Drawn for the E-Postcard Hog hunt at Gus Engling in May!

Anyone been to GE before on any hunt? Are there a lot of hogs out there? Is it even worth the trip?

We were there 2 years ago and saw plenty of sign and 1 large sounder.

Again, that was 2 years ago.

I was selected for that hunt as well. This will be my firts time also. Im really looking forward to this hunt.

What weekend did y'all get drawn for? I'll be there last weekend in May.

I was selected for the May 18-20 hunt.

We were drawn for the May 11th-13th hunt

Just came back from a youth antlerless hunt this past weekend; we did see deer both days (one each day) but none stayed put long enough for my son to take a shot. As for hogs we did see some while driving around the compartment (we were on #6), as well as from the blind, but only once they stayed long enough for him to take a quick shot.
The area is thick and we were lucky to draw #6 as it had a nice elevated box blind on a clearing, otherwise it would have been a tougher hunt. One thing to mention is that the corn we dropped on Saturday was still there on Sunday morning, so whatever creatures we saw were just passing I suppose, not really living in the area. Overall there was only one doe harvested by the time we left on Sunday around noon, and no other pigs that I know of.
It was a fun and cold weekend nonetheless, he was very excited to get his second piggy.

Look at the grin on that little dude! Congratulations young man!

I drew that one as well for Cinco de Mayo weekend. Whereabouts is Compartment 6 located? I was out there last year for an antlerless/spike hunt but no longer have the property map.

Compartment #6 is on the mid to lower east side boundary of the park, basically the area below CR 473, east of Catfish creek. If you look at the park on google maps and switch to the satellite view, you'll see 2 large "bald" spots, the blind is in the upper right one.

So do all of the compartments have blinds?

Not that I’m aware of. I was actually surprised that we had one, as the details for the hunt (youth antlerless) said to bring your own, as they would not be provided. Furthermore it says that elevated tree stands were recommended.

Thank you palehorse, he was really excited as it dropped and didn’t even run or squealed.
Great memories for sure.

Here’s the compartment map, hopefully it will help you visualize them better.

Fist of all congratulations on the porker to your son 12shotgun!
My son and I hunted a youth hunt there 2 years ago. If memory serves me right we hunted # 5. I remember it was real open on the front of the compartment. We split this compartment with another father and son right down the middle. We did not see a single deer. Had a few blow at us Sunday morning. There was very few deer and hogs harvested on that hunt. It wasn't hot or anything just not very high success. There are alot of hogs on Gus but IMO Gus England is one of the hardest state owned places to hunt. Seems like the majority of animals are very educated and move at night mostly. Plenty of game for the most part just very reclusive. I'd attempt to get on Catfish creek preferably on the east side. It's very thick. Best of luck!
Oh and not all compartment have blinds. Some or even most have none at all.

I will be there for the May 18-20 hunt. Is there tent camping available or do I need to stay at a hotel.

Yes there is tent camping. There’s a campground on 287 which has a restroom and shower, no electricity, and two other campgrounds around the center of the WMA on 473, but more primitive as I understand; we stayed on 287.

Ok thanks for the info.

Hot showers too!!

I won for the weekend of the 18, never been there before, I am hoping for success

I'm pretty excited! This season is going to be great! Duck season started this weekend in the South Zone where I hunt and we had a pretty successful hunt (9 birds between the 2 of us). Next weekend more duck hunting. Then November 17-21 we'll be chasing Whitetails and Nilgai at Laguna Atascosa NWR!
We'll close out the rest of the season chasing ducks every weekend. Then in May we drew this hog hunt! I'm stoked for this season to say the least.

I got drawn for the weekend of may 18th. Never been but i am going to give it a shot.

I was there for GDE in the past couple years. I was set up in #14. I heard them rummaging around and grunting but never got a view. I had a treestand, otherwise it would have been tough to see anything in most of the compartment.

The three compartments I've drawn over the years didn't

It is a shame there isn't an open hunt for hogs in February or March before the water moccasins take over. It is also a shame they trap the hogs on the property instead of allowing more hunting.