wtpops

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 30, 2005
Messages
430
Reaction score
4
Hey all just got back from a great weekend, going to try to give you a blow by blow.

But first, A great time was had by all, good food, good people and what can you say about Choppers pigs,pigs,and more pigs and a great host. Thank You Chopper.

Well i leave the house about 9:00 am, i live in Coalinga and travel 198 to 25 and up to Choppers, about half way up 25 off to my right i see this:

IMG_1918.jpg


I count about 32 of them and four are calfs. Good start,Im getten good vibs already. Then I pull up to the gate about 11:00 am and start my wait for the rest of the crew. Weather is just right all is quite i look in my rear view and see this:

IMG_1919.jpg


IMG_1922.jpg


IMG_1923.jpg


This guy was good size.

the rest of the crew showed just after noon as planed and we all started up the hill with Chopper in the leed. on the way up we had to stop and do a little road maintainance, the rain and snow were a little hard on the roads:

IMG_1926.jpg


IMG_1928.jpg


We made it to the cabin everyone met, grab there bunks and couches to sleep on, Chopper then laided down the ground rules and off on the tour we went. Pig sign every where, I saw a place i liked and put my mark on it everyone else found a spot they liked. Made it back to the cabin and the dust or should i say mud flew it was hunting time.

I got parked about 4:00 or so and started into my spot i found a place that had some trails leading to a creek looked good so i ploped down in a rock pile about 4:30 and started my wait.

Here is where it gets good. About 5:10 a big black boar with a white band around his chest comes down the hill, starts to nose around and gets to about 15 yards from me, my heart is going of course, he turns quartering away and stands there as to say go ahead and shoot me if you can. I draw hit my anchor and zip it all felt good arrow was on its way to the sweet spot. Well right about the sound of the bow going off the boar dips his right sholder pushes off with his frount feet and #^$#$$#, missed by that much. It was a perfect shot the arrow went right where i wanted to, the pig was just not there when the arrow got there.

So now im trying to calm down and about 15 min later i hear noise behind me. I start to turn, get about half way around and im busted by a boar about 12 yards away i freeze and about 15 pigs come over the nobb. The one that busted me snorts and trots about 4 or 5 yards and stops. It looks like i have a shot at a black boar about 20 yards off and i decide to take it, Im getting ready to draw and they start to spook so i rush to draw and anchor and zip right over his back, this one was my bad, if i would have made a good shot there would have been one in the cooler the first night.

So now im trying to get my pulse down to a normal level. 20 min goes by and about 8 more hogs are on there way feeding right to me and we all know what happens now, the wind, it switches and there off to the races.

By now it starting to get dark and who do i see but the black boar with the white stripe, he decides he wants to try again, he feeds his way in behind a bush and tree about 8 yards from me, I am at half draw waiting for him to clear the tree and $%#&^%$ he spooks and is gone in a heart beet.

Its to dark to see so off to the truck i go and for the first 50 to 60 yards i can hear hogs all over the place. i get to the cabin and stories and food abound. Get to sleep and yes i dream about hogs.

Im up early and off i go back to my spot i get there a little late, its about 5:40, sun starts up and there is just enough light to see. I hear some noise comming and i stand up to get ready, as soon as this hog clears the trees he looks right at me, i freez he takes 2 steps and stares at me then 2 to 3 and looks again then he does it, 2 steps and stops with his head right behind a tree, I come to full draw he takes a few more steps and zip right through the good stuff, he turns runs right back up the hill, loops around comes back down and dies right in the middle of the road, THATS RIGHT 0 DRAG, got to love it. here is what he looks like:

IMG_1931.jpg


IMG_1936.jpg


IMG_1934.jpg


Im going to have a euro mount done.

And thank you to oneshotshooter and calhunter for the help loading into the truck and taking the pics thanks again.

Well its only about 6:10 am now so off the the skinning. Get done with the work part of hunting thanks to Choppers help. I learned a few things to, never to old to learn.

Chopper and the Misses start to load up to go cut some trees that fell during the storms, ive got one in the cooler, its early so i offer some help and off we go:

IMG_1946.jpg


Trixy even gets in on the fun
IMG_1944.jpg


Heres a pic of the view from the cabin on a cold friday evening:

IMG_1952.jpg


Spent the rest of the weekend chasing pigs but no more luck ( as if i didnt have enough already).

Heres a pic of more critters on the ranch:

IMG_1955.jpg


And here is a very rare sight:

IMG_1957.jpg


And might i add not a happy camper when he needs to help wash up!

The weekend is over Chopper and i cut up my hog in small enough peices to fit in my ice chest and off i go, down close to the main gate is see this, i must have driven by it half a dozen times and never saw it, must be an old homested:

IMG_1960.jpg


Well thats all folks hoped you liked the picture show. It was one great weekend, thanks again all, and a big hats off to Chopper.

