I definitely have a handle on one key spot the wild hogs use when they travel through the Hammer Hole area. But I don't like to keep hunting the exact same spot over and over. One reason is that the hogs will get on to me and avoid the area during daylight hours. Another is that from time to time people come down to bowhunt with me and we are overloading the hot spot when two of us hunt the same immediate area.
So, where is a good place to go? If you have been following this ongoing hunt you just may have a good suggestion for me, because there is one particular place where I have seen, or surprised, the hogs several times.
If
you remember, not very long ago I walked out of the woods at near dark
and a group of wild hogs were standing in the road waiting to see what
I was. I saw a hog cross the road a couple of nights ago. When I got a
hog a few days ago it, and the entire group, came from and exited across
the road. And the biggest wild hog I've seen yet, the one that charged
my tripod, came from the road.
So where should I set up a new stand? If you are thinking I should cover the road, we're thinking alike. Deciding where to hunt on the road is a no brainer, there are 3 trails crossing the road in 10 yards, and that 10-yard strip is exactly where I have seen almost all the hogs. The 10-yard strip is on both sides of that cedar tree you see on the left side of the road. Two trails are towards us (as we look down the road) and one is on the far side of the cedar tree.
One problem! No mature trees. There are absolutely no trees big enough for a tree stand. Ok, that's really no problem either, I'll wedge a Tripod stand in the brush and be in business.
The picture is looking down the road from where I normally come out of the woods. We are near the edge of the small clearing (behind us) where the road ends. The predominate wind direction is from the South East, which is about 45-degrees (looking up the road), and blowing right to left. We can play the wind to our advantage if we set up on this side of the 10-yard strip.
So I drug my Roy Mackey Tripod over to the edge and shoved it against a group of young live oak trees. Because the brush is thick I had to set the Tripod as close to the road as possible to be able to shoot into the road or on the far edge. Another 5 feet further from the road and I would not have a shot where I think I need to shoot. My only choice is to get as close to the road as I can be and still have back cover.
Wild hogs have poor eyesight so in this instance I don't care that the Tripod is not hidden particularly well. The key things about this stand positioning are: I have 10-25 yard shots at what I think is the "busy" zone and I am on the downwind side of the wild hog traffic.
Tripod #1, looking at
the 10-yard strip on the Hammer Hole road.
Will it work? Hang out with me and we'll just see ...
To
Today's (or the latest) Wild Hog Bowhunt
To
the other wild hog hunts (pics & scouting) this year...