Brush-Close Boar: South Texas Chaos at 12 Yards

Brush-Close Boar: South Texas Chaos at 12 Yards

No bait, no blind—just boot leather, mesquite thorns, and a hog I didn’t hear until it was too late. 🎙️ Real hunting starts when the land pushes back. And South Texas brush pushes hard.

🌵 Footprints and Fresh Sign

The plan was simple: hike the dry creek beds of South Texas, glass cut trails, and try to intercept a sounder of feral hogs before they circled back into cover. No feeders. No elevated blinds. Just boots-on-ground still-hunting through tangled mesquite and prickly pear flats.

It was February—hot for winter—and hogs had been hammering the rancher’s oat plots and water troughs. He was glad to give me free rein, and I was glad to feel a little danger in the hunt.

By 9:12 a.m., I was tracking fresh scat and shallow-rooted turf. My .45-70 was in hand. Safety on. Eyes sharp.

🐗 The Sound I Didn’t Expect

The brush in front of me rustled.

I paused, thinking armadillo. Maybe a rabbit. Then I heard it—a low huff, like a truck exhaling under strain. I crouched instantly, back against a mesquite trunk.

Twelve yards out, slicing across a cedar screen, came a boar—black as oil, thick as a drum, eyes locked in a squint. He wasn’t running. He was angling hard—moving fast, but not blindly.

He hadn’t winded me. He was just… angry.

🔥 The Shot That Shook Me

At 12 yards, there’s no room for overthinking. I snapped up my lever gun, planted the front bead behind his shoulder, and squeezed.

BOOM.

The boar skidded sideways, spun, and collapsed in a tangle of brush and dust. His legs kicked for a second—then stillness.

I hadn’t realized I was breathing like a marathoner until the echo faded. My hands were shaking. I hadn’t blinked.

🎙️ “It wasn’t the shot that rattled me—it was how close wildness lives when you hunt on foot.”

🧠 What That Boar Taught Me

✔️ Still-hunting sharpens your instincts
This isn’t sit-and-wait. You’re part of the stalk, and the brush fights you every step.

✔️ Feral hogs don’t bluff
They are tough, smart, and often aggressive—especially boars without sows to protect.

✔️ Close-range shooting is a mental test
Twelve yards may sound easy—but fast movement, adrenaline, and brush make it real hard, real fast.

✔️ Big bore rifles have a place in the brush
When it’s close and quick, you want stopping power—period.

✔️ Wildness hides in plain sight
I hadn’t seen that hog until he was practically on top of me. That’s South Texas for you.

🧰 Gear That Held Up in the Heat

I’ve shot hogs from stands. I’ve taken them under red lights at feeders. But nothing compares to hearing one snort a warning 12 yards from your boots with no barrier between you and its tusks.

🎙️ “Real hunting starts when the land pushes back. And South Texas brush pushes hard.”

📍Filed under: Hunting Stories & Reports
🕯️ Difficulty Level: Close-Range Chaos
🐗 Result: 240-lb Boar, Dropped in Brush
🌵 Location: South Texas Mesquite Flats