.375H&H enough for an 80lb pig?

[songdog]

Had a great time at the January Tejon POR. Saw plenty of pigs the first day but the fog blew in and 4pm and visibility was down to about 20ft. It rained, snowed, sleeted, hailed and every other form of precipitation that you can imagine that first night. Woke up to white on the ground (mainly ice) and super thick fog leaving the visibility about 20ft.

Drove around looking for an opening in the weather and giving it our best effort but glassing across a canyon wasn't going to cut it when you couldn't see past the hood ornament on the truck. Stopped by the gate and ran into one of the guides taking a small group (4 trucks) out to the desert area. They said it was really windy but at least clear. They weren't kidding about the wind. 50-60mph sustained (yup, measured on one of those little wind machines). Air temp was about 30F without the wind so it made for a nice pleasant winter day if you're from Saskatchewan.

Managed to actually get into a group of pigs out in the desert and take two of the smaller ones in the group (not me, second buddy shot the second pig). Nothing huge, about 80lbs but when you have to carry them out like this up about 1000 vertical feet, 80lbs is plenty big.

Tejon Desert Pig

The #1 in .375H&H shooting a 300gr partition to the head of the pig in the picture seemed to work pretty well. I didn't want Specmisser to bring up that whole "under gunned" thing again so I figured I'd allow for a fair margin of error. Don't loose too much meat when you shoot them in the head either

All in all, great time. Tejon folks are definitely first class. Ron was particularly helpful and just an all around good guy to talk to.

 

[dreaminhogs]

Good for you Songdog.

 

[songdog]

Couple more pics for good measure...

Pig and Ruger #1H in .375H&H - "Beauty and the Beast"

Hairly little fella

Top of the canyon..ways from the bottom with a pig on your back

Ice covered oaks

Ice, ice and more ice

 

[UPER]

Nice pig! guess dragging it out was out of the question HUH!

 

[MNHNTR]

Hey Songdog! Thanks for the Posters! haha....Looks like you had a good,albeit cold time!

 

[grtwythunter]

Congrats Jonathan.

I saw the clouds piled up on the mountains all weekend and wondered how you were faring. Did you run across DILPRXO up there by chance?

Scott

 

[bubba]

Congrats on the pig. Cool pics.

 

[Speckmisser]

375H&H?

Dangit, boy! I told you NEVER use anything smaller than .416 Rigby!

Glad you scored, Songbird. I love hunting Tejon, but that weather up there... makes it tough! Perseverance is the key, I reckon.

By the way, you're dead on about Ron. He's the only Tejon guide I've really met so far, but if they're all like him, it's easy to see why so many folks go back to hunt there!

Hey Scott, it looks like it would've been a great time to go up "my" road! I bet that ice would've made it really interesting.

 

[grtwythunter]

Hey Speck, you're not gonna catch me any where near that road now that I found the easy way in

I'm wondering if DILPRXO tried it? Haven't seen him report in yet.

Scott

 

[songdog]

Didn't see any other JHPers there but was out before sunup and back after sundown each day so there wasn't much socializing unfortunatley. We stopped to pull someone out of a mess in their truck and to check on a couple of other guys with flashlights walking along the road in the dark but other than that didn't get to talk to any other hunters up there.

The weather did make the roads a bit interesting. Ice in the am that melted into small rivers of mud in the afternoon. Someone had a new H1 Hummer with snow chains (go figure) that tore up the roads pretty badly. Followed him to one hill that I had earlier come down (while icey) but was now a river of mud. He turned around after giving it a shot and took the long way around back to the valley floor to the north and went around. I figured if Tejon roads couldn't kill Specmisser then I was probably pretty safe. Bronco powered up the 100 yard stretch of mud safely. There's a lot to be said for a 30 year old Ford truck with good tires and a nut with good life insurance behind the steering wheel.

I think that the success rate was around 30% by the time that we last talked to Barbara. 40 some odd pigs for 150 hunters. Really not too bad considering the weather. I'm still amazed though at the number of guys that try and road hunt and then complain that there are "no pigs on the ranch" (Ron's words not mine). I'd have to concur. I never saw one from the truck but 50-60 over the weekend while walking away from the roads.

Just a quick note for Specmisser and anyone going on the JHP hunt there - if everyone pitched in an extra $5-10-20 you could get something pretty nice for Ron, Cody, etc. A nice Dozier knife for each of them or something. Give it to them Friday when you show up and my guess is it would go a long way for JHP and put more than the average number of pigs in the coolers.

 

[Speckmisser]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div>

Just a quick note for Specmisser and anyone going on the JHP hunt there - if everyone pitched in an extra $5-10-20 you could get something pretty nice for Ron, Cody, etc. A nice Dozier knife for each of them or something. Give it to them Friday when you show up and my guess is it would go a long way for JHP and put more than the average number of pigs in the coolers.[/b]

Interesting thought. I was thinking about seeing if folks were willing to put in for an informal big pig pool (you apparently need a permit to award monetary prizes for game animals). But maybe this wouldn't be a bad idea.

