SAturday morn was cool and wet. Just perfect to sit in stands and wait for hogs. All we saw was deer so we decided to ride around the ranch.

Six or eight jakes appeared about 40 yards away. Bob shot one with the 7mm mag, and another jake ran over to "beat up" the dead jake. By that time, my son had his gun out the window. Two down.

We drove up the main road another 500 yards and saw about 40 pigs at a cattle feed site. Big surprise! I'd like to say we killed two or three, but when we get too many in front of us, sometimes its hard to settle on one.
So we all missed. Clay did not use the 22 RM for obvious reasons.
Then drove another 1/2 mile and came over another ridge to a field with another 30-40 hogs all up feeding. After setting up the shots where Bob and I could both shoot at the same time at about 200 yards, the results were the same. Misses,,,several misses. My Tikka 243 Win is dead on accurate, so you can't blame the guns.

For some reason, when I have a lot of hogs in front of me, I try shooting the second one before the first one is down.
Anyway, it was a fun hunt ,and we managed to kill some turkeys, if unconventionally!

I forgot the picture!

Who's that little guy next to Clay, and did he have his Chipmunk along? Surely, if he did, there would be all kinds of birds and hogs laying around! :D

Congrats tpv! I'm hoping to get out after the turkeys weekend of April 18 (opens the 15th).

The farmers get all upset if we go pig hunting around here.:p

Congrats tpv! I'm hoping to get out after the turkeys weekend of April 18 (opens the 15th).

The farmers get all upset if we go pig hunting around here.:p
Hey there Shawn, how are you.
I hadn't been on the forum in a while.

My grandson had his chipmunk with him, but the shot didn't "present" itself.
The toms are just starting to get after it. I may go next week-end and hunt a little more seriously.

Good luck with the turkey, Tom.

Surprised you were able to see so many hogs clustered up in the daytime. Sounds like you guys have some serious thinning out to do.

Better luck to Alex the next time! :D

Hi Tom, I've been fine. A little too much work at work, and not enough powder burning going on for me, and winter is really hanging on here. But overall, life is good. I saw on the "Where's Bob Faucett" thread that you (and everyone else in North America it seems) got that terrible flu bug. It sure humbled me.

Looking forward to getting after some turkeys and stretching the legs a bit, although 'spot-and-stalk' doesn't seem to work very well with them.:o I have some Hevi-shot ready for the Rem Mod 11 - not the typical turkey gun, but it's accounted for two so far.

Good luck with the pigs!

Must have lax laws in Texas, shooting turkeys (anything) from the truck here in Mt. is extremely illegal.

BigSky

Texas hunting is primarily private leased land. The roads are all ranch roads and not public roads. Brush is thick, grass and weeds are high and views are limited. The oil field pipeline r/w's (called sendaros) are about the only clearcuts with distance views. The cattle feeding areas TPV describes are small circular areas tromped down by the cattle where the rancher spreads feed and salt blocks for the livestock.

You would think hunting activities and livestock wouldn't mix, but in all the many years of such, there are no incidents of the cattle being struck accidently by hunters. The hunting leaseholder (TPV in this case) is responsible for all hunters and their impact on the property. You can bet it's in his best interest to assure all hunting is done in a safe and responsible manner, as well as trash, gate tending and vehicular use on the property.

I'm one of the guest hunters on this particular property in Texas and really enjoy the relaxed atmosphere and comradrie while there. A breautiful North Texas ranch with intersped cattle and oil/gas production and some of the best deer/turkey/hog/coyote/duck hunting you can find. TPV does a great job of managing the hunting lease, with zero tolerance for those who try to bend the rules. Many a long term hunter has been told to leave the lease with all his semi-permanent camping setup because of rule infractions.

Don't judge too harshly these hunting techniques until you've tried them yourself.

Sorry, maybe I came across wrong. I dont think I was judging, I was merely trying to point out the differences is all.

BigSky

Sorry, maybe I came across wrong. I dont think I was judging, I was merely trying to point out the differences is all.

BigSky
Big Sky, According to the Texas Parks & Wildlife offices, it is legal to hunt from a vehicle on private land here but you cannot hunt migratory birds from the vehicle.
As a kid, we spent many a night varmint hunting from the back of a truck during the summer.
I don't,for any reason, want to give the idea that this was done in an unsafe way. It wasn't. We do it sometimes to cover a lot of ground in a short time. Sort of a last resort hunt.
Since these laws change requently, I called T P&W just to make sure.
I saw a show on TV Sunday where some guys were using night light and inferred scopes to kill hogs. I always thought that was illegal but apparantly not any more.

Anyway,
Good Luck

Hey Tom, glad to see ya got some meat for the pot. As I mentioned in another post we did not fair well trying to use #8 shot on a turkey. Sure was fun though. The tornado that went through Breckenridge went by just a few miles north of my lease and my landowner said that my ground blind is still there and did not become a tree stand in another county. Rattlesnakes, twisters, and turkeys.. Ya gotta love spring time in Texas.

FYI.... on the turkey hunt last weekend.

My buddy forgot shotgun shells - I loaned him what I had, an ounce of #9s.

He killed two turkeys with two shots.

Must'a walked up and sat in his lap, Mike! :D

FYI.... on the turkey hunt last weekend.

My buddy forgot shotgun shells - I loaned him what I had, an ounce of #9s.

