Got a chance to hunt this weekend with Chris and Brian in a benefit tourney down near Wharton. We got a late start on Friday due to the rain. We had Mo, Nugget, Speedy, Brandi, Dan, and Readi on the ground and 4 catch dogs. We hit hogs and watched them chase a sow out of the brush and across a swollen creek before they got her stopped. Got her caught and back across the creek and pushed on. Mo, Redi, and Dan struck a ways down the creek and had a good boar hog in the running water. After some swimming, we got it out hobbled and loaded. On the way back to the truck, we hit a group and had dogs out over a mile in three different directions. We never could get close enough to send a catch dog and finally caught Brandi just as the rain started again.
First sow
First boar
Brian and I headed back to camp and had some great deer chili and some apple cobbler then called it a night.
The storm raged through the night and finally broke around 9 the next morning. We loaded Sassy, Buzz, and Earl, and Chris' young dog Smooch and catch dogs Comet and Cotton and headed to an area where a big boar had been staying. We hunted for a couple of hours with nothing then on the way back to the truck we hit one last stretch of brush and finally hit a hog. He broke and swam a creek with the dogs on his trail. They stopped him a little over a mile away. We got within 300 yards and could see the boars back over the weeds turned the bikes off and could hear the dogs baying. They had him in the bald open prairie spinning. Got within 100 yards and sent Comet and Cotton to seal the deal.
Second boar is on the right
We loaded dogs and headed back to camp for lunch. We waited for a break in the weather and got one about 3:30. We loaded Earl, Mo, Nugget, Dan, Ready, Jazzi, and Rio with Cotton and Commet as back up and headed out. Turned out and made our way around. We were going turn back but Mo hit a trail and started working his way up river around a hay meadow. When he got about 1000 yards out we headed to him. The ranch manager said he was circling a hay bail with his nose down when he last saw him. He was still 900 yards out when he started trailing back to the river. Before he got to the brush line Dan opened up just inside the brush and we quickly caught a sow while taking care of her the dogs rolled out and caught a pig then rolled again and had another good boar bayed. Sent the white dogs and got it caught and hobbled. Dan rolled off and started another hog and Mo and the crew quickly got there and bayed it long enough to send help and we had the third hog caught and hobbled. Earl rolled out and went 500 yards and showed treed so I went to her and she was bayed solid on a pig out in the open field. I decided to free tip the hog since it was pushing all of 4 lbs.
The three hogs tied
Earls pig sure made the kids smile.
We ended up with a 6th place finish but had a good time doing it. Thanks to Chris and Brian for a fun weekend!
