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Who
would think that within an hour of the Houston area you could find a Bow
hunter’s paradise? Hal Newsome has put together an outstanding operation
which is not only convenient in location but affordable as well. I have
heard some say that Cougar Run is like shooting pigs in a barrel, I would
have to say they have never hunted the ranch or are greatly misinformed.
The ranch offers a very challenging hunt for those in seek of a trophy,
but at the same time offers some great opportunities for novice hunters as
well. You could sit a stand all weekend and take some good meat hogs, but
if you want to put a hoss boar on the ground you had better bring your “A”
game. Hal and the ranch manager Johnny are both very dedicated to
providing a great affordable hunt. This weekend proved that as we were
joined buy two return hunters from Colorado. That’s right these guys have
made the drive several times proves that Cougar Run has what it takes to
keep Bow hunters Happy!
I decided to hunt stand #2 Saturday morning
in hopes of letting the air out of one of the big boys. Things looked
promising as there were already pigs camped out under the feeder. The only
problem I had, was getting into the tripod without sending the little corn
Hoovers running. About the time I remembered that it had rained the night
before, I found myself standing on the bottom step, covered in rain water.
The water had pooled up in the tripod seat. Well the pigs were less
startled than I was, but I figured I would try my luck on the ground. The
feeder went off and I was surrounded by a dozen pigs 50#s and smaller. The
sucked up every piece of corn out there and moved on to another feeder
further back on the ranch. Another group of nice rams made their way in to
see if the hogs had missed any of the corn as I made a stalk out to one of
the other feeders. I stalked down to feeders #3 and #4 and could not get
up for a shot on the nice little herd of pigs that had made their way in
to feed on all of the corn. I spent the rest of the morning about fifty
yards behind them trying to get close enough for a shot. I finally made it
back to the lodge empty handed for some much needed water and A/C. I
decided to make another stalk through the woods that afternoon. Creepy
through the thick woods I saw several groups of fallow does (which are
currently on special), a group of great looking buffalo, and some full
curl and better Corsican rams. The stalk went about the same as my morning
hunt so I headed back in for a shower before heading out to stand #4 for
the evening hunt.
Sitting in stand #4 that evening looked
promising until the wind started to swirl. I had a couple of 50-60 lb.
pigs coming in when the wind sent them off in another direction. With a
little bit of light left I decided to get down and attempt another stalk.
I made a loop around to get into the wind for a stalk on stand #3. I could
see a group of 50# pigs tearing it up under the feeder so I crept in using
some of the oak and pines to cover my approach. I stopped behind a large
pine and drew back at twenty yards. I anchored my pin right on his elbow
and sent a four blade muzzy screaming threw a blonde spotted boar. He was
the largest of that group and probably weight 40-50 lbs. My arrow was
sitting under water in the wallow they had formed under the feeder, but
still had a little blood on the feathers. I watched the pigs haul tail
into the swamp twenty yards from the feeder. I could see the small boar
start to stumble as he made his way through the tall grass and water. A
minute later I saw the rest of the black shoats that were with him at the
feeder made it across to the other bank. I could see the grass rustling
and hear splashing where I had last seen my pig. I felt confident that he
was down for the count and returned to the bunkhouse to get Johnny and the
4x4 to retrieve the hog.
Back at the bunkhouse I found out
that Courtney our new staff member had a found blood but did not see the
pig go down. Johnny and I grabbed some lights and were off to help
Courtney find her hog. She was standing on the last blood when we drove up
on her in the dark. We quickly picked up the rest of the trail and I found
the hog thirty yards from where Courtney had run out of light. The large
sow was down for the count and we loaded her into the Mule. We drove over
to the swamp and drove right into the shallow water in search of my pig.
We found the spot he had laid down, but to our surprise there was no pig.
With no way to track him in the water we called off the search and headed
back in to camp to get Courtney’s pig in the cooler.
The next
morning I decided I had enough walking and headed out to hunt stand #9
directly behind the bunkhouse. As I headed for the stand I could see a few
deer and a couple of small pigs already camped out waiting for the feeder
to go off. I eased back out of there and headed to #8 a little further
down the trail. Nothing was under #8 so I got up in the ladder stand and
settled in. Within 15 minutes a group of 6 pigs ranging from 60 lbs. all
the way up to 120 lbs. made their way in. With no corn on the ground they
moved on quickly. The feeder went off shortly after they moved on and it
wasn’t long before I had a couple of 50 lb. black pigs under the feeder.