He killed two turkeys with two shots.
You mean he didn't use 3 1/2 #4's and a new camo shotgun?
Didn't know you could still kill them the old fashion way.

Hey Tom, glad to see ya got some meat for the pot. As I mentioned in another post we did not fair well trying to use #8 shot on a turkey. Sure was fun though. The tornado that went through Breckenridge went by just a few miles north of my lease and my landowner said that my ground blind is still there and did not become a tree stand in another county. Rattlesnakes, twisters, and turkeys.. Ya gotta love spring time in Texas.
I concur about springtime in Texas. We got about 2 1/2" dumped on our lease last night, along with some hail and high winds.
The morning news showed the damage in Breckenridge. That's where my wife grew up.
I have a good customer down that road called Texas Tank. That looks like a good area.

Hey, I tried to reply to a couple of posts and when I hit 'post reply" it kicked me off.
You guys trying to tell me something? or did I not send in my dues?

Hey, I tried to reply to a couple of posts and when I hit 'post reply" it kicked me off.
You guys trying to tell me something? or did I not send in my dues?

Well, might be telling you that IT'S YOUR 61ST BIRTHDAY AND WE WERE GONNA SURPRISE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!:D

Nope - you ain't no Spring Turkey anymore, Tom!!!!!! :p

Gee, Ken- Thx for reminding me!
Guess it beats the alternatives!

Happy Birthday Tom you old turkey!:D

You mean he didn't use 3 1/2 #4's and a new camo shotgun?
Didn't know you could still kill them the old fashion way.

It was the old store-branded Winchester shotgun (think it was a 'Ted Williams?') that he was dragging around camp.

They're still dead! And ate pretty good, too. :D

I have hunted hard, and got close, but no cigar. This Friday will be my last chance. It has been pretty weather and good hunting with lots of birds. I just have not got a shot.

I think I have a pic or two.

Nice Pics Chief,
I finally took time to kill one Saturday morning.
Also, it was 48 degrees but we still found this little guy under a trailer. Its about a 12-14" copperhead.
I hate snakes!
You guys be careful

Congrats on your turkey tpv, and sorry about the copperhead! I didn't connect on a turkey this past weekend, but we saw a lot of great toms, mostly driving to-and-from various setups. Hardly any of them talking this year. Wonder if they're getting like our elk and shutting up due to increased predators (wolves). But we sure had a good time anyway. Forgot about work and everything!

Tell us about your setup that you got your turkey....did you shotgun him or rifle him?

Congrats on your turkey tpv, and sorry about the copperhead! I didn't connect on a turkey this past weekend, but we saw a lot of great toms, mostly driving to-and-from various setups. Hardly any of them talking this year. Wonder if they're getting like our elk and shutting up due to increased predators (wolves). But we sure had a good time anyway. Forgot about work and everything!

Tell us about your setup that you got your turkey....did you shotgun him or rifle him?
We've been seeing more jakes than mature Toms this year, so that's what we've shot. I thought that was a bit unusual but yesterdays newspaper had an article on current spring turkey hunting in the area, and that seems to be the regualr thing this year. More jakes than mature birds.

Shawn, I hate to tell you this, but I don't really set up for turkey anymore. Since our feeders allow us to hunt pigs year round, I always find myself sitting in a stand by a feeder waiting for either turkey or pigs, and I use either a 243, 6.5x55 or something similar. I miss calling them up into shotgun range, but I don't want to be sitting there with a shotgun when a bunch of hogs show up 75 yards away. Once deer season starts, we tend to concentrate on big bucks only, so I try to get all of the pigs out of the way in the spring and summer.

I would love to hunt the way you guys do, but this has its good points too. Sitting near a feeder not only brings in deer, hogs and turkey, but also coyotes stay close by waiting for an easy meal and are easy to call up.

We have so many birds this year that Saturday after shooting the one, my wife and I were sitting in the trailer playing scrabble, and we had about 12 more birds, five jakes, walk by within 20 yards.
Oh also, what surprised me about the copperhead is that it was about 48 degrees and this one was on the ground, moving. I didn't think that would be a problem in the cooler weather but "I Live and Learn"

Don't work to hard!

Well, I'll tell you what tpv, I would have picked up a rifle by the end of the second day of chasing these birds around with shotguns, if it was legal! One rancher that several of the guys cowboyed some cows for him one day said we could come back with flashlights and shoot turkeys out of the roost, but of course we didn't. They're a nuisance to him, crapping all over the place, but that wouldn't be much of a satisfying "hunt"! One of the guys that went with us was a newbie and had never seen a tom come in strutting and gobbling, so we were really trying for that, but they weren't cooperating. Maybe next year....it's a 6+ hour drive for me to go where I know the land, and with gas prices, likely not going to make that trip again before the season closes.

Good luck on the pigs!

The buzz worms are definetly out, Tom.

Several have been run over as they lay on the blacktop road of our gunrange. One of the range officers got a thrill when he went to put up a closing sign and nearly stepped on one curled around the sign leg. Haven't seen a live one yet this year myself - just as soon keep it that way.

Had five mule deer cross the 200 yd target line the other day. Three doe and two yearlings, as far as I could tell with the naked eye. Might have been a small buck in the group that had shed, but couldn't tell at that distance. The folks on the firing line thought it was pretty neat and everyone stayed away from the benches until we called the line hot.

Coyotes and javelina use the blacktop road to leave their scat - guess the weeds are so high it tickles the fanny if they try to dump in the desert! :D