As a young boy, I have read several stories off harrowing true life adventures where wild boar have made hunters lives quite an exciting experience. Hunting wild boar has always been a dream of mine and needless to say I jumped at the chance when it was offered to me by Brigid O'Donoghue, President of United Special Sportsmen Alliance [U.S.S.A] .

Crones' disease has made life somewhat difficult for me during the past few years and I've been in and out of the hospital and clinics far more times than I would have liked. What my future holds, I certainly don't know, but I do know one thing helping U.S.S.A. grant outdoors wishes for terminally ill and disabled children is a lifelong dream for me.

Texas is sure a thick brushy country compared to my native Kansas but the opportunity to visit and hunt other states is truly a blessing and I couldn't wait to try my hand against the meanest hog I could find. After a delicious morning breakfast I jumped in the pickup truck with my guide and headed out to the blind, which are often used in Texas to hunt wild boar. I couldn't believe all the damage to the landscape hogs carry out if their population numbers gets high enough. They're a very strong animal and also must have a will to match, because they root around enough to make a D-3 Caterpillar jealous.

As I climbed in the blind all I could think about were hogs and the poisonous rattlesnakes on the ground that I'm leaving behind in the safety of the tripod. A .257 Weatherby kept me company and as I waited for my lifelong hog to appear. There must be some feral pigs mixed and with a Russian strain since I saw an exceptionally large red one which looked like a likely barbecue prospect. As I got ready to measure him on the ground, a major ruckus with squeals grunts and other assorted noises echoed loudly in the brush. To my disappointment, my big red hog thundered off into the brush. It seemed like there was a healthy population of hogs on the Long Ranch property and I figured I'd get another chance soon. Later that morning a nice big black hog came foraging through the underbrush, and I wasn't about to give him a chance to run away either. A single shot from my 57 Weatherby took my first tusker down for good and boy was I extremely happy about that! I have harvested bear, turkeys and a lot of deer in my life but my blood boiled when I pulled the trigger on my first hog. My physical problem seemed so far away at this time that I can imagine the same phenomenon happens to all the sick children that attend these dream hunts.

As I gutted him out, I couldn't help but admire how tough the animal looked and how the animal smelled. Regardless with proper meat care, I knew there would be some very good eating regardless of the initial smell. I believe that hogs would be a lot of fun with a pack of dogs hot on their bushy tail. I don't know if my physical condition would allow me to hunt that way in the future, but I would certainly like to give it a try someday.

I would like to thank the many people who made this "big kid's" dream come true. I would like to thank Boar Hunting Magazine for playing a part in spreading the good news of the availability of boar hunts for all Americans including the physically challenged! Until then keep hunting those hogs and let all of us readers know if you get a trophy.