Went down to Cuero this past weekend by myself to wrap the season up.  Got down late Saturday afternoon and started hunting at about 5 PM or so.  As I was walking to the area I wanted to hunt, a hog is standing out of the woods at a feeder.  I saw him before he saw me, and I put a shot behind his shoulder at about 80 yards with the .223 barrel of my Savage 24.  He ran into the woods and I tracked him for a bit, but the ground was so hard there were no hoof prints and I could find no blood.  My Dad had always taught me to leave no stone unturned when it comes to tracking a wounded animal and I spent a long time searching for him.  To make a long story short, I couldn't find the first sign of him after searching for him for over an hour.

I went out to my hunting spot which was about 1/4 mile away and set up.  The gobblers weren't cooperating but I did managed to call a hen in.  I kept her close for about twn minutes.   Late in the evening I saw two gobblers feeding about 100 yards away, through the brush and mesquite.  I didn't take a shot because of the brush would deflect that light .223 bullet and the fact that I felt like they would walk out that way again in the morning.  I didn't want to disturb that feeding pattern.

On the way back to the truck  I looked for my hog again.  I had my pistol out since a wounded hog can be dangerous and I wanted to be ready for him.  I flushed him out of the woods, he was crossing a dried up creek bed and had him in my pistol sights. CLICK CLICK. Its a semi automatic and I  had forgotten to take the safety off, durn it.  (I am a little embarrassed about that too, but it all happened in a couple of seconds.)  He scampered into the woods on the other side of the creek bed and he was moving pretty fast.  It was getting pretty dark by this time so I headed for the truck with the idea that there was no way to find him again and get a shot at him.

I got back the next morning at about 5:30.  I sat in the truck and listened to the gobbles start at about 6AM.  I headed to near the gobbles. set up and softly let out a hen call.  The call got at least two gobblers answering back from about 200 yards away.  There is a fence between my set up spot and the creek where the gobblers roost at night.  You could hear the gobblers getting closer and closer.  They stopped at that fence and would not cross that fence for anything.  I tried everything to get them to come closer.  Putts, yelps and cackles (had heard the real thing do this last weekend and felt like I was doing a pretty good job at it......)  They were hung up and would cross that fence - period.  We talked to each other for at least half an hour and then they up and walked away.

It was time to go.  The season was over for me.  As with the previous five seasons, it was a great time - Good friends.  Good food and drink (Don Bravo in Cuero is one of my favorite restaurants of all times).  Good hunts. Good (but challenging and frustrating) birds.  And Great Woods and wildlife to sit in and enjoy.  This past month I have seen deer, hogs, turkeys, all kind of other birds, some of the most beautiful wildflowers in the world, and had the chance just to sit and soak it all in with no phones ringing or mail to read or checks to sign.  I was lucky to drop one turkey on the second weekend of the season and came close several more times as well.  All in all a pretty durn good month.

I made one last walk to look for my hog (no signs) and then got in the truck and headed back to home.