5 of us are hunting for a pig hunt.

Badbrass

Badbrass

Member
As close to a "REAL" hunt mostly DIY on a very tight budget.
We have scoured the country and come up with this ranch.
https://mccuneranch.com/wild-hog-hunting-packages-mccune-ranch-llc/
it's a 26-hour drive from here but with 4/5 people driving we could do it in two days.
We are thinking of the weekend special and buying an extra day to maximize the bang for the buck.
There is No limit on hogs and no trophy fees.
As close to a DIY hunt as we have found at this price point. ???
 
When are you guys thinking of doing this? Where are you driving from? I’ve always wanted to do this myself. I’m in northern Wisconsin, although we’re discussing moving to Arizona next year.
 
Years ago, about eight of us went to a place called Kenific Ok. It was a paid hunt. Back then the hog problem wasn't really that bad. We all took several hogs each. Most of us were shooting recurves with a few compound bows in the mix. The guy that owned the place said you could kill every hog you saw thinking you got every one of them. But somewhere there was a pregnant sow laid up and in a year or two you would have hogs every where again. I went back a few years later and killed a couple with a long bow and ash arrows with Zwicky broadheads. Its fun when you get up really close and personal.
 
Wouldn’t you make money if you could?

The places that usually “just want them gone” are small and they may only be there every few days or weeks.

They usually are not worth an out of the way trip.
 
First off, Hats off to our outfitter. Duane McCune, McCune Ranch Outfitters.
It's mostly a one-man operation, but he helped us with everything. It is a free-range hunt, all wild pigs Very inexpensive no limit no extra fees no trophy fees. Of course, there is no guarantee pigs. It's a 3-hunter limit we had 4, there is a nice clubhouse and a 4-bed cabin. All in all very comfortable even in the 27* nights that we had. The hunts start at around 5 pm and go to around 1 am. Then if you want day spot and stock hunts 9 am to whenever you want to stop. OK now remember you're on your own it's DIY hunting. There is a swamp that runs the length of the ranch. he has many feeding stations all with blinds and comfy chairs. In our case, he also had propane heaters in them too. He watches game cameras everywhere and watches them to find the best chance set up. we hunted 3 blinds a night and all different setups each day. This is as close to DYI as we could ask for. He even let one of us use his thermal set op on a 300 blackout. We could hear pigs at most of the sets and there was new pig sign every day all over the ranch. OK here is what we ran into. On the extremely long drive, over 1600 miles one-way, there was snow mostly on the side of the roads but it was snow. Even in DALLAS I never knew it snowed in Texas. We were 80 miles east of there, the local river was flooding highs in the high 30s. And WIND it was like being at home 30/40 mph. The alligators in the swamp did not show themselves much because of the cold. It was a good thing we packed like Montanans, plenty of warm stuff parkas, and mittens. We hunted 12 hours a day. It was great and we plan another trip maybe in a year or two. The feeders have green lights that run on low all night, then motion would turn them to high. You don't need light on your gun but it really helps, we all do on all our guns. We took the boy's Tundra with a topper, in the back we had our arsenal, two rifles, and a pistol for each of us, and 50 rounds for each. the rest was filled with coolers, big coolers, and small coolers, before we left I made arrangements for freezer lockers for the pork when we got back.
I can't say this enough it was a great 3 1/2 days of hunting In land I have never seen, even the 6-day drive (round trip) was fun, most of the time. I have postponed the big reveal as long as I can here it is.
TA-DA!
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YUP Nothing we never fired a shot, I never saw a pig.
I do have a few more pics.
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Great writeup! :ROFLMAO: Glad you enjoyed your trip, that's what its all about! (y)

ETA: Reminiscent of my elk hunts to Colorado; no bacon either, but had a great trip and gorgeous country!
 
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Its not always about what is killed or not killed. Granted it may have been a little costly and long hours in the drivers seat but its better than setting on the couch wishing you had went and didn't. Next time you may come back and wonder what your gonna do with all this pork.
 
All we saw with the thermal were some deer and a few raccoons.
I'm not complaining that we did not get any hogs it was a great hunt.
 
I enjoyed reading your post and I hate that you guys didn't get to shoot any hogs. Like you said, the trip was fun and you got to spend some time in the woods so all was not lost. Returning home safe and sound after a long road trip is something to be thankful for.

I will offer an opinion and you know what they say about opinions.......

WInd.
The absolute main factor in hog hunting is the wind. They can smell certain scents for miles and if the wind direction is not in your face you might as well be at home on the couch. Since there were 4 guys in the woods any one of the group that was upwind of other hunters with that much wind would be a factor.

Feeding Pattern.
You said that you guys were hunting the same schedule every night so if wind was not a factor then they were feeding at a different time. You did not mention if the landowner was giving you the feeding times on the pics. If I hunt a known feeding pattern and don't see anything it usually means I got busted by a temporary wind shift.

Another factor is that if other hunters had been shooting hogs at this site before then maybe the hogs adjusted accordingly. Hogs are pretty smart animals and If they had been getting shot at during your hunting times on multiple occasions before your scheduled hunt then maybe that had prompted them to feed a different time.

Other Factors.
I assume you guys were using kill lights on your weapons for shooting but if anyone turned on a light to scan with during the hunt then that would spook hogs.

It sounds like you guys were hunting right after a strong cold front had pushed through. The high water and high wind could have been a factor.

Hunting land that you are not familiar with and having to hunt days and times that may not be suitable has to be the most challenging conditions for a successful hunt. It sounds like you guys hunted hard for several days and gave it your best effort so hopefully next time things will work in your favor.
 
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(y) The outfitter had blinds for the wind, and we all had kill lights we were told not to scan after dark.
We helped to move some of the blinds to better fit the winds. We got into the blinds before the feeders would go off think. It was fun.
 
Glad you at least had fun. I am in southeast Oklahoma, 170 miles north of Dallas, and when that cold snap you refer to hit here the swine seemed to just disappear. Where to? I don't know but I think that they have not acclimated to 2 degree weather with wind chills to -25. I could not find them here until about 2 weeks ago and have found a lot of sign in places not known to me before. I will continue to pursue!:giggle:
 
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