Face to snout at 8 yards

[tracker13]

Well like chopper said i made good on my part of the deal with the seats for the new huntin rig, and let me tell so did he and his awsome ranch!

Chopper could have named his place alot of things, i can think of a few, Pig heaven, critters galore, but he got it right with Wild Hog Adventures. This was by far the most memorable hunting trip for me to date.

The trip started with chopper and two other hunters, Bubba and his buddy Minesota Dan, meeting me at the bottom of the mountain and taking me on a tour of the ranch. The tour lasted for about two or three hours. His place is 4000 acres of the most beautiful land you could ever wish to hunt. (hell even if you were'nt a hunter, you'd still say the same thing). We get back to the cabin, (you no the now famous televised taste of america cabin). Chopper and the guys start planning out the evening hunt, with me just listening carefully. With everyone on the same page, Chopper takes me to the location he picked out for me to hunt (as i had never been there) Chopper is the best host, guide, or whatever you wanna call it. He spends almost all day either taking people to their spot, picking them up, picking up and helping with their downed hog, and just hangin out shootin the sh*t. So back to the hunt, Fri evening saw a lot of sign but no piggies. Get back to the cabin and it smells like the best Mexican Resturant you've ever been to. This is thanks to the one and only master chef Bubba. He cooked chile verde, and beans with tortillas.

The night ended late with lots of empty bottles left in it's wake. Sat. morning, Chopper shows up early at the cabin to make sure where everybodys heading. He leads me to my next huntin ground. Again, lots of really fresh sign but no bacon yet. On the way back to the cabin, Chopper calls Bubba to see if he and Dan had seen any hogs. Turns out Minnesota Dan had taken his first hog and Bubba had a shot also. They were draggin the reddish boar so me and chop went to help. Orso showed up about that time and also went to assist. After the skinnin party and some lunch it was time to head out for the evening hunt. (let's just say Dan missed the evening hunt

) Chopper put me in another great spot, started at the top and worked my way down through the trees and brush. Get to the bottom and hit the road with about an hour of huntin light left. Nice and shady walk, looking of the road to my right a couple steps at a time, i see a bird take off from the brush just off the road, i stop and hear the tell tale sound of a critter of some sort making it's way through the bush. I immediatly reach with my release to hook my string, just as i clip on and turn back out steps a nice black hog. It came out with it's head down but quickly picked it up. I am so caught with my willie in my hand it ain't funny, our eyes are locked at 8 yards,

he takes two big whiffs and does the fastest 180 you'll ever see.(hopefully not for you) he crashes back through the brush where he came from and i am trying hard to take a breath. I decide to ease back across the road and into the trees and hope that this is a crossing and maybe some more will show. No such luck. I call Chopper to come get me, as i'm giving him the details Orso calls on the radio. He says he has flung some arrows

and needed help. (i'll let him tell) Back to the cabin and once again you could smell the grub Bubba was fixin half way down the hill to the cabin. Dan donated the backstaps and tenderloin from his morning hog.

(thanks Dan) Off to bed with piggies in my head.

Sun. morning, off to another great looking spot, Bubba takes me and Dan up to a ridge where theres been lots of hog sittings. Sure enough right as we are pulling up, a very good hog crosses in front of us and down into a steep canyon where Bubba says they live. Dan and i walked together for the first few hundred yards and then we would split up. Not even a hundred yards in we both freeze while looking down the hill to our left. Another nice jet black hog was feeding under some oaks and didn't have a clue we were there. I range the hog at 36 yards and tell Dan i'd like to gain a few steps if i can. The gound was crunchy so i stop and wait for the pig turn and give me a shot. Down hill i figure it's gonna be about my 30 yard pin, it's just light enough to see the pins good. pig turns broadside, i draw, anchor and let it fly. The shot felt good exept we heard no "thump" hog takes off like a bat out of hell up the hill and through the barb wire fence and down into that steep revine. Dan goes where the pig went through and i go and look for any sign. After some searching i find my arrow stuck in the dirt a little further down the hill then i expected. It was a clean miss. After giving it some thought i realized where i had went wrong. My pins go 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 I'm thinkin 30 yards so i sight in with the third pin from the top, which is my 40. Another rookie bow mistake but what the hell it was soooooo worth it.(hopefully to never happen again) Back to the cabin to pack up and get home to mama and my 6 year old boy. Bubba again had food waiting at the cabin, pappas and eggs with salsa and tortillas.
As i said this was the most fun iv'e ever had hunting. The guys were great, Dan, Bubba, Orso, Roger, and Dion his son. And to Chopper, Thank You again for the opportunity and a great time at the ranch. If you ever need anything brother just holla. And so ends the story of my wild hog adventure at the best huntin ranch this side of anywhere.

