My son Ricky and his friend Blaine accompanied me on a wild hog bowhunt at Texas S Ranch. Also driving out to meet us was my bow hunting friend, Robert Hoague.
We all arrived about the same time. The boys did not want to visit with all us old guys so they got their bows and were on their way. Robert, the owner Merle, and I have been friends for the past five years. We really had not seen each other for a while so we sat around for an hour and just caught up on what we were all doing. Robert and I looked at our watches and decided it was time to hit the timber and hunt for these big East Texas hogs that we knew were out there in Merle’s thick timber.
We hunted for an hour when my son Ricky came on the walkie-talkie and informed us that he had a boar down. Robert and I headed to Ricky’s location and there lay a nice boar that later weighed in at 145 lbs. Ricky placed a perfect shot at 30 yards with the AFC shaft tipped the 100-grain spitfire. The boar had only gone forty yards.
Good job Ricky. The boys took the boar back to camp while Robert and I continued to hunt.
An hour later we noticed movement 75 yards in front of us. About 25 hogs were wallowing and rooting in a mud hole. Robert followed behind me with the camera while I made my stalk.
The wild hogs winded me and moved out slowly. As they angled in front of me my rangefinder said 42 yards. I slowly raised my bow to a shooting position. I sent the 100-grain spitfire on its way. A perfect hit!!!! The big black boar took off like a thoroughbred racehorse.
Little did we know … THE FUN WAS ABOUT TO BEGIN.
I walked back to Robert and told him the shot looked good. He and I walked up to where the boar stood and could see evidence of a great hit.
About that time the boys came up and wanted to know what happened. I told them about the big boar and when they saw the blood they took off like a couple of hound dogs on a trail.
To make a long story short, as we followed the blood I noticed the boar laying in an adjacent open field of knee high grass. The critter saw us and took off. I told the boys to stay put while Robert and I continued in pursuit of the big guy. Minutes later we saw the boar laying in a brush pile at 40 yards. I whispered to Robert I was going to close the distance to put a finishing shot in the vitals.
I took one step and the large boar stood up and was face to face with us. I froze in my tracks!!!! I told Robert “ I don’t like this”. At that moment the boar charged straight at us. He looked like he had been shot out of a cannon. I yelled at the top of my lungs ”HE IS CHARGING”.
The big hog came at us fast and I pealed off to the right. Unfortunately for Robert, the mean boar took more of likening to him. Luckily, there was a tree between the hog and him. Robert got up the tree just as the hog arrived at the base of the tree.
Confused, the big boar kept on going. Ricky and Blaine were in the proximity the boar was heading and I yelled for them to high tail it. The boys found a tree and got up in it. I walked up to Robert and said, “Can you believe that”?
We regrouped and gathered our senses and continued. The hog stopped fifty yards away in a thicket and stopped in a creek. I closed the distance to 20 yards and put another shot on the big guy. He bolted across the creek and piled up in front of us.
Talk about wild. Robert and I and the boys gathered around the large black boar. At first we did not say a thing, we all gazed at the big guy with respect. Our respect level just went to another height for these wild hogs that we all had hunted for years.
(L) Rick Philippi (R) Merle Jones of Texas-S Bowhunting Ranch
Back then, I’d hog hunted in Texas for 23 years and I had only been attacked twice. Let me tell you, it is pretty scary thing. Anybody that thinks it sounds like fun is crazy. For anyone who hunts these wild critters, always show them respect. I am not saying that you need to be afraid, but use common sense and don’t underestimate these wild critters.
One tidbit of good advice I can give you is make sure the wild hog is dead. If you’re not certain put another arrow in him. I’ve seen hogs that I thought were down for good get back up and take off. This is how people get hurt. Use common sense and it is best to track a wounded hog with a friend. Also, if you ever get the chance, ask Robert Hoague about some “evasive hog tactics” to use if ever charged by a big mean boar.
