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A couple months back I told you all that I booked a hunt with Ernie Sanders of D and E guide service out of Middletown, CA.
This hunt was an 18th birthday present for my daughter and best hunting partner, Cindy. . My biggest concern was the fact that he offered no guaranteed shot opportunity and he is a little higher priced than many of the other outfitters. His normal rate is $500 per hunter and if you get a hog, there is a $150 kill fee. He was running a special turkey/hog combo for $400 per hunter with $150 kill fee on hogs, no kill fee on turkeys.
I got a lot of emails from folks with mixed reviews most saying that Ernie was a little ornery but all agreed he is a hard hunter and everyone who emailed me said they got their pig or that they missed their shot. They all confirmed that Ernie can get you on the hogs.
Even though the outfitter is only 71 miles from the house, it is about an hour and forty minute ride due to the winding roads up the mountain. Because of this, we decided to leave Wednesday afternoon. We arrived in Middletown around 6pm and decided to go find Ernie's place (he lives on the edges of the ranches that he hunts) while it was still light out. I was getting worried because we were hitting light snow and heavy freezing rains on the ride up. When we got to Ernie's place, it wasn't much better, driving freezing rains.
When we drove by he was outside with his hired hand and assistant guide, Steve. I called him and told him we were there and just drove by. He says, "What??? You are here??? Well back over here and let's go hunt, this is the prime time!"
Cindy and I look at each other and couldn't believe it. Heck yes, let's do this. We flipped that truck around and headed back to his place. We filled out the paperwork and headed out.
Ernie is a stone cold, hard core hunter. He has access to many ranches but concentrates most of his hog efforts on two. The Comstock Ranch and the Guenoc Ranch (now Langtry Estates Winery). He knows the hogs and their patterns. When he is not hunting with customers, he is out scouting and hiking the ranches. He joked at one point that he knows just about every hog on the properties. He said, "I know every pig, and I know their families..."
So we headed out where he had a large group of hogs patterned. We drove out to the edge of the area and then hiked in. We set Cindy and Steve on a rock stand while Ernie and I hiked about a mile into another vista overlooking a flooded pasture.
With the storm, the wind had us all screwed up. It was blowing from us right to where the pigs were bedded. Although the pigs did not show themselves that night, we saw an abundance of other game. The properties are LOADED with resident and nesting waterfowl. I mean it was an awesome show sitting on those hillsdes listening and watching mallards, pintails, widgeon and geese zipping past and landing in the pastures and lakes all over the properties. We saw deer, rabbits, quail and turkeys. The amount and the quality of the game is insane.
We didn't see any hogs that night so Ernie sent us off to our hotel with strict instructions to return and be ready to head out at 0530 the following morning. Ernie took time to talk to me before the hunt and during our hunt that night to get an idea of our limitations and strengths. He knew I was disabled and thought he could work with me.
The next morning we arrived and he sent Cindy and Steve out to the same area we had been the night before. There was a ton of sign there and he was certain they could get a nice hog there. He and I drove a few miles around the canyon and came into the canyon we had been watching the night before. Now instead of having to walk a mile and a half over a hill and into marsh like pastures to get where the hogs were bedded, we were now only about 600 yards from their bedding area with a flat walk across some pastures.
Well just as he predicted, as the sun came up, there they were. A nice herd of hogs with about 8 shooters in them. There were also some pregnant sows and some wet sows. Those are off limits.
I grabbed my walking staff/shooting rest and my rifle and we began our stalk. The wind was absolutely perfect and in our face. We closed the gap to about 100 yards. I picked out a nice meat boar of about 175 to 200 pounds. I could see his tusks in the rising sun light and my heart began to pound. I got my stick set up and this is where the male bravado hurt me.
I should have sat down on the frozen ground, got comfortable and shot with my stick while locked in from a sitting position. I have shot this way many times and know that I can hit my target out to 300 yards. But no, not me. I didn't want to. I stayed in a standing position and I had some wobble to my rest. I got the boar in my sights and it was time to close the deal. I clicked off the safety and as I pulled the trigger, I felt myself pull my rifle to the left. I missed the shot. Damn! I saw the shot hit the rocks level with the hog but about a foot to the left of his head. I looked at Ernie as the hill side exploded with running pigs. I was embarrassed and Ernie about drug me by my ear back to the truck. He was apologizing to me because he felt it was his fault for not telling me to take a sitting or prone position from the middle of that pasture. I told him that was my fault and my bravado was so high at the point of the shot that I would have told him no anyway. We spent a while talking about our plan for the next time we encountered pigs. Then he joked, "well hell, you can't shoot, I am going to go pick up that daughter of yours and get her a pig. I am sure she can do better..." We both laughed and headed back to the stand where Cindy and Steve were. We switched rigs and Cindy and Ernie headed up over a brush covered hill side.