God Bless and good luck to all

Travis

 

[Speckmisser]

Sounds like you had the classic Wild Hog Adventure experience, Tracker! Congrats on getting on the pigs. Too bad you didn't get pork, but trying is almost as much fun.

Congrats to the fellas who did hang hogs this weekend. And dang, Orso... you taking up permanent residence down there?

 

[bubba]

Travis, it was pleasure hunting with you last weekend. Roger and Dion, same goes to you and your son. Orso, well, no words needed, thanks for coming up bud.

There's not much more I can add to Travis’s post in describing Chopper and his place. Just awesome and you need to make at least one trip to the place. WARNING: If you do decide to make that one trip, it won't be your last.

Minnesota Dan, I like that, Dan is an old friend. We served in the Navy together; we were both stationed on the same Sub, USS Salt Lake City (SSN-716). I had Dan come out from MN last year around Easter timeframe. That was his first trip and he had some great opportunities at some hogs then also but just couldn’t quite connect. That happened to be a last minute trip and was only for a one day hunt. Well, that was all it took. On the way home that day Dan told me to book another hunt for next year. So here we are, a year later and Dan was going to put in a full weekend this time. BTW, Dan hasn't been on the forum y, so I will post this for him. He did say that he would check it out though when he got home.

It was a very warm weekend and there was not much sign at first look into some of my favorite spots. Not much, if any at all, rooting. Hogs were grazing. We decided to try another spot where I consistently see pigs. Our plan was to intercept them coming out of 80 acre field (Barley field, what was left of it) into their bedding area. We get to the spot and I split with Dan. We were going to hunt from the ridge, down into the Field and then eventually hunt our way to Chopper’s place to get a ride back to the truck. I hunted down the ridge, keeping a close eye and ear to see or hear the hogs moving. I did not get either as I walked down through the field and onto the road. I looked back at where I expected Dan to come out form, but he was not there. I figured he was "walking little, looking lot" (As Skeeks would say). I proceeded to walk towards the earthen dam and see If I could catch them coming out. I found fresh tracks and wallowing, but no pigs, I must have missed them or they went to bed early. I continued walking pasty the swamp and off to my right I noticed a hog eating grass. I ranged him at 40 yards and proceeded to cover some ground. He was ass end to me and I was looking to get a broadside shot. I got to within 30 yards and I decided to try a shot when he quartered slightly to the left. My shot was just off to his left and he moved into Poison Oak about 10 yards above him. He was in a rather sparse bush and I could have gotten another shot but he moved further back into the Poison oak at a walk. I should have drawn and waited for a full broadside, but my impatience got the best of me. I made it back to Choppers and we waited for Dan. He was a no show and we gave him another hour. As we were deciding to go look for him, we kidded that he must have shot something. No sooner than Chopper said that he called on the phone. He managed to go back to my truck and call using my phone. So we headed up to him.

After reaching Dan, we decide that Dan and I would go in and drag him down to the field. Chopper would go pick up Orso and meet us down there. When we got down we celebrated a bit (well, Dan celebrated more than a bit), and proceeded to clean and skin the hog.

