well...decided to give this place a shot for the first time since i am 0-5 at the tawakoni wma. you can camp at this place which is great. bro and i packed up some of the kiddos and hit the road friday evening.

we hiked the east trail from sun up to noon on sat and never found any decent sign or fresh game trails. only thing we saw was a coyote flying in front of us about 20 yards. there was a group of hunters on 4 wheelers putting around that spooked it. trails are supposed to be closed to ATV with signs everywhere and cables up. some people i guess cant read or dont care. anyway i knew it was over so the slow paced stalk turned into a hiking scouting mission for the evening hunt. we never saw anything in terms of fresh torn up areas, games trails, tracks, etc... kids were beat so we went back to camp.



sat evening we went to a different place. kids and i stalked in to what i thought might be pretty good, sat against some trees and in no time they were both working on their hog calls while passed out. skunked again. at this point i am a little discouraged because we have not seen any sign or other critters for that matter.

sunday morning i woke up early and the kids were dead to the world and my bro with his girls were also so i snuck out and went to the same spot we were the night before. main reason for going back was to get my therma cell we forgot there. really did not expect to see anything so i left 270 in the car and brought my daughter's new rem 597 22 mag for the hell of it. sun was just coming up so i could see well enough to go super slow. stopping to listen every few steps it did not take long for me to know i was not the only thing out there. stalked a little farther and i could see some black masses moving around. wind was in my favor so i got within 80 yards or so. a lot of brush and small trees but i let this small boar have it. 22mag to the neck. dropped like a rock into a creek bed. few seconds later his front legs were kicking like crazy and he belted out a loud cry. another round to the brain put a stop to that. little gun did the job.

snuck back to camp to get the kiddos so they could see him before i cut him up. they were so pumped. i was hoping the pigs would be back by the time we got there but no such luck.



cant wait to go back. first public hunting hog. amazing place to just hike around and camp for free. being able to hunt for hogs while doing it still blows my mind.

great weekend.

coonsaw

Great post. Thanks for sharing.

Nice!

You did it the hard way, that's for sure....my son took his first hog on a WMA this year and we had a blast doing it. Took some time and a lot of effort, but was well worth it in the end. There's something about being able to go out and walk the woods, camp, and be able to not only find a wild animal, but to shoot it and eat it. Congratulations...hope your kids get one of their own before long.

Congrats on the hog!

nice

awesome pic and hunting story. i hunted out there with my brother and cousins before. was some of the best adventure we've had. good hogs too.

i'd warn you though. i could be wrong, i haven't read the public regs in a while, but i don't think they allow centerfire rifles at OSB. shotguns/rimfire/muzzleloader only i had thought.

i could be wrong though. .22mag is an awesome little bullet. i've got a marlin .22mag bolt action with target barrel. i have a blast with it.

awesome

Erich,
Coonsaw's hunt does still fall within this years dates for "all legal means". OSB has varied dates for different methods and not all months are open for hog hunting, so yes one would need to be sure and check season dates on that particular wma before planning a trip.

i checked. only reason we went there is because of all the "all legal means" rule for hogs right now. was really hoping my daughter could have had a crack but we did not see them when she was with me. the kiddos were just as excited to see the one i got. she was pumped that i got one with her gun.

22mag is rock solid...and is rimfire so i would have been good either way.

we will go back before open hog season is over for sure.

the more i go hunting the less i like the "sit in a blind over a feeder" gig. half the rush is scouting and stalking these dudes. my heart was racing when i heard them. this one was by far the most rewarding to date. actually feel like i am hunting.

coonsaw

Congrats man cool hunt.

congrats..told ya that alot of walking was involved but patience pays off as well as a little luck. good job. that place can leave ya feeling skunked at times but once you get the lay of the land you can really get into some good areas. next time try hunting the non ATV side. plenty of nonpressured hogs on that side. the east trail is by far the most pressured trail on the park.

east trail is where the guy at the office told me to go over the phone. you can tell there is a lot of traffic in there. probably why we did not see any sign of hog action. i think the other side is much better like you said. a lot more cover and not as open but small trails and more creek bottom stuff. great area. going back in a couple of weeks.

only problem is ticks and i think mosquitoes will be nasty in a bit.

thanks for the comments.

coonsaw

yep not only mosquitoes but the snakes come out as well. be very careful where ya step and keep a close eye on the kiddos when it warms up.

I am headed up ther on Thursday with Nlay and anybody else that would like to come. Call me at 903-363-3242 if you are interested.

I have been up there several times and even guided some friends last year. They saw 2 different pigs but took too long to get their guns up.

good luck. i may have a chance to go back friday night.

coonsaw