Big Horn Canyon Ranch?

[cmmorales3]

Has anyone ever been to the Big Horn Canyon Ranch for pigs and if so what did you think of it.

 

[larrysogla]

Just read the previous posts in this forum regarding Big Horn Canyon Ranch. The comments are that the Big Horn hogs are too tame and behave just like farm raised domestic pigs, not wild boar behaviour at all. The better alternative.....more exciting and more challenging would be the "Tejon Hunt in May-May 14-16" that is planned by folks that have done the Tejon Hunt before for several years now. That is a good way to get a bargain hog hunt on prime hog ranch property. Just read about that "Tejon Hunt...." post in this forum.
Hope that helps.
'Nuff said
larrysogla

 

[CalTurkey]

The hogs at BHCR are farm pigs (see ear tags).

I went there and stalked (aka, walked) within 5 feet of a pair of "ferrel" hogs. I could have gone primitive and wacked both of them with a large rock. After saying "hi" to them, I walked on by.

The good things I can say is that the staff is very friendly, this a place for new hunters, celebrities(see pictures in the office) and/or kids, from So Cal you can be home by 1 PM with a 90% success rate depending on your shooting skills, and you can learn how to dress game. Also, the cost is not too much more than buying a farm pig and filling the freezer.

 

[Rippinlip3991]

It all depends on what YOU want. Tejon is an awesome place to hunt, but it is hard hunting and the success rate is fair to good for rifle and low for bow hunters. Tejon is a huge ranch, so the pigs have many places to live/hide. Big Horn is a canned hunt (pay n slay). It is a good place for beginners to go to see how comfortable they are with killing an animal and for kids to get some experience and confidence. Depending on what they have "in stock" will determine how hard it is to get a pig. When I took my son, they had "russians", ferrels and farm pigs. The russians were good looking hybrids and were not very friendly. We had to stalk them for a bit before getting a good shot (we were bow hunting). My son had fun and it was good experience and a confidence builder. I shot a meat pig, just to kill something. My pig was a farm pig that had been there a while and was less friendly than the newer farm pigs that walked up to us when we went down the hill. The staff is outstanding and took the time and patience to teach my son how to gut and skin his pig. Once again, it just depends what you are looking for.

 

[madsonfan63]

Its like hunting at a petting zoo, should be illegal.

 

[DirtyDave]

Its like hunting at a petting zoo, should be illegal.

Hunters need to stick together. Comments like this divide the community.
This type of hunting is not for everyone, but I think it is a good way to bring new people or kids into the sport. Might be a disabled hunters only option to bag a pig

 

[Common Sense]

Great post DirtyDave.

I have never gone pig hunting in my life, and doubt I ever will. I have had a couple of opportunities to shoot a pig, but didn't pull the trigger cause I just didn't want to have to clean and pack it out. Having said that, it doesn't bother me at all that others like to hunt pigs.

About the only thing I actually hunt anymore is quail(don't mind packing them out and they sure are tasty). It doesn't bother me in the least to ground sluice them; even though some people have said that should be against the law. But if other folk want to only shoot birds that are flying, that is fine with me.


Life is good.

 

[RIFLEMAN]

madsonfan63,

Its like hunting at a petting zoo, should be illegal.

I'm curious about something...what other hunting scenarios or methods do you not agree with that you presume should be illegal?

 

[DirtyDave]

madsonfan63,



I'm curious about something...what other hunting scenarios or methods do you not agree with that you presume should be illegal?

Yeah, I'm curious if you think taking your kids to the trout farm to drop in a hook and pull out a fish should be illegal too. I remember my dad taking me and my 2 brothers to jess ranch when we were little. We were so stoked on hooking up those trout "fish in a barrel", but when i was under 10 years old it was awesome!

