Birthday Boar

[switch]

I had a few unshceduled days off. Me and two friends decided to hunt some public land up by Parkfield, California earlier this week. Parkfiled is plugged with pigs. The surrounding public land is not. We hunted hard for the entire day, putting 12 miles on the GPS in search of pigs with no luck. We really didn't care, we were hunting.

After the long day, we packed up the camping gear and hit the Parkfield Cafe for a well deserved meal. While we were there, the cook came out and asked about our hunt. She then refered us to a rancher that occasionally lets hunters hunt his land for a nominal tresspass fee. We decided to investigate.

We met up with the rancher and settled the deal. One short hour after finishing our meal at the Cafe we were once again hunting the private parcel. There was pig sign every where, but little water on the property. We deduced that the pigs were traveling through but not holding here. We ended the evening hunt, with big ideas for the early morning deal.

The next morning happen to be my b-day, but after hunting hard the last two days, I had completely forgotten. We headed out at 4:30 AM to set up. We watched likley draws and game trails for sometime, before we decided to get up and explore.

We powered up our walkie-talkies and headed out. I hiked to the end of the property and did some looking around. After about 2-hours I decided to rest and cool down. I had a great view of the rolling hills and scattered oaks of Parkfield and was deep in thought when my cell phone rang ( I had it along because the rancher said if we got a pig, that we should call him and he'd come out and drag it back for us behind his jeep). Well, it was my mom wishing me a happy b-day. Oh, that's right, it's my b-day, I thought. Anyway, she knew I was hunting and made the conversation short. After I hung up I decidied to take a picture of where I was when she called and send it to her. You gotta take care of mom!

So I put down my gun (no story ends well when proceeded by this phrase) and started rummaging through my pack. I grabbed my camera and start trying to figure out all the buttons. I hear footsteps behind me and figure my friend Eric has just hiked up to me. I even start talking to him without looking up. "Hey, can you take my picture?" I glance over and there following the path I took is a 200-pound boar and he's 30-feet from me.

He stops. I stop. I glance at my gun. He realizes he's unarmed. There's that unconforatble silence between us for a brief second when you realize one of you is trying to kill the other and he takes off. He stops a short distance away and I take a hurried shot at the only target I can see, his spine. The bullet sails over his back and he's gone...too close, I said to myself. As the pig tears through the thick cover, I yell after him, " HEY PIG, DON"T YOU KNOW IT'S MY FREAKEN BIRTHDAY?!" I pretty much chuckle the entire hike back. That was the one and only pig our group would see on this hunt.

True story.

 

[Kevoxford]

Tough luck but at least you got a shot off and got the blood pumping. I am heading of to the parkfield area you wouldnt want to forward that ranchers info would you

 

[Rancho Loco]

Good story..

Hey, he was just coming over to wish you a happy b-day.

 

[spectr17]

Hog just wanted to talk to your mom.

Great story. THe "almost killed sumpin" hunts are sometimes better than the hunts where you shoot sumpin.

 

[New Pig Hunter]

Happy Birthday !!

As my pal Tim says, "Always Be Hunting."

He had a similar experience last year up in Wyoming. He went out to simply "look around" one morning and ended up about 15 yards from an elk..... without his bow in-hand.


Cheers,

Carl

 

[jephs422]

hahahaha I can picture you now, yellin....screamin...and cursing at him, while throwing whatever you had in your hands at him...well at least that's what I would have done. tough luck Tim...

 

[dreaminhogs]

Great story!!!!

Happy b-day.

 

[shimodatas]

Since Carl started this and only told half the story, I will finish it .....

I was on a business trip that had a 1 day layover in Denver. I figgerd that I could drive up to Laramie and visit my Dad. I was going to be back in about two weeks for bowhunting ELK but it is always good to go home and see the folks. When I got there we were hitting a brewski a the local American Legion when my Dad said, "Since your plane isn't leaving until 5pm tomorrow, we could go out for the morning hunt ! I hadn't planned on stopping and had neither my lisence or bow but I readily agreed to go with my Dad and call for him. So I borrow some camo from Dad, and a knife and I get a mouth reed (all I use to call anymore) and the next morning at zero-dark-thirty we are in our favorite spot and shur-as-shootin' there is a small herd (7 cows) a hundred yards away. I start my calling.... I will say I am getting the calling thing down after only 30 years of practice ..... and I am giving this group my very best "Horney little lost cow" call. The herd cow calls back a couple of time and starts moving our way. I am 20 yds behind my Dad and can only see movement through some thick willows, my Dad is on the point, just around the corner and is "zoned in" on this big herd cow as she grazes and chirps her way toward him. I am calling and she is comming closer and closer, only a litttle bit cautious. Just as the herd cow gets about 30 yards away, there is a little hump in the ground between her and my DAD and the only shot he has is at her head. But she is still coming and in about 10 more yards Dad is gonna get a great shot.

Just at this point, I hear a BULL bugle behind me and it sounds a ways away. I turn slowly to look and 15 yard behind me is a GIANT 6 point BULL ! ! ! Directly nose on to me.

The bull is zoned in on the cow and listening to my calls while looking at her. He doesn't even see me as far as I can tell. I am armed with a standard issue fixed blade hunting knife ! My Dad (who uses a crossbow) is looking over his sights at the cow, and my Dad has an "Any Elk" lisence in his pocket. So all he has to do is turn around and take an easy 35 yard shot at a REAL KEEPER.

I decide to try to get Dad's attention. I chirp and whistler and whine and moan .... all my cow calls. The Bull starts to get a little nervous. The noise isn't coming from the cow and I am obviously a deranged little elk. He gives me a full left broadside and looks at the cow. He dances a little and gives me a full right broadside. My Dad shifts a bit and the bull looks at him. The bull gets REAL nervous and turns around for a full aft pipe shot then turns his head back to look at my Dad again. All this time the cow has seen the Bull and has stopped just behind the hill. My Dad is still focused intently on her, waiting for her to take two steps forward for the shot. The Bull decides he doesn't like the situation and starts to trot away. The cow sees this and wheels and trots back to the herd. I give a couple of calls but instead of returning she herds up the rest of the cows and heads into the willows. The bull walks into the trees on the other side of the meadow and then my Dad turns and shrugs his shoulders. I collapse on the ground. When I tell my Dad the story of what just happened he says, "I thought you were getting a little wierd back there but I was focuses on the cow because I didn't want to miss the shot.

Since then we have now included in our "signals" a call that means "turn around an look at me."

It was one of the best "opening day" hunts I have ever had. I not only called in the herd cow and the herd bull to within easy shooting distance. I had them both talking to me. When the bull was within "jumping distance" I actually considered using the knife. But when I compared his weapons with mine, and his reflexes against mine.... I chickened out................

• The rest of the story

• The rest of the story

 

[switch]

Yeah Jeph, I was a little stunned with the pig walking right up to me. As you know, when I'm in the field, I hunt hard. So I'm kicking myself for not being 100% in the hunt (gun down, rummaging around in my bag) when Mr. Boar showed up. It was 20-seconds where I got complacent. I see that pig in my dreams. Re-sighted in the 30-06 yesterday. Nope, it wasn't the gun

I'm determined to get one this year.

 

[smallblockfuelie]

Ready for bobcat season? I went out for couotes the first weekend of August and ended up seeing tow cats.

 

[switch]

Heath, I can't wait. I already ran into one and was thinking of doing some night time reconn soon. I think this'll be a good year for all preds. I need to bury the pig miss behind some predator success.