3rd Annual Bowhunting.net Bowhunt - 2006
With Billy Don at Wild Horse Prairie Ranch in Burnet, Texas
 

SPECIAL THANKS TO Wildlife Research Center for sending a generous variety of Scent Killer and deer lure products for every bowhunter on this hunt.

Day #1: Morning | Afternoon

Day #1 - Afternoon

After dark the bowhunters arrived in camp they compared notes. Eight mature bucks were seen that were either out of bow range or somehow managed to not get shot at. The ranch has several small herds of Aoudad and 5 hunters saw them today, but they didn't get in bow range of anyone. John Askew saw 57 wild hogs and most of the other hunters also saw several hogs. And Roy Keefer had seen two mature bucks and had arrowed a 10-pointer.

Roy Keefer
Arriving at a Double Bull blind on the edge of a deep canyon at 4:00 Roy Keefer and Clint Carpenter (on video camera) saw a flock of wild turkeys at 4:15. One had a 12 inch beard. It got close enough for a shot but was on the move and Roy didn't shoot. The next tow hours were event less. Then a large Aoudad walked over the horizon 50 yards away and walked to 41 yards (on Roy's Nikon rangefinder). They were fidgety but stayed in the area, watching something to the left over near a fence line. Then they left the way they came.

In minutes they saw 2 bucks, a 10 point and a 6-point, both mature bucks. When Roy ranged the 10 point at 18 yards he drew his bow and took a slight quartering shot. The arrow hit in the ribs and Roy and Clint waited until dark and found blood. The trail was sparse but they found the arrow nearby. They left it where it lay and returned to camp and get Billy Don and Tater.

Roy related his story and Clint played the video of the shot. On the video the buck whirled and it and the arrow was a blur. There were differences of opinion on whether it was a high hit, possibly too high. Then Billy Don, myself and Tater loaded in the Kubota RTV and drove to Roy's stand. Clint, Roy and Chef Klaus followed in Clint's pickup.

Before leaving Billy Don put a harness on Tater. When the harness goes on Tater knows what's up. He is going tracking and he got excited. When we stopped Billy Don snapped a long leash on Tater and the one year old Jack Russell circled and then struck out into the woods with Billy Don in tow. 

In a few steps we were gong downhill and the ground was very rocky -- the footing was testy. Up ahead, Billy Don called out that he saw the arrow. The hill got very steep and small rocks, medium rocks and boulders were scattered everywhere. It didn't seem to slow down Tater and Billy Don but the rest of us found it slower going picking through the thick cedar trees, limbs and rocks. .

"Tater found the buck!" Billy Don called out in the darkness down hill. 

We propped up the buck as best we could on the sharp angle of the hill and took pictures.

Roy Keefer with his hill country Texas 10 point.

Roy Keefer, Billy Don Van Cleave and Tater.

The 10 point had gone 150 yards. But the terrain was very steep and rocky with cedars everywhere -- the footing had been unsure when we walked in -- it was more so when we started dragging the buck uphill -- actually it was more slipping and sliding than it was dragging. Billy Don returned to the Kubota to see how close he could get to the buck. The rest of us sat down and waited.

After a brief wait we saw the Kubota's headlights and waived our flashlights so BillyDon could tell where we were. We heard the loud cracking of limbs as Billy Don drove toward us, bulldozer style. He stopped 20 yards away, as close as he could get. Clint and I pulled the buck uphill to the vehicle and we all returned to camp.

Roy is a regular contributor to Bowhunting.net and this is his 3rd time to participate in the Annual Bowhunting.net Bowhunt with Billy Don. Roy stated, "This is the most wild turkeys and hogs I've seen of the 3 years."

Day #1 - Opening Morning

Roy Keefer and Kip Waddley with their opening day wild hogs.

Roy Keefer
This morning Clint Carpenter went with Roy to video his hunt. They were in their adjacent treestands half an hour before daylight. They heard activity behind them 15 minutes before daylight. A large black hog circled the area at daylight. Then he walked up and as luck would have it the boar stopped under Roy's tree and watched the area.

Roy had told Clint to tell him if he was unable to video when a shot opportunity came up and Roy interpreted Clint's silence to mean he was videoing. The fat boar stood quartering away only 10 yards from the base of the tree. Roy drew and, of course, the boar took a few steps and stopped behind a limb. 

Roy held and finally the hog stepped out past the limb. Roy aimed and released. The shot was a double lung pass through and the hog ran in a "mad sprint for 40 yards" and dropped in view by a cedar tree. 

Roy looked behind himself at Clint and saw from his smile that he had the kill on video. They saw a group of wild hogs and some deer before getting down and recovering the wild boar. Its estimated weight  was 150 pounds.

Roy Keefer with his first Texas wild boar. Roy wore Sticks N' Limbs camouflage.

Kip Waddley Gives Tater A Work Out
Kip Waddley hunted in a Double Bull blind. Before daylight he heard wild hogs in the brush. Later a group of 13 hogs came through his area. He waited to see if a larger one was with them. It was and at 7:14 the boar came within range and Kip took a quartering away shot, the arrow entered in front of the hog's hip and exited at the base of its skull. A complete pass through!

Several more groups of hogs, wild turkey and two black bucks were in the area as the morning passed. 

Kip knew that Billy Don wanted to work his Jack Russell tracking dog "Tater" and he phoned Billy Don on his cell phone to see if he wanted to bring Tater. Billy Don did and soon Kip showed Tater where the arrow lay on the ground. Tater smelled it and followed the trail 100 yards through a cedar break. The hog was laying at the edge of the trees. 

Then Donald Duck took a picture of Kip and Tater.

Kip Waddley and Tater with his second wild boar.

Kip has bowhunted 17 years and taken whitetail in Texas, and elk and pronghorn antelope in New Mexico; but has rarely hunted where there are wild hogs. He came with Jim Bob Baker and signed up for the hunt right after last year's bowhunt. 

2006 Deer Hunt Sponsors

BOWTECH GRIM REAPER Broadheads Arizona E-Z FLETCH CAM TRAKKER Game Cameras MyTopo Aerial & Topo Maps WILDLIFE Research Center

ELIMITRAX TROPHYSCORE WOLVERINE Boots Sticks N Limbs Camouflage GATEWAY FEATHERS ROPE RATCHET

HOT TRAILS Scented Hunting Candles Jim Fletcher Archery Essential Gear CARBON EXPRESS Arrows NIKON Optics

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