1st choice outfitters

[Takeem26]

anyone here used these guys? been looking around and can find anything about them. been looking for a pig hunt but have been burned b4 with a guide service and am doing my research this time.just looking for some info on these guys b4 i contact them for any reason.

thanks guys

 

[KTKT70]

depending were u are from and how far u want to drive. u can find a lot of good info on the best guides and in what countys. There is a lot of post were people tell all about the hog hunt and the guys that took them. u will get a good feel for the ppl and the price. Than u can give them a call and see what u think. good luck to you. hope u get out there soon.

 

[renardsubtil]

I emailed Jim at First outfitters for pricing and got a reply back the same day - you might want to ask him for references of past hunters he's guided and then contact them for details.

 

[nickstone530]

I havent hunted with them but was kinda put off when I looked at the website and saw a 4 person archery day hunt at lake Sonoma for 700 or 800 bucks...wtf?

 

[bchains]

I hunted with Jim and shot two ~125 lb pigs up near Lake Sonoma. We couldn't find the second one so he went back the second day and retrieved it for me with some dogs and met me to give me the meat. Stand up guy.

 

[G2283]

Does he do the semi-guided hunt on private or public land. $300 a day is one of the cheapest prices I have found so if its good land and he preps the animals you can't beat that

 

[00Marlin]

I went out with Jim a couple of month ago. He's very knowledgeable and willing to share. We got into some cold weather and bad wind so all we saw was a lot of pig sign with no pigs. I'm going back out with him next month. Let you know how it goes. . .

 

[thewolfman]

Well...depands on where u live..PM Flingem71...he knows a guy that got some property for pigs for a good deal...good luck

 

[KTKT70]

for less than 300 ?? i always wonder what the best price around is. seems to b a big gap from to to bottom. May with or with out guide makes a big diffrence also. Im ready to start hiking with guns soon.

 

[jdp080563]

Bryson Hesperia has a semi- guided for $200 a day

 

[thewolfman]

$200!!!...where would this be at???..high fence or free ranging???

 

[cali-carnivore]

Bryson has both high fence and semi guided. the high fence is archery only and about the same size as Bighorn Canyon. I have not heard good things about brysons regular hunts for a few years. They give you land to hunt without confirmation of any pig activity. I was going to do a hunt there a couple years ago but the feedback made me say no!

 

[Takeem26]

went with jim! had a great time! top notch dude is right. plenty of game and me and my buddy came away with a pig each the first afternoon! Deff would recommend!!!

 

[hoghunter401]

I have hunted with Jim several times and he is the only guide I would go with. I have been burned by many other guides in the past and it is a relief to find a guy you can trust!

 

[hoghunter401]

I have done the lake Sonoma hunt with Jim and it was well worth the cost because he busted his ass. he showed me a lot of places to hunt that I would never had gone and was able to get my first public land hog with him. Now I have enough knowledge about the area to have great hunts by myself in the future. I hunted with three of my buddies and Jim went over the hunt plan, provided GPS radios for us to stay in touch, and systematically worked many different hunting areas throughout the entire day. I suppose you have to understand hunting to really understand the value in that hunt.

 

[jdm49]

Just got back from my first wild hog hunt with jim Smith and it was fantastic and I would highly recommend him. Aside from the fact that I set out hoping to learn a little and maybe get a shot at a small meat pig but came back with a 300 lb boar, I have to say it was a great introduction to Norcal hunting all around.



Overall, this was as good an experience as I could have hoped to have, and sitting on the couch now and thinking back through the whole process, I can’t imagine having had a better guide than Jim. He knew the property and had the hunt strategy mapped out, yet at the same time he was happy to take it slow and show me the basics of finding California wild pigs. From the time we were making arrangements over emails to the second I squeezed the trigger, I never felt rushed. Also, Jim ran things very safely and simply. There was no canned show, no bravado or any silliness, just expert guidance, some beautiful coastal range property, more game than i have ever seen before, and a great hunting experience. I don’t know what anyone else’s first hunt really felt like, but I can say that the details of the hunt and the location keep running through my mind in a satisfying way and my only regret is that its over. I am looking forward to my next hunt alread and I will definitely use Jim Smith at 1st Choice Outfitters again.

 

[daddy63]

Congrats on a great hunt and a very nice pig. That's the way your first pig hunt should go. I'm seriously considering taking my son on a hunt with Jim.

 

[KTKT70]

nice job. congrats on a big hog. how long was your hunt and what was included at what rate? thank you ahead of time for the info.

 

[jdm49]

Thanks all.


I did the one day hunt for $450 (all in, no trophy dressing or other fees). I would have liked to have done longer, but with the little one at home, I could only get a day away. Jim also does butchering, and the meat from my hog is with him now hanging before being processed. It was a big boar but the back straps looked good so I am thinking of making chops with the back straps and having Jim do sausage from much of the rest. I don't have any prior experience, but the boar seemed quite clean and didn't have any bad smell at all outside or in. The shot was well away from the gut and Jim did a good job dressing with no leakage of intestinal stuff, which was helped I imagine. I have heard people say about bad smelling boar before, but this guy probably smelled better than I did after a day of hunting! I'll let you know how the meat turns out.



During he day we spent a good amount of time looking at bedding areas, different habitat spots and some ridge walking and glassing.

Jim had a great ATV for covering a lot of ground in the huge property to get to different areas, but we did the scouting and what became the final stalk on foot.

Naturally, on the ride home we saw many more pigs but I was very pleased to have found the one I did when I did. Will definitely go again. It's my understanding that Jim has several properties, but I would have zero problems doing many hunts on the Lake Sonoma-area property we went to. We saw deer throughout the day and Jim also said there was good Turkey hunting on the property also.

 

[KTKT70]

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