Leaving tomorrow for some good 'ole Texas Hog Hunting

zerodown

zerodown

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Tomorrow (Friday) I'm heading down to Goliad, TX to hunt some hogs. Never been before and pretty excited about it. This will be a high tech hunt, night time only with Gen 3+ NVGs and Thermals. The hunts will also be a mix of sitting in a stands, stalking, and traveling via open truck. I have snake boots (they have a lot of rattlers on the ranch), head lamp, knife, LOTS of ammo, pistol, rifle, flashlight, water pack, etc.

Any recommendations for other gear to bring down there?
 
We are hunting with Suppressed ARs in 6.8 SPC. Gotta love Texas!!

The rifle I'm bringing is just for getting some long range practice in during the day. :)
 
You should have a great time. I have a few friends that have done this type of thing and they always come back pretty jacked up. You should have some good meat as well. They only suggestion I have is to bring down a vacuum food sealer because you want to keep that food cold and sealed. Don't let them or yourself resort to putting it in butcher paper because the ice will melt and foul your meat. Take good care of the meat and seal it nice and good, and you should be all set.
 
Don't shoot any illegals crossing the border at night. I heard they look just like boars at night. Jk.

They allow thermals in Texas? That's awesome, you are going to have fun. Post some pics when you get back.
 
Guys, if this is something you've ever considered doing - DO IT!!!!! It is SO much fun. The ranch I went to has access to over 6000 acres of hunting grounds. The deer population down there is unbelievable. Every Sendero you look down there is at least 10-15 deer - they are everywhere. We hunted both nights and ended up shooting 10 pigs & 1 Yote. Its wild.

This is what the hunt is like. You walk down these paths (Senderos) in complete darkness. Guide picks something up on the thermal and tells you to turn on your scope. With the NVGs you notice that you are surrounded by wildlife. Sometimes you have cattle and deer not 10-15 yards away just staring at you. With the wind in your face you can get up to 40 yards from these pigs and they have no idea you are there. We were using D740's which are 4x Gen 3 scopes. These things are the tits. Aim right on the neck and let one fly. With the suppressors you need NO ear plugs. The sound is a little less than the crack from a firecracker. Even shooting next to each other, you get no ear ringing. At the end of the saturday hunt we walked up on this one group of 30+ pigs. We dropped 6 in that group alone between my dad and I. It is so much fun. Pictures and videos to come.
 
If you don't mind me asking, what financial ballpark was the hunt in?? Approximations are fine.
Also, excuse my ignorance, but can you keep any of this meat or are feral hogs no-go? Did you have the option to go after deer also (in season obviously)?
 
RB101 said:
If you don't mind me asking, what financial ballpark was the hunt in?? Approximations are fine.
Also, excuse my ignorance, but can you keep any of this meat or are feral hogs no-go? Did you have the option to go after deer also (in season obviously)?
Click to expand...

The cost is $800 per hunter for the weekend which includes everything. All you bring is ammo and any other gear you want. They have a cook at the ranch and he kept us full and happy. :) The flights were $400 so it was $1200 for the weekend. Well worth the cost IMO for an experience you can't get other places.

You can keep the meat although it was so damn hot that they said its sometimes not worth it. It was still mid-80's at 2am to give you an idea. You certainly shed some water weight given you are in long pants and shirts. The area has only seen 2" of rain in the last 5 months so some of the pigs are in questionable shape. The black/reddish ones are supposedly the best tasting and smell the least. If you want meat, they will cut the straps and hams out of those for you.

You can also hunt both Deer and Hogs (during Deer season). Hogs are like chipmunks down there. They are everywhere and incredibly destructive. You have to buy a license but you can hunt as many as you can find. You can also hunt hog all year long.
 
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zerodown said:
The cost is $800 per hunter for the weekend which includes everything. All you bring is ammo and any other gear you want. They have a cook at the ranch and he kept us full and happy. :) The flights were $400 so it was $1200 for the weekend. Well worth the cost IMO for an experience you can't get other places.

You can keep the meat although it was so damn hot that they said its sometimes not worth it. It was still mid-80's at 2am to give you an idea. You certainly shed some water weight given you are in long pants and shirts. The area has only seen 2" of rain in the last 5 months so some of the pigs are in questionable shape. The black/reddish ones are supposedly the best tasting and smell the least. If you want meat, they will cut the straps and hams out of those for you.

