JHO - Memorial Weekend Pig Slaughter

[Rancho Loco]

Just got in.

Lots of pigs hanging.

Weather was windy, wet and cooold.

More later..

 

[Rancho Loco]

 

[Lurediver]

Racho is a killa!

 

[Eric Mayer]

Yep, the quote I got from Scott was, "it's a bloodbath..."

Good job guys, can't wait for the stories!

Eric

 

[huntsndives]

Just got done unloading my gear from this week-ends hunt at the awesome Tejon Ranch with the boys from JHO. Have to say that those that didn't attend really missed out even with the weather that we had. Kenny (huntsndives) and I left Torrance about 5:30 Friday morn towing my older son's (Suzmar1997) Jeep Cherokee (ARB equipped) as it was available to borrow since he took his family to Yosemite. Met up at the Flying J and then on to see Barbara for check-in at 9:30. Ended up speeding through check-in (thanks Barbara) and on to the campground. Actually started raining during check-in and off and on all of Friday coupled with the wind made for some pretty cold times on the ridges all week-end. Thankfully the rain was only Friday till late afternoon. We were able to get out hunting before 11:00. We drove around up Bear Trap over towards Geghus Canyon and then back on Geghus Ridge towards camp stopping periodically to glass the canyons and opposite ridges when they weren't obscured by low clouds or fog or there wasn't a cloudburst going on. DIDN"T SEE SQUAT. Back to camp for some food and get ready for the afternoon/evening hunt.

Went over to Squirrel Canyon area, same MO driving/glassing ended up sitting on a certain ridge where pigs have been located on previous trips, another big zero. Starting to get concerned went to another area nearby, started hiking and glassing again. Finally about half hour till dark Kenny spots a group of about 10 down in this canyon about 1000 yards down and just at the base of the opposite ridge. Kenny was chomping at the bit to get after them but I told him I'd wait for him right there. Not enough light to get down there (Kenny probably could have) but there wouldn't be enough light to shoot (my reasoning and it worked). Back to camp for some dinner and listen to the stories from other people about the number of pigs seen, added in with the success stories and some missed shots. At least our hopes got a boost from the sighting and the number of stars overhead with the crystal clear skies.

Saturday morning left camp about 5, drove back to Squirrel area, headed out on this one ridge Kenny spots 2 pigs about 2 ridges over only 600 yards this time. As were heading over there at a fast pace 2 more come out of the brush and start feeding on the hillside. Get to about 200 yards and rounding the side of the hill we're on trying to get closer, but running out of brush to partly conceal our approach. A couple of times the biggest pig closest to us would look in our direction and we would have to freeze. There was a pretty brisk wind blowing from left to right so we we're ok with that. Got to about 160 and decided not to chance it any more, sat down, got ready. We decided Kenny would take the bigger and closer pig as he was shutout last trip. I was trying to choose between two others that were close in size but they kept turning as they were eating, at times they were broadside and then they'd be head-on. Kenny kept asking if I was ready and finally I said yes. Kenny called the 3 count BOOM, Squeal, only 1 squeal. My pig runs left and down, Kenny’s runs straight down about 50 yards, stops, starts running right and down, stops, then starts rolling down, down, down the damn mountain until it runs into a tree and stops. Mine kept going along with the other 2 although he did slow down at one point so we jammed over this rise to check it out but didn't see anything. Just then I tell Kenny to stop and look to your right as 4 more pigs are coming straight for us. I dropped on my ass and tried to rack a round and somehow my rifle jammed so Kenny hands me his rifle and I look through the scope and couldn't see anything. I re-adjusted my head so I could get a sight picture and Kenny turned the scope down from 12 to about 5 and I took a headshot at the lead pig and he dropped dead at 21 yards. It's obvious they didn't see us as they ran right at us. 2 pigs down at 5:45am, pretty cool. Now the work began. We drag Kenny's pig a couple hundred yards up close to where mine was and he went back to get the Jeep and try to drive it above where we were. While he was doing that I drug mine up the hill about a 100 ft right below the top. We finished dragging Kenny's up to where we could reach it with a towstrap and some rope and used the Jeep to pull it the rest of the way, then did the same to mine. Back to camp we were finished with the pigs about 11:00. Trying to decide if we should head for home and a soft bed instead of the cots under the stars guess which won out?

Spent the rest of the afternoon driving around checking out new locations and then Sat. evening a group of us watched Scott (grtwythunter) put the stalk on some pigs and heard him fill his tag (couldn't see it). That night Jesse did his great raffle (thanks Jesse). Sunday morning breakfast, coffee, 2 more pigs went on the hook (congrats RichW & Ozstriker). Left the ranch about 9:30 and can't wait to go again. Thanks to everyone that went it was an awesome trip....when we left there had been 20 pigs taken for 29 hunters.

