Adobe ranch Archery hunt

[JustGuy]

Ok guys,
As some might notice my another post me asking for info about Adobe Ranch (formerly known as Cotton Wood), i received an invitation to hunt this ranch with my bow. He even has his website http://www.smithadobe.com/

My initial reaction was : "No way, i do not do any guided hunts", then i remembered reading some posts on this forum and that all hunts there are "semi-guided" which is already better but still not very appealing to me.
I decided to clarify it with Erik and quickly understood what he meant for my hunt. His intention was to drive me around for 1/2-1 hour to show the boundaries, than drop me off at the ranch and leave me on my own. In case i kill something he offered to call him so he can come with his truck to help me to take the game.

Good, it is what i like and it is what i was looking for. The only thing i have a hunting partner and i feel some loyalty and obligation to make all affords to include him as well.
I asked Erik if it was OK with him, and received a positive replay. So we are GTG, but another issue came up, my partner works till 4PM meaning we can start our trip only at 5-5:30 PM, meaning we would be at the ranch at dark, so no tour will be possible.

I decided to put a new thread on JHO asking for help knowing that many of you hunted this property with rifle and maybe willing to help. I hopped to get some information which i could translate to my archery self guided hunt.
However, the luck played well and my hunting partner could get out of his work around 11:45AM and by 12:45 we were on our way.

Arriving at the ranch Erik greeted us, gave quick explanation, we jumped in his truck and he showed as boundaries of the property and a couple of potentially good spots to locate pigs. Than he drooped us off at the "Rumpus Room" were we would stay.

The "Rumpus Room" is actually an older house with nice interior. it is definitely not a 5 star hotel, but it is very nice and more than enough for out purposes. At least it was more than i expected to have. It has fully functional kitchen, bathroom, one bedroom and large living room with fireplace. I can imagine sitting in front of the fireplace in the winter after day of hunting having some hot coffee, or maybe some better alternative as whiskey.


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We quickly settled in, took our bows and went off. The weather was great, only 104F, so i felt nice and pleasant as a bucket of popcorn in the oven opcorn:

When we arrived to the river bed we decided to split and My Hunting Partner (MHP) went on the left side and i on the right side of the river bed.

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There were many signs of pigs but nothing fresh. many fresh deer, coyote, bobcat footprints. many rabbits, bivers, but no pigs.
We spent all the evening hunt in the south-west part of the property without seeing any pigs or any fresh pig signs.

At the dark we returned to the ranch to prepare for dinner, to discuss our next day hunt and rest a little.
Erik joined us for the dinner and we shared with him our observations. He told us that last weekend there was a group of hunters.
I think maybe this is the reason that pigs were not in the area in addition to the "chilly" 104F weather.

Next morning we decided to investigate the other north-east part of the river. We choose the same tactic, MHP went on the left side and i stayed on the right - the ranch side of the river.
The area looked very promising with many pig trails and tunnels.

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But again, no fresh signs.
Slowly walking on my side a ketch a movement on the other side of the river something 90-100 yards behind MHP. It was a pig running along the fence line minding his own business not paying a slightest attention to two people standing there. The shot was too long for archery and the pig was running, so there was no chance to get this pig. I took the note of time. It was exactly 6:20 AM. The rest of the hunt was uneventful, all beading areas were vacant, no fresh signs of pigs and by 10 Am we headed back to the ranch to worm up a little in the room temperature( there is some king of cooling devise which help a little), because by 10AM it was already filling like more than 100F.

Evening hunt did not produce anything as well, and in addition we had to cut it short because of the huge thunderstorm was moving our way, the wind was blowing so hard i had difficult time of keeping myself in vertical position and this wind was blowing dust so it was difficult to see past 80-100 yards.

back at the ranch i was thinking to to make the best out of our last tomorrow's morning hunt.
Being hunting pigs for a while and knowing their behavior a little i thought since this pig did not look distracted or spooked, did not pay attention to us, it is a good chance this pig is going to be at the same time in the same place. Since we did not see any other pig activity for two days, it was our best chance to see something.
Next morning we positioned our self in the general area where we saw this pig but closer to the fence line.

MHP stayed at the beginning of the area where the pig appeared, and i went some 300 yard further to a higher place where i had a view of the area about a mile a way, and in addition the area getting narrower there, so i had a good view of the river bed should pig go there and also the fence line where we last saw him.

At 6AM we were settled and ready for fight. My hope was that pig comes to the place where MHP was so he would get him. He is a good shooter and i did not expect any surprises on this department. Than, if for some unlikely reason he misses, the pig would be running by the fence line 20 yards away or on the river bed 40 yards. Everything seemed to be covered as much as two hunter could.

Sure enough at 6:08 i sow a pig crossing fields towards MHP location. I radioed MHP explaining him where he should expect the pig come from.
Pig crossed the field and disappeared behind a hill. I hooked my release and started to wait for the death cry or pig running towards me whichever comes first. Seemed like an easy hunt with already sure results.
And i'm waiting, and waiting and those minutes feel like days.