Steve and I headed out to a different vantage point of the valley that he and Cindy had been watching. We got set up and settled in for our morning hunt. We saw an abundance of game and a couple of predators (two coyotes). Around 10:30am I heard the crack of Cindy's Marlin 1898 .44 caliber lever action rifle. I love the sound of that gun. Short, sweet but crisp. A couple seconds later we hear another shot.
I tell Steve that has to be Cindy. A couple seconds after that, Steve's phone rings. Steve says, "that can only mean one thing....A hog has been shot." He and Ernie talk and Ernie confirms Cindy has hit a nice pig hard but it isn't down. It got into the thick brush and although, only 30 yards from where it was shot, it definitely isn't dead yet and it definitely isn't coming out without some negotiation.
We head over to their location with Ernie's Jack Russell Terriers in tow. Now you have to understand. Ernie is a 70 year old man. He has literally hunted all over the world and has killed all 27 game species on North America and all big game species in Africa. He is built sturdy and looks to be in good shape but, years have caught up to him and he is a step slower due to an injured back and two knee replacements. Well when it comes to going in and getting an angry hog out, none of this stuff matters. Ernie channells his younger self and heads in with a .357 at his side along with his dogs.
The dogs follow the blood trail and as expected the hog is bedded only about 30 yards from where it was shot, but the brush is nasty and thick and you just about have to crawl to get to the pig. He allows Cindy to come in and tells her that if it is safe and if there is a clean shot, she can finish the hog. Ernie and Cindy take two steps into the brush on the very steep hill, and that hog jumps to its feet and faces off with them. Ernie tells Cindy to stay back. She retreats back down to me. That hog charged Ernie and he let's it have it. One shot from the 357. The hog spins around backs up and faces off with him again. It charges him again and Ernie puts it down. Steve and Ernie drag it out and the celebration begins. After lots of high fives, hugs and photos, we get the pig loaded up in the jeep and head back to the ranch.
Ernie's wife made us sandwiches and snacks. We ate and recounted what just happened. Ernie and Steve then went to work skinning out the hog and talking to us more about what the rest of the day would hold. We got the hog on ice and took a mid-day nap.
Around 3:30pm we headed back out to the bush. Time to go find me a hog to shoot. Ernie got me on more hogs but it seems like everytime they were wet sows with piglets and we had already agreed those were off limits. This didn't stop him though and we kept at it, hard until the end. We headed back to where I missed the hogs that morning. Ernie promised me they would be out again. He said that group had been coming out evernight when the sun was going down. Well, like clockwork, they showed up on schedule and the two nice boars were still there.
We spotted them from about 500 yards out. Cindy, Ernie and I tried to stalk within shooting range. We used a small hillside for cover but the swirling winds changed and those pigs headed up the mountain into the thick brush. They held tight until it got dark and we never saw them again. I looked at my watch and realized that we had been at it for over 14 hours.
We thanked Ernie for the great adventure and headed back to his place. I paid him for the kill fee. I also booked a fully guided hunt with him and Steve for the opening day of the early goose season. If DFG doesn't have the early season again, then he is giving me opening day of Waterfowl season. He has 27 bodies of water and flooded pastures to hunt from. If you get your limits early, then he takes you bass fishing on one of the lakes. If you don't get your limits then he will keep you hunting until you do.
I think where people might have mis-understood Ernie is in the mindset. Ernie is 100 percent hunter all of the time. He doesn't really care about anything else. I suggest that if you book with him, you open your mind and be prepared to be in full on hunt mode. If you can't dedicate yourself to that, then don't go with him. He is all about hunting and all he cares about is being in the field and finding the animals for you. Listen to what he has to say and when he tells you to take a sitting rest, please listen to him.