Five minutes latter they were joined by the first group that visited me
that morning. I waited for the largest of the group to quarter away
slightly under the feeder and drew back. I anchored my pin right at his
elbow for the perfect heart shot. A smooth release and I watched my arrow
burry up to the white feathers. He made a little loop under my stand with
the arrow working itself out and falling conveniently at the base of the
ladder, running twenty yards further straight into a pine tree and falling
over stone dead. I nocked another arrow and waited to see if anything else
would make its way in. Another group of 50 lb. pigs came in but did not
stick around long. I decided to get down and drag my pig out to the road.
He was a descent boar and had a beautiful coat with a large head. His
cutters were only about an inch but he would have made a pretty awesome
mount none the less. Johnny and I came back with the Mule, loaded up the
hog and went back to see how Courtney had done. Courtney had seen one good
boar, but it did not give here a shot.
After a quick photo shoot and water break Courtney headed back out
with Johnny to take a fallow doe and I stalked the ranch in search of
another good pig. Once again, all that my stalk produced was weight loss.
Don’t get me wrong folks I am not saying that stalking on the ranch is not
productive. The heat and the thick green underbrush as a result of all of
the recent rainfall factored in on the difficulty of the stalk hunting on
this trip. I would almost step on a hog before seeing it out there and
send them all running. The right weather and range conditions all play a
role in a successful stalk. Courtney was able to harvest a nice white
fallow doe and was out off cooler room. She needed to make the drive back
to Austin so after helping her load her cooler I headed back out to stand
#9 for the evening hunt.
Sitting on stand I was treated to a wide
variety of wildlife viewing. Two groups of Fallow does feed in the pasture
to my right before moving on. A group of Fallow bucks followed close
behind them. A heard of Red Deer also moved through. The feeder went off
and three nice Corsican rams came in. I decided to spook them off before
they could get to the corn and threw a small stick at them. They decided
that they could find a nice quite meal elsewhere and moved on. Two small
black pigs came in to the corn first. I wanted to wait to see if anything
bigger would come in, and it paid off. A nice 130-140 lb. sow came in with
a group of 90-100lb. pigs. She looked very healthy and had a very large
head on her. She was a reddish blonde color with black spots. At ten yards
I drew back and anchored my pin. The release was good and my Muzzy had the
done the job again. The arrow passed completely through her and lodged in
a limb on the ground. I watched her run out of site and marked the last
spot I could see her. I set down my bow in the stand and climbed down to
get a good look at my arrow. I had good blood on the arrow and could see
good blood all the way down the trail. As I looked around I spotted
another group of pigs headed for the feeder. I turned around and hauled
butt back up the ladder. I made it up just in time to grab another arrow
when the pigs made their way into the corn. I picked out a nice 60 lb.
blonde sow and sent another Muzzy tipped CarbonXpress zipping through her
heart. I could see the blood pouring down her legs as she tore down the
same trail as the large sow 5 minutes earlier. I had two good hits within
five minutes. With one arrow left in the quiver I got down and took up the
trail with about a half hour of light remaining. The trail was easy to
follow with large splashes of blood indicating a good hit. I found her
bedded down about 40 yards down the trails. She looked like she was going
to expire soon but past experiences with hogs told me to put another one
in her. I drew back and made a 25 yard shot taking out the right lung. The
sow made it to here feet and stumbled another 20 yards. When she stopped
her legs were all locked straight and she looked to be shaking. I decided
that I would take the original arrow I had shot her with out of my quiver
and placed a second arrow in her chest. The force of the arrow hitting her
was enough to nock her to the ground. She was standing there dead and just
needed a little push to nock her over. I headed back to the feeder to
follow my other blood trail. I pulled the arrow out of the ground and it
was covered in thick blood. I started to follow the trail when it ran into
the large sows trail. Frustrated I looked around and spotted her dead five
yards to my right. I had two pigs down and it was still light out. Johnny
and I picked them up with the Mule and I spent the rest of the evening
cleaning hogs before heading home.
Once again I had a great hunt at Cougar Run II. I can’t say enough
about the quality of the ranch and the dedication of the staff. Hal and
Johnny truly go the extra mile to keep their hunters happy and safe. If
you live in the Houston area, you have no excuse not to give Hal a call
and head out to the ranch. If you live anywhere else you don’t have an
excuse either, the guys from Colorado made the 13+ hour drive again so you
should too. Get out there and have a heck of a good time chasing hogs and
exotics at the Cougar Run II.
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