Day 1 - Day 2 - Day 3 - Day 4 - Day 5 - The Hunt Wrap Up

Hunting Logs - Nilgai Bowhunt 2000
Bowhunting with 4 Arrows Outfitters At The King Ranch. 

DAY #1
The five of us,  Dennis Crabtree, Steve Bartylla, Zan D. Christensen, Dr. David Samuel, and me, traveled from Zan's home in San Antonio to the King Ranch in South East Texas. Ranch security requires that hunters can only come on the property, or leave, at 12:30 pm so we made our travel plans to arrive early. Wayne Peeples, the owner of 4 Arrows Outfitters met us a few minutes early and we followed him for 12 miles to the 4-Arrows Outfitter ranch headquarters. 
 

We parked at the 4 Arrows Lodge and  unloaded our gear in our quarters. (Click picture for larger view.)

We unpacked and Wayne gave us our orientation. There were a few pleasant surprises: we could bowhunt javelina, there were no rattlesnakes on the ranch, and I would be able to go on the deer feeding run in the morning and take digital pictures.

Then Wayne took us all on a grand tour of the 3,7000 acre pasture we would be bowhunting for the next five days. Although we had passed through tens of thousands of acres on the King Ranch that had plenty of oak and hardwood trees suitable for treestands this particular pasture was mostly young mesquite trees and brush and was better suited for ground blinds and tripods than treestands.

The pasture had a network of dirt roads and Wayne drove them and explained where the best places to bowhunt were. Several times he stopped and we all got out and looked at areas that Nilgai frequent. There were a couple dozen ponds scattered throughout the pasture and we saw game at most of them. The Southern border of the area was a large Laguna  (that's spanish for bay or lake). Mesquite trees and thick brush ran along its edge and Wayne took us into the dense brush and we all glassed the Laguna and saw dozens of Nilgai, javelina and deer.

By the time we got everything checked out it was late afternoon, so when Wayne left us we split up and looked for places to hunt. Zano and I decided to hunt an area with two ponds. We split up and looked around. Everywhere I went I saw deer and kept getting distracted, I couldn't resist taking digital pictures of of them. 

After a while I headed back to our truck and saw Zano standing stone still in the brush some 60 yards away. I started to walk over to him but I quickly realized he was slipping up on something I could not see. I stopped and watched him. I have to say that I have never seen a better stalker, he moved carefully, quietly and painfully slow. Eventually I saw his recurve bow crawl into position and inch by inch the string came back and back. But wait, lets hear what happened in Zan's own words. . .

"I spotted a group of 13 javelina's about 150 yards away. Of course I stopped and grabbed my binoculars to look over the situation. The brisk wind was in my favor so I took advantage of this first encounter by putting the stalk on them. Earlier, I had told the "Answer Guys" I wanted to shoot a small, tender javelina and cook it up "Cabrito" (baby goat) style, so naturally I concentrated on the 4 young ones in the group. Soon I was within 30 yards of the group, trying to get into position for a shot. They turned towards me and split into two groups.  The first group, the four small pigs, immediately came along to my right side, only 6 yards away."

"They were close but the tall, thick boom weed they moved through prevented any shots. The second group, now 10 yards behind me, prevented me from following the youngsters for a clear shot opportunity.  Slowly I turned around and watched the next group approach to my left side. Fortunately, one shooting lane about 12" wide offered me the shot opportunity I needed. As the first javelina entered the lane I made a soft kissing sound to stop the it for the shot."

"Instead of stopping, it grunted and bolted for the brush. The other pigs froze, but only for a minute, then a boar walked into the shooting lane and stopped broadside. My Bear Kodiak recurve snapped to full draw and sent my arrow was on its way. At the hit the javelina was knocked to the ground, then it began snapping its teeth loudly and bolted into a brushy thicket."
"In seconds, all was quiet around me. A glance at my watch read 5:45, and it would be dark at 6:20. I only waited 5 minutes before tracking the pig because the shot was placed tight behind the right shoulder. Fifteen  minutes of sneak hunting its exit trail I found the boar standing behind a  wall of low, thick brush that offered no shot windows. I spent another 15 minutes sneaking slowly around the perimeter looking for any shot window more than 3" wide, but to no avail. The arrow had stayed with the javelina and it was perfectly placed, but I couldn't figure out why the javelina wasn't dead. I quietly backed out and came back in the morning. It was stone dead, it hadn't moved from where I left it. My arrow had passed through the tip of one lung and the liver. This mature boar javelina, in it's prime, turned out to be a beautiful trophy with long, sharp tusks."

Tonight's Dinner Menu: Grilled bacon wrapped beef filet's marinated in tequila & dusted with pepper, pozole (pa-zoe-lay: spicy mexican style hominy), avocado salad (mashed avocados with finely chopped onion & garlic), bolillo's (boe-lee-oes: small loaves of mexican bread). The handywork of Chef Zano.

Day 1 - Day 2 - Day 3 - Day 4 - Day 5 - The Hunt Wrap Up