I shot my first wild hog this past weekend at the Tejon Ranch. (06/28/03)
I am fortunate in that my folks have an explorer lease up there so we have been hunting up there most weekends. This was my sixth hunt for piggies up there and it finally paid off. (First two trips with my brother were successful for him, so I feel like I am 3 for 6.)
My brother and I arrived Friday afternoon for a weekend hunt. We hunted all afternoon Friday and did not see a pig. It was hot up there and I suspected that the pigs would not be moving until the last bit of daylight, if at all. They didn't move for us. We finished our hunt watching a couple of very nice bucks taking a drink before all light was lost. We both had high hopes for the next morning as we headed in for the night.
We awoke Saturday morning and found dawn approaching much too quickly. As we headed out of the cabin we came across a group of five pigs crossing the road in front of us. We tried to pursue them but all the darn cows in the area took off in a stampede and the piggies were gone in a flash. Next, I wanted to try an area where my brother had killed his last pig on the way back into bear trap canyon. As we neared the area where my brother killed his pig we both spotted a nice single boar making his way up the hillside into the thick stuff.
We were a good piece off when we saw the pig so I took off on foot to see if I could get any closer for a shot. Of course this pig was part billy goat and went straight up hill as the Tejon pigs seem to do. I had a glimpse of the boar for a second at about 175 yards but no clear shot. After that last spotting I lost him. He was just gone. I knew I was close to where I wanted to be when we first saw the pig so I decided to crest the hill and see what I could see. I paused just before the crest of the hill to catch my breath and boy am I glad that I did.
I walked another fifteen paces toward the top of the hill when I saw movement, and it was close. The boar was 25 yards out and looking right at me. I was able to very slowly raise my rifle and I found the boar in my crosshairs. Other than the slight movement of bringing my gun up I did not move. The pig, not seeing any other movement, went on his merry way looking for some grub. I had a perfect broadside shot at 25 yards on my first pig. It was awesome. I took the pig right through the front shoulder and through the lungs. It didn't make it two feet before going over.
I was on top of the world. My brother, who had been waiting where we initially saw the boar heard the shot and came up to see the results. We high fived each other and got on to dressing out the pig. It was awesome, I am still excited about the hunt, I am sure I will always remember it.
Here are a couple of pics:
http://www.momentoffame.com/snapshot.html?id=43367
http://www.momentoffame.com/snapshot.html?id=43368
Thanks for reading my adventure.
ps. I took this pig with my Ruger .257 Robert's. This was the first hunt that I didn't bring my open sighted 30-30 with me and I had the ultimate shot for that weapon. Oh well, I am very confident in my .257 and I had seen my brother stone two pigs with his .257 before me.
Jae
My brother and I arrived Friday afternoon for a weekend hunt. We hunted all afternoon Friday and did not see a pig. It was hot up there and I suspected that the pigs would not be moving until the last bit of daylight, if at all. They didn't move for us. We finished our hunt watching a couple of very nice bucks taking a drink before all light was lost. We both had high hopes for the next morning as we headed in for the night.
We awoke Saturday morning and found dawn approaching much too quickly. As we headed out of the cabin we came across a group of five pigs crossing the road in front of us. We tried to pursue them but all the darn cows in the area took off in a stampede and the piggies were gone in a flash. Next, I wanted to try an area where my brother had killed his last pig on the way back into bear trap canyon. As we neared the area where my brother killed his pig we both spotted a nice single boar making his way up the hillside into the thick stuff.
We were a good piece off when we saw the pig so I took off on foot to see if I could get any closer for a shot. Of course this pig was part billy goat and went straight up hill as the Tejon pigs seem to do. I had a glimpse of the boar for a second at about 175 yards but no clear shot. After that last spotting I lost him. He was just gone. I knew I was close to where I wanted to be when we first saw the pig so I decided to crest the hill and see what I could see. I paused just before the crest of the hill to catch my breath and boy am I glad that I did.
I walked another fifteen paces toward the top of the hill when I saw movement, and it was close. The boar was 25 yards out and looking right at me. I was able to very slowly raise my rifle and I found the boar in my crosshairs. Other than the slight movement of bringing my gun up I did not move. The pig, not seeing any other movement, went on his merry way looking for some grub. I had a perfect broadside shot at 25 yards on my first pig. It was awesome. I took the pig right through the front shoulder and through the lungs. It didn't make it two feet before going over.
I was on top of the world. My brother, who had been waiting where we initially saw the boar heard the shot and came up to see the results. We high fived each other and got on to dressing out the pig. It was awesome, I am still excited about the hunt, I am sure I will always remember it.
Here are a couple of pics:
http://www.momentoffame.com/snapshot.html?id=43367
http://www.momentoffame.com/snapshot.html?id=43368
Thanks for reading my adventure.
ps. I took this pig with my Ruger .257 Robert's. This was the first hunt that I didn't bring my open sighted 30-30 with me and I had the ultimate shot for that weapon. Oh well, I am very confident in my .257 and I had seen my brother stone two pigs with his .257 before me.
Jae
