Whether you’re hunting for wild game or hunting for bargains, the hunt is an integral part of life for many Sabinal, Texas residents. The small town is often referred to as the “hog capital of the world” and claims to have the largest number of boar in Texas. If you want to experience true appreciation for the hunt, spend some time in Sabinal.
Things to Do
5 Experiences to Hunt for in Sabinal, Texas
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1. Attend the Wild Hog Festival.
Photo: Wild Hog Festival and Craft Fair
The Wild Hog Festival and Craft Fair will celebrate its 26th year this spring. The two-day event features wild hog chasing competitions, arts and crafts for sale, games, and rides, and a lot of local food. Anyone can enter the competition. Here are the steps, according the website:
- You and your team partner enter the set-up arena armed with burlap sack.
- Hog is set loose into arena.
- When whistle blows, start chasing hog (not the other way around).
- Catch the hog.
- Bag hog in the burlap sack.
- Quickly pull the hog across the finish line.
- Fastest time wins.
If observing is more your speed, the festival admission fee is $5 for adults and $3 for children and the funds support the Sabinal Lions Club. The 2017 festival dates are March 31 and April 1 and 2.
2. Go on a hunting trip
Photo: Dawson Whitetale Ranch
Don’t worry if you can’t make it to the Wild Hog Festival, Sabinal is still a great place to tap into your primal abilities. Dawson Whitetail Ranch offers lodging and hunting packages that can suit a newbie or an experienced hunter. The private ranch’s terrain is level apart from the stretch along the Sabinal River and is covered in thick brush, perfect for deer bedding areas, according to the website. Exotic hunting packages are also available, and possible catches include Axis Deer, Red Stags, rams, sheep and of course, hogs.
3. Shoot birds … with a camera
Photo: Flickr/Laura Grooch
If a photo of a rare specimen is your version of a hunting trophy, check out Annandale Ranch. It’s a working cattle, sheep, and goat operation, but the ranch also specializes in eco-tourism opportunities. “The scissor-tailed flycatcher, hooded oriole, greater roadrunner, painted bunting, blue bunting, and more recently the Green Jay and Caracara are gems for visiting ornithologists,” the website says. “Just in time to accommodate this new (birding) industry at the Annandale, green jay populations have flourished throughout the Hill Country and South Texas Brushlands in recent years. These colorful and charismatic birds might be considered the epitome of a tropical bird that has become established north of the Rio Grande. It is one of the most sought after birds that birders come to Texas to see.”
4. Shop for handmade leather goods at Two Bar West
Photo: Two Bar West
Two Bar West was started by two sisters raised in the Hill Country. “Their brand pays tribute to their ranching family and symbolizes their western heritage by incorporating their grandfather’s cattle brand into a name that has become their trademark,” the website says. “Navajo blanket inspired handbags, studded nailhead embellished designs, one of kind turquoise stone patterns, fringe, tassle detail, hand painted leather, interchangeable shoulder straps and vintage antiqued leather are just a few of their trademark characteristics.” The products have been featured in many fashion magazines and a long list of celebrities spotted with Two Bar West purses is displayed in a photo collage on the website.
5. Eat at Nora’s Tacos
Whether you’re waking up early to go hunting, birding or shopping, Nora’s Tacos is open 5:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. The little Mexican restaurant has been open for more than a decade. The breakfast taco menu is long, the combinations and ingredient add-ons seem to be limitless, and at only $1.75 a taco, why stop at one?
