Our trip to the Circle T Ranch started a few months back.  We traveled to the Circle T Ranch in Commerce, TX to chase wild hogs.  The weather was not perfect for our hunt but we did see lots of animals.  We have had an unusually wet summer and the excessive rains have just had the hunting not going as well as it should have.

We arrived at the ranch on Friday night.  Once all the gear was unpacked and paperwork completed Lewis began telling us about the animal activity on the ranch.  After a long discussion we decided on two spots to hunt the next morning and hit the sack.

The alarm sounded early but everyone seemed to pop right up and start getting ready.  Michael and Morgan were going to sleep in and then play pool and some of the other games in the lodge while Donna, John, and I was hunting.

After a quick breakfast we loaded in the truck and Lewis drove us to our blinds.  Donna and I were the first to be dropped off.  We were hunting in a box blind over looking a power line.  We could see anything approaching for hundreds yards in three directions.

We hadn’t been in the blind long before we saw a dark shadow moving in front of our blind.  As the sun began to creep up over the horizon we could make out the shadow in front of us.  It was an Axis Doe.  Two good bucks, the type of bucks you would like to put on your wall, eventually joined her.  We were still working on getting the camera set up and we made a little too much noise and the deer were gone!

An hour after daylight we saw a nice boar cross the road 100 yards from our stand.  This pig was pushing the 300-pound weight range but he never came our way. 

It was an overcast morning but the temperature was rising fast.  I was just about ready to head back to the lodge for some lunch when I saw a large group of Aoudad headed in our direction.  The herd eventually passed by our blind.  There were 4 nice rams and several ewes with good horns.  Luckily for the sheep they were not on the menu today!

By 10:00 am the mercury had climbed to 90 degrees.  Lewis picked us up and we headed back to the lodge for lunch.

After lunch we went out and tried to stalk the pigs.  We jumped numerous pigs but the grass was nearly waist high so you could not see your target well enough to take a shot.  I think the pigs knew they were safe as they slowly trotted off through the grass.

Saturday afternoon we were back in the blind.  About an hour before dark we had a different herd of Aoudad come by our blind as well as a group of Catalina Goats. 

We saw a large group of 20 pigs.  They ranged from 30 pounds all the way up to 300 pounds. The pigs moved right at dark but they were 100 yards from our blind. They went into the field in front of us and began feeding.

As darkness fell upon the land, Lewis picked us up and took us back to the lodge.  We spent the rest of the evening playing pool and various other games at the lodge.

Sunday morning we slept in since the pigs did not seem to be moving in the mornings.  After a good breakfast we headed out to try our luck stalking.  Once again the tall grass kept us from scoring on several pigs.

Unfortunately this would be how this hunt ended, but not for long.  We were very impressed with all of the animals that we encountered on our 1 ½ days of hunting at the Circle T, so we made plans to come back to as soon as possible to get another chance to score on a pig at the Circle T.

The date finally arrived for us to head back to Circle T.  Due to my schedule and the ranch being so close to home I opted to drive out to the ranch and hunt Saturday afternoon and Sunday afternoon rather than spend the night at the ranch.

We arrived at the ranch around 5 pm.  Once our gear was loaded into the Suzuki, we climbed into the high rack and were off.  We had not made it to the first stand location when we came across a large herd of Axis deer feeding in the field.  There were three good bucks that anyone would be happy with.  The Axis knew they were safe and continued to feed as we drove past.

Pro Staffer John Shelley and Cameraman Richard Houston were the first to be dropped off.  They were hunting on the edge of a clearing in two tripod stands that were tucked neatly into a huge cedar tree.  This spot looked promising!  This just happened to be one of the hot spots where they have been killing a lot of pigs.  The guides are very knowledgeable about the ranch and the animals there and have a real talent for putting the hunters in the right spot at the right time!

Once John and Richard were on the ground, Lewis and I were on the way to my stand.  I would be hunting in a ladder stand behind a tank dam overlooking a road and several trails.

I had only been in the stand for about an hour when I heard a pig grunt.  The grunt was getting closer.  Just as I was getting my camera turned on and grabbing my bow, my phone began to vibrate.  I received a text message from Richard, the message said, “John just missed one!”

With John flinging some carbon already and pigs heading my way things were looking good!

I grabbed my bow and got ready.  In a matter of seconds I had two 40-pound porkers come in on a trail from behind me.  They walked all around my tree but I could not get a shot at them.  They were very nervous and eventually moved on.

I thought to myself’ “That’s OK, it is still early!”

As time ticked on I noticed an Axis doe feeding in the field.  I turned the camera on her and began to film her.  As soon as I got the camera on her I got a funny feeling, like something was coming my way.  I looked over my left shoulder and saw movement down the road.

It was a big pig!  The mosquito population was giving the pig a hard time and the massive pig was flopping his hears to run the skeeters off.  I lifted my binoculars to get a closer look at this beast.  Once I got a better look it was easy to tell he was a trophy boar in the 300 pound range.  He was 100 yards from me but his path was not going to bring him by my stand.  I had to sit and watch as he disappeared into the swamp behind my stand.

Darkness was approaching fast when I heard the pitter patter of pigs running down the road.  The pigs stopped on the edge of the wood line and began feeding.  These pigs were in the 20 to 30 pound range.  They were not what I was hunting for but I decided that they would have to do. As I was getting ready for a shot, I noticed movement to my left.  It was two more pigs, but these were a lot bigger. 

The two black shadows came trotting from the cover and began feeding with the smaller pigs.  These two boars were in the 100-pound range and they even had some cutters.  I picked me one out, drew my Drenalin, and let an arrow fly.  The Lumenok lit up like the fourth of July.  Thwack!  The pig squealed and kicked it into high gear and headed for the nearest cover.  The rest of the hogs scattered like a covey of quail! 

It was pitch black outside now so I climbed down to inspect my arrow.  Once I located my arrow I could tell the Muzzy MX-4 had done the job.  I was not going to have problems finding this pig!

As luck would have it, the batteries in my flashlight were dead and I’d have to wait for help to find the pig. Once I got a good light we were able to find it in short order.  He was piled up 60 yards behind my stand.

The next afternoon found me back at the same stand, only this time I would be running the camera and Cameraman Richard Houston would be hunting.

We were not even settled in the stand good when we had a Fallow buck appear.  He was bedded behind us and we got to watch him feed around our stand all afternoon.

Right at dark three pigs came our way.  As two of the pigs began feeding in front of our stands, Richard drew his Mathews bow.  I could see the Lumenok streak towards its target in the viewfinder. The shot went high and dropped this pig in its tracks.  The second pig seemed to vanish into thin air!

Richard reloaded his bow and we were talking about the shot when Richard said, “Here comes another pig!”  The second pig had returned. This would be a fatal mistake for the porker.  Richard was waiting at full draw, when the pig turned broadside and another Muzzy Phantom found its mark.  Richard dropped this pig in its tracks too!  Both pigs were on the ground 4 feet from each other!

After some high fives in the stand we packed our gear and climbed down to wait for Lewis to pick us up.

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