Hunt Report From Brushy Hill Ranch

[danr55]

Gary Solminen got back from Texas and I saw him this morning for the first time. He reports that he saw at least four deer that would make book in three days of hunting. All too far for a bow shot, but they would have been a piece of cake with a rifle. He saw some Red Stag, large flocks of Turkey, and evidence of pigs running wild. The hogs are nocturnal so he didn't actually see any of them, but the ground looked like it had been gone over with a tiller.
He brought back some pictures of this place and I will try to scan them in and post them if I can find out where the heck Photopoint has gone.

 

[Tom]

I used to like Photopoint and had a bunch of pictures there. A friend told me they went out of business over the holiday. There are other places to post pictures too. Were any turkeys within bow range? What camp did they hunt? Can't wait, good luck with the scanner, etc.

Cabela's has the $10 light for the pins on the bow and night hunting that I use. Its at
http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jhtml?id=0004624410965a&navAction=push&navCount=3&indexId=cat20071&podId=0004624&catalogCode=R9&parentId=cat20071& parentType=index&_DARGS=%2Fcabelas%2Fen%2Fcommon%2Fcatalog%2Fitem-link.jhtml_A&_DAV=0004624410965a
I like it because its only $10 and light all the pins I have now and is easy to put on and off. Night hunting for hogs is legal here with landowner permission. We have landowner permission for our hunt. Baiting is legal here with landowner permission. We have landowner permission for our hunt. One method is to put out bait at the freshest hog tilling you can find. Then set up there and wait for them. The moon won't rise until the middle of the night when we are there and even if its up, you got to be able to see the pins to sight. Corn is like $5 for 50lbs for bait at feed stores here. Some soak it in water, beer, or vodka to get up a good smell for the hogs to come. The theory on the vodka is it relaxes them to walk into a trap. $12 of vodka, 300 lbs of hog, is not bad if it works. If it doesn't work, you pour out vodka with corn, and they eat and drink while we fell asleep or later when we're gone. Either way you know the hogs will enjoy some vodka and corn, right?

<FONT COLOR="#800080" SIZE="1">[ 01-02-2002 15:41: Message edited by: Tom ]</font>

 

[Deerslayer]

What about a light man behind the shooter with either a Q-beam or varmit light?............I just watched a show on the outdoor channel hunting Texas hogs.......and this is what they did??????
DS

 

[danr55]

I don't know about a man with a light behind me, but I just looked at the site that Tom posted and I'm ordering one of those little gems from Cabellas. Lites up you sites.

Sounds like the name of a song. "You lite up my sites..." Oh Well.

 

[Tom]

Its better if you got a red lens for the q-beam. Bring it if you have one, its legal. I haven't had much luck with it. It seems to work better for me if I flash it like lightning to make sure I am seeing a hog. If you put it on them, they take off. Plus, you're sitting there in the dark, your pupils are wide open, then you put on this bright light. By the time your eyes focus again, i.e. the pupils close down, the hogs are vamous. I get best success shooting the siloetted hog by the moonlight when he is chomping on corn that I have spread out where the sign is from the day before. Maybe that AA guy will give some more methods too. Even with the spotlight, you got to have your pins lit up. I got some red lens q-beams I can bring.

I like being up in the air too, not on the ground. We got rattlesnakes, copperheads, coral snakes, cotton mouths, and some other poisonous snake here I don't remember right now besides the hogs, some with them big tuskers. The scorpions here aren't the bad ones, like some in Mexico, but they'll put a sting on you if get pinched by one. Brushy Hill has tripods for us to put out. If we have a vehicle hid somewhere we can go nap in that or maybe we'll find some good sign not to far from the camphouse also and can walk back and forth during the night.

 

[Deerslayer]

Tom, as far as the snakes, I kinda like the excitement!...think we could get a gator or two brought out just to liven things up!

I'm game for however you guys want to do it!
The talk of boar's teeth nashing by ones ankles reminds me of hunts gone by a few years ago........Terligua Ranch, next to Big Bend.........Javelina were so bad that the ranch and fish and game declared open season on them!.......no limit!...they were destucting the Muley habitat something fierce!........we would stalk the draws and canyons.....choked with brush.......snipers up high with a "brushman" making the push......I always volunteered for the Brushman! .......nothing like wounded Javelina racing through your feet to get the old ticker going! can't wait for porkys of a little bigger nature!
DS

 

[Moosie]

DS was the "BUSHMAN" ...

