Our 4th year in South Central Texas pig hunting and our 3rd year staying here. Even this year with the colder than normal weather, we enjoy Palmetto State Park. Texas State Parks offer a wide range of venues complete with yearly memberships that help with reservations and offer free days as well. tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/ $216 for 2 weeks. This park is located just north of Gonzales, TX and only 16 miles further to my hunting destination at Independence Ranch in Waelder, TX. The park is a little piece of the tropics and lies just an hour from Austin and San Antonio. With multiple sources of water (including the pristine San Marcos River), Palmetto State Park lies in a valley and is a haven for a wide variety of animals and plants, such as dwarf palmettos. It is beautiful. As I said it was uncharacteristically cold this year. Temps at night dipped into the low 20s and teens and daytime temps didn't reach freezing for several days. We filled our freshwater tank, disconnected from the park water, and used our tank heaters to stay operational as we have done several times before.
We were also just south of the interstate yet still near Buc-ees, Gonzales, and TX Burger. Definitely several destinations worth visiting. Buc-ees can't be described. Think of it as the ultimate truck stop, deli, gift store, café, BBQ joint, and travel plaza. We love their food kiosk where you order at an online station and then collect your meal when ready. For lunch one day Barb and I loved our freshly made Ham Melt and Reuben Pastrami. Made to order this is good as any sandwich you'll ever enjoy anywhere. www.buc-ees.com/index.php TX Burger operates just 10 locations in Texas and is the BEST HAMBURGER I HAVE EVER EATEN. Admittedly our nearest one was located in Weimer TX, 50 miles east of us.... it is worth the drive. Owned, operated, and beef are supplied from Hall of Fame MLB Pitcher Nolan Ryan's ranch. Absolutely delicious! txburger.com I promise you won't be disappointed. We ate two burgers and brought back an order of Steak Fingers for later that evening.
There is quite a bit of history to be explored in the village of Gonzales. This is where Sam Houston formed the resistance and the inevitable victory over Santa Anna's troops began, leading to the independence of the Republic of Texas. We booked our stay for 2 weeks so we could relax and take advantage of the local area attractions, BBQ, as well as hunt. Lockhart, TX (the BBQ Capital of Texas) is a short 32 miles to the north. While I love the pork ribs and sausage at Kreuz Market, Barb loves the huge beef ribs at Blacks. It's all good.
As I said we plan to relax as well as hunt here. The campsites are in a valley set back in the trees providing tables, fire pits, and plenty of shade. Sites have water and electricity for $18/night.
Once again this year I come ready to hunt wild hogs, but with yet another new weapon. I have taken pigs with my 45 Long Colt handgun and 2 more with my 7mm Rem Mag rifle. I will challenge the beasts this year with my new Henry Rifle 45-70 caliber. Prior to our departure from Michigan I outfitted the beast with a new custom sling from Lever Gun Leather www.levergunleather.com .
This year I am hunting FREE as a result of winning a monthly lottery for a free 3 day hunt on Independence Ranch. I am allowed unlimited pigs of any size, but realistically I am hunting for meat, which for me means 2 pigs in the 90-120 pound class. Tenderpigs, as I call them. There is only so much room in 2 RV freezers. Regardless, the "Pumpkin Lobber" 45-70 will take anything I choose to anchor
This year Barb gets a couple of days vacation as part of my free hunt package is to stay at the ranch lodge. Eat, hunt, sleep, free.......she'll tough it out with the furbabies back at camp. I didn't hear any complaining. There's always plenty of Mac n Cheese. She's better than I deserve.
As I said I spent my hunt at the ranch in the lodge 'bunkhouse'. If you are offended by the sight of sweaty hunters in sleeping bags, relax.....I got your back. If you enjoy those pics then you might want to think about some 'sit down and share' time. There is always plenty of great food and the staff is attentive to your every need from arrival, to retrieving pigs, skinning, butchering, cooling, GREAT meals, and campfires. I have always enjoyed my time here.
Setting it up
Filling those plates
This visit introduced me to a first: hunting over bait at night in blinds. I outfitted the Henry Rifle with a red light site. It was different. I didn't care for it. Even with the auxiliary light, I had trouble seeing the area in low light.
I usually choose to hunt the "Honey Hole", a mixture of lowland swamp and tangled timber, this area holds a lot of hogs. You are assigned a blind and left to your own to hike into and then wait till you need your hog retrieved. The other option is the 'spot and stalk' which encompasses 12 miles of walking over the course of each day. This year I chose 'Red Blind', an area with a lot of traffic, but with shots that can be on the run
I was lucky to be in the blind only 90 minutes till this brute came along.
Still 2 shots required to anchor this guy. You can see the night light adaptation.
Skinning my 180 pound brute
I brought along an extra cooler to bring the meat back to the RV as we normally like to cut/wrap our own meat. This year, however, we did have the entire hog processed into sausages this trip. There is an extra charge of $1.50/pound for this and they swap you pound for pound on the spot so there is no waiting. You do need to know that hanging meat only yields about 32% packaged sausage. We got 60 pounds from our hog. Curing flavors offered include Polish, Jalapeno Cheddar, Red Pepper, Italian, Boudin, Breakfast Sage Meat, and Shiner Beer Brats. Not all the flavors are available all the time. We chose 20 pounds each of Polish, Jalapeno Cheddar, and Breakfast Sausage Meat.
I know I have posted the link to the Independence Ranch before, but here it is again. It details all the costs, fees, and anything you might need to know. Ranch Boss Paul Candelaria is very helpful and can answer any questions you might have. Feel free to mention my name. You do need to realize that there are always hidden costs such as gratuities, butchering, processing, trading for other processed meats such as smoked, etc. associated with any such hunt. Be sure to visit the website to fully understand the costs. www.independenceranch.com/hog-hunting There are lots of hog hunting opportunities in Texas. Be sure to look around, research online, and ask any and all questions you might have. Mr. Henry? He performed beautifully, easy loading, jacking in extra rounds for shots, and 'balls on' accuracy.
We will spend our last 5 days relaxing, visiting friends, and eating well. We change the tact of our sails northwest now as we begin to make our way (eventually) towards Washington State again, but there will be some fun stops on the way. Rich n Barb time still rules. Joie de Vivre.
"Remember that happiness is a way of travel-not a destination"
Roy M. Goodwin
WiFi courtesy of Verizon MiFi
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