The evening hunt started out pretty slow with only a few animals moving due to the heat and humidity, and, in part, to the recent rain. I was perched in my bow stand in an old oak tree about 15 feet off the ground. The stand itself is situated between two canyons. One of my favorite hunting places on the ranch. I was ready to shoot a wild hog or a young aoudad sheep if they were willing to cross my path. As the late evening progressed, I spied on several young whitetail bucks that were just passing through looking for place to graze. The whitetail buck population with the abundant rains and supplemental year-round feed looks especially strong this year at Escondido Ranch.

It was about 7:00 P.M. when my first potential prey decided to show itself. First, two Aoudad sheep, each with about 20 inches of horn, peeked out from the brush. Not trophy class, but not good eating size either. Aoudad sheep taste better when they are harvested at a younger age. Twelve inches of horn or less is a good reference length for eating purposes. With that in mind I decided to pass. Just a few moments later, two wild hogs surfaced along the brush line. I got into position and waited for the hogs to clear from behind an overhanging tree limb blocking my shooting lane. As the hog moved into a clearing, I became a bit anxious due to the amount of time I had to think about my shot. As I drew my bow to full draw, I set my 20 yard pin sight on the vital organs of the larger of the two wild boars. In a fleeing moment, my arrow screamed through the humid south Texas air and hit the boar on the side, passing through and leaving an exit hole the size of a golf ball. I did it!! The hog ran immediately into the brush and expired briefly thereafter. Well thanks for reading and check out EscondidoRanch.com for all your hunting wants and desires.

Labels: bow hunting, texas boar hunting, texas feral hog hunts, wild hog hunting