Excitement Is My Alarm Clock

August 7, 2020, at 3:13 a.m. I jolt awake, just two minutes before my alarm is set to sound off. Today is the day my hunting buddy, Jose Martinez, and I embark on our first ever hog hunt in south Oklahoma. We hit the road at 4 a.m. to make the 9 hour drive with our guns, bows, and 8 coolers all loaded up. Jose and I have been hunting together for years, but this is our very first trip together out of state. Even in the dark of the morning running on about 3.5 hours of sleep, we are both ecstatic! The 9 months of planning and preparation for this trip is finally unfolding!

We Meet Our Guide

Just a couple of hours into driving and we are blessed with an incredible sunrise. Shortly after, we are gifted with a full rainbow and we can’t help but to think it’s a sign of good fortune to come. After about 9 hours of driving we pull off onto a dirt road and come up to the entrance of Pennington Creek Hunting Club. We drive on in and from the moment we step out of the truck we can feel the country culture consume us.

There’s no sound of traffic and we instantly get the sense that time moves slower here. Our guide, Jason, is a short man with a white beard, a plaid button up, ripped jeans and a permanent pinch of tobacco resting in his bottom lip. Within just a few minutes, Jose and I unspokenly agree that this is exactly the person we want to guide us on our hog hunt.

Right To Business

We quickly unload the truck then grab our guns and head over to the shooting range. It’s not very long before we are dialed in and confident in our weapons for this hog hunt. We sneak in a quick power nap before 5 o’clock rolls around. We cinch up our boots and head out to the UTV where our guide is waiting. As we are about to pull out of camp, Jason stops at his truck to grab his .243 because in his words, “Ya never know!”

He takes us to a tower blind they call “Little Bull” in hopes that we’ll have an encounter with a big boar they’ve had their eyes on for awhile. Jason leaves us and we agree for him to come back at 9:30 p.m. if he hasn’t heard from us. Jose loads up his .223 and I chamber up my 30-06. There is a gravity feeder about 40 yards straight out and a spin cast feeder right at 80 yards. As the evening trudges on, deer filter in to the field. The velvet bucks are amazing to look at! The sun falls behind the horizon and not one hog was spotted. Even so, we are mesmerized by the scenery.

This Hog Hunt Is Not Over Yet

I glimpse into the darkness with my binoculars and notice that one of the bucks is on high alert. He’s staring out across the field and then bolts away. I scan over to see what he was looking at and there is just a black mass moving through the grass. I keen in on it harder and then quickly hand over the binoculars to Jose and say “I think we got a hog out there!” Sure enough, as it makes its way closer to the feeder light we confirm that it definitely is a hog, and he’s huge!

Quickly I check my phone and it’s 9:08 p.m. Jason will be driving into get us so I immediately text him to hold off. Then I shoulder my rifle and try to find this boar in the scope. I quickly realize this won’t be as easy as expected. The green light on the feeder brightens up when there is motion detected, but only for about 30 seconds. This little bit of extra light is essential for me to make the shot. I discover that putting black cross hairs on a black animal in the dark is no easy task. So my window of opportunity becomes very narrow. He needs to be directly under the light when it is at its brightest and not moving.

I anticipate his movement and Jose gives me a thumbs up. I line up the horizontal cross hairs, then the vertical ones and he steps broadside directly under the feeder. It’s my moment, take it now or risk losing this opportunity. I hold the gun tight but slowly and gently squeeze the trigger. He drops! I reload and immediately get back on him just in case, but he shows no sign of getting up! My adrenaline is flowing strong and I can’t believe I just dropped a monster boar! Jose and I erupt with excitement!

Big Boar Down!

We make our way out of the blind and over to my hog. We approach cautiously, guns drawn, and when we confirm he has expired, we high five with smiles a mile wide! This hog is an absolute beast! I text Jason to come get us and to bring the winch! As expected, I get back his signature reply of “OK.” When Jason pulls up, he takes one look at the hog and says “Yup, that’s the one. They’ve been shooting at him for the past 6 months!” I sure was proud of this pig but that comment boosted my ego up even a little higher.

