Holiday Hog Hunting

[ggonzales]

Just got back from doing some holiday hunting at La Mota Ranch in Benavides TX and just my luck that we arrived on Tue night and found out that just Sunday a nice sounder of pigs showed up at one of the feeders and a lucky young man harvested a nice sow (150lbs), then on Monday several hogs were caught in one of the hog traps to include a 350lb black boar. So when I woke up on Wed am to make that long walk to my blind and saw that it had been raining and wet, my expectations for seeing some hogs were pretty good. 50 hogs had been harvested on La Mota Ranch since Sept and it had been a pretty good year for pigs, the hog pipe was consitently getting hit and the feeders were pretty tore up for the sounders attacking the corn. Just the evening before my dad filled up the hog pipe and feed the senderos with plenty of corn, but when I arrived in the blind and could see down the sendero, I noticed the hog pipe had been attacked during the night and was empty, plus only four small does showed up at the feeder to feed on one side and then a pack of coyotes was guarding the other feeder chasing away anything that showed up to feed all morning long. So then I try again in the afternoon, with great anticipation that a sounder of pigs would show up right before dark only to find the pack of coyotes guarding the other feeder chasing away animals once again. But the most interesting thing I saw those few days while hog hunting was the evidence that a mountain lion had ambushed a pig at one of our hog traps, while reloading the traps I noticed some large paw prints on the ground near the trap and evidence the cat ambushed the pigs from the brush and you could clearly see on the fresh wet dirt where the big cat turned and chased the pig away from the trap, the pig had left some nice tracks on the ground also where he took off trying to avoid being eaten by the big cat. We know that there has been several cats around and even some hunters who have seen a large black cat, whatever it was it is hunting hogs with better success at night at our hog traps!!!

[cabledad]

Sounds like you could have some fun coyte hunting. Chuck

[ARhoghunter]

It is fun to watch the interaction around the feeders. Walked up on a pack of coyotes one time & the 2 dominate males were fighting for control of the pack. Got within 20 yds & just watched. The only thing better than watching all the different animals is KILLING THESE FERAL HOGS!

[ggonzales]

I tell you what coyotes are the smartes, weirdest animals out there, they are just strange period, I did not take my .22 to the blind that day or else I could have easily shot two or three yotes, the ranch owner absolutely enjoys all wildlife and late told me he was thankful i did not shoot the yote!!!