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Old September 9, 2006, 02:08 PM   #1
springmom
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Great day at the Ranch

Well, Archerandshooter and I just can't wait for hunting season, so today we went to a local private ranch, Cougar Run Ranch, up north of Houston. I was going for an axis doe, but for the first time in weeks in r-a-i-n-e-d all morning long so they were sleeping in. We took out over the ranch in a fourwheeler, and eventually flushed some, but by then I'd gotten into a conflict with a big old nasty-tempered sow who clearly didn't think I had a right to be in HER woods. She'd charge us for 10 feet, stop, charge, stop, charge...my guide was yelling "SHOOT HER, SHE'S GOING TO CHARGE YOU!" Unfortunately, a good portion of her ugly self was shielded behind some small trees, but she stuck her face out to keep an eye on me, and I got her. Amazingly, although she was SHOT IN THE HEAD, the thing cartwheeled, flopped over, rolled, then got herself up and ran! We caught up with her and when my Remington 700 .243 jammed up (it's on its way over to the gunsmith shortly ) the ranch owner finished her up quickly.

Archerandshooter can tell his own story, but suffice it to say, he was charged by a seriously-p***ed off boar that wheeled off to the side at the last minute, giving him a double-lung shot to finish it off. I cheered. My guide cheered. It was a super shot. That's my husband for you!

So between us we have 150-175 pounds of pork coming in the next week or two and more importantly, had the time of our lives. That was my first time on the back of a fourwheeler sitting on a shooting chair, careening through the woods chasing deer and pigs. I had the time of my LIFE. Redneck babushkas of the world, UNITE!!!!!

Springmom, who had a GREAT day
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Old September 9, 2006, 02:21 PM   #2
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Great work 'Annie Oakley' !! But get a real gun with a real cartridge.
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Old September 9, 2006, 03:52 PM   #3
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Springmom - how is that place? Being a fellow Houstonian I've looked for lease options &/or hunting grounds options other than public lands as I don't care to be a "target". I have ran accorss that place online and it seems to be ok; there's no mention as to how many acres it is, no birding I guess, & does it seem like a canned hunt? Impressions? How much was the total cost.. probably a thousand other questions I could ask... anywayz..
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Old September 9, 2006, 06:27 PM   #4
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Ian,pm following.

Mete: PPPPPBBBBBLLLLLTTTTTTT If I can shoot it comfortably (I can) and hit what I am at (every time, except when my stupid rifle jams) I'm happy. If it can kill a pig, it's a real gun. And it doesn't bruise my shoulder to shoot it

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Old September 9, 2006, 09:54 PM   #5
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springmom,

I haven't seen anything in TX that a 243 won't handle. Good shooting.
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Old September 10, 2006, 06:43 AM   #6
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That .243 may be a bit too much for the dove, but the deer,javelina,hogs etc, will die just fine. If you love it, it is just fine. If you worry about kick, you will miss some shots. Keep killin what you are shooting with that .243.
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Old September 10, 2006, 01:49 PM   #7
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OK, my turn...

springmom is right. it was an awesome morning, just right to get the blood flowing (pun intended) for hunting season, which starts in 20 days down here

like her, i started the day in a blind waiting for deer, but the rain washed that out - the only things moving on that ranch at dawn were the 'gators, and I wasn't interested in shooting one of them yesterday. so the owner and I decided if the deer weren't coming to us, we'd go to them, and off we went into the rain on foot.

we slogged around for about 30 minutes without seeing anything but tracks - including gator tracks, which i'd never seen before we came upon a bunch of rams huddled under a stand and tree to keep dry, but between the ol' budget and not having a clean, one-animal-only shot, we decided to press on.

as we did, Hal warned me to keep an eye open for this one mean tempered boar that had been harrassing his helper and fellow guide recently - the poor guy had to get up a tree five times in the last week or two. I said, OK, then he asked me if I minded shooting a pig, since the deer were MIA. I said no problem, he said good, 'cause if we saw him, he'd be real glad to have THIS hog dead.

about 15 minutes later we came to another stand on a different part of the ranch and climbed up in. we finally saw some deer movement, but movement was the key - they never stood still for more than a couple of seconds, and not at all in one of the clear-shot lanes from that stand, so all we did was admire the view. we knew there were hogs in the area and so settled in to wait.

not too long after that a herd of swine was passing by at about 50 yards and this one black boar held up and just stood staring at us. he was in a clear lane, quartering in slightly, so i lined up on the spot right between his neck and left front shoulder and let fly with one of Hornady's new ballistic-tip .30-.30 rounds. the shot felt good, and the hog jumped and staggered immediately. hal said he'd been hit hard, but darned if he didn't just up and run off - limping badly, but still moving pretty good. we waited a bit and then got down to go find him. at that point we figured to find him dead inside 100 yards.

well, in that hundred yard we saw lots of tracks, and one 10-foot gator just lying around in the wet ground, but no blood and no dead pig. we kept hiking, and eventually hooked up with springmom and her guide. it wasn't long after that we saw one big black boar hung up by himself, no longer moving, just standing staring at us. we could tell from 100 yards this was one P.O.'d animal, and hal thought it was the one i'd shot earlier.

we circled in slowly until we were at about 50 yards, and he never moved except to turn to keep facing us head on. at that point he started shifting his weight a little, and Hal had me set up next to a tree, telling me that our boy was about to charge. that man sure knows hogs, 'cause not 10 seconds later here he comes, head down and MAD. i took a bead and pulled the trigger.

click. oh, SH###!!!

