ahunter55

A little over a year ago we started researching Ranches & hunting facilities to do a informational hog bowhunting video. We booked 7 hunts in Texas, Ill., & Oklahoma now down to 6 as we had to cancel one. We just returned from our 4th & in S.E. Illnois (Coalcreek Farms). We had a great time even thou it was 20 degrees & Pat (owner/guide) is a jolly fellow & does his best to make your hunt successful & enjoyable. They have a very good strain of Russian/European hog that I soon found out was very ill tempered.
We had been on stand for over 2 hours when 2 boars, 3 sows & 5-6 small pigs passed under my camera mans tree stand & started rooting & foraging for acorns in the ravine below me. We patiently watched for nearly a 1/2 hour when a large rust colored Boar came within 20 yards of my stand-he never presented a decent shot & then a large black Boar started toward my side of the ravine. He was bad-biting & chasing anything near him. He finally gave me a broadside shot @ 25 yds. I drew back & the 3 Blade Rocky Mountain entered behind the shoulder, all the way to the fletch. He bolted & covered around 50 yds b/4 going into some tall marsh grass-we watched him lay down-I knew i had a double lung hit & we opted to give him an hour. The hour passed & we picked up the blood trail-pink froth & lots of it. We picked the arrow up 20 yds. from the hit-it had come out the other side-complete pass thru. We got to the tall grass & spot we last saw him-GONE-he had gotten up & went into the tall Marsh like grass. We followed the blood another 50 yds. & it stopped. The blood was freezing to his hair we guessed & not getting to the ground. I told Pat I could not see how he had gotten that far with the hit I had. I continued to look for blood in the tall grass & Pat entered a frozen creek some 30 yds. past me-he was walking on the ice (steep banks) when the Boar charged him from a cutout in the bank-he fired his 40 cal. as he slipped & fell on the ice, missing the Boar at 8-10 feet. The shot made him come out of the creek & toward me-Pat hollard-he's comin & he is "MAD". I crouched down & as he passed 30 yds. by i took another shot only to see my arrow pass under his chest. He kept running up a hill & into a thick Bramble filled ravine. Pat decided it was to dangerous for my camera man now, so we placed him by a tree he could get into easily-Mike had no complaints. Pat & I eased into the thick ravine & about 1/3 of the way in spotted the Boar backed into & under some brambles-he was waiting for us. I got by an open spot 20 yds. away & Pat eased into about 15 yards with his pistol ready-the Boar started out & Pat fired, rolling him-he got up & my arrow went into his chest-he tried to get up again & then expired. My knees were shakin & Pat was huffin & puffin too. We checked all the organs when gutting & discovered my 1st arrow had went thru both lungs & Pats shot has went between the shoulder & neck & my 2nd arrow had taken 1 lung & liver. He was down for good nearly 1 1/2 hours after the double lung hit. I have been bowhunting 45 years & this was one of the most exciting times I have ever had. B/4 he got so nasty, we did get some great video & this will be in the final production for release in Sept. (hopefully) 1 trip to Texas & 1 trip to Oklahoma left. We will be returning to Coalcreekfarms down the road too.

always thankful

Who

Nothing like them. Smarter than most dogs and mean as hell.
Makes those old but muscles just tighen up just thinking about it. Big and bad old 250 + boar with 2 to 3 inch tusk............. How many could that tree hold??lol
I was hunting at O'brian, Texas and got to know a older man. He had been hunting hogs most of his life. I ask him how big was the largest hog he had ever taken on his place. Now alot of people might start telling some big hunting tail but he brings in a photo album of pictures and finally comes up with a hog hanging on a scale and the scale shows 742 LBS. He said that picture was taken 12 years ago. He was 82 at the time. Bigest hog I have ever seen.
Rick

Lifes not about knowing the answers, its about asking the questions.

Bloodnativ

Great story!! Typical of those big Russians though and hogs in general. Meanest critters on the face of the earth in my opinion. I think sometimes they get so mad that they just forget to die. LOL.... I've had them here in Fl. do that to me. First time it happened I didn't have to worry about them getting me. There's no way they could make it up that pile of "you-know-what" that came from my pants. Been hooked ever since.

ahunter55

We did not weigh this hog but he was under 200#. Really wonder what will happen if we do tangle with a 300# & up hog? Guess I better keep my climin boots on. It is that "THRILL" of the possiblility your quarry may just take you out too.
2 more maybe 3 Bowhunts to go.

always thankful

ijimmy

Bloodnative I dont think we have russin hogs down here they are the feral domestic mix type but they do get mean . I think the russin hogs are even meaner as told to me by my buddies from Tennessee . I killed a 180 lb hog last week with the 30 06 an man did it have some sheilds I was woundering how archery equipment would work on 300 lb plus hogs , maybe higher poundage and 2 blade heads like magnus would do better than say your muzzy 3 bladers and definately no mechanical heads on big boar hogs . I would not want to shoot one of those from a groud blind he might want to take you out .