You can also hunt both Deer and Hogs (during Deer season). Hogs are like chipmunks down there. They are everywhere and incredibly destructive. You have to buy a license but you can hunt as many as you can find. You can also hunt hog all year long.
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+1 .Thanks for the quick response and detailed breakdown. $1200 seems like alot for what breaks down to a 2 day hunt, I'm used to paying $1000-$1200 for a full week for deer/bear up this way, but I suppose I'm comparing apples and oranges. And like you said, where else can you get an experience like this. Food for thought anyway.
 
RB101 said:
+1 .Thanks for the quick response and detailed breakdown. $1200 seems like alot for what breaks down to a 2 day hunt, I'm used to paying $1000-$1200 for a full week for deer/bear up this way, but I suppose I'm comparing apples and oranges. And like you said, where else can you get an experience like this. Food for thought anyway.
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That's for a fully equipped and guided hunt. I went last year during November on a semi guided hunt, in which the ranch owner dropped us off at the blinds or stands and came back to pick us up later on. It was $250.00 for a 2 1/2 day hunt, but we had to bring everything in with us. He had a cabin for us to stay in with electricity and running water. We were on a working ranch, so we didn't do much tracking and could only do that if the owner was with us. Some of it was near a main road, so we were given instructions as to where and what directions we could shoot.

It was the first time I had ever went hunting and I wasn't sure I'd like it. That wore off quickly and I enjoyed sitting in a blind even though I didn't see a hog all the hours I sat there. We went late afternoon, after midnight, and early morning for 2-3 hours at a time. The last morning the owner brought a few of us out to one of his fields and we tracked down some hogs in a stand of trees. Amazingly, I hit one at about 150 yards with a scoped AR15. More luck than skill as I hit her in the hind quarters which didn't kill her but pinned her so I could walk on up and dispatch her with a couple of shots to the head.

A deer lease on this guy's land was about $1500, but I don't know for how long. We were told we could take 2 hogs per day and an unlimited number of coyotes if we saw any. Deer were off limits as were bobcats because they had been getting scarce. We were warned about snakes and told we could kill any we saw. Fortunately, I didn't see any.

Six of us took three hogs total. I got one and another guy, who is a semi professional hunter, took the other two.

Lot's of fun and I'm planning to go again. This time I'll be bringing my Marlin 336c and modified SMLE.
 
zerodown said:
The cost is $800 per hunter for the weekend which includes everything. All you bring is ammo and any other gear you want. They have a cook at the ranch and he kept us full and happy. :) The flights were $400 so it was $1200 for the weekend. Well worth the cost IMO for an experience you can't get other places.
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That's far less money then I would have guessed, thank you for your willingness to share the info with us. This just might be my next hunt.
 
RB101- Its def. more than a local hunt but here is why I think its apples and oranges.

1 - Exclusivity. They only take parties of 4 people or less (2 is preferred) which means you have exclusive access to the 6k acres while you are there. Thats pretty reassuring since you are hunting at night and can't see a darn thing. You don't have to worry about a stray bullet from someone else. You can also hunt as long as you want. I kept him out till 3am on Saturday...No questions asked, no gripe. His response was hell yeah, lets go.
2 - Equipment. The gear you are using is only top of the line. The NVGs are 4k a piece and the guide uses a 20k thermal. Even the guns shoot 1MOA or better. Living up here I know I'll never get to hunt with any of this anywhere else.
3 - Opportunities to shoot. We probably saw over 60 pigs in the 2 nights. They guarantee a shot. I know people that have gone to the mid west, hunted an entire week, and only saw an animal or two. The odds are awesome

If you guys want to check out the website its http://www.wildriverranchtexas.com . I'm already booking next years hunt. Here are some pictures.

Hog_hunting1.jpg

Hog_hunting2.jpg

Hog_hunting3.jpg
 
zerodown said:
....You can also hunt as long as you want. I kept him out till 3am on Saturday...No questions asked, no gripe. His response was hell yeah, lets go.
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Knowing how ranchers feel about hogs in Texas, I'm surprised he didn't bug you to stay out longer, and require a minimum catch. Say, a hundred buck surcharge for every hog fewer than 12 that you got over the weekend. ;)
 
KBCraig said:
Knowing how ranchers feel about hogs in Texas, I'm surprised he didn't bug you to stay out longer, and require a minimum catch. Say, a hundred buck surcharge for every hog fewer than 12 that you got over the weekend. ;)
Click to expand...

When you think of it, it's a very nice business model. You are paying the rancher to help him get rid of a nuisance that impacts him.
 

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