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As I passed through the tree lined entrance of Cougar Run II, I was
finally able to revere the scenic beauty of Texas’ pine and post oak
forests and I breathed a sigh of relief after having spent the last few
hours fighting Houston traffic in a marathon to get away from the city.
Upon arrival, all I could think about was how to make a good first
impression on the men who were going to be sharing camp with me for the
next two days. As a guest to this beautiful ranch I maintained that my
focus would be on bow hunting hogs and having a good time.
After I unpacked at the pleasantly comfortable two bedroom, two
bath camp house, the ranch manager and our guide for the weekend, Johnny
Crew, took me on a nighttime tour of the ranch. In the headlights of his
Ranger off-road utility vehicle, we spotted dozens of hogs. As I lay in my
bunk bed that night, unable to sleep from excitement, I thought to myself
“I’m going to like it here. This ranch is a special
place”
The next morning, I navigated my way to my ladder
stand in the dark. Daylight came soon but in the blackness of the predawn
hours, I could already hear the lurking of hogs below me. Before it was
even light enough to shoot, I had already seen a few shoats, a herd of red
deer and some fallow that were browsing a field nearby. The feeder went
off about an hour later and I was suddenly surrounded by scrambling hogs
of all sizes and colors.
One nice sized boar dominated the corn and snarled aggressively to
ward off the others. They were so distracted, I could easily move around
in the spacious ladder stand without being seen. After my morning hunt, I
climbed down from my stand and inadvertently stumbled into several of
Hal’s buffalo.
While I didn’t take any boar back to camp with me that morning, I
was convinced that the unseasonably cool temperatures would produce a
great afternoon hunt.
Haley and I decided to spend mid day
easing down the back roads in search of hogs. The delightfully mild
morning quickly melted away into hot and humid afternoon. I couldn’t stay
hydrated. This modestly sized ranch seems huge when traversed on foot. By
the time we found pigs on our stalk I was dripping with sweat. After hours
of playing hide and seek with the pigs, I was exhausted, but with my bow
and Catquiver I explored a great deal of the ranch and saw an abundance of
wildlife.
Swamps, bogs, and dense deciduous trees
characterize the ranch. This terrain provides ideal cover for game.
Stalking hogs at Cougar Run can be very productive but it is also very
challenging, and while we busted many hogs out of the brush that day, we
flung no arrows.
After resting briefly back at the camp house I
went back out to sit on stand. Again I saw red deer, fallow deer,
whitetails, and a few rams, but no hogs.
The woods grew very quiet for a long time until a nice large boar
aptly named Socks surprised me as he appeared suddenly right underneath my
ladder! I trembled anxiously as I watched this huge animal rooting his way
into my shooting lane. I only needed for him to give me a clear shot at
his vital area. Then, for no apparent reason he casually turned and walked
back down the trail. I decided to quickly change my position in case Socks
or another big pig approached me from the same direction. I moved to
another ladder with a better vantage that would allow me to ambush this
trail. Just as I settled in, I thought I heard Socks again. He was rolling
logs with his snout. My plan was falling perfectly into place. I picked up
my bow as Socks slowly closed the distance. I ranged him at 23 yards and
drew my bow as he stepped behind an oak tree. Just as he reemerged the
whining sound of a truck coming down the road startled him back into the
woods. Frustrated, I let down my bow, but this was not to be my last
encounter with the big boar, Socks.
Just before dark, another
large group of hogs came out of the woodwork to eat corn. The group was
mostly made up of shoats and half grown boars with one big Oreo® colored
sow on their heels. Nobody had to twist my arm. As soon as she presented
me with a clear shot, I sent a carbon projectile into her chest. With
nighttime quickly encroaching upon my hunt, Johnny, Haley, and another
hunter came to assist me in recovering my big sow. As I walked up to her
with my flashlight I realized how big she actually was. How exciting! My
first day hunting at Cougar Run and I already had a big pig on the ground
as well as multiple opportunities to harvest hogs.
While hunting
hogs, I had been secretly admiring Hal’s beautiful fallow deer. I wanted
to try and shoot a doe for the freezer and after discussing this with
Johnny, plans were made to try and get one before the weekend was over.
Johnny spent the better part of Sunday trying to help me find the fallow
herd which proved to be no easy task. An enormous effort was put into
locating a mature fallow doe. These animals are wise and they have the
hunters patterned extremely well. I was so fatigued by Sunday night from
chasing fallow all over the ranch, my muscles ached. We tried several
times to spot and stalk the deer but they were always just a step out of
range. Finally, Johnny put me up in a ladder stand that was situated on a
well used trail. We knew the fallow were in a field nearby and would be
coming down the trail presently. I hadn’t been sitting in the stand for 10
minutes when several fallow and some rams started passing by within bow
range. Soon, they would be out of range completely. As I drew my bow, one
fallow spooked which alerted the other animals, including the white phase
doe I was trying to shoot. She was just a little too slow in her departure
and my arrow connected successfully. She ran only 40 yards and crashed
within view. I could see the sun glowing off of her solid white hide. I
heard Johnny clapping for me and I was elated to have my well earned
fallow.
As I returned to Central Texas with an ice chest full of fresh meat
and a few new campfire stories from my hunt in the Pineywoods, I realized
that the Cougar Run Ranch had made the best impression of all. This ranch
has very good facilities and a friendly, helpful staff. You are guaranteed
to see hogs on your hunt along with a variety of other
animals.
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