The Sounder

A new year brings a fresh start to the Army Hog Hunters and True Hog Hunters tournaments as the leaderboard officially resets bringing everyone back to zero. The 2021 season was a success with almost 1000 hogs submitted and approved. The new year has brought the south its first true freeze as deer season ends, opening up land rights to hog hunters across the nation again to go out and chase with dogs as well as hunt and trap. Statistics for the first year show what it takes to compete monthly in the tournaments and Charlie talks about his goals for 2022 as well as what he plans to do to be a better hog hunter this season. Hunters of all sorts won throughout the year proving that not one hunting tactic is better than any other. A good hog hunter will adjust to the habitat and situation to get the highest success rate in wild hog extermination upon determining all the variables at hand. Charlie feels this is going to be an even better year for the hog hunting tournaments as hunters are not wasting time and have already begun to submit hogs from their successful New Years hunts.  

The 2021 season nears an end as we get ready to wrap it the tournaments up and announce our champion for the True Hog Hunters Year To Date Kills. Charlie reminds everyone that deer season in south Texas is coming to an end and ways to possibly still hunt your target buck if you have not got him yet. With the new year upon us it is time to think about new year resolutions and Charlie talks about his plans for 2022 as well as his final days of 2021. 

With just days left in the 2021 season, Charlie updates listeners on the December True Hog Hunters leaderboards and the year to date leaderboards. The first year of the tournament is almost over and the numbers continue to grow as hogs are being submitted everyday. Deer season has seemed to play a factor in the tournament as submissions have slowed down. As season comes to an end there is no doubt that hog hunting will ramp up as winter hopefully sticks around making for perfect hog hunting conditions. Hogs have come back to the family farm with a vengeance and seem to be sticking around in hopes of easy meals are deer feeders. Charlie hopes to finish his deer season strong and begin 2022 with a fresh slate and hopefully improve on his hog submissions come January. Stay tuned as winners will be announced after the 1st of the year and prizes given out to our top competitors.

Charlie announces the winners for October and brings everyone up to date for the November True Hog Hunter's Tournament. With opening weekend behind us for Texas rifle season, Charlie continues the story of Maximus (The big 10 Point Buck) that has made the farm his home. Even though everything came to plan as Charlie hoped in getting his wife on this deer opening morning. The story beyond the life of Maximus continues as Charlie finds out more about him after death, and realizes that this buck is not who he previously thought due to a distinguishable facial feature. The name of Maximus will stay with the buck harvested due to his name was given to him just this year after Charlie caught the buck on camera fighting off a couple coyotes. The mystery lies in "where is the original 10 point?" "Will we ever see him again?" and "What does he look like now?" Charlie is humbled by his mistake of antler identifying Maximus but is also relieved to know that the farm could very well be producing another main frame mature 10 point.

October continues to produce hogs in the tournament and it is a close one again. As we enter the final week of the month it is still to early to predict a winner. Charlie takes a different approach to this weeks episode and discusses hog hunting in a different light than usual. With times changing and issues like inflation and short supply of grocery items, Charlie brings to mind the possibility of wild hogs being a good source of free food if times were to get tough. Occurrences throughout 2021 have proven that people have become completely dependent on the convenience of grocery store supplies and food and have lost the ability to be self sufficient. Good times have created a soft society which seems to struggle at the first thought of disaster. Stores are emptied and people become selfish and hoard. People with the capability to be self sufficient seem to take to the woods, gardens, and water systems to survive. The question is "Could wild hogs be the answer to hunger if need be?" and "What has to happen to make a society get to this point?" Could a major disaster be what it takes to bring the wild hog population to manageable number?

As deer season approaches, Charlie is worried that a new boar on camera may spell trouble for chances at the target buck on the farm. The pig activity has been surprisingly slow compared to previous years but it was just a matter of time before they made their way back and found the feeders. With weather changing and temperatures cooling down, deer and hogs are starting to travel and show on camera more often. October has been surprisingly slower than September's tournament as far as hog submissions go but there is plenty of time to jump in and compete. The tournament is approaching 1000 hogs total and a prize will be given out to the hunter who submits the 1000th hog. Prizes for October also include 223 ammo made by True Ballistics.

September produced some major hog numbers for the True Hog Hunters tournament, and with the fall taking place and the weather cooling down, it looks like October may allow for some great hog hunting. Charlie is getting excited for the upcoming deer season and the hog hunting that comes with it and explains how his style of hunting may be changing after this season. The final quarter of the year has begun and everyone still has a chance to win the end of the year prize for most hogs even though some hunters have a head start. Weather will play a huge factor in the next few months as well as deer season effecting hog hunters on properties that shut down strictly for deer season. With more hogs out there now than ever, it is time to pull out the big guns and hunt them as hard as we can to bring the population down. 

The first cool front has finally made its way through south Texas and Charlie cant help but get excited for the upcoming deer season. Wildlife activity has picked up and game cameras have been hard at work capturing the many visitors around the properties feeders. Last season showed many signs that the farm was finally producing and holding deer, unlike previous years that just had the occasional "passer by" bucks that would make a quick appearance and disappear to never be seen again. This year is looking to pick up where last season ended with some familiar faces on the camera, including the main target buck that has no idea how close he came to being put on the wall a season ago. The steady rains have come to a halt and the land is starting to dry out, as well as farms being harvested, forcing much of the surrounding wildlife to make occasional stops at feeders for quick meals. This makes it easier to pattern deer pre rut but also means an increase in hog traffic as well. Either way, it looks like the upcoming deer season may be the best one yet for Charlie on the farm and should produce a fair share of nice bucks and a multitude of wild hogs. 

With dove season now a full go in Texas, Charlie takes a trip down memory lane to his childhood and hunting with his dad. The days are slowly but surely starting to look more like fall and that means birds in the air and hogs and deer in the fields. The tournament is back to life with hogs being submitted by the dozen and it looks like the pigs have had plenty to eat this summer. Fall also means less food in the fields and pastures as well and can lead to hogs and deer taking chances showing up at feeders and designated food plots. Trapping is proving to be a successful tool in the tournament again and night hunting has become the weekend event for hunters across the nation in search for wild hogs. Dove season will come and go but the memory of the hunt will last a lifetime and could have a profound impact on new hunters. Charlie encourages hunters with available time and land to introduce new hunters to dove season so that others may grow to appreciate not just the hunt, but the experience and memories that go with it. 

Charlie sits down to announce the leaderboard for the first week of September and give listeners a piece of advice to make their go at the tournament a tad bit smoother and faster. With dove season starting throughout Texas, Charlie reminds hunters to get licensed and check their shotguns and gear before going into the field to avoid being ticketed. Wild hog numbers are skyrocketing at a rapid pace, food being almost and unlimited resource, and pigs using the dense brush and habitat to stay unseen, it would be no surprise to see a major increase in the population over the summer months. Hunting sows, and especially mature sows, that can produce multiple high volume litters a year is key to reducing the population and advancing efforts in the war on hogs.