Here is one of the pics of Cindy. This is from my camera phone. I will post up some better ones later. I have a hog to butcher this morning!!!! Whew-Hoo!!!!! :smiley-mouse:
This hunt was an 18th birthday present for my daughter and best hunting partner, Cindy. . My biggest concern was the fact that he offered no guaranteed shot opportunity and he is a little higher priced than many of the other outfitters. His normal rate is $500 per hunter and if you get a hog, there is a $150 kill fee. He was running a special turkey/hog combo for $400 per hunter with $150 kill fee on hogs, no kill fee on turkeys.
I got a lot of emails from folks with mixed reviews most saying that Ernie was a little ornery but all agreed he is a hard hunter and everyone who emailed me said they got their pig or that they missed their shot. They all confirmed that Ernie can get you on the hogs.
Even though the outfitter is only 71 miles from the house, it is about an hour and forty minute ride due to the winding roads up the mountain. Because of this, we decided to leave Wednesday afternoon. We arrived in Middletown around 6pm and decided to go find Ernie's place (he lives on the edges of the ranches that he hunts) while it was still light out. I was getting worried because we were hitting light snow and heavy freezing rains on the ride up. When we got to Ernie's place, it wasn't much better, driving freezing rains.
When we drove by he was outside with his hired hand and assistant guide, Steve. I called him and told him we were there and just drove by. He says, "What??? You are here??? Well back over here and let's go hunt, this is the prime time!"
Cindy and I look at each other and couldn't believe it. Heck yes, let's do this. We flipped that truck around and headed back to his place. We filled out the paperwork and headed out.
Ernie is a stone cold, hard core hunter. He has access to many ranches but concentrates most of his hog efforts on two. The Comstock Ranch and the Guenoc Ranch (now Langtry Estates Winery). He knows the hogs and their patterns. When he is not hunting with customers, he is out scouting and hiking the ranches. He joked at one point that he knows just about every hog on the properties. He said, "I know every pig, and I know their families..."
So we headed out where he had a large group of hogs patterned. We drove out to the edge of the area and then hiked in. We set Cindy and Steve on a rock stand while Ernie and I hiked about a mile into another vista overlooking a flooded pasture.
With the storm, the wind had us all screwed up. It was blowing from us right to where the pigs were bedded. Although the pigs did not show themselves that night, we saw an abundance of other game. The properties are LOADED with resident and nesting waterfowl. I mean it was an awesome show sitting on those hillsdes listening and watching mallards, pintails, widgeon and geese zipping past and landing in the pastures and lakes all over the properties. We saw deer, rabbits, quail and turkeys. The amount and the quality of the game is insane.
We didn't see any hogs that night so Ernie sent us off to our hotel with strict instructions to return and be ready to head out at 0530 the following morning. Ernie took time to talk to me before the hunt and during our hunt that night to get an idea of our limitations and strengths. He knew I was disabled and thought he could work with me.
The next morning we arrived and he sent Cindy and Steve out to the same area we had been the night before. There was a ton of sign there and he was certain they could get a nice hog there. He and I drove a few miles around the canyon and came into the canyon we had been watching the night before. Now instead of having to walk a mile and a half over a hill and into marsh like pastures to get where the hogs were bedded, we were now only about 600 yards from their bedding area with a flat walk across some pastures.
Well just as he predicted, as the sun came up, there they were. A nice herd of hogs with about 8 shooters in them. There were also some pregnant sows and some wet sows. Those are off limits.
I grabbed my walking staff/shooting rest and my rifle and we began our stalk. The wind was absolutely perfect and in our face. We closed the gap to about 100 yards. I picked out a nice meat boar of about 175 to 200 pounds. I could see his tusks in the rising sun light and my heart began to pound. I got my stick set up and this is where the male bravado hurt me.
I should have sat down on the frozen ground, got comfortable and shot with my stick while locked in from a sitting position. I have shot this way many times and know that I can hit my target out to 300 yards. But no, not me. I didn't want to. I stayed in a standing position and I had some wobble to my rest. I got the boar in my sights and it was time to close the deal. I clicked off the safety and as I pulled the trigger, I felt myself pull my rifle to the left. I missed the shot. Damn! I saw the shot hit the rocks level with the hog but about a foot to the left of his head. I looked at Ernie as the hill side exploded with running pigs. I was embarrassed and Ernie about drug me by my ear back to the truck. He was apologizing to me because he felt it was his fault for not telling me to take a sitting or prone position from the middle of that pasture. I told him that was my fault and my bravado was so high at the point of the shot that I would have told him no anyway. We spent a while talking about our plan for the next time we encountered pigs. Then he joked, "well hell, you can't shoot, I am going to go pick up that daughter of yours and get her a pig. I am sure she can do better..." We both laughed and headed back to the stand where Cindy and Steve were. We switched rigs and Cindy and Ernie headed up over a brush covered hill side.