Thanks again Chopper, Dan and I are already talking about the next trip.

 

[Rancho Loco]

gawd I need to go back.

 

[DEERSLAM]

WOW! Sounds like a good time had by all

Thanks for the great report, gets me itchin to go huntin.

 

[bubba]

This post is of Dan's description of how it unfolded for him.

After we separated, Dan proceeded down the fence line he was SUPPOSE to follow to Choppers place. I told him to stay right of the fence and it would lead him to Choppers, we he took that literally and made a right at the first T intersection with another fence. (We joked that he was probably walking in a big circle, err square, after turning right at every fence he came to) Well, it turns out good for him any way’s.

After making that right, he walks about 200 yards then hears something above him. He walks towards the sound and see's the BIGGEST pig he ever saw. He says the boar's balls were as big as soft balls, which he later described as basketballs, He decides to put a stalk on the big boy. As he was making his way, another boar steps out from some brush and Dan decides not to press his luck and nails it. We estimated him to be about 150 pounds. It was a reddish boar. Dan says that the black boar had to be at least twice as big as this one. The boar runs up the hill, stops, and then proceeds to roll down towards Dan. As the boar is rolling down, the big boy come rumbling down the hill after it. He stops about 30 yards from Dan but offers no shot. He walks back up the hill. Just at that moment, another 150 pounder comes towards Dan from his left. Dan says he was about 25 yards away and he was going to take a shot, but now is going to press his luck and go after the big boy. As he walks up the hill towards the big boar, he noticed the big guy throwing his rap to a sow. then he proceeds to mount the sow and goes at it for about 2 minutes. While this is happening, Dan is trying to close some distance, he gets within 30 yards, but trees are blocking a clean shot. Just then, the big guy finishes and follows the sow into some heavy brush. Dan can't find any sign and he said he wasn't about to crawl down looking for them. In all, he says there were about 12 pigs in that group.

As Travis mentioned, he hunted with Dan the next morning. After Travis missed his hog, Dan made his way down into the same general area as the day before and did see another hog, but could not get into position.

Chopper, Dan sends his many thanks again and is looking forward to his next trip.

 

[Lurediver]

Bubba are you still drinking?

 

[bubba]

Uh, yes?

Hahal...is there a spell check on this thing???

I need to make these long post on Word, then Copy/Paste...

 

[Speckmisser]

No worries, Bubba... I definitely get the idea!

Of course, I've been into the scotch tonight, and a nice bottle of Pinot Noir with dinner... STORE-BOUGHT PORK!

I've got to break this damned streak! Over a year since my last hog!

 

[kelly106]

sounds like fun bubba,miss youre cookin, great stories,I was just gettin over hog fever,its back,bs,glad to hear more wild hog adventures,how can I get outta work?all smiles hear!Orso wtf-over,wheres yours?

 

[el_vaquero]

Very nice...sounds like good times!

 

[THE ROMAN ARCHER]

Tracker13 and Bubba, thanks for sharing your wild hog

adventure storie's guys, they got me all pumped up, 12 more days till i am back up their again!..............tra

 

[BDB]

Congrats on a great hunt. Bubba's food definitely is the best, man can he cook, my mouth is watering just thinking about it!

 

[Orso]

Saturday night….

The sun was just going down, the wind in my favor, pigs heading in my direction at a nice slow pace, arrow knocked.

This good sized boar goes down into a little ravine so I start to move closer only to get caught in the open when he comes up the ravine on my side while I was going around some poison oak. Of course I’ve got my wrong foot forward with nowhere to hide. I’m pinned down and he’s moving directly at me. He’s about 160lbs, with his upper lip furled up quite a bit from his teeth, though I can’t see tusks. He closes to about 10 yards, stops on top of a rock out cropping and I know I’m busted. He’s looking right at me, I’m looking down in the ground trying not to breathe. Close to a minute passes when suddenly he flips a 270-degree turn and though he didn’t “bolt” he was moving at a good pace. I draw back (shooting a 58lb Bob Lee Recurve Hunter with 560grn, Ace BH tipped arrow) and loose an arrow. He was quartering away when the arrow stuck him. The hit turned him from quartering away to my left to him quartering away to my right in a real hurry. He was down the ravine and out again in no time. The arrow had OK penetration, but not great and hit him behind the ribs. Now I’ve killed hogs with arrows to the same location but the penetration worried me. I marked the spot and started to hike out.

