For some people a gun is simply a tool for hunting. For most of us though, guns are a wonderful part of hunting. Owning a gun collection is a great pleasure in itself. But the guns we hunt with have special meaning to us. They become a physical reminder of good times. If you are like me you are always looking for an excuse to buy another gun and then make it special by taking into the field. A hunt on the Halff Brothers Ranch will give you the perfect excuse to buy a truly different type of gun for yourself.

Combination guns are not very common in the United States. We tend to have only one quarry in mind when we hunt, so we tend to have very specialized rifles and shotguns. We have elk rifles for elk and deer rifles for deer. If bird hunting is on the agenda we have quail or turkey guns. On most hunts that is the way it should be because there is only one quarry that we will be allowed to harvest. Hunting on the Halff Brothers Ranch can be very different. An outing for a deer can very easily turn into the opportunity to take a beautiful Rio Grande gobbler. In fact my experience is that it is unusual not to see turkeys during a hunt on the ranch. Wild hogs are always around and the chance to harvest a coyote pelt can happen at any time. Dove and quail hunting can be arranged. In fact two enterprising and very energetic young men arranged an amazing day for themselves on the Halff Brothers Ranch this season. The plan was to harvest Ducks, Quail, Doves, Turkey and Deer all in one day.

Before daybreak they positioned themselves at a pond and opened a beautiful cool South Texas morning by shooting a limit of ducks. This is a rare treat because the river has to flood at the right time to fill the pond. Later in the morning our energetic hunters shot quail and doves. Then they turned their attention to hunting for deer and a turkey. They got their chance. There were opportunities at deer and for turkey. When the opportunity arose for a deer a shot gun was in hand. When a tom appeared rifle was in hand instead of a shot gun and an attempted head shot didn't work out. They were happy and exhausted by the end day. Part of the exhaustion was from carrying a rifle and shotgun at the same time. What if you could have a hunt like that and do it all with one lightweight, short, handy gun and always have the right gun for the game in you hand. Well you can, the solution is combination guns.

The subject of combinations guns could fill a book. They come in all shapes and sizes. At the turn of the century, Holland and Holland made 8 gauge paradoxes which were primarily for hunting the great game of Africa but could be used with shot. They are no longer made and if you want one plan to spend an amount between the price of a good truck that of a small house to own one. The other end of the scale includes the little Savage over and unders that only cost a few hundred dollars and come in several useful combinations. In between these two ends of the spectrum there are an amazing number of combination guns. Possibly the most common and useful configuration is the drilling. This is a three barrel set with the top two barrels being a double shotgun with a rifle barrel underneath. The shotgun barrels stiffen the rifle barrel and they tend to be very accurate. Then there is the 'cape rifle' configuration. This is a side by side double with one barrel being a shot gun and the other a rifle. It is referred to as a cape rifle because it was very popular in the Cape area of South Africa, another place where many different type of game abounds. The over and under is usually the least expensive and does excellent service. Baikal, the Russian firm makes a very reasonably priced, serviceable over and under that comes in interesting combinations. How about a 6.5 X 55 Swedish Mauser under a 12 gauge 3 inch magnum? How can any dyed in the wool gun nut turn that down? Combination guns come in any price range and just about any caliber combination that you can want. Once you have one, make the magic happen by taking it into the field in a place like the Halff Brothers Ranch. I promise you it will be great hunting experience.

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"I don't need a gun, I'll just chase the hog down..."
(This article first appeared in the San Antonio Construction News -July 2004)

If you want to impress someone, take him for a Trophy deer hunt. If you want to get to know somebody, take her for a hog hunt. Hog hunting brings out character.

The sport has occasionally gotten a bad rap in Texas, but don't you believe it. Too often we hear stories concerning over-population; trapping by the hundreds; and farmers and ranchers killing hogs and leaving them dead where they lay. Varmints? Damn varmints?

Varmints...? Damn Varmints?

But there is another point of view...
Hunting hogs can be some of the most challenging, the most entertaining and sometimes, the scariest hunting there is.
And, if you want to develop a solid relationship, or get the measure of a man, or a woman,... Take them hog hunting...

If you think you can get the measure of a business associate, figure what you can learn about your wife....

Porkers are a supreme challenge and easy as can be. They possess an excellent sense of smell but have lousy eyesight and so-so hearing. They can be wary animals at times but at other times they might hear a guide running his corn route and run into the back tire of the truck in their hurry to get to a tasty morsel.

Feral hogs can learn quickly where danger lies, then forget it in a moment. They can be hunted in the day and in the night. Hogs are known for running and for stopping, so if the hunter has the lungs and the heart, hogs can be caught. And they can be hunted from blinds, trees, trucks and on foot.
But on foot is the most amusing.

This is Rufus, he is not the guide in question. But that hog is very alive...