Than i hear something is running through bushes in-front of me some 100 yards away and radio started yelling with MHP voice:" Pig is running towards you, be ready"... and at this second i see the pig galloping on the other side of the river. I put my range finder on it, 82 yards, no way i can get it on a running pig. I started running in parallel in hope it will get closer to the river bad. In this case it would be 45-60 yards shoot or maybe he will stop, so i'd have some chance of getting him. But no, the area became wider and eventually he ran in bushes on the next property not to be seen again.

I radioed MHP to get more info and he told me that pig was running some 20 yards from him as it was expected, he took a shot, he herd that arrow hit the pig, he heard how pig makes this "HaaK" noise which bow hunters know what i'm talking about, pig runs 60-70 yards, stops, turns back, looks at MHP and takes off along the fence line.
The only problem it did not run all the way, at some point he turned right, crossed the river and ran on the other side of it.

I asked MHP to find the arrow and see if it has blood on it. There was no blood. Now i was confused, the pig made this noise, means he got hit, the arrow did not fly far, it was right there meaning it hit something, but it was no blood on the arrow, i did not see any blood on the pig. Some mystery.
I went to investigate the are I saw the pig running, found his footprints. No blood. I went all the way to the bush it disappeared, no blood on leafs or branches the pig would rub against, so the pig was not injured, but why it made this noise and why arrow did not fly away?

We hunted for a little while more and than i went to see MHP who definitely was pissed of and frustrated. i wonted to "comfort" him a little but more i wanted to understand what happened.
He again told be the story. Than I asked him to show his arrow which he used. Quick glance reviled damaged fletching. MHP told me that he took new arrows for this hunt, so there is no way the fletching was damaged before. What i think is the arrow hit the wire of the fence and changed the trajectory, it simply hit the pig sideways without inflicting any injury which explains the pig's cry and why arrow did not fly away.

It would be interesting to check it again not so soon after rifle hunt to see the true potential for the archery hunts on this ranch.

 

[JustGuy]

Here are some more pictures of adobe ranch

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[Uncle Bambi]

I'm still thinking about that stupid pig. I haven't slept well in two days - he's in my friggin' dreams as soon as I close my eyes.

 

[JustGuy]

You need to go back and retaliate. Easy ig-laughing: :archer green: http://www.smithadobe.com/

And BTW, the pig was not stupid, it was smart, it overplayed us

 

[julian999]

I will try my luck to bow hunt for pig on the ranch by the end of the year.
Nice recap Justguy....

 

[THE ROMAN ARCHER]

Thanks for sharing your weekend wild pig hunting adventure story and photos my friend.
With the extreme heat in the triple digits it doesn't help with the day time activity and animal movement. It wasn't a full moon weekend was it.....lol......tra

 

[JustGuy]

It wasn't a full moon weekend was it.....lol......tra

We actually were after pigs, not werewolves or vampires since i forgot to take my silver arrows with me and MHP has allergy on vampires, he starts sneezing heavily in their presence and scares all pigs away, so i did not pay much attention to the moon phase LOL.

But seriously, no, it was not, but i think the most serious contribution to the pigs' absence in the area was the weather and the fact that property was hunted heavily less than a week before.

 

[huntingbret]

The area is heavily hunted and getting a shot at a moving pig with a stick and string is difficult. Your friend getting a shot off was pretty impressive. It would have been two pigs down for sure with your rifles. Good luck next time you guys.

 

[Uncle Bambi]

That pig was the luckiest pig in Madera County - the arrow deflected off the middle strand of barbed wire and hit him a glancing blow. He grunted/huffed, and took off. I was not able to get another good shot.

 

[Adstaxidermyshoppe]

Something that's on my mind.... Why did you attack the bitterwater guy (Libby) in his post about advertising and baiting and guided hunt and blah blah blah. You just did the exact same thing! First you asked if anyone can put you in a place to kill a close, slow or standing pig on a trail for a self guided hunt...little hypocritical? So did adobe ranch give you a discount for advertising for him, with Pics of the accommodations and all?

 

[JustGuy]

You know, i even will not answer this stupidity.
I feel sorry for you if you do not understand the difference.

 

[Adstaxidermyshoppe]

I simply asked a question. I know you post your opinions on the forum a lot. I really dont care how many posts you have "achieved". I know what you would like yourself perceived as. But this shows your real nature. I won't waste my time arguing or fighting with you in the public eye. It was simply an observation. That's all. By the way, your English is horrible. Just another observation.

 

[Hikingwithguns]

Nice story, I killed my first ever pig on property just a bit up the road from there. That is a fantastic area that is just overrun with pigs.

Also, I am the grandson of immigrants so don't let the haters get you down, I would say your english is fine, where are you from originally?

