Aloha from the Big Island. I've been quiet for the past few months. Broken toe and torn rotator cuff have kept me on the sidelines for awhile. My 61 year old body takes a beating on the lava slopes of Hawaii, let me tell you. Pretty much healed now and can fit back into my boots, so here are a few pig tales.
Went to Piha a couple of months ago and the undergrowth was thick and hard to navigate. Hunted my butt off and saw lots of fresh sign but no pigs. Finally found a 100 pound sow eating some sort of green vittles and potted her. That was the only pig I saw. She was BBQed within a week and the meat was sweet and tender.
Drove in along the Hunter's Road up on Mauna Kea and got back into my secret place. Looked down on the Parker Ranch and the fenceline that marks the public hunting areas. Saw approx 30 pigs in various stages of eating and travel, some on the Parker side and some on the public side. One pig down on the green grass of Parker Ranch had to be well over 300 pounds. It was jet black and looked like a bear. I was after mouflon sheep and didn't feel like hiking down to get a pig. The hike would take 20 minutes down and 45 minutes up and I was wearing running shoes because my foot wouldn't fit into my boot. Watched the pigs for 15 minutes and then went on my way.
Thursday evening after teaching I drove back up to Mauna Kea [wearing boots this time] and went in on the Hunter's Road to the rifle area. Within 1 minute I saw two small boars feeding on the knee-high dry grass. Stopped the truck and rested the Weatherby Mark V .270 on a branch and let 'er rip. The pig didn't know what hit it. That pig's hams are now in the crockpot being "smoked," the ribs are being boiled prior to BBQ-ing, and the rest has been vaccuum sealed and is now in the freezer.
I discovered Gunbroker and Auction Arms 6 months ago. Being an Ebay addict, I was hooked in a hurry. I bought a dozen modern rifles and shotguns within 3 months and then got my C&R firearms license, which allows me to buy firearms that are 50 or more years old without going through a dealer. Bought a bunch of old rifles and shotguns. I plan to use the double barrel shotguns I bought to hunt quail, pheasant, francolin, and chukar. One particularly interesting rifle I bought is a Remington Model 14, manufactured in about 1920, a really lightweight pump in .30 caliber Remington, which is essentially a rimless 30/30, with the same ballistics. The rifle only weighs about 5 1/2 pounds and with its open sights should make a great pig rifle in the thick brush of Laupahoehoe and Piha.
That's it from the Big Island for now. I should mention that all my hunts are on public property and on the three hunts mentioned above, I never saw another human or another vehicle. Just me and the pigs and the incredible scenery. Will post some photos next time.
By the way, my wife and I had dinner last night with two other couples who live in the suburbs of Kona. One couple is having major pig problems. Pigs come out of the adjoining ranch land and onto their property, digging up irrigation pipes and eating mangos that have fallen to the ground. The problem is not the damage they are causing. The problem is that the people can't sleep because the pigs make so much racket. Could I possibly come over and get rid of the pigs, they asked? No, I can't. I've got pigs on my property and everyone else who backs up to ranch land or wilderness has pig problems. Pigs are everywhere and I no longer do depredation work. It's just too overwhelming and it never makes a darn bit of difference. New pigs come in to replace the pigs that you shoot.
Wish some of you guys on the mainland would move over here and become full-time pig hunters. Oh, well. Life is tough on the Big Island.
Aloha.
Went to Piha a couple of months ago and the undergrowth was thick and hard to navigate. Hunted my butt off and saw lots of fresh sign but no pigs. Finally found a 100 pound sow eating some sort of green vittles and potted her. That was the only pig I saw. She was BBQed within a week and the meat was sweet and tender.
Drove in along the Hunter's Road up on Mauna Kea and got back into my secret place. Looked down on the Parker Ranch and the fenceline that marks the public hunting areas. Saw approx 30 pigs in various stages of eating and travel, some on the Parker side and some on the public side. One pig down on the green grass of Parker Ranch had to be well over 300 pounds. It was jet black and looked like a bear. I was after mouflon sheep and didn't feel like hiking down to get a pig. The hike would take 20 minutes down and 45 minutes up and I was wearing running shoes because my foot wouldn't fit into my boot. Watched the pigs for 15 minutes and then went on my way.
Thursday evening after teaching I drove back up to Mauna Kea [wearing boots this time] and went in on the Hunter's Road to the rifle area. Within 1 minute I saw two small boars feeding on the knee-high dry grass. Stopped the truck and rested the Weatherby Mark V .270 on a branch and let 'er rip. The pig didn't know what hit it. That pig's hams are now in the crockpot being "smoked," the ribs are being boiled prior to BBQ-ing, and the rest has been vaccuum sealed and is now in the freezer.
I discovered Gunbroker and Auction Arms 6 months ago. Being an Ebay addict, I was hooked in a hurry. I bought a dozen modern rifles and shotguns within 3 months and then got my C&R firearms license, which allows me to buy firearms that are 50 or more years old without going through a dealer. Bought a bunch of old rifles and shotguns. I plan to use the double barrel shotguns I bought to hunt quail, pheasant, francolin, and chukar. One particularly interesting rifle I bought is a Remington Model 14, manufactured in about 1920, a really lightweight pump in .30 caliber Remington, which is essentially a rimless 30/30, with the same ballistics. The rifle only weighs about 5 1/2 pounds and with its open sights should make a great pig rifle in the thick brush of Laupahoehoe and Piha.
That's it from the Big Island for now. I should mention that all my hunts are on public property and on the three hunts mentioned above, I never saw another human or another vehicle. Just me and the pigs and the incredible scenery. Will post some photos next time.
By the way, my wife and I had dinner last night with two other couples who live in the suburbs of Kona. One couple is having major pig problems. Pigs come out of the adjoining ranch land and onto their property, digging up irrigation pipes and eating mangos that have fallen to the ground. The problem is not the damage they are causing. The problem is that the people can't sleep because the pigs make so much racket. Could I possibly come over and get rid of the pigs, they asked? No, I can't. I've got pigs on my property and everyone else who backs up to ranch land or wilderness has pig problems. Pigs are everywhere and I no longer do depredation work. It's just too overwhelming and it never makes a darn bit of difference. New pigs come in to replace the pigs that you shoot.
Wish some of you guys on the mainland would move over here and become full-time pig hunters. Oh, well. Life is tough on the Big Island.
Aloha.