We got him loaded up, back to camp, and he weighed in at 316.5 pounds! We hung him up in the freezer and Jose grilled us some dinner to finish out the day. Everything was just textbook perfect and I couldn’t help but feel a sense of overwhelming gratitude. It was an experience that I knew would forever be locked into my memory.

My first ever hog, and the largest animal I’ve harvested to date.

More Than Just Hunting

After only about 4 hours of sleep we found ourselves crawling back into another blind. The dark of the morning faded and light slowly saturated the landscape. No hogs showed themselves, but it was still a beautiful hunt. We headed back to camp, got a bite to eat and then squeezed in a little nap. Feeling recharged, we embarked on our next adventure, creek fishing.

Back at home in southwestern Iowa most creeks are like chocolate milk and made up of mostly carp, catfish, and gar. When Jose and I waded into the water and he nailed a largemouth bass on his second cast, we knew this was going to be a different experience! The water was crystal clear and just about every cast we’d get a hit or reel in a decent bass or sunfish. We made our way down the creek a few hundred yards where Jason was waiting to pick us up. We lost track of how many we actually caught but I did throw a couple bigger ones on the stringer. It certainly was the perfect way to spend a hot summer afternoon!

Jose’s Turn

As the sun began its decent to the horizon, Jose and I settled into a new blind. This area showed heavy signs of hog activity and with the feeder right at 60 yards, we were ready to go. As the shadows of the forest spread wider, we caught sight of two boars. They quickly made their way to the feeder. This was Jose’s chance to nail one! He steadied, aimed, I gave him a thumbs up and…CLICK! Instant panic in both of us! The boars heard the noise and become nervous. They were unsure of where the danger was located and they actually came trotting right by us at 25 yards, but Jose was not able to pull the shot off. After they disappeared he pulled back the slide on his .223 and slammed it in. NOW he was ready!

A few moments later, we spotted the two boars down along the fence line. There was just enough light to make the shot but they were a good 130 yards away. Thinking this could be his only chance, he shouldered his rifle. Just as he found them in the scope he caught movement at only 20 yards away. A big sow with some piglets entered the clearing and v-lined right to the feeder. Being much more comfortable with this closer shot, he switched his sights to the sow. I gave him the thumbs up, he steadied and with one shot, she crumbled! Jose was on the board! As before, we cautiously approached it until we could confirm it had expired.

Pure joy consumed us once again! It certainly was a bit of a roller coaster for emotions, but it the end it all worked out! We got her loaded up and back at camp she weighed in at 158 pounds. It was quite a relief that we both would be bringing home some meat to the family from this hog hunt.

Jose made a perfect shot on his first ever wild hog.

The Meaning Of It All

We put in two more hunts but never could connect with another hog. We enjoyed the creek fishing one more time and had some excellent luck. The morning of our departure we spent mostly butchering and packaging our hogs that had been hanging in the walk-in cooler. We loaded up all of our gear and repeatedly thanked our guide, Jason, for showing us such an incredible time. We hit the road and arrived back at home some 9 hours later.

When I reflect back on this trip, a lot of amazing memories come forth. I feel so lucky and proud to have harvested such a large boar on this hog hunt. I’m thankful for having a fun and safe experience. I truly enjoyed being in an environment that was mysterious to me. With an abundance of unfamiliar wildlife like poisonous snakes, armadillos, and wild hogs, I felt an extra sense of excitement. Most of all though, I cherished the time spent with Jose Martinez. As a true hunting partner, we bonded in our friendship beyond words. While sharing those types of experiences together we unspokenly understand the connection it creates. In the present moment we knew that our experience was being locked into a memory that we’d pull out countless times in the future. Every once in awhile, everything just seems to fall in place perfectly, with no regrets or disappointment. This 2020 hog hunt played out in exactly that way.