 

[larrysogla]

Even as a 56 year old I was excited when I took our Men's Ministry group to the former Whitewater Trout farm/fishing pond in Cabazon near Palm Springs, California. It was as Dirty Dave said........plop a hook with trout bait and the teeming captive pond trout would just immediately grab the bait/hook and you just yank back and there you have your nice sized tasty rainbow trout in less than a minute. I have also taken this group sea fishing off Oxnard, California and that was exciting too. You can either feel stuck in a 9-5 job and hate every minute of it or be very-y-y-y grateful that in this tough economic times you still have a job to buy the groceries. Heck I would shoot a boar caught inside a live cage trap if that is what the Texas ranch owner wanted in order to bring the pork chops to the barbeque grill and feel excited while "shooting the fish in the barrel". What is exciting to me may not be up your alley but if it is legal and I am going to eat the meat........then I say it is my business and none of yours.
'Nuff said
larrysogla

 

[ltdann]

My views have ir regard to this ranch have been posted before but I'll share them again.

In a nutshell, I'm glad its there. I haven't hunt there before but probably will this spring. I've hunted Tejon and I like it. While beautiful, Tejon has absolutely brutal terrain that does things to my body that I'd rather not repeat voluntarily.

I've never shot a pig, and its not for lack of trying. They are my personal nemisis. Deer/elk etc are easy, hogs are the spawn of satan. I admit defeat.

I'm glad I have the option of hunting BHCR. Because of age, illiness, economic hardship or other factors beyond my control, BHCR ranch will allow me to hunt when my other choice is to quit altogher. That time is coming.

I know what the place is, and what its about. I accept that. A very good friend and I hunted a 6000 acre high fence place in Texas a few years ago and he walked away sweaty, frutstrated, happy, empty handed and very light in the wallet. So high fence operations are not necessarily a slam-dunk.

BHCR is not for everone. If you want something exotic to hang in the den but can't afford Alaskan Sheep, its for you. Quite frankly, Texas Dall looks good on the wall, no matter where you shot it. If you want armed grocery shopping, its for you. Its a good place to take folks who are thinking about starting hunting but aren't sure if they'll like it enough to lay big cash for gear.

In my case, I'll be going with an old out-of-state hunting buddy that'll be in town for a few days. Its a cheap way to share a hunt on limited time and budget, without the need for an out-of-state license.

Many hunting methods are regional, based on years of traditon and experience that we simply can't understand. Hell, the whole tree stand thing back east completely befuddles me. Why would anyone want to climb a tree, in below zero weather and sit for 8 hours, hoping a deer walks by? My instinct is to get on the ground and go get 'em!

My point is, comments about a person's hunting methods, choice of gear etc are counter-productive to our community, especially when our numbers are diminishing.

 

[3056_HUNTER]

Many hunting methods are regional, based on years of traditon and experience that we simply can't understand. Hell, the whole tree stand thing back east completely befuddles me. Why would anyone want to climb a tree, in below zero weather and sit for 8 hours, hoping a deer walks by? My instinct is to get on the ground and go get 'em!

If you have ever seen the areas where people hunt in southern Mississippi/Alabama/louisiana you would know why tree stands are used. No way u could stock a deer there....thats why I didnt hunt during the short time i lived there.

 

[dirtpoor]

Let me play devils advocate, First it's NOT hunting period, you may spin it or rationalize it anyway you like but the activity doesn't involve hunting, also what exactly are you teaching the young hunter's, they're learning that hunting is walking around the zoo and choosing the animal that you want to execute, when you take them hunting for real they will be bored out of their mind's thinking to themselves " where are the animals that I'm supposed to shoot and why is it so far to walk and "I'm tired and hungry", it's like having them watch a porn movie and then growing up expecting sex to be like the movie.

