The Hog Blog

My friend, Shane Hearn who runs Borderbandit Outfitters just shot me this latest deal.  He said the deal is pretty much open for now, with no deadline.  He figures he’ll end it when the time is right, but from the looks of things in the outfitting and guided hunting world, now’s the time to offer a deal.  And brother, let me tell you… this is a DEAL!

Here’s what he sent me.

$500 – 2 axis doe, hogs and varmints. Lodging included

 $300 – Hog hunts …. bow/crossbow only …. 3 hogs … no size limit or trophy fee. Lodging included.

 All hunts are per hunter and hunter must provide 2 bags of corn each.

You read it right…  $500 for two axis does, lodging, and all the hogs and varmints you want to shoot.  Or you can do an archery-only hunt for hogs… three hogs for $300.  You won’t find a bargain like that in CA! 

If you’re looking for a hunt to hold you over ’til the late deer season, or if you’ve already filled your tags and are looking for something else to do, this is an excellent option.  Shane’s a great guy, and I can just about guarantee you’ll have a lot of fun and a great hunt at the same time. 

Give him a call at:  830-275-2199

Remember, to hunt feral hogs in Texas, non-residents must buy the basic hunting license.  I think my short-term license this year was less than $50.  You can buy online at the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

I stepped through the door, out of the balmy, Texas spring afternoon, into the tiny, Mexican restaurant.  The only other people in the place were about four locals, including the waitress, all gathered at the kitchen table.  As the door swung shut behind me, I overheard a young lady in the group, complaining that, “I’ve been praying for God to send me a man.” 

A slight gust of wind slammed the door behind me, and all eyes turned to this stranger come to town. 

This wasn’t the opening scene of an old-style western (or a bad porn movie).  It was just my introduction to the good people of Leakey, Texas (pronounced Lakey, not Leaky), population 387, and located right in the heart of the Texas Hill Country… hard alongside the Frio river (Rio Frio). 

I was not here in answer to the prayers of the lovelorn.  I’d come to town to hunt exotics, with my friend and guide, Shane Hearn, of Borderbandit Outfitting.   This would be my third year hunting with Shane, but this was my first time staying right here in Leakey, and my first chance to get a taste for this awesome, little Texas town.  I’ve been a long time away from the small-town life, and every minute spent here reminded me of how much I missed it.

This hunt was originally slated to be the third annual, JHO Exotics Hunt.  For the past couple of years, several of us from Jesse’s Hunting and Outdoors Forums have gathered in Texas to hunt axis deer, blackbuck, and wild hogs.  Unfortunately, due to various conflicts, no one else from the forum could make the trip.  It would only be myself and my little brother, Scott. 

Since it was just us, we opted not to use the comfortable, ranch house/lodge accomodations Shane usually provides, about 30 minutes away, in the town of Uvalde.  We decided we’d all camp at one of the local campgrounds in Leakey, which would put us closer to the hunting.  Scott and his wife drove out from NC, towing their camper.  My mom had come out last year as well, and enjoyed the area so much she decided to come along with her RV and a couple of her friends.  I drove my own rig out there from CA.  It was practically a family reunion, with some great hunting thrown in.

In preparation for the hunt, as is customary with these exotics outings, we planned with Shane what we’d be targeting.  Each animal on these hunts comes with a specific price tag, so you always want to plan ahead.  You can add to the targeted animals during the hunt, but it’s a good idea to set yourself some limits, and to set the guide’s expectations.  Otherwise, it’s real easy to get carried away and rack up a huge tab. 

First on our list was a ram blackbuck (a kind of Indian antelope).  My mom had seen one mounted at a shop last year, and really wanted us to get one.  We were unsuccessful on the blackbuck last year, so we wanted to focus on it this time around. 

In addition, I was looking for a good Axis buck.  We were also both planning to shoot a couple of Axis does for meat.  Axis venison is some of the best game meat you’ll ever sink your teeth into, and the does are tender and delicious.  They’re also much cheaper than the bucks. 

As a bonus, on all of Shane’s hunts, hogs are free… all you can shoot.  We hadn’t had much luck with hogs on the previous two years, though, so they were kind of a hopeful afterthought.  Scott has feral hogs right on his property in NC, and I have pretty good access here in CA… so going all the way to TX to shoot hogs wasn’t really a big driver.  Even so, we both love that wild pork, and shooting them is a favor to the ranchers down in the Lone Star State. 

So there’s the setup. 

I finished my lunch without further moment, and headed on over to meet up with everyone at the campground.  We planned to set up camp and enjoy an afternoon of catching up before going to meet Shane at lunchtime the next day, Friday, to start hunting. 

They arrived later in the afternoon, with the news that Shane wanted to get started right away, since the Friday’s weather was looking doubtful, with high winds and possible thunderstorms.  Shane showed up about an hour later, and we grabbed our gear and jumped into his truck.

Read the rest of this entry »

Woohoo!

Dangit, but I DO love Texas! 