There was, for instance, one young guide on the ranch, obsessed with all things hogs and dogs. He literally ran them down on foot. His story could be a tall tale if it wasn't for the fact that every word is absolutely true.

This guide was by definition a breed apart but he understood that hunting is basically no different than any entertainment venue - and his job was to entertain.

He figured that if people want to pay for an experience he would try to give them one. If the indelible moment of a hunt was seeing a man tackle a hog then he had succeeded at his job.

We like to think that a hunt should contain camaraderie, tranquility, sport, excitement and always the beauty of nature.

Many times harvesting an animal then mounting and displaying the trophy is just an added bonus.
Good guides understand this and they strive to provide as many of the conditions as they can for a memorable time.

The challenge is that game can't be controlled. They can be studied, patterned and anticipated but the experience can - and does - veer from the expected in a moment of time. This particular guide could make that moment swerve into twilight zone territory simply by announcing that he could run down a hog. The fact was that this guide tackled hogs. He jumped on hogs. He rode hogs. He tripped hogs and almost always he stuck his knife into their innards when he was done.

This drove the hunters wild!

Sometimes when he caught a hog that was small, he would keep it alive but he would perform a bit of surgery to relieve it of its source of testosterone.
He would turn it loose with the plan of returning two years later to track it down again, when the tusks had grown to three of four inches.

Trophy Hogs - All Natural

Those hogs would have put on two or three hundred pounds and by all measures they would be trophy hogs.

The blade he used was about 12 inches of homemade razor sharp steel. He set store by that knife. A day wouldn't go by that he wouldn't touch up the edge. Sometimes an hour wouldn't go by.
Third only to hogs and horses, his knife was his closest friend. He carried his knife in an unusual place, hanging next to the snap of his jeans. Even though he was a tall man, a 12-inch "pig sticker" hanging from the front of one's waist was not a sight to ignore. It says loud and clear, don't mess with me.
He claimed that it was handier in that position. When he ran with the knife flapped wildly, but he always knew where it was.

Running a healthy animal down on foot is a challenge for the athletic. When the animal is wounded, it is a challenge for a particularly unique athlete…psychologically unique that is. Some would call it crazy.
This twenty something kid with legs as long as a post and just about as thin got so excited his hands would shake at the thought of chasing a pig.

When a hunter wounded an animal early in the day, with plenty of daylight left, he would turn to his hunter and say calmly, "okay you wait here I am going to go get your hog."
The hunter invariably would point out that he didn't have a gun. "It's okay he would say, I have all I need right here," and he would pat his scabbard confidently.
And then he would go after the hog.

He approached wounded hogs the same way that he did healthy tuskers. He tackled hogs, he jumped on hogs, he rode hogs, he tripped hogs and he always stuck his knife into their innards when he was done.

And then he would sharpen his knife some more.

If the animal was wounded late in the day and the daylight was rapidly dissipating he would take his hunter back to camp for dinner and then check with the ranch manager. Darkness added a new factor but the talk always went something like this:

"Boss, I got a wounded pig I need to go get, can I take one of my dogs?"
The manager asks, "Is he a big boar?"
"No" came the answer
"Well then, don't worry about him til morning, it's late."
"Oh no sir, I don't mind, I'll just get one of my hounds and it won't be a problem at all."

This is where his hands would start shaking a bit. Just the thought of chase was enough. The manager would be feeling the energy too, but of a different sort.
"You better not be bringing one of your catch dogs with you, he would warn. I don't want those animals loose on this ranch. If I see or hear one of those catch dogs, I'm going to shoot it. Do you understand?"

Catch dogs have a bad rap, deservedly so from the point of view of some. They corner a hog then latch onto it. Literally they catch it and don't let go. The hunter then has to come and kill the hog. In the process, hog tusks can gut a dog or a man with a twist of the animal's head. It's hard on dogs, it's dangerous for the hunter and most men wouldn't consider facing it.
But the guide would answer, "Oh no sir, I'm only going to use my red cur, the bay hound."

This red bay dog was an amazing animal. It would run off into the brush and after a time it would bay twice. Neither dog nor human was a social talker and two bays to the moon was all it took to alert his master to his situation. Two bays meant come on in; I have the animal cornered and its up to you.
At two bays, the guide would charge into the brush and even in the dead of night he always came back with the hog. No one ever saw him hunt with a gun.

There are certain types of men who could smell hogs the way kids can smell chocolate chip cookies baking down the street. Instinctively these kindred souls knew where to find hogs whether breaking dawn or approaching midnight.
Not every hog hunt is as exciting as moving into the brush with that guide, but each one has a certain thrill.

Hunting demands more from a group relationship than a golf or basketball outing. It is an experience of life and death.
Because of that, it becomes an insightful way to develop relationships and get the measure of a man or woman - or even a guide with shaky hands.

-JH

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