Pics from our hunting trip to Texas.

[MattBMiller]

Looks like a blast!

 

[DonMan]

You keep referring to those snakes as "diamondbacks", but it Texas we just call them RATTLESNAKES. :sifone:

You are absolutely right about the smaller hogs. They are pretty tasty.


Been to Turkey a few times. Scenic place.

 

[gerritm]

Living here in Texas I understand shooting the hogs cause they are pests. I understand the rattlers. Why the porcupines? I have seen them where we hunt and never thought to shoot them.

 

[masher44]

guy that worked for in TX would go on these hunts. He would go out and catch a huge rattler, yank the fangs and throw it in the new guy of the year's sleeping bag then wake his drunk azz up. Snake would bite the hell out of the poor bastard with no fangs.

He would fit in well with you guys but he is currently doing a 5 year stretch.

 

[rbhudelson]

Magic,

A smaller boar isn't bad. Get a larger one and things get a little "gamey" for my taste.
A low to medium weight sow is the way to go. Find a piglet with a little weight on it and you've struck gold.

If we manage to harvest anything that is injured or has a wound from a previous hunter it is automatically considered no good.

Buck, it's been my experience that you can tell by the time you are within 10 feet of them if they are going to be any good to eat. If they smell bad, leave them for the vultures... We have killed some 200lb'rs that were good to eat but again, my experience is your nose tells the story.

 

[Sea-Dated]

Pic 3 I wish I could begin to explain this. If you knew him you would understand. I couldn't even look at him to take the pic. Someone else had to take it. Yuck!!!

After meeting Casey, that pic does not surprise me at all......:sifone:

 

[buck]

You keep referring to those snakes as "diamondbacks", but it Texas we just call them RATTLESNAKES. :sifone:

You are absolutely right about the smaller hogs. They are pretty tasty.


Been to Turkey a few times. Scenic place.

Rattlesnake is what I call them when I talk about them. I was trying not to over use the word in my story telling by changing it up a little. In short it's a snake, that's all I need to know.

 

[buck]

Buck, it's been my experience that you can tell by the time you are within 10 feet of them if they are going to be any good to eat. If they smell bad, leave them for the vultures... We have killed some 200lb'rs that were good to eat but again, my experience is your nose tells the story.

You are correct about the odor telling the tale. We just get so many of them when we hunt that the boars are an automatic cull for us.

Buck

 

[buck]

Masher, that's hilarious. You are correct, I think he would fit right in. I may have to try that trick if he doesn't mind?



We took the kids down there for Spring Break this year. They have been wanting to go hunting with me for a couple of years now. We decided we weren't going to spend a bunch of money this year for Spring Break and this would be a great opportunity to take them down. They both love to shoot and they have their own gun too. They got to hunt, ride four wheelers, shoot, and ride around on the big suburban for five days straight. I'm thinking they might have liked this better than Cancun.

The following is a quick pic of my oldest daughter's first hog she got this weekend. It was a small boar with about 1" tusks. Unfortunately we weren't able to get one for my youngest this weekend. She will have to wait for her first hog.

I plan to resize more pics from our family trip in the next couple of days and post them.

 

[Perlmudder]

so what exactly do you do with the rattler from the snake?

 

[buck]

so what exactly do you do with the rattler from the snake?

Keep them for a conversation piece. The kids go nuts over them.

 

[dykstra]

Looks like the filming of Delta Farce 2.

Cool pics man.

I was thinking the same thing!!!! :sifone: Dave

 

[buck]

On the snake hunt, are you concerned about ricochet from the fired rounds into a cave or getting bitten by a snake mistaken for dead? How far from a hospital are you in case of an emergency?

Sorry, I missed your question when I read through this thread last night.

The ricochet issue was a concern when we were firing into the crevice that turned out to be a den full of snakes. I got volunteered to fire the first 30 rounds into the crevice. Probably due to the fact that I had the most rounds for a handgun with me. The snakes were so thick that I was able to fire in the general direction of the snakes to do most of the damage. I actually pointed the pistol into the crevice while I hid my body against the rocks for fear of ricochet. The small rocks and debris turned out to be more of an issue than the lead itself. The next two firearms that were used on this location had lasers on them that helped. But again, whoever did the shooting would do the best they could to not directly in front of the crevice.

Later in the day when we came back we wised up and brought a shotgun. Most snakes found that afternoon were sunning due to the fact it had warmed up a little. These unlucky suckers were taken care of swiftly with the 20 gauge.

We actually discussed what to do if someone got injured prior to getting too far into our excursion. I would guess help was 45 minutes to an hour away at least. If someone other than our guide was injured the guide would know where to go and what to do. If the guide were injured we had multiple gps units on hand to navigate our way off the ranch and get us to town. The suburban that we use on the ranch also has several radios in it, a good sized first aid kit, and the ability to get us there in one piece. Cell signal is spotty on the ranch so that can be an issue. There were three lease holders with us that are on the ranch regularly. Each guide always knew where the other two groups were going to be hunting. Everyone also carries two way radios along with a cell phone. The radios are somewhat limited in range, but one could usually get a message to someone on the other side of the ranch through another person that had radio contact with them. Communication is not taken lightly. Everyone carries two extra sets of batteries for their radio at all times.

The majority of the snakes we found were mostly lethargic. It was cold enough that the little movement they were doing was very slow. Even after more than adequate harm was done to them their bodies still had some movement left in them. All of them had their heads smashed prior to laying them out on the ground. The head of each snake was held down by a good sized boot while removing the rattle.

The snake part of the hunt turned out to be a fluke. That was not our intended activity for the weekend. We just happened to find a good spot for them. The snake hunting turned out to be a time killer between the morning and evening hunts when we were bored. I can honestly say it wasn't and still isn't something I'm crazy about. I do what I can to keep my distance.

Buck