The major part of our sport for me and most that I teach is ANTICIPATION and hour's of PREPARATION, the killing is a secondary situation, necessary to the sport but not vital to enjoying your time afield.The weak link for hunter's is archery hunting, the anti's have determined recently that bowhunting is the most vulnerable for their agenda so how easy would it be to film some young newbie poorly sticking an arrow or 2 or 3 in a tame or semi-tame animal and then putting it all over the net, there's no training or proficiency required to participate at these ranches nor do they have to qualify for a hunting license before going afield so they will be depending on the instruction (or lack of ) of whoever takes them to the facility.

The common complaint of this forum and many others I'm part of is the (idiot ) hunter's they meet afield and all the mistakes they make, at least those people are making an effort to actually hunt , what do you think the mindset is of most of the people at the ranch , it certainly isn't let's get out and use our skills to bring home the bacon (pun intended ) its , lets put the remotes down because there's no game this weekend and let the kids kill something that won't require much effort on my part but will make me a hero in their eye's.

Let me touch on the bringing home the bacon part, I've had a number of successful businesses and have also been a farmer so I know that bottom line depends on cost of goods received so there's no way I'll pay more then I absolutely have to to get an animal for my business that's only going to be killed anyway, these ain't prize pig's folk's, so the quality of your bacon might be questionable, not saying the ranch folks aren't following the law, just saying there's more leeway than at a slaughterhouse. At least at the slaughterhouse they're executed without the trauma of thinking that the guy coming at you today with the weapon is the same guy who brought you food yesterday.

That all being said I really don't have a problem with high fenced operation's, I've executed a pig at Big Horn myself (my mistake ) my problem is how many try to call it hunting and of course attack anyone who doesn't agree, so let the flaming begin, I'm anxious to hear how you justify teaching your youngsters that an animal is just another target and you desensitize them to the fact that it feel's pain/terror and confusion just like we do.

 

[Common Sense]

I'm anxious to hear how you justify teaching your youngsters that an animal is just another target and you desensitize them to the fact that it feel's pain/terror and confusion just like we do.

If they ain't desensitized, they will be vegetarians. Which of course, is okay. I actually respect vegetarians; but I don't plan on joining their ranks.

When I was a youngster I really enjoyed shooting song birds with my BB gun. Now, I don't do that; I don't even kill rattle snakes I come across(unless they are in the yard where my grandchildren play). But today when I took my grandson and his friend to the cabin, they spent the afternoon shooting tweeties with pellet guns. They have been desensitized, they enjoy killing. And so do I. I hunt because I want to kill. It would be cheaper to buy meat at the supermarket than to go hunting. But I want to kill.

As stated earlier, I don't have any plans or desire to shoot a pig; wild or tame. But if someone else wants to shoot a farm animal, it is none of my business.

 

[larrysogla]

Pain and trauma..............heck, those live caught boars in Texas trapped in live cage traps are in shock, trauma and in emotional pain from the captivity. I can tell you that those trapped hogs are downright terrified and emotionally scarred down to the core of their hog being. Yes.......emotionally scarred...........most definitely........especially when a wire noose is slipped inside to catch one of their legs and pull them tight to the side so a sharp knife glistening in the sunshine can stick them in the throat or heart. Oh what emotional pain.............well, I don't go for knives............I pull the trigger so it is more convenient and less..........shall we say emotionally scarring for the hogs. I really don't give a microsecond on the psycho babble of hog emotions while chewing and digesting on the backstraps. I should really not have replied.
Sorry if I offended anyone.
'Nuff said
larrysogla

 

[doccherry]

There's a difference between hunting and killing.

You guys know me. I hunt a lot and will until I can no longer breathe and my heart stops.

A visit to Bighorn Canyon Ranch will teach a kid how to kill. A visit to Tejon will teach a kid how to hunt.

There's a big difference between being a hunter and being a killer.

Aloha for now. Pigs have been in the back yard the past two nights and I intend to do some hunting tonight.

 

[Common Sense]

There's a big difference between being a hunter and being a killer.

That there is words of wisdom.




But there is nothing wrong with being a hunter or a killer.



All killers are not hunters.

All hunters are not killers(some of my best hunts I got skunked).


