Keith's Hunt

I was the high bidder on the e-bay hunt, I made arrangements to do a gun hunt the following week.  Willie gave me directions to Savoy Texas and told me to call him when I reached the town of Bonham and he would meet me at the market in the town of Savoy.  I got up way too early on the morning of the hunt and drove the 3 hours to Savoy.  I arrived early and waited until 5:00 a.m. to phone his house.  He arrived at the market a few minutes later and quickly made me feel welcome.  He told me I should have called as soon as I arrived.

Willie explained how his dogs' work and that he was going to bring 5 trained dogs. It had been my dream to get a hog close enough to use my .357 to take a head shot.   He carefully explained where to shoot the pig to kill it quickly. 

Hoit arrived and after introductions, we put the dogs in the back of his truck, loaded up and drove a few miles.  We pulled into a private driveway and while driving slowly Willie stopped the truck, jumped out and pointed out a set of tracks crossing the field. Three pigs had crossed the field; one of the tracks is a big one.  The dogs are running around excitedly since they know what was coming.  Willie gave them the command FIND A PIG! And off they went.

Willie stops us to look at fresh sow tracks.  I look at the track and I ask how he could know it was a sow?  He just smiled at me, a city boy, and pointed out the smaller tracks alongside the others.  He explained that a sow would run with her shoats. 

Willie likes to call it a fair chase hunt.  This is no canned hunt, and you will not sit in a stand and wait for an animal to stroll along.  We followed the dogs through thick brush, over and under barbed wire fences.    He stopped us "do you smell that?"  I could smell a musky odor.  He declared that to be the smell of a boar.

An hour of following the dogs later; "Do you hear that?"  I could hear the dogs barking at something and we started to move faster.   The dogs were barking excitedly and I could see the brush shake violently from the confrontation taking place on the other side of the thicket.

Its ears were pinned back; his head down, surrounded by barking dogs and it was pointed straight at me.  It couldn't have been 15 feet away.  Years of training kicked in. My mind screamed look at the front sight; you will never hit anything unless you look at your front sight.  I took half a breath and raised my weapon up and drew the X on this monsters forehead and made sure of my sight picture and cocked my revolver to single action.

The hog suddenly reacted to one of the dogs and spun in place and it was now perpendicular to me!  YES!  The perfect side shot!  I moved my point of aim a fraction of an inch to aim for the base of its ear.  BANG!  Instantly all four feet failed it, as it slammed straight down.  Before I could even form a thought it was up again and pointed straight at me!

 Just then one of Willie's dogs saved my life by nipping at the hog's flank.  The hog spun and charged to my right. Willie handed me has knife and told me to finish it with a thrust to the heart.  I holstered my gun and approached from the rear and straddled the boar.  It's huge!  Willie shouted instructions.  I kept twisting the tip and turning the blade.

I stood back to look at this boar.  I had this huge adrenaline rush and we check the wounds.  My "perfect shot" hit two inches low.  Those two inches were the difference between a one shot kill and 30 seconds of life.  I learned a lesson that day that could that could have seriously injured me.  I never should have stopped looking at my front sight.   This hog weighs over 300lbs and has 2-inch cutters! 

Willie started to field dress it and began by asking are you sure you won't want this mounted?  It wasn't your typical black boar.  It sure was big!  The color was a unique silver and tan with a touch of black going down the back.  No.  It sure was a beauty but my wife would never let me hang it on the wall. 

I had the experience of a lifetime and I can't wait to do it again.  We will have to eat up almost two hundred pounds of meat in the freezer before I can do this again.  My wife cooked up a smoked shoulder by simmering it with apple cider for 3 hours.   I really enjoy the sausage.  If you are interested in the experience of a lifetime, I encourage you to give Willie a call.  I'm sure he will make you feel as welcome as he did me.  His dogs really love to hunt pigs.

Keith Whitcomb