I wonder how many of you other guys have received advice or assistance from the guides at a Tejon hunt?

 

[songdog]

From my limited experience with the Tejon guys, they give the same kind of advice that I would give if I were them. If some yahoo comes up and asks where they can shoot a 400lb jackpot pig from their truck they'll get a polite but non substantive answer - "pigs are where pigs are". Rather, ask them if they've been seeing pigs above the snow line or deep in the canyons or on the south facing slopes late in the afternoon feeding on acorns or grass and you're likely to get some more useful info.

These guys guide almost every week of the year. Be good to them, give them good tool that they wouldn't probably spend the $200 on themselves but that they would use every day of the year and you've made a friend.

This is how they make their living. Help them with that and you'd be surprised at how helpful they can be.

 

[oneclearshot]

Songdog and Speck, Good thought and very soundly stated.....always in good standing to share more than just info! I'm all for, kicking in to the coffer for a good Blade or any other manner of useful importance.....knick-knacks only collect dust on the Mantel, (like antlers in the garage....oh, sorry Speck) but give somebody somethin' they can throw in their Warbag, toolbox, tacklebox, hang on their Back or Belt....and they've got somethin' with a purpose! When I was a youngster just learnin' the ropes, my Granddad always said, "Bobby, before you leave a man's land, you offer him some of your take...whether it's rabbit, pheasant, squirrel or duck....and you'll sure as shootin' get permission the next time you ask"! Those just weren't words of courtesy....they were words of wisdom. It's even worked here in CA., where some of us know how the Hunting Community can be viewed by Landowners, because of a few who've gone before us, with a "Less-than-Sensible" manner of conducting business! Anyway, if either of you guys take on the "Collection of Funds" for the afore mentioned gratuity....count ME in! As I plan on bein' at the Slam and hope for as much as a good hunt....as I do a good time!
(Sorry Speck about the antler crack...my Javelina head is in my Den over the fireplace, ONLY because it was up there BEFORE my new wife came INTO the house)! Take Care Guys, and GOOD HUNTING!

Bob

 

[Rimrock]

Congradulations, Jonathan.

 

[Freedivr2]

Congrats, songdog! That should be a great eatin hog for ya.

A little tip that I learned this year that you might consider........get yourself a packframe for packing out game. You might have to make two trips (depending on the size of the critter, you might have to cut him in half), but it sure is about the easiest way I've ever taken a deer from the field back to the truck.........just a thought........

 

[songdog]

I actually had two pack frames in the truck for just such an occasion. If he's big enough that you can't throw him over your shoulders like this and you have to cut him in half/quarters the pack frame is the hot ticket. This guy was small enough that the over the shoulder routine worked pretty well. Just make sure you have a game bag or something to put over your neck/shoulders unless you like the feeling of warm pig blood running down the back of your neck...

The fanny pack that I'm wearing (not that visible) actually has a small frame that assembles/disassembles and stores in the bottom of the pack. Kind of nice to be able to hunt with a fanny pack but assemble the frame and have good shoulder straps and a weight carrying belt when you have a critter ready to strap on to it. This works a lot better for something like an elk quarter that doesn't have four convenient handles built in (legs).

 

[DILPRXO]

Hey Scott, it looks like it would've been a great time to go up "my" road! I bet that ice would've made it really interesting

Philip...Your road is waiting for you.

It only let me out alive if I promised not to tell what new surprise it had for coffee starved hunters.

Then it took a bite out of the bumper of the Avalance.

In all seriourness..yes..we tried to use it and it is completely impassable..it has a washout/trench going through the middle of it that is about 4 foot wide by 3 foot deep about a quarter of the way up.

In short, We went two for two... I took a boar off of "Roadmisser Ridge" that Barbara logged in at 160lbs Friday night. My partner took a boar logged in at 78lbs on Sunday evening.

I met 3 of the guides this trip..Ron, Tony, and Steve and they are great folks and it was a pleasure meeting all of them.

Congrats on your hog Songdog...

 

[Speckmisser]

Way to go, Chris!

That's a good sized boar. Did he have any measurable tusk?

Thanks for the recon on my road, too.

Scott, you'll have to show me how to find that other entrance. What's it gonna cost me?

Sounds like "Roadmisser Ridge" pays out again!

 

[One Track]

SongDog and Dilprxo:

Congrats on a successful hunt. Great photos!

Barbara mentioned yesterday that the success was 50%!

And, I concure, the guides up at Tejon are great. ElkRon has been a big help to me on more than one occassion.

Anybody going up in March? I'm chomping at the bit.

 

[grtwythunter]

Way to go Chris

Glad to hear you guys scored

Man....now I can't wait for May to get here.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div>

Scott, you'll have to show me how to find that other entrance. What's it gonna cost me?[/b]

I don't know Phillip....I'd say you could help me drag my hog out, but Ive already got a couple of those coming

I'd probably settle for some Wild Turkey around the campfire. Man...that's good stuff

Scott