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After joining Chris and I, they immediately started pushing through the heavy cover as the sun was starting to sink below the horizon. Somehow Rob and Todd managed the brush and found my animal nearly a hundred yards from where I shot. After a few quick snapshots in the fading light we loaded up for the ride back to the lodge. On the way, peccaries, wild hogs and deer penetrated the glare of the headlights.

I’m posing with my first peccary recovered from the heavy brush in the background.The next morning Chris and I were placed on separate seeded roads to still hunt. I then found out how wary the hogs were. Having spotted a sounder of four, I thought that I had made a good stalk that closed the distance. Fortunately where I had spotted the pigs, there was a large patch of shoulder high grass. It was one of the few spots where off road progress could be done. I closed the distance to within thirty yards of the largest. Having hunted wild pigs before in Hawaii and the Mainland, I didn’t give the Cinco Ranch pigs much respect. Got busted again! Slowly hunkering down to cover the last couple of yards, the big pig spotted me immediately. That ended the match as the hogs gained cover in about three nanoseconds. The guides later stated that we had to handle the wild pigs like deer. I was convinced. Chris had no luck on hogs but did see a dandy buck. It was nearly February but the Texas bucks were still antlered and a secondary rut was on going.

That afternoon Chris and I returned to the action of the previous evening. I found myself at the turkey feeder where the vegetation thinned out. A group of about seven peccaries moved out of cover and fed over to the feeder. I was caught in cover too open to effectively stalk. But counting on the fact that peccaries aren’t the brightest bulb in the room, I moved slowly forward each time their attention was diverted to grubbing. Unlike deer and other herding game, they didn’t seem to bother with a “sentry”. It was each for itself.

Thus moving slowly and freezing each time the peccaries would nervously scatter and regroup, I moved within yards of the nearest critter. It was another sow. I really didn’t care what I harvested. I shot a nice boar on the King a few years before and was satisfied with it for mounting purposes. Besides, whether a boar or sow, all the adults look like they came out of a cookie cutter.

I took the shot as the sow moved from behind a prickly pear plant and the arrow drove in deep tight against it’s shoulder. A good shot this time. Another shrill bark and the sow bolted for the nastiest cover in sight. They have a habit of doing this after something really disturbs them. The horse feathers had hardly settled when Chris came up. He too had a peccary in the same covert as mine. We had an advantage as there was still plenty of light to work with. Chris had a close range shot and felt good about the hit. But the brush swallows game quickly.

A call to Todd brought him on the double. By careful threading our way through the thorn jungle and a diligent search, we recovered both animals. Chris's had not traveled far. Mine, despite the good shot using Magnus Snuffers, had covered at least 75 yards.

 
Chris and I pose with our two pecarries. Another trophy for my 62 Bear Kodiak.

The next morning brought no action. That afternoon the winds came howling in. I was assigned a fifteen foot swaying tree stand. With some trepidation I started up, and at that point Todd asked me if I got sea sick. No Todd, but thanks for