We all have different oppinions , if we did'nt the world would be a BORING place

Bloodnativ

ijimmy your right. We don't have the russians in Fl, but our ferals will get on you just the same if your not careful. I agree that the Russians are meaner than the others. As far as hunting them with a bow, I don't bowhunt yet but I have several friends that do. They use the same setup for hogs as deer. Poundage, broadheads, etc. They tell me shot placement is more important on hogs than deer. You have to squeeze that arrow just behind the shoulder, preferably with the hog quartering away. I've seen them use the 3 blade heads and they work just fine. Hunting them from the ground is where the trill comes in.

OKbowhunter

Out of the 4 places you've already hunted, was Coalcreek Farms the best in terms of quantity and quality? Can you list all 6 places that you've hunted or intend to hunt? I'm really interested in the Texas and Oklahoma properties. I'm not a hog expert, but I'll be glad to share my experiences/opinions with everyone concerning hogs that weigh more than 300lbs. I recently returned on a hog hunt from Texas. While I was there, a guy brought a "shield" that was from a 300lb+ boar that had been recently killed. I watched with my own eyes, two different people from 8 yards away shoot into this shield. One guy was shooting a BowTech Samson at 80lbs with a 485 gr arrow at approx. 275-280ft/sec and another guy was shooting a PSE with a 400gr arrow at approx 270ft/sec. Both were using Muzzy 3-blade broadheads and NEITHER ONE PENETRATED THE SHIELD WITH THEIR BROADHEADS AT 8 YDS! Maybe their broadheads were dull, but none the less, you would expect more penetration at such a close range and with that much speed. This limited penetration would have been further reduced on a live animal because of the thick, tough skin a boar would have covering the shield. IMO the very best shot that provides the quickest kill and leaves a good blood trail, is the quartering away shot where you enter just behind the shield and exit out the front chest area of the hog. A broadside shot will kill the animal, but is not as efficient. IMO it is because the shield is so effective at covering the vitals. If your shot is to forward, you hit the shield with limited penetration. If your place the shot further back in order to miss the shield, then you only get a partial portion of the vitals. And hogs can go a long ways and survive for quite some time with only a partial hit to the vitals. Yet every hog I've seen hit behind the shield quartering away has usually expired within 200 yards. It probably wouldn't hurt to wait 30 minutes before tracking the animal, just to give him time to expire. One last note. Without a doubt, the cut on impact 2-blade broadheads such as Magnus and SteelForce will definitely out penetrate the 3-blade broadheads. That doesn't mean you can't use a 3-bladed broadhead, it just means you may give up 2-4 inches in penetration. If a hog is less than 200lbs in weight, it is probably a mute point, but for 300lb+ boars, it does make a difference. Don't forget...the higher % a hog has of the Russian bloodline, the thicker his shield will probably be.

ijimmy

Could you imagine shooting a 250 300 lb hog from the ground and hiting the shield .That might get him excited I bet I'd find a tree real quick and climd like a squirl . Hed prodably have fun with your bow while you watched . I've shot alot of 100 150 lb hogs and their sheild was minamal but the 180 lber I shot had some serious shields .

We all have different oppinions , if we did'nt the world would be a BORING place

ahunter55

I used a 2216(extra weight) Aluminum arrow & a 3 Blade Rocky Mountain Broadhead & 60# compound. I passed a shot at 20 yards on a Boar because he never presented me with a "Broadside" shot-I passed on a 20 yd. quartering away shot(anything else including Bear & Elk would get it) "JUST" because I did not want to hit the shield coming out-dead end. My shot on the Boar I got was 25 yds & thru "BOTH" lungs. Perfect braodside-arrow went to the fletch & as he bolted-came out about 20 yds. from the shot-blade hooked on brush. He still charged an hour later when we were lookin for him & a bullet & another arrow put him down 1 1/2 hours later.
I have taken & lost hogs at Sweetwater Creek Bowhunting Ranch(3 hunts) in Texas, Coal Creek in Illinois & will be in Texas with Jerry Gonzales for Javi & Hogs then maybe a dog/hog Bowhunt near Lufkin, Tx. (working on booking now) & then Shilo in Oklahoma in April.


always thankful