There was probably 15 or 20 mins of hunt time left but I figured I’d walk up to a saddle on the road and call for a pick-up. No sooner am I heading up the hill when I hear movement down below me in the same drainage as before. One, two, three… I count five of the biggest pigs I’ve ever seen coming down the drainage. The last one is huge with a big white belt. The fourth looks red-ish. I quickly try to get in front of them but the first two are too quick. I stop where I feel I’ve got a good shooting lane. The third pig keeps moving; I want the big belted hog at the end. However, the fourth pig stops in my lane and the belted hawg is just behind some branches with no shot for me. I wait for 5 or so seconds hoping the pigs will move again but not wanting to lose the opportunity I draw back on the fourth pig. It’s still legal shooting but the sun is down, the hogs are in the drainage below me under an oak tree so picking a spot is tough. I loose an arrow; I hear a thump and the hog’s retreat the way they came…. No squeal. They took off quick but just up in the chemise about 40 yards away and I could hear them. I mark the spot with flagging tape and back out.

The next morning, I quickly found the second arrow duffed in to the dirt, a clean miss. I spend about 2-1/2 hours searching for blood and or my arrow and of course the hog I stuck. No blood, no arrow, no hog. I’m surrounded by tough hills full of pig tunnels and this pig could have gone anywhere. Chopper was kind enough to bring out his dogs that were working the area I saw the pig last but, came up with nothing. It was early in the day but already very warm. No pig.

Was the hit a fatal hit, possibly? Things happened very quickly when I took the shot, should I have taken it??? Probably/Maybe not, but I did. And that’s how this hunt ended up.

On another note I came to realize how things work at my house…

After a late start to Choppers on Friday night and sleeping in my truck at a rest area, to being on the go all day Sat and Sun with about five hours of sleep on Saturday night only to leave late in the day Sunday and sleeping once again at a rest area for most of the night Sunday into Monday. Getting to the grape vine, stopping for a vanilla cappuccino and a couple of donouts and then puking it all up at the top of the grape vine. Getting home Monday in the wee hours only to find my Mom sleeping on the only couch in the house. As I’m filthy dirty and poison oak starting to show up I decide to get a blanket and sleep on the office floor until I have to get ready for work. Exhausted all day at work, I take the family out to dinner, shower the kids and put everyone to bed. About 12:30am Tuesday morning I slide in to bed with my wife only for her to wake screeching at me, “Don’t breathe on my. I’d better not get sick from you… Why don’t you sleep on the couch!!!?”. I retort with some kind words myself and quickly pass out where my head already lay. This morning on her way to work I called with the following comments…. “I see how it works, when you (my wife) are sick I sleep on the couch and when I’m sick I sleep on the couch.” She just laughed…

 

[Kentuck]

Sorry about the hog Orso.
And to help you feel better, I get no respect either but at least I get the last words, "Yes Dear"! HA!

 

[kelly106]

Orso,glad to hear you got into them,sounds like they had youre heart pumpin!that white belted one I think I might of saw in homestead stand area a month ago,275-300!Anywhase have fun with the oak,hope u feel better,get some sleep,take care of the family&i'll see ya soon!

 

[chirohunter]

Thanks for the stories guys!! Stories like these (from Speckmisser and you guys) are what makes a guy like me (who has never pig hunted) join the May Tejon Hunt. I can't wait to get out there...with or without bacon to bring home. You guys make this addicting, prior to even going! Thanks again!