Texas Hog Hunting

The temps have been below zero for months, and the whitetail season is over. What’s a Minnesota girl to do?? Well, I flew south and put my sights on a new target…Texas hogs. This was my first trip in search of hogs and I had no idea what I was in for! 

Naturally I arrived in Houston extremely late and got a little bit lost heading to the ranch. I slept fast and within a few very short hours the alarm was buzzing. I was really hoping these hogs slept until noon; however that was not the case. I gathered my gear, an energy drink, my encore pistol and I was off to the races.

The morning didn’t start perfect…not one bit. Forty minutes later we arrived at the ranch we’d be hunting and I realized I forgot the keys to my gun case. True Story. Luckily one of the guys had a saw in his truck so the locks were dismembered rather quickly. Not an ideal start but nothing ever seems to go perfect. 

I was on stand for a little over an hour and I started getting very cold. Texas may be much further south but the mornings are still cold! It didn’t take long for my mind to forget all about the cold when I heard pigs on their way in. 

The first shocker was how many hogs there were! The second shock was the variety of colors and sizes! I didn’t know I would have to make so many decisions this early in the morning. I decided to forget about colors for now and went for the biggest hog in the group. I took a deep breath and squeezed off a shot at the big black hog. He dropped in his tracks and the other scattered! I was so relived to make a great shot and to do it with a handgun! My dad always jokes around that I’m a better shot at 50-yards with my bow than with my handgun…but all the practice finally paid off! 

Handguns are not something you can pick up today and go use in a hunting situation tomorrow. They take a lot of time, practice, and ultimately you need the confidence in yourself. I didn’t want to go after a big game animal right off the bat with my .7mm-08 so I started with hogs and it turned out to be the perfect first hunt.

The next evening I headed out with my bow. My confidence was high and I was looking for a crazy colored hog. About an hour before dark a spotted pink and black hog came into range. 

Hogs are a tough animal and can be extremely difficult to kill with a bow. If you hit them in the front shoulder you rarely find your hog, so I waited for a quartering-away shot and double lunged this spotted hog! It only went 40 yards and made for a perfect ending to my hunt. Well, it wasn’t quite over yet. It just happened to be super-bowl Sunday so we all enjoyed back straps on the grille. I couldn’t have been more proud to provide excellent food for everyone at the party.