Steve and I headed out to a different vantage point of the valley that he and Cindy had been watching. We got set up and settled in for our morning hunt. We saw an abundance of game and a couple of predators (two coyotes). Around 10:30am I heard the crack of Cindy's Marlin 1898 .44 caliber lever action rifle. I love the sound of that gun. Short, sweet but crisp. A couple seconds later we hear another shot.
I tell Steve that has to be Cindy. A couple seconds after that, Steve's phone rings. Steve says, "that can only mean one thing....A hog has been shot." He and Ernie talk and Ernie confirms Cindy has hit a nice pig hard but it isn't down. It got into the thick brush and although, only 30 yards from where it was shot, it definitely isn't dead yet and it definitely isn't coming out without some negotiation.
We head over to their location with Ernie's Jack Russell Terriers in tow. Now you have to understand. Ernie is a 70 year old man. He has literally hunted all over the world and has killed all 27 game species on North America and all big game species in Africa. He is built sturdy and looks to be in good shape but, years have caught up to him and he is a step slower due to an injured back and two knee replacements. Well when it comes to going in and getting an angry hog out, none of this stuff matters. Ernie channells his younger self and heads in with a .357 at his side along with his dogs.
The dogs follow the blood trail and as expected the hog is bedded only about 30 yards from where it was shot, but the brush is nasty and thick and you just about have to crawl to get to the pig. He allows Cindy to come in and tells her that if it is safe and if there is a clean shot, she can finish the hog. Ernie and Cindy take two steps into the brush on the very steep hill, and that hog jumps to its feet and faces off with them. Ernie tells Cindy to stay back. She retreats back down to me. That hog charged Ernie and he let's it have it. One shot from the 357. The hog spins around backs up and faces off with him again. It charges him again and Ernie puts it down. Steve and Ernie drag it out and the celebration begins. After lots of high fives, hugs and photos, we get the pig loaded up in the jeep and head back to the ranch.
Ernie's wife made us sandwiches and snacks. We ate and recounted what just happened. Ernie and Steve then went to work skinning out the hog and talking to us more about what the rest of the day would hold. We got the hog on ice and took a mid-day nap.
Around 3:30pm we headed back out to the bush. Time to go find me a hog to shoot. Ernie got me on more hogs but it seems like everytime they were wet sows with piglets and we had already agreed those were off limits. This didn't stop him though and we kept at it, hard until the end. We headed back to where I missed the hogs that morning. Ernie promised me they would be out again. He said that group had been coming out evernight when the sun was going down. Well, like clockwork, they showed up on schedule and the two nice boars were still there.
We spotted them from about 500 yards out. Cindy, Ernie and I tried to stalk within shooting range. We used a small hillside for cover but the swirling winds changed and those pigs headed up the mountain into the thick brush. They held tight until it got dark and we never saw them again. I looked at my watch and realized that we had been at it for over 14 hours.
We thanked Ernie for the great adventure and headed back to his place. I paid him for the kill fee. I also booked a fully guided hunt with him and Steve for the opening day of the early goose season. If DFG doesn't have the early season again, then he is giving me opening day of Waterfowl season. He has 27 bodies of water and flooded pastures to hunt from. If you get your limits early, then he takes you bass fishing on one of the lakes. If you don't get your limits then he will keep you hunting until you do.
I think where people might have mis-understood Ernie is in the mindset. Ernie is 100 percent hunter all of the time. He doesn't really care about anything else. I suggest that if you book with him, you open your mind and be prepared to be in full on hunt mode. If you can't dedicate yourself to that, then don't go with him. He is all about hunting and all he cares about is being in the field and finding the animals for you. Listen to what he has to say and when he tells you to take a sitting rest, please listen to him.
Here is one of the pics of Cindy. This is from my camera phone. I will post up some better ones later. I have a hog to butcher this morning!!!! Whew-Hoo!!!!! :smiley-mouse:
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