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RodeoFlyer
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Hi Michael,
Kinda tacky to bump threads about your competitors with nothing but your phone number. Maybe start a new thread to introduce yourself and tell us about your services?
TraditionalGuy
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I'm interested as well, voidecho. I am considering using him for an archery hunt late December. I would love to hear your opinion and all about how the hunt went. Thanks
old53chevy
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I am also looking guide for some general hog hunting in Jan 2014 in southern - Mid Cali. This was my first year hunting and big zero so far.
hunterdoug
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Is it me or is this a thread on jesse's, or a commercial? Just wondering?
If your talking about my positive review and hunt account, I can assure you that it is genuine and I have no connection other than as a client of Jim's.
Actually I did a second pig hunt in Sonoma on a different property with 1stchoiceoutfitters and it was also very good. I went with intention of getting a <200 pounder to get the highest quality meat and have a more manageable hog to try a hand at butchering myself for the first time.
We hunted much steeper terrain. It was basically a 1k climb to a ridge line from the start. I haven't been down south to Hollister,
Monterey or FHL areas, so I can't compare it to anything, but this was beautiful country again with pig sign from the beginning.
Even though I didn't keep up with Jim to the ridge line and I missed the first group, we encountered a second group just before sunset on the descent. The lead hog which blocked shots at any others for a few minutes from ~70 yards was easily in the 350-400 lb range and I passed on that one. I thought the second one was smaller, and it was relatively speaking, but it turned out to be 250-275. I made a decent shot to the cardiopulmonary center with my Weatherby 270 shooting a Federal Vital Shok Trophy/Barnes Cu bullet. Interestingly it was a bit of a quartering towards me shot and it was almost bloodless even though the black boar dropped instantly. When we got to the chest cavity during field dressing we finally found where all the blood was. There was
massive disruption and a Friday the 13th style blood gush from the cavity above the diaphragm. Jim found the bullet in the exiting
shoulder bone - fully expanded and intact.
We packed out quarters and ribcage/torso in the dark which was a major workout, but it was another really good experience and this time
I felt like I really worked for it.
So, it's not a commercial, but I am 2/2 with Jim, I have found him to be a really nice, honest guy who knows infinitely more about hunting than I do and has access and knows some beautiful properties with infinitely more pigs on them than the ~6 public land hunts on them. (The math ~ 50 pigs I have seen on 2 hunts with Jim / zero pigs on six public hunts.).
This is true information.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
voidecho
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Sorry all...been busy and haven't had a chance to write up a review. I'll just jump right to the summary....I didn't see any pigs, but I'd still highly recommend Jim and will be going out with him again. He was great and the two properties we hit up were awesome and were covered in pig sign. I'm relatively sure the full moon the night before my hunt screwed me over. Rookie mistake I won't make again.
So that's the summary, if you want some more details, keep reading.
Jim has four pig properties and I think he said in total it's around 25K acres. We hit up two of them about 15 miles West of Lake Sonoma. We met up at around 6am at the further West one which turned out to be very rain forest like. Pines and oaks and the ground stays pretty wet. He had a camp there and a big ATV. We hopped on it and drove about 3/4 miles back into the woods on a trail. Then hopped out and started a treck straight up a hill heading to some clearing on the top of the hill with scattered oaks. We were hoping to catch some pigs heading back to their beds. Jim was about 50 feet ahead of me (cause I'm fat and slow) and said he saw a boar coming down a draw. We set up shop hoping it would come below us, but probably turned the other way. Made it up to the clearings, didn't see anything else, so headed back down. Then hiked along to the trail to check out a fresh wallow Jim knew about. Tons of pig tracks, pig crap, rooted up ground and the wallow was awesome. It was dug into the side of a hill and had about six inches of water in it. You could see the muddy water trail leading away from it on top of fresh leaves. There had been pigs in there very, very recently.
At about 10am we called it quits there and headed into town for lunch. Then came back to camp, I shot a bit and we packed up to head to the afternoon property. Jim had told me our morning chances were very slim, but I still wanted to do an all day hunt.
We get to the other property and start our hike at about 2pm up a large hill to get into a good glassing spot. The pig sign at this property was more apparent than the first. Just acres upon acres of torn up land. Looked like a plow went through there. These hills were mostly cow pastures with scattered oak trees and thick vegetation in the draws leading up the hills and down at the bottom of the hills. That's where Jim thought the pigs were bedding. We were hoping we'd catch them coming out of their beds at the bottom of the hill heading up to us. About and hour before dark we started working our way down, hunting all of the clearings. Just never saw anything.
