Elderly Boar & Pig Headshot

[CottonwoodHunting]

David emailed me back in March to book a hunt. We had the hunt last weekend and it went well all around. David asked me to post the results here on JHO, so here are some highlights!

Here's the crew ready to set out for the Friday afternoon hunt.

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Friday ended up with not-so-good luck. Remember, this is not a "canned hunt." On Friday we did see some pigs but they high-tailed it across the property line. The hunt takes place on several thousand acres but the property is "unfenced" (there is only cattle fencing) so if we spook pigs they can easily go across the property line. Once spooked, pigs can run over a mile. Friday ended without any pigs but we had luck Saturday & Sunday.

Here's an elderly boar we took on Saturday:

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Not the biggest tusks I've seen, but not bad at 1.25".

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The old boar was not in the best health and was probably much heavier in his glory days. The boar weighed in at only 134 lbs.

On Sunday, this shot was particularly noteworthy, considering the pigs were running full speed and there was only a narrow gap in the foliage. The timing of the shot was crucial and it was the most devastating headshot I have ever seen.



Here's another angle, showing the hilltop in the background from which the pig was taken. Luckily a plant is covering it in this picture, because the bullet blew part of the skull off the pig. For anyone faint of heart, apologies for my graphic description of the shot. The hill in the background from which the shot was taken is circled.



Here are some of the other pics from the weekend:



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Overall this was a successful hunt based on the amount of pork that left the ranch!

 

[eoats]

Very nice hunting.

Lots of orange there, is it required there on your hunts?

 

[CottonwoodHunting]

Very nice hunting.

Lots of orange there, is it required there on your hunts?

Orange is not required but more orange = more dead pigs. The more orange you wear, the less time you spend on the radio asking "Where is everyone? Guys, stay in formation! Are you guys ahead of me or behind me? Stop the hunt, let's regroup!" Plus, the pigs can't see very well and once pigs are running, pigs tend to keep running in the same direction whether or not you're in front of them wearing orange.

 

[jerryt]

Good Job.

 

[THE ROMAN ARCHER]

Super nice and super congrats to everyone! Great photos my man.
Very smart idea wearing Orange it makes sense the way u guys do the hunt with people driving pigs and your shooters in another location especially with that many guns on the hunt u don't want someone to be mistaken as a pig.....tra

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[7MMHunter]

Nice job gentlemen!! TRA did you miss the J for Ninja brother???


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[Hog slayer]

Nice looking hogs,
congrats to the Ninja hunters

 

[Cal Sniper]

Congrats to all the hunters and Eric once again.
Are these guys training to be on American Ninja Warrior?
If so, Eric can you make the push and shoot course more challenging like having to swing across creeks and only while in full swing can anyone shoot the hogs.

 

[slixxster]

Thanks Erik for the great hunt and experience. This was our first guided hunt and didnt know what to expect. When we first arrived at his ranch first thing that came to our mind was does this place hold any pigs??? if it does, is it going to be more like a canned hunt?? It was HOT probably 100 degree that day, Team Orange Ninja went out on our Friday evening hunt and the guys was pushing and we did see couple of pigs running to other property line but we didnt get any shots off. That night we came back to camp, We re-grouped and had a group talk. We were talking and said we are pushing incorrectly and formation was off. After the Friday Night talk that's when the success came in. Honestly, to us Orange = Safety, I can see my fellow Ninja anywhere, we're just glad that the Orange came to our advantage, as Erik indicated less radio communication since we know and can see our pushers going thru thick brush.

Again thanks for the great hunt Erik, hope to hunt with again soon.

 

[CottonwoodHunting]

Congrats to all the hunters and Eric once again.Are these guys training to be on American Ninja Warrior?If so, Eric can you make the push and shoot course more challenging like having to swing across creeks and only while in full swing can anyone shoot the hogs.

You're right. My hunters are getting too good. I need to make the hunt more challenging. Here's a preview of what I have prepared for the next group.



I checked the regs, but, anyone know if this is considered "baiting"?

 

[CottonwoodHunting]

Thanks Erik for the great hunt and experience. This was our first guided hunt and didnt know what to expect. When we first arrived at his ranch first thing that came to our mind was does this place hold any pigs??? if it does, is it going to be more like a canned hunt?? It was HOT probably 100 degree that day, Team Orange Ninja went out on our Friday evening hunt and the guys was pushing and we did see couple of pigs running to other property line but we didnt get any shots off. That night we came back to camp, We re-grouped and had a group talk. We were talking and said we are pushing incorrectly and formation was off. After the Friday Night talk that's when the success came in...

Yea, this is definitely not a canned hunt, and these pigs are 100% wild animals with a strategy of their own, but then again, this hunt is nowhere near as challenging as a public land hunt. Hopefully this hunt falls somewhere in between. I am glad you guys enjoyed it.

 

[Cal Sniper]

Hahaha that's a good one!!! Thats what Im talking about. Except he needs a gun or bow on his back. You sound like a real nice guy! Keep up the good work! Just curious if you give the pigs enough time to recoop and reproduce so there will always be pigs for your business?

 

[CottonwoodHunting]

...Just curious if you give the pigs enough time to recoop and reproduce so there will always be pigs for your business?

This year I'm only doing one hunt per month and so far there have been plenty of pigs. At the end of the year, or sooner, I will evaluate the success rate and perhaps switch things up-- perhaps have a maximum of only four hunters and/or one hunt every six weeks (as opposed to once per month). We shall see!

 

[slixxster]

This was definitely not a canned hunt, we had to work hard for these pig, public land is similar, only difference is we didnt have to break our backs hauling them after we got game.

 

[huntingbret]

Awesome job out there again Eric. It seems like your property is still loaded with pigs. So far you have put every hunter on a pig. Now I know why you didn't need me this time around LOL.