I'm game.... I did hear TOM posting once there should be a set bedtime... AND I hear of no-one else posting of shooting LATE in the night... DOES that meen me and DS are the ONLY ones out LATE ?!?!?!? I'll bring one of these DS to "LIGHT" up the night !!!!

Haha

Anywyas, I figure it's the first time.. I'll try whatever.. THEN I'll come back here and Lie about it anyway... So THERE !!!!

 

[Deerslayer]

I'm with ya Moose Man!...........bring one of them there flame throwers for me, too! ........maybe borrow a spear or two from one of our Texan buddies.......double pistoleros on our sides with a Bowie knofe in our teeth, them poor friggin hogs won't know what the phuck hit 'em!

I am also bringin a predator caller so if we don't get enough from hunting Exotics, we can smash some 'Yotes and fox and shcit!.......

.........BRING PLENTY OF ARROWS AND AMMO BOYS!!!!!!!

DS

<FONT COLOR="#800080" SIZE="1">[ 01-05-2002 17:17: Message edited by: Deerslayer ]</font>

 

[Tom]

The snakes, etc. aren't bad at all, people just need to be aware. I've only killed maybe 4 in the last 6 years here, but I've seen a few more. People just need to be aware of them. One rattler I got with a rock, actually it took two rocks.

Also, one could tape a flashlight to the stabilizer on the bow. Then you could see where your bow was pointed. Put red cellofane (spelling?) and they won't spook so bad. That way if the moon wasn't up or they were in the shadows, you could still maybe get a shot.

The biggest hog I ever shot, I got about 15 yards away at about 10pm with a flashlight taped to my 12 gauge with 3 inch 000 buck, then finished him with my 44 magnum. His bottom teeth were 6.5 inches length total for each one with 2 inch bases. A hog with my bow I got a midnight standing in the shadows of the trees with the hog out in the moonlight. I had that cobra light to light up my pins on the bow.

The way we may get after these hogs, I better check on where the nearest emergency room is, eh? It sounds like we'll be mixing it up with the hogs pretty good. Spears would be legal if we had landowner permission also. Its more primitive than a bow so he may let us use them. A pretty good big one is like $50.

Gators are farther south in Texas and east too.

I think I would rather get a turkey than a hog and can't realistically stay up 24 hours per day and hunt both. I'm sure when I see some hog sign I'll want to set up for hunting them some time during the night too.

<FONT COLOR="#800080" SIZE="1">[ 01-11-2002 14:42: Message edited by: Tom ]</font>

 

[GilaMonster]

I hunted hogs in Texas last year with large spotlights over bait. It sounds easy. it aint! As soon as the spotlight is clicked, hogs run like he11. I like the lighted pin idea pretty well. The maglight on the stabelizer with red sounds like the way to go to me. It'll be fun, no matter which we choose!

 

[Moosie]

HUMMM..... Speaks... Snakes..... GAtors,,,,,,,HOGS with TUSKS ?!?!?!

SHould We be inviteing STEVE the "CROC" hunter ?!?!?!?

 

[Kraven]

Hi guys I just watched a hog hunting show on TV and they used those red spotlights with really good success.

 

[Tom]

I have one or two I can bring but Gilamonster is right, the hogs run when a light it put on them. You can't make a TV show without light, so those are the only ones on the show at night. Maybe for TV they trained the hogs and had lights all night with food for them for weeks, who knows. Did they say? There's other ways to do it though, especially with a bow, they will have to be close.

 

[Kraven]

t wa next to a place that they were using for a wallow.They did not say anything about using feed but who knows .They were using archery as their method of hunting with a Tracer on their arrows it was kinda kewl the back of the arrow was lit up and you could see the arrow in flight and then hit the hog.

 

[danr55]

I have a Sony 8mm with infrared capability. I will bring that and maybe get some good pictures of hogs or at least of hog hunters at night.

You guys may also want to look at www.longlight.com. They have some really good LED lights with red lenses for night use.