Jimmy Cohenour, Jim Bob Cohenour, and his cousin Eddie Lee Toohey hunted with us at the FCS 2002 Hog Hunt with Texas Wild. After hunting two other ranches with poor results, Jimmy and Jim Bob decided to develop their own hog ranch south of El Campo, near Blessing. They bought 100 acres bordering a river. Their ranch is divided into two sections. They maintain 100 hogs on the property with about 60 on the front half (where they also have their house) and the rest on the back half. They bought several hogs and trapped the rest. They have an electric fence for the front half of the property to keep the hogs in. The rear half of the property borders the river, where hogs are free to come and go. The cost is $125.00 for a hog of up to 100 pounds. You pay $1 per pound for hogs above 100 pounds. Thus a 150 pound hog would cost you $175.00 ($125.00 plus $50 for the excess weight). They have a "You will get a shot or your next hunt is free" guarantee. They also have a "Wounded hog counts as a kill" policy. They have several Barbadoe Sheep, one Corsican Ram, and one Mouflon ram. These sheep have little fear of man. We were able to walk straight up to them several times as close as 15 yards before they started to walk off. They offered me a ram for $175.00 but I did not take them up on their offer because I consider shooting animals that have such little fear of man as unsporting. Their pricing is more costly than some of their competitors (e.g. the Arrowhead Ranch charges $180.00 for one hog regardless of size and Texas Wild charges $200.00 for two hogs regardless of size). The Arrowhead has a guaranteed kill also, however, if you shot a hog less than 155 pounds the JB Hunting Ranch would be a better deal. If you shot a really big hog at the JB Hunting Ranch you would have to take out a loan! A 400 pound hog would cost you $425.00 ($125.00 plus $300.00 for the excess weight)! Texas Wild does not have a guaranteed kill or shot so there is the potential that you could walk away with nothing. You also could walk away with two hogs, like I did last year. Jimmy and Jim Bob have at least eight blinds and at least 10 feeders, although most hunting is done by stalking. One stand is 52 feet tall. They have many, many hogs. Jim Bob went the extra mile in conducting drives, looking for my hog, and in helping us skin and quarter our hogs. The Cohenour's make you feel welcome. Mrs. Cohenour gave us some desert bread when we arrived and biscuits and honey for breakfast. They have a new bunkhouse with a A/C - heater combo unit (although it is tiny - it has two triple beds but there is not enough room for gear for six). There is a garage with a sink, toilet, stove, and upright chest freezer (although it has room for no more than two 150 pound butchered hogs).
We started hunting in stands about 6:00 PM on 12/29/02. Jim Bob, who is 14 years old and basically runs the ranch, recommended stalk hunting but we wanted to try out my new two million candlepower spotlight with a red lens from a stand (it worked great - you can get one at Academy for $60.00). At 6:15 PM Ryan head shot a 152 pound boar 10 yards from his stand (his first big game animal, on his 18th birthday) with his .270! The next morning we decided to conduct a drive. Jim Bob, who informed me that most shots are at running animals, drove a herd towards my position (on a log). The herd of about 50 pigs ran broadside about 40 yards in front of me. Thinking that I would not get a better opportunity I took a shot, using the stump as a rest, and hit a medium sized hog with my .25-06. Ryan, and his friend, Kelvin Cheung, saw the hog lie down several times (from the 52 foot stand) but it got up and ran off into thick trees. We looked for him for several hours to no avail. During our search we chased the big herd several times back and forth across the property. Twice I had the herd running broadside 10 yards from me. I didn't take a shot because I wanted to find my wounded hog (I also didn't want to have to pay for the wounded hog plus another hog). At one point the boys drove the herd straight for me. The hogs saw me and moved off to my left. I ran down a road (hidden behind thick trees) and positioned myself behind a bush where I thought they would appear. In less than a minute they appeared exactly where I anticipated. The lead pigs skidded to a stop 5 yards from me! The rest of the herd bunched up behind them. It was one huge mass of pigs! You couldn't have missed even with your eyes closed! Not seeing my wounded hog I again did not take a shot and watched them go to their favorite haunt. We searched for another two hours. Discouraged, I came to the conclusion that we were not going to find the wounded hog. I reluctantly decided to hunt for another hog. Jim Bob and Kelvin did another drive towards Ryan and I, who were hidden behind some big trees. The herd came towards us but diverted up a hill. I ran up the hill angling towards them. When I got to the top they again ran across my bow 10 yards from me. Picking out a decent boar I nailed him with my 12 gauge with 3" 00 buck shot. The full choke pattern was about the size of a desert plate. We pulled eight of the 15 pellets out of him. They went though him and stuck in his hide on the other side. He weighed 135 pounds.
We were scheduled to hunt two days but went back home in less than 24 hours. I haven't had this much fun since Tim Price, Jason Behm, Tom Grass, David Chalmers, and I chased hogs for two days with bows and arrows in a 35 acre pen at the Hill Country Hogs ranch in 1998. I highly recommend the JB Hunting Ranch for a "meat" hog of less than 155 pounds.
Ryan and his boar Some of the rams