My family and I have visited Independence Ranch twice. Our first experience was excellent. My…read moreoldest daughter and I attended after winning a raffle, and we had such a positive time that when I won another raffle, I was genuinely excited to return. Unfortunately, our second visit was extremely disappointing and left us frustrated enough that we will not be returning.
For our second trip, I brought both my oldest and youngest daughters and paid extra for what the ranch calls the "Honey Hole" package. From my understanding, the main benefit of this upgrade was being placed in a hunting stand rather than walking through the woods.
When we arrived, our guide gathered us along with several other hunting groups. He drew a map in the dirt next to my vehicle and instructed us to walk straight back from the truck until we reached a fence and our stand. He also warned us there were hunters to both the left and right of us and specifically told us to remain between those groups. I asked him twice to confirm: "We just walk straight out from my car and we will hit a fence and our stand?" Both times he answered yes.
My daughters and I followed those instructions exactly. As we walked, we could clearly see the hunters to our left, so we intentionally stayed to the right of them. Eventually we reached a fence, but there was no stand. At that moment, we encountered several hogs. Rather than miss the opportunity, all three of us safely took shots and harvested three hogs. We only fired four shots total, all safely and responsibly. I have been hunting for 35yrs and both my daughters have beside me hunting since they were able to walk.
At that point we realized we were lost, so I called the ranch exactly as instructed to report that we had harvested three hogs and needed help locating our stand. The guide arrived quickly on a side by side and immediately began yelling at us, accusing us of being nowhere near our assigned location. He claimed our stand was far to the left of where we were. I pointed out that we could still clearly see the hunters he told us to stay between. He also accused us of "shooting like crazy," which was completely untrue.
I again reminded him that we followed his instructions to walk straight back from the vehicle. He responded by accusing me of lying and saying my truck was not directly behind us. I then pointed out our vehicle, which was in fact straight behind us exactly as described.
The situation became even more frustrating when he drove over and began yelling at another hunting group -- a father and young son -- claiming they were too far to the right and had not followed instructions either. It was obvious they were just as confused as we were. He even recorded a video of them, saying it was to "save his job." Watching a father and child get treated that way was uncomfortable and unnecessary.
To make matters worse, after all of this, we were told we needed to load our own hogs on the back of the side by side. During our first visit, the ranch staff handled all of that for us, so the inconsistency in treatment was noticeable. Considering the large amount of money spent on this trip, we did not deserve to be spoken to or treated in such an unprofessional manner.
When we returned to camp, we informed the staff that we would be leaving after our hogs were cleaned. After the way we had been treated, there was no reason to stay. Even though I would be wasting a night in the private cabin that I paid for. The father and son from the other group also decided to leave early.
The final frustration came when the same guide who had yelled at us approached privately at the freezer and asked for an additional tip "under the table." This was after I had already tipped the ranch boss, understanding that tips were meant to be distributed among the staff. I had absolutely no issue tipping the ranch itself and was already familiar with that process from our first visit. However, being treated disrespectfully and then asked for extra cash privately was completely inappropriate.
I want to be fair and say the ranch owner appeared to be a good person, and the other workers we encountered were pleasant. Unfortunately, this particular experience overshadowed the entire trip. For the money spent, customers should expect professionalism, clear communication, and respectful treatment -- especially families hunting with children.
Because of this experience, we will not be returning. There are many other outfitters available for Texas hog hunts, and I would encourage others to carefully consider their options before booking.