But I chose to hunt because I want to kill.

 

[larrysogla]

Those Texas kids that watch a live caught boar in a cage trap being knifed to death must know by sheer common sense that this is "hog killing" time........not hunting by any means. A whole bunch of those Texas kids do the knifing themselves on those trapped boars. A whole bunch of farmer's kids do the knifing/killing of farm hogs for meat supply. I don't see a problem with the killing part. Oh well........
'Nuff said
larrysogla

 

[RIFLEMAN]

Even though I normally steer clear from discussions regarding what is and is not defined as hunting (as it is a subjective determination), dirtpoor raises some very good points regarding the detrimental influence that the desire for instant gratification, a possible lack of respect for life, and the possible absence of training or proficiency could have on the art of hunting and how these operations might foster those conditions; I am concerned by these possibilities as well. On the other hand, these types of operations offer opportunities that remind urban dwellers where meat comes from and what must happen to procure it...whatever possible ramifications these operations may create are overshadowed by the dangers than the increasingly ignorant and urban mindset of our population will have on the continued legality of meat eating, pet ownership, hunting, etc. The relative ease with which an animal is taken might also create the bug within the first-timer that causes them to get out in the hills time and time again for an even more rewarding experience. While it is certainly true that these operations may jade a person's perspective, if they understand that it is not an accurate simulation of a more realistic hunting scenario, it might serve to inspire further curiosity.

But to return to whether or not these operations should remain legal...my opinion can be simply stated that I don't think that it is appropriate that collective ethics be used to manage wildlife...subjectivity should have absolutely no place in the management of our wildlife by the populous or by a wildlife agency. Subjectivity is opinion, not fact, and opinions are formed by unique personal experience, prejudice, bias, and other influences. Opinions can change by whim, trend, time, or corruption of principles; the fate of our wildlife should not be subject to such a flawed and fallible human condition. A perfect example of state-sponsored subjectivity can be found regarding the mountain lion. The State of California, through the duly authorized Fish and Game Commission, once paid its residents to eradicate this magnificent and vital part of our state's natural heritage during the days when collective ethics directed that the only good predator was a dead predator. Fast forward to today, and we find the collective ethics of our population now dictate that the lion should be specially protected unlike any other species with a viable and sustaining population. Both opinions are equally ignorant and both are equally misguided.

Facts can certainly be corrupted, skewed, or falsified by those looking for data to support a conclusion they have already arrived at. However, facts can be easily be scrutinized, tested, retested, and proven. Doing so with something as elusive as the foundation of opinion is more difficult. Facts are objective, opinions are not.

The only determination that should be made is whether or not a particular method is harmful to the survival or prosperity of the resource. If it does not harm the population, then it should be legal. Each individual should then determine, according to their personal preferences and individual ethics, the scenarios they participate in or the means by which they pursue and take a resource. I personally do not shoot quail on the ground or ducks on the water, but if Common Sense wants to and it does not cause undue suffering to the individual or harm to the population, then that is his business and I will defend his right to do so.

We're all proud of our various hunting methods, and I always welcome a good debate about which is more challenging or more natural. Where I draw the line is when someone with a holier-than-thou attitude asserts that a certain method or scenario that isn't harming our wildlife should be illegal because of their subjective opinion or preference against it.

 

[dirtpoor]

well said Rifleman, I also have no desire to make canned hunts illegal but I do have strong opinions about killing for the sheer pleasure of it, the ability to reason and show compassion is what seperates us from the animal's and letting the kids shoot "tweety " birds with their bb guns simply teaches children that living breating animals are just moving targets, I've killed waaay more than my share with all manner of weapons including knive's but I've never taken any pleasure about taking a life and I guess I don't understand how someone could be so callous as to not care what an animal goes thru when being killed irrespective of whether it's a pig or any other animal .this has been a good exchange, glad to see it stayed civil I wasn't expecting that.