting for our chauffeur to arrive and whisk us away to a hearty Texas breakfast, we both had to agree that it was indeed, a very good morning.
Author’s Note: If you have an interest in hunting with or shooting a crossbow, please visit our website (www.horizontalbowhunter.com) to learn more about the American Crossbow Federation, which is dedicated to promoting and preserving all forms of legal hunting with all legal weapons, especially the crossbow.
One of the greatest benefits of belonging to the ACF is that you will receive the quarterly publication, the Horizontal Bowhunter Magazine, an International quarterly dedicated informing the modern crossbow hunter and perpetuating the crossbow hunting opportunity for everyone that choose to use one.
For more information and a membership application, email us at (bowtwang@runestone.net) or call us at 320-634-3660 to join immediately with a credit card. We will be happy to answer any of you questions about crossbow equipment and the crossbow hunting regulations in North America.