I love it so much that my brother and I just bought a little chunk of it… 1140 acres, to be exact!  That’s right, the HogBlog Ranch will open for guided exotics and hog hunts sometime in early 2010! 

I know, the name of the ranch sounds a little goofy and who knows… it may change.  But that’s what we’re calling it for now.  We have thrown around the idea of calling it the Petunia Ranch instead, since, in addition to my own Samurai (named Petunia), the property comes with three more… alread rigged for Texas-style Ranch Hunting.

The property sits right against the Frio river (Rio Frio), and we’ll put a 30-unit RV/campground along the water.  Just outside of the campground we’ll put the archery-only hunts.  There are feeders already in place, but we’ll have to get some blinds set up.  We’ll also need to do some fence work, which isn’t cheap down there. 

The property already has a really healthy population of axis and whitetail deer, not to mention more hogs than you can shake a stick at.  There are supposedly also some fallow deer on the property, but I didn’t see them when we did the walk-through. 

I’m looking forward to having some of my friends come on down and help with hog management.  As it is right now, there are probably more than we want.  They’re tearing up the feeders, according to the previous owner.  I have received some suggestions about how to keep them out, but until I can get down there and spend some time, I’m not sure if they’ll work.

Of course, it’ll be hard to spend so much time down there, since today is only the first of April. 

That’s right.  April Fool’s Day.

If all has gone well this week, I’m currently on the road and heading down to the Texas Hill Country (near Leakey, TX) to hunt exotics with my brother and our friend Shane Hearn, of Borderbandit Outfitters.  I’ve got the sights tuned in for a big axis buck, and a couple of does for meat.  My brother has the same idea, only he’s looking for a trophy blackbuck.  Shane also has a new hog hunting property, so if we have time we’ll be bringing some pork home too.

According to the website, the campground where I’ll be staying has wireless Internet, so I’m hoping I can drop in with a note or two… but if not, I’ll be back next wednesday.  See ya’ll then!

In the meantime, here’s a couple of awesome takes on my theme song for this week!

First, the one and only, Jimmy Rogers (credited with writing this song)!

And then Lynyrd Skynyrd rocks it a little harder!

I should actually be out there right now, getting the truck cleaned up and ready to roll… but I’m also deeply embroiled in a desperate search for a new job right now.  It’s not the best timing, but the hell with it!  I’m heading down to Texas to join my brother on our annual Texas exotics hunt!  I can freak out about my budget and employment status later.

Some of you regular readers may recall my last two trips to the Lone Star State.  We’ll be hunting again with Shane Hearn, of  Border Bandit Outfitting.  Shane has become as much friend as guide over the years, and I’m looking forward to spending time with him again.

On the menu for this hunt are blackbuck antelope, axis deer, and possibly sika and fallow (if they show up).  Last year was kind of tough, since we had more hunters than the place was really set up to handle, but everyone still went home with a cooler full of delicious meat.  If you’ve never eaten axis deer, you don’t know what you’ve missed… it’s some of the best stuff you’ll ever put in your mouth.  This year it will just be myself and my brother, on the trip.  It should make for a quick and fruitful hunt. 

In addition to the primary goal of filling the freezer, we’ve each got a trophy animal in our plans.  My brother, Scott, will be gunning for a good blackbuck.  Seems that my mom saw a blackbuck mount at a shop in TX last year, and decided she’s got to have one for her new house.  And, just to keep it company, I’ll be shooting for a big axis buck as well. 

Before I go on, I want to address a couple of things regarding the hunting of these exotic animals.  First of all, while there are plenty of high-fenced ranches in TX, several species have managed to establish thriving populations… particularly in the Hill Country.  Axis deer and blackbuck antelope have been particularly successful, to the point where these animals roam wild, all over the area.  I think I saw more axis killed on the roadsides than native whitetails on my last visit… and that says a lot about the density of the population. 

Point to that is that a lot of the hunting for these species is not in high-fence ranches.  Much of it is no different than hunting the native whitetail or feral hogs.  The places we’ll be hunting this coming weekend are low-fenced.  However, they are heavily managed for whitetail and game, so it’s not a major challenge to find animals.  We’ll focus on areas around the feeders and water sources.  Taking does for meat will be almost a gimme… although the trophy bucks will probably be a little tougher. 

The other thing we sometimes do down there is hunt “Texas Safari” style.  This means we’ll roll in the truck to find game, then take our shots as they present themselves… sometimes right at the vehicle.  It’s really not my favorite way to hunt, but it’s how they do things on some of the ranches and it’s productive.  When in Rome, and all that… 

A lot of folks don’t think much of this kind of hunting, and I’m OK with that.  If you don’t like it, don’t do it.  But to me, it’s a lot like shooting pheasants on a preserve… only there’s a lot more meat at the end of the day.  It’s a lot of fun, and a chance to get out and spend some great time in the field with good friends and family, and end up with a pile of delicious and nutritious meat at the same time. 