O i almost forgot IM GOING UP AGAIN IN TWO WEEKS TO DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN
<
 

brut

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 8, 2003
Messages
881
Reaction score
2
Sounds like a great trip
<
I cant wait until I get my first chance at choppers in may
<
 

UPER

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 23, 2003
Messages
405
Reaction score
2
Nice job sounds like everyone had a good time. I'm jealous! congrats on a nice boar
<
 

bhrhunts

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 7, 2006
Messages
201
Reaction score
0
<
Nice work, great hog, he'll be a handsome mount. Really enjoyed the story and all the pix too! Thank you!
 

AZ Jim

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 14, 2006
Messages
835
Reaction score
13
Great story and pictures. Congrats !

Thanks for sharing.

Love the recurve bow!


AZ Jim
 

kingwouldbe

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 4, 2006
Messages
513
Reaction score
16
wtpops, Real bow,
<
real boar,
<
you must be a real hunter .
<
 

Gomer76825

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 14, 2007
Messages
1,180
Reaction score
5
Nice oinker, thanks for the story and the pics, looks like a great trip
<
 

Kentuck

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 19, 2001
Messages
3,648
Reaction score
47
Congrats Pops! Looks like you've got things dialed in at Chopper's.
 

Zbearclaw

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 8, 2003
Messages
3,495
Reaction score
17
Pretty cool, are the other hunters going to chime in, or can you let us know their success rate, hunters/hogs killed.

That sucker has some teefeses, he will look great on a pedestal.
 

wyemjohnson

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 25, 2006
Messages
302
Reaction score
3
you can see my report on the other thread, "10 more days till Choppers"
 

DEERSLAM

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 10, 2006
Messages
4,352
Reaction score
0
Great story and pics, thanks for sharing. Oh and congrats on a fine hog
<
 

THE ROMAN ARCHER

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 3, 2006
Messages
8,535
Reaction score
1,102
great story and photos
<
sound like another exciting weekend at Choppers and cant wait till may for our hunt, long days and great weather and wild pigs to chase. way to represent Wtpops, very nice hog and cutters!
what broadhead
<
did the job?............tra
 

tradman

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 6, 2006
Messages
352
Reaction score
1
I didn't put one down, but it wasn't for a lack of opportunity. As it was my first trip out to Chopper's, I spent the first day and a half kind of figuring out the lay of the land. But on the second day around 3:00, I started to get into hogs. I chose to wander around "the back 40" where no one else seemed to be going. Chopper sort of encouraged me to check out a particular couple of places, so off I went laying down boot leather. Anyway, as I rounded a bend on a trail which led to a nice meadow, I snuck up on 2 big fat, wet sows and 4 footballs rooting through the green grass. I hunkered down in some brush to just watch the action in the hopes that a nice boar would join them at the buffet. After about 15 minutes, they had fed to within 70-80 yards of me, then the wind switched, up went one sows head, she let out a big snort, and they hauled butt out of there down a ravine on the opposite side of the meadow. Now I was pumped.

Encouraged by what I had seen, I continued slowly down the trail. Not 200 yards later, a nice young boar crossed over the path in front of me at 60 yards. I tried to get up on him, but he never slowed down and just kept trotting along down into a drainage into the thick and nasty and up over a ridge. Then, when I got about 20 yards down the trail, same thing happens. Only this time I hear it before it gets to the trail. But, same thing. I hear it grunting away as it approaches the trail and as it crosses the trail in front of me at 30 yards, I just don't get time to get my bow up. Off it goes up the same ridge through the tunnels.

This same scenario gets played out 2 more times. I just couldn't react fast enough to get off a shot.

Next day I got winded on 2 stalks on nice boars in the same area. All told, I probabaly saw 20-ish pigs, and had at least 4 decent shot opportunities, if I had been able to react.

The ranch was great, Chopper was an excellent host, and the company was top-notch. I for one will definitely be going back. This is one good HUNT. You're going to walk, you're going to hump hills, and you're going to have to be on top of your game. There're no gimme's in this place, you're going to work for your pig, and that's how I like it. (It's also loaded with deer and turkeys BTW)

Congrats on your boar Pops. Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy. And thanks to Calhunter for arranging the trip. And big, big thanks to Chopper for opening up this great ranch for all of us to hunt! See some of you in a few weeks at Chamberlain, the rest, I hope we get to hunt together another time.
 

rwlittle

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 20, 2001
Messages
421
Reaction score
1
<
well done, Pops!!

Man I gotta get back down there!!!!
 

BDB

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 10, 2002
Messages
6,630
Reaction score
2
Sounds like the hogs were thick this trip, and with the full moon no less. Congrats to everyone. wtpops, that's a great hog, congrats and thanks for all the pics, they were awesome!
<
 
Top Bottom