Obviously dissapointed that we didn't see anything. Like I said, pretty sure the full moon hurt the hunt. The wind also started blowing like crazy at around 3:30 or so. Jim doesn't have any kind of gaurantee on his one day hunts, but he's cutting me a deal on my next trip which is great.
Overall, it was a good day hunting. Jim was very knowledgable and he's got some good properties. I learned a lot out there. Other than no pigs, my only other complaint was that Jim tended to be about 50 feet ahead of me pretty much all day. I'm not in great shape, so I was lagging behind, but I wish he would have waited for me a bit more. If he came over a hill and spooked some pigs, I wouldn't have been able to get there quick enough to get off a shot. Small complaint that I could fix by continuing to work out.
I'll probably scheduel my return trip for Jan or Feb.....nowhere near a full moon.
So that's the summary, if you want some more details, keep reading.
Jim has four pig properties and I think he said in total it's around 25K acres. We hit up two of them about 15 miles West of Lake Sonoma. We met up at around 6am at the further West one which turned out to be very rain forest like. Pines and oaks and the ground stays pretty wet. He had a camp there and a big ATV. We hopped on it and drove about 3/4 miles back into the woods on a trail. Then hopped out and started a treck straight up a hill heading to some clearing on the top of the hill with scattered oaks. We were hoping to catch some pigs heading back to their beds. Jim was about 50 feet ahead of me (cause I'm fat and slow) and said he saw a boar coming down a draw. We set up shop hoping it would come below us, but probably turned the other way. Made it up to the clearings, didn't see anything else, so headed back down. Then hiked along to the trail to check out a fresh wallow Jim knew about. Tons of pig tracks, pig crap, rooted up ground and the wallow was awesome. It was dug into the side of a hill and had about six inches of water in it. You could see the muddy water trail leading away from it on top of fresh leaves. There had been pigs in there very, very recently.
At about 10am we called it quits there and headed into town for lunch. Then came back to camp, I shot a bit and we packed up to head to the afternoon property. Jim had told me our morning chances were very slim, but I still wanted to do an all day hunt.
We get to the other property and start our hike at about 2pm up a large hill to get into a good glassing spot. The pig sign at this property was more apparent than the first. Just acres upon acres of torn up land. Looked like a plow went through there. These hills were mostly cow pastures with scattered oak trees and thick vegetation in the draws leading up the hills and down at the bottom of the hills. That's where Jim thought the pigs were bedding. We were hoping we'd catch them coming out of their beds at the bottom of the hill heading up to us. About and hour before dark we started working our way down, hunting all of the clearings. Just never saw anything.
Obviously dissapointed that we didn't see anything. Like I said, pretty sure the full moon hurt the hunt. The wind also started blowing like crazy at around 3:30 or so. Jim doesn't have any kind of gaurantee on his one day hunts, but he's cutting me a deal on my next trip which is great.
Overall, it was a good day hunting. Jim was very knowledgable and he's got some good properties. I learned a lot out there. Other than no pigs, my only other complaint was that Jim tended to be about 50 feet ahead of me pretty much all day. I'm not in great shape, so I was lagging behind, but I wish he would have waited for me a bit more. If he came over a hill and spooked some pigs, I wouldn't have been able to get there quick enough to get off a shot. Small complaint that I could fix by continuing to work out.
I'll probably scheduel my return trip for Jan or Feb.....nowhere near a full moon.
voidecho
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Struck out again. Hunted from 6:30 am to 7:30 pm with a break around midday for lunch. It rained/poured on us all day and the pigs weren't moving in the wind and rain. Did some hunting through the woods trying to find them bedded, but never saw a single pig (until the drive home where I saw some 60 yards off the road 10 minutes after we stopped hunting). Hunted two different properties, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Tons of sign once again, but no pigs.
My next hunt is free.
My First Light base layer covered by my KUIU rain gear was put to the test and did wonderfully.
My next hunt is free.
My First Light base layer covered by my KUIU rain gear was put to the test and did wonderfully.
HogWild805
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Your chances should have actually been better hunting the morning of a full moon. The pigs will be more active during a full moon giving you a greater chance of catching them on the way to their bedding grounds.
voidecho
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That may have been true for the morning. My guide actually saw a boar heading back to his bed in the morning, but I was trailing behind him because I was so out of shape that by the time I got up there I couldn't see him through the woods. My guide said 95% of his clients get pigs in the afternoon, which I do believe was hurt by the full moon. If they were out all night and bedded later than usual, it makes sense they won't come out in the afternoon as early as they normally might. Plus 12/18 is one of the shortest days fo the year.