While on the hunt, feral hogs are bonus animals.  Most ranchers there are happy to have the hunters kill as many as they can get.  We haven’t seen a lot of hogs on the last couple of hunts down there, but the hope is always present.  If all goes well, we may also get a chance to check out a new property that is supposed to be loaded with pigs.  I have a good bit of wild pork in the freezer already, but I’m happy to add to the stockpile.

I’ll try to post up some during the trip.  I’m driving for about two days there and back, and will be hunting mostly on Friday and Saturday.  There’ll be video and photos, of course (although I’m having some issues with my video editing software).  The campground where I’ll be staying reportedly has wireless broadband access, so I’ll be online as much as reasonable.

As a totally unrelated aside…

Congratulations to Hank Shaw for his nomination for a James Beard Foundation Award.  This is a huge deal, both for Hank and for the hunting community.  Not only is he being recognized for his excellent writing and unique perspective; his topic area, wild food cookery, is also getting some of the spotlight.  This means folks will get to see hunting in its true context… a source of tasty and nutritious meat, as opposed to a controversial blood sport.

Make sure you drop by Hank’s blog and give him his well-deserved kudos. 

With Native Hunt’s annual dove hunt in the wings, and a need for some game meat to feed the hungry hunters at this event, Native Hunt owner/CEO, Michael Riddle generously offered to let me come out and see about putting a fallow deer in the cooler for the event.  I guess I’d mentioned how cool I thought the fallows were, particularly the white ones, and Michael, being the generous guy he is, put me on the trail.

Some of you will remember that a few of us CA Hunting Bloggers were just out at Michael’s place earlier this summer where Holly (NorCal Cazadora) and I both took home some pork, while Hunting With Jim’s videographer, John, followed me to catch the quest on video. 

This trip was a little different, as the target animal was a little less specific than before.  Earlier, the plan had been for me to come out and shoot a buck that couldn’t seem to grow more than one antler.  A few days before my visit, though, that buck turned up dead.  Michael gave me the news, but then told me to come and just shoot another one.  Hey, you don’t have to make me an offer like that twice!  But that meant that this time I had to decide what to shoot for myself.

When I arrived, Michael had a couple of other guests at the lodge.  These guys were all hard-core dog guys, so their focus for the weekend was to work the hog dogs on some of the “euros” (European wild boar).  I’d be on my own to do this fallow-deer hunt.  Read the rest of this entry »

Well, I’m just about done wiping off the dust from the Lone Star State, but it’s gonna take a while to get over the fun 11 of us from Jesse’s Hunting and Outdoors just had down there. 

Now let me start right off by saying, I know that Texas exotics hunting doesn’t appeal to everyone.  It’s a lot like hunting pheasants on a preserve, although it’s not usually quite as easy.  But when in Texas, we hunt over bait, and sometimes from vehicles to shoot animals that come from another country… and sometimes an entirely different habitat, although they’re doing quite well in this one.  Many species that are endangered in their native habitat, such as the blackbuck antelope, are thriving almost too well in Texas. 

They’ve long since escaped the high-fence ranches that held them in, and they run wild across the Hill Country landscape.  I would say they compete with the native whitetails, but my eyes and experience tell me that the whitetails are definitely holding their own.  Even so, a trip with Shane Hearn, of Border Bandit Outfitters, is a lot of fun and a fair enough challenge as well.

Anyway, I may be a little defensive.  When I put up my video from this past weekend, I found it appeared in the company of a whole slew of anti-hunting and “canned hunt” videos.  I watched several, and was appalled at the blatant propaganda.  Anyway, I’ll save you the posting of one of the anti’s videos, although I was tempted.  But here’s my video from the weekend.  Hope you enjoy. 

And if you have a moment, it may be enlightening to see some of the anti-hunters’ video as well.  You might be surprised at how they twist our actions and our words against us, and how they use the actions of a small few to define the actions of many.

Those of you who’ve been around for a while may remember last year’s Texas exotics hunt.  Well that was so much fun and the meat was so tasty, I’m gonna hit the road (well, the air) again and head down for some more. 

I’ll probably be offline for the duration of the trip, catching a plane out of Oakland this morning, and returning on Sunday night (03/30) with plenty of stories and pictures. 

Hopefully there’ll be a little video to share too.  At least three of the group will be hunting for trophy axis this time, so there shood be some real good footage.  The outfitter, Shane Hearn of Border Bandit Outfitters, said there should be a lot more hogs down there this time too, since there wasn’t a trapping program this past year. 

To really top it all off, I sent my Savage 30-06 down to KDF in Seguin to get a muzzle-brake and a Timney Trigger installed.  It’ll be ready for me to pick it up when I get there Thursday, so I hope to get a chance to put it to work.  I’m really looking forward to easing the recoil on that rifle, since my neck isn’t what it used to be. 

In the meantime, ya’ll hold down the fort and don’t get to rowdy around here. 

Interested in hunting with Shane?  Here’s the contact info:

Shane Hearn -
Borderbandit’s Outfitting & Hunting Service
692 County Rd. 203
Uvalde, Tx. 78801
830-275-2199