I levered in another round and raised my rifle again. Just as I reacquired the sight picture, when he was at about 20 - 25 yards, he swerved a bit, whether to charge hal instead of me or to just get away i don't know. hal was yelling, "SHOOT HIM!" so i guaged his speed (which was pretty fast), followed him with my muzzle and let fly again. funny, i don't remember consciously squeezing the trigger, but this one finished the job. he jumped, ran another 20 feet, then fell over and died. turns out this second bullet had done a complete pass through both lungs, gouging out a piece of the heart on the way. game, set, and match to me.

one final bit of news - when springmom's guide got a close look, i had shot the same hog that had charged and menaced him so much over the last couple of weeks. bad tempered pig, dontcha know? he had several fresh tusk scars from recent fights with other hogs, too. so the guides were almost as glad as i was that this one was MINE!

can't WAIT for the meat - some to eat, some to share with our priest and family, some to keep in the freezer for later. MMMMMMMMMMM.

and can't wait for mount - this ol' boy had some nice chompers, which, with his face - jet black with a little silver, will soon adorn our family room wall.

it's a funny thing, watching him charge, i thought "how ugly can one beast get?" now that he's going to be a permanent guest in our home it is more like, "ain't he a beauty!"
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Old September 10, 2006, 03:53 PM   #8
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of course you have to understand...

...that our house is contemporary styling, with those rounded corners and arched inset for artsy stuff or large vases or whatever, yadda yadda. A big old tusked boar is going to look like Cheech Marin at a tea party on that wall.

So we'll probably panel the living room, ignore the arches, and turn it into something, um, contemporary Texan. There ya go.

But it'll be a fine trophy.

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Old September 10, 2006, 06:37 PM   #9
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It's alright to be a redneck. Definetly a good time i just wish that my old quad didnt leave me stranded every time i took it out so that i could actually take it hunting and rely on it
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Old September 11, 2006, 06:17 PM   #10
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Nice hunt; I'm jealous!
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Old September 12, 2006, 11:35 AM   #11
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PICTURES PICTURES PICTURES!!!

I went to one of those ranches in NY.. www.killbuck.com
they were great! I got a ram and so did my buddy, our otuer friend got a boar, the thing ran forever after a double lung arrow, amazing...
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Old September 12, 2006, 11:46 AM   #12
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Sorry, no pix just yet

In the excitement and the rain, we left the camera up in the ranch house.

Once the head of my boar gets back, we'll take a picture of his big toothy grin and post it for y'all.
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Old September 12, 2006, 01:49 PM   #13
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Sounds like a fun hunt. Congrats!
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Old November 22, 2006, 01:36 PM   #14
ArcherAndShooter
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Pictures finally

Y'all asked, but like SpringMom said, we'd forgotten the camera in all the excitement.

Now, however, my hog is back from the taxidermist, so I can share his ugly / beautiful face with you....
Attached Images
File Type: jpg Norbert 003 cropped.jpg (225.0 KB, 95 views)
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Old November 22, 2006, 02:26 PM   #15
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Thanks for the picture. Nice a now a memory on the wall forever, even nicer.
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Old November 22, 2006, 02:31 PM   #16
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Wow, that thing looks MEAN
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Old November 26, 2006, 11:08 AM   #17
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You don't see a lot of pigs with that kind of aggressive behavior. At least I don't at our land between Bastrop and Lockhart. I've hunted many hogs there. I see them all the time. I've chased them on foot and 4-wheeler, I've shot many, I've been face to face with them on my belly with a pistol...still have never had one charge me unless I'd already shot it and it was a desperation move by a cornered and wounded pig.

Just this morning I got bored in my hunting stand and tried to stalk some piglets with my knife. They got away but I got darn close... I know that sounds kind of cavalier but I did have my pistol as well (loaded with hardcast rounds).

bc
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Old November 26, 2006, 06:57 PM   #18
Fremmer
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Wow, Archer and Spring, that looks like something from the movie "The Howling" or something like that......
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Old November 27, 2006, 11:30 PM   #19
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That DOES look like an evil beast - good thing A&S was there to save the damsel springmom from this hideous monster!
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Old November 28, 2006, 05:59 AM   #20
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That boar looks positively demonic with the eyes your taxidermist selected. Leave a nightlight on in the room, or you might have it wake you up some night when you're groggily wandering around to get a drink of water.
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Old November 28, 2006, 02:14 PM   #21
ArcherAndShooter
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Scary hog head

My son already thought it good and scary, so when his girlfriend came over for the first time after we'd mounted it on the wall, he told her he had a surprise for her, had her cover her eyes, and walked her up to within about 6 inches of the nose (it's at eye level) before uncovering her eyes.

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Old November 28, 2006, 03:09 PM   #22
springmom
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Well, actually, Archerandshooter was with his guide on a different section of the ranch when he got the Pig From Hell. It really does have this sort of demonic expression...

That's ok. He's about to get a Santa hat for the season (the pig, not DH). I've named him "Norbert". (Harry Potter reference). Norbert gets a Santa hat very soon. (And pix will follow)

Ho ho ho!!!!!

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Old December 1, 2006, 08:32 PM   #23
Ian2005
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Heh... yeah I'm having a good laugh at "The Howling" comment. Man that thing is scary. I think my wife would fillup her panties if I dragged that in the house.
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Old December 2, 2006, 12:11 AM   #24
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+1 to the spouse not liking that.

Nice pig. He definately is a brute.

As far as mounts and scaring the bejebes out of the wife. I have a 4 ft rattle snake mounted in the coiled ready to stike position (actually beat the sucker to death with my bow a few years ago when I stepped on him while stalking a buck). First time my wife (who is german) came to visit my folks I had my dad put the sucker out in the tall grass and then I went walking with her. When she saw the thing she screamed and jumped right into my arms screaming still. Once she figured that it was dead she proceded to slug me in the gut. I deserved it, but it also made the point stick not to wander in teh tall grass without looking where you are stepping.
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