 

[Adstaxidermyshoppe]

On another note, just to clear things up...aren't all animals "baited" in some way? If your a smart hunter, you use your preys habitual nature to succeed. You hunt food, water, or routes in between. So according to your opinion, because you like to hunt without a guide, you are the almighty hunter. All those big names, like Ted nugent, Brian quaca,Fred eichler, Bill Jordan, Jim shockey (you know those guys who do way for more hunting than you ever will); who hire guides, or are guides, and hunt food or water or routes in between are not as good as you? Or all we all fricks? Because I love to hunt, I'm a taxidermist, and a guide. I'm a guide because I'm willing to take people I don't know to places they havnt been to have a good time. I've taken newbies to big horn ranch to harvest their first animal. According to you that makes us fricks who aren't real hunters. I've taken people to Utah to hunt elk, deer, bear, moose and antelope over water holes, alfalfa fields, sage flats, meadows, and even yes bait stations. So does that make me and my hunters fricks or killers? What's the difference between bitter water, rhinos, tejon, etc, etc, etc taking guys to hunt pigs over water, barley, grass flats, frickin salt licks, feeders, grapes, oranges, apples, almonds, acorns, or walk up and down a damn river or a property boundary or what the frick ever? To all his own, whatever floats their boat, whatever makes you happy right? I think maybe you should check to see if your tongue is attached to your brain before attacking someone.

 

[JustGuy]

Adstaxidermyshoppe
See my answer above, i do not want to waste my time on you if you do not understand the difference, just relax, boy.
And my English is much better than your ability to speak 5 other languages i speak.
Don't try to offend me, i do not carry for barks of little dogs like you.

 

[Adstaxidermyshoppe]

I wasn't trying to offend you at first, then you called me a frick and jumped all over me for stating my thoughts.It irritated me at the time, So I apologize for the horrible English comment.thats not usually my style. Point is, some people judge others on a whim and turn around and do the same. I just noticed that some are very one sided opinion wise. You need to be more open thought wise for the way people are. Some don't mind put and take, or guided hunts. If that's not you so be it. But don't get all defensive when called out for the same comments you've made to others. I know I don't like reading about someone's experience then see a post from a guy who bashes them or the outfitter for no reason. Call me whatever you want, but I find humor in giving people a taste of their own medicine, in hopes that they realize they need to take a look in the mirror from time to time.

 

[CottonwoodHunting]

POINT #1

I have never done archery before and I do not currently offer archery hunts on the ranch. My goal is to offer quality group rifle hunts for a fair price. I am considering offering archery hunts in the future. I need to learn more about archery hunting. I saw that JustGuy did archery and had nearly 1,000 posts here on the forum. Having never JustGuy before, I offered him a free hunt in exchange for posting a thread with an objective opinion of the hunting. I told him that he could write a positive or negative review, but it was simply my goal to learn more about the feasibility of archery hunting pigs on the ranch. JustGuy told me that he did not want an easy hunt. JustGuy was hesitatnt to accept my offer. He is clearly not the type to pay for hunts, and he made that clear. I am glad JustGuy accepted my offer. JustGuy is truly a badass hunter who is intelligent, good-natured, and offered insightful information.

POINT #2:

I do not need JustGuy or anyone else to advertise for me on this site. I pay an annual fee to Jesse, the owner of Jesse's Hunting & Outdoors, for the right to post on the forums. For example, here is me spamming: GO TO MY WEBSITE ITS THE BEST WEBSITE EVER: WWW.SMITHADOBE.COM. One of the reasons the Jesse's Hunting & Outdoors forum is so well-managed and has provided such quality for so many years is because of paid sponsors. That's what keeps the world humming.

Thank you!

 

[JustGuy]

Sure, i'm very open, please tell me, a person's THE FIRST and THE LAST post about how good the "hunt" was without any details, standing in a clean just ironed cloths.
Maybe my English is poor, maybe i'm opinionated, maybe i'm a poor bastard who can't afford to go to Africa, but i hunted a little, and i been on forums a little, so i can make a difference when a person is a hunter or a butcher.
And i do not care if someone hired a guide and tells the story, but this particular one was not a story, it was pure advertisement of not existent person. I'm sure that the outfitter opened an account on his behalf just to put his name out.

Doesn't it say something about this outfitter if he needs this kind of advertisement. I have a business myself, and i never use those tricks even though i could advertise here and get more clients.

But anyway, you will not understand it because of my horrible English.
You also should have mentioned something about immigrants overrunning your beloved country... No worries, i've heard it before. Does not move me. I'm in 1% and couldn't carry less what you think and what you say.
It is a pity that you can let such things deceive you and not see the difference.

One more thing, i told it many times, "don't tell me what to do so i'll not tell you where to go". Before giving advise, you better do it yourself.

 

[JustGuy]

Erik, thanks for clarifications. I was not sure if you wanted to disclose the true reason of this hunt, so i did not discussed it on this forum.

And again, my review was 100% intended for two things.
1. To gave a true, and i insist, true story of the hunt. Not stupid advertisement like "Or, go there, this is the best place, blah blah blah. "
Erik time after time told me to give a true story, no matter if i like it there or not. And i hope i did.

2. To learn this property as much as i could in order to maybe be useful to archery hunter on this ranch, or maybe to Erik should he decide to guide archery hunts( It is absolutely different approach for his property than the rifle hunts).

And trust me, the ones who know me, and being very opinionated as you already labeled me and strait forward person, if i did not like it there, i'd put it here, no matter what.

 

[adam32]

Sounds like it was a good time. My buddy hunts a ranch in that area, I haven't made it down there yet. Any long range hunting available??