Finally into the lightness of the sand clearing three objects came, like shadows, nearly silent. I breathed a sigh, yes, just maybe I'd get a shot. Even in the pale light I could see color difference. There were two black hogs and a red one. From my treestand I judged that they were all about 120 to 150 pounds. Good eating size, if I could get a good
shot.

They shuffled about moving from place to place, into shadows then back into the clearing. I settled on one. As I drew my bow, I said a silent prayer, and held it at full draw. In the near darkness now, I could see the silhouette facing me, and then as it turned slightly away, I let my arrow fly...

With a distinct "thunk" the arrow hit, the hog squealed loudly and suddenly the clearing erupted with sound as all three hogs shot off in different directions.

I've been hunting for a long time so as I let my breath out, I went over what had happened in the past few milliseconds. As I released the arrow, the "thunk" told me it was a good hit. The squeal, and the hunching of the shoulders told me that if it hadn't hit exactly where I had aimed in the dark, then the "hunching" itself told me - it was a good hit. And as the hog ran in a staggering, curved line towards where it come from, it's erratic movements told me it was a good hit.

My biggest problem however, was that I had shot a BLACK pig and it was now dark. Wild animals have a tendency of "escaping" even during the day, so searching in the dark can be disappointing. 

Fortunately, I had two things in my favor, I was hunting with Rick Hayley on his ranch near Woodsboro, and I had a "heat-detecting" game finder. It had worked well in a former hunt with Rick, when he had pierced a black pig and we had to search for it in the dark as well.

The game finder distinguishes between heat in objects, so an animal's heat will give a "tick-tick" through my earpiece as I swing the flashlight-sized seeker back and forth in front on me. In the case of Rick's pig, I had found it behind a bush and under a tree where had it not been for the "tick-tick," we would never have looked.

So after waiting for Rick to drive up in his 4-wheel drive jeep, I explained what had happened. I showed him the arrow that had passed-through the hog, and even had him smell it. It smelt like wild hog. 

In a rush I depressed the toggle to turn on the heat-seeker - and promptly broke it. In my excitement, instead of pushing it forward, I had pushed it down forcefully and broke the electronic circuit.

I looked at Rick, and he at me. So we started with flashlights toward the trail I had seen the hog run. I saw no blood.

But that's not too surprising with wild hogs. An arrow creates a puncture wound, and the hog's fat sometimes closes around the wound and no blood will dribble out. It makes for a difficult time tracking.

Moments later I heard Rick yell out, "I found blood." Rick was searching to the left of where I was, 10 to 15 yards away. I went his way and saw a small amount of blood on the trail. Rick had backtracked and found a little bit more. I continued in the direction that the blood seemed to be going and a few moments later, again heard Rick's call.

"Bob, over here," he said through the darkness. With heart now pounding in excitement, I moved towards Rick. He pointed to the object and under a tree lay my hog.

"Where did you say you had hit it?" asked Rick.

"Well it was kind facing me, so it was through the shoulder, between the neck and shoulder blade," I pointed out.

"That's not exactly where you hit it," he remarked. "It looks like a perfect double lung shot on a hog."

As I examined closer, it had gone in from the right side and come out the left, not even breaking a rib. In the dark, where he had moved slightly away, he had turned to give me a perfect broadside shot. In the dark, shooting at the silhouette, I'd actually made a better shot than had been visible.

With a beatific smile I shook Rick's hand as I had "finally" got my hog on his ranch. For more than a year I had spent time with Rick on the ranch, seeing but not really getting a good shot at one of these "poor man's grizzlies."

They're called that because there is no natural predator left in Texas for hogs except man. 

And when a hog gets to be more than 200 pounds and many do, they become fearless. More than one hunter has been surprised and attacked by a huge hog.
And with their size, speed and tusks, they are a dangerous animal when riled. They have a tendency to slash with their tusks, and then also bite. Thus the analogy with a grizzly. And that they're unpredictable helps in that vein too.

I knew that Rick had taken at least three hogs, the first one when I was with him. And because they've become such adaptive, prolific animals there are more and more in the wild.

"They're out here in all sizes," expressed Rick. " They're a few weeks old to more than 400 pounds. They're black, and red and white and all colors in between. It's fun to watch them in the wild.

"I've seen them fight and squeal and run," he continued. "And I've also seen them play. Sometimes in the dark you won't see them, but I once tapped on a feeder to see if there was any corn left in it. There must have been a dozen of them hidden in the brush because when they took off, it was like a stampede."

For me, it was a Ted Nugent moment. I said a Prayer to Wild, that I had harvested a game animal, almost in its element, with a bow. It was a time to rejoice. I couldn't wait until the time I'd be back in the woods again. Maybe the next time it wouldn't be 90 degrees with the humidity at 85 percent. And maybe next time the mosquitoes wouldn't be as noisome. But then again, as long as I'm in the woods, it makes up for many hours sitting behind a desk!

Happy Hunting!

Bob Torres
 

To List Of All Bob Torres Articles: Bob Torres Bob Torres learned his trade in the Marine Corps. For 17 of his 20 years in the Corps, he served as a photojournalist, covering events from Washington D.C., to Hawaii, to the Far East.  He then worked in Sales for Guns & Ammo, Petersen's Hunting and Petersen's Bowhunting, before taking on the assignment as Editor for Bow & Arrow Hunting magazine.  Bob is currently the Associate Editor for a weekly newspaper in Corpus Christi, Texas and is still spending time in the woods with his Mathews bow.  He can be reached at RDTorres33@aol.com

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