 

[HOGHUNTER714]

Sweet pics and story..Can 't wait to see the pics and read the other posts. 20 hogs for 29 hunters is GREAT numbers. I'm bummed I didnt get to go on this trip.

 

[Rancho Loco]

It ain't over yet - 9 hunters were out when we left. I'm betting at least 3 more pigs will go down.

 

[Jake]

Nice Going!!!!!

Those are some great looking hogs

 

[DEERSLAM]

Awesome hunt! Congrats to all

Can't wait to see more pics and some more reports.

 

[THE ROMAN ARCHER]

congrats Rancho! cant wait to here the story and congrats Huntsndives on your successfull wild hog kill! thanks for sharing and nice photo's!.....tra

 

[Rancho Loco]

It was awesome to get onto the ranch at an earlier than usual time. Check in was done by 9:30 and my camp was up by 10:00. What wasn't awesome was the weather - rain started as soon as everybody had gathered at the gate.

I was able to get out and check my usual spots early enough to see some hogs, but didn't see anything but old sign and Elk. I did see my truck get worked over by a steer with an itchy noggin and a sharp ear tag. I almost punched that cow's ticket right there, and I will be eating burgers and steaks with a new vengeance in the future.

A quick couple of cupa noodles back at the camp and I went off to check Squirrel. I found some good glassing spots, but the wind and rain were brutal over there, and got worse the farther north I went. At one ridge almost at the north side boundry, the wind was so strong it was blowing the water out of a stock tank in waves. The damn thing had white caps on it. I got the heck out of there and made my way back towards the south, stopping to glass while hiding in the lee of oak trees. Underneath some power lines at about 5:00 PM, I started to see the pigs come out on a distant ridge to feed. Lots of them.. I hopped back into the truck, drove back around and under them, but quickly found that hiking up to them wasn't an option - I needed to find a road to the top. I could see a fence line up there, so I figured a road had to be up there too. I drove north, and couldn't find it. Drove south again and found it at the gas line. I got up on top, and found that they had fed over to the north side of the ridge right in view of the teeming Interstate 5, full of holiday weekend white-knucklers. I parked when I saw a nice boar feeding down a draw with some young shoats. I slid down the edge of a steep finger ridge trying to get a steady shot, but the wind was making that impossible. I finally was able to slide and shimmy to a spot where I could get a prone shot at the boar feeding below me in a sharp draw. There was a dozer cut about 40 yards below him, and I was banking that he would hang up on it and not roll all the way into a steeper oak filled draw below. I figured about 1,000 feet to the fence line above...

One shot from my new 7mm saum rolled him down to exactly where I banked, although he kicked a bit and almost went over the edge. Confident I would have an easy recovery, I backed my truck down to the fence line and started to deploy my rope. As I pieced my sections together I quickly noticed another big boar feeding on a hillside to my left at about 400 yards without a care in the world. Not able to get anyone on the radio to come shoot it, I was forced to watch it the entire time I made my way downhill knotting my rope together. Within sight of my pig, I found I was about 300 feet short. I drove around and tried to get onto the dozer cut, only to have my way blocked at one point by a HUGE boar who walked out into the two-track right in front of me, and stood there at 75 yards just looking around.... Very tempting. Pigs were everywhere I looked. He finally bolted when he realized it was a truck, not a big rock sitting there in the road, and he was quickly replaced by a large sow and a big group of piglets. No joy for me getting on the dozer cut, I draped my soaked wool sweater over the dead boar and made my way back to camp to get more rope. The next morning Speckmisser and I made the drive out and pulled it out in a brutal cold wind.

That makes it 6 for 6 for me at Tejon. The ranch was awesome as usual - I saw lots of Elk and a Golden Eagle close up macking on a ground squirrel. Highlight for me was watching Scott whack his pig. The boy is a pretty cool character to connect while knowing there were bleachers set up on the opposite ridge for all of us watching him. I don't know when I'll be able to go back, which is one of the reasons I decided to make this trip, and it didn't disappoint me.

 

[jb229]

Another great trip at Tejon, the weather this year was crazy. My Dad and I got into Camp set up pretty quick and hit the road around noon. We drove up the blacktop about half a mile and started glassing the hillside. I spotted 1 sleeping under some brush. After about 10 mins of debating whether to go down the hill and up the other side to go get em, I did. My dad stayed up top to guide me toward the pig. I love chasing those pigs and hiking up and down canyons. Finally get to the other side and my dad tells me to go left and there they are about 40yds still sound asleep. I can see two at this point, I rest my gun on a log that makes this shot text book. Put my crosshairs just below the pigs ears because it is lying with its back toward me. I'm thinking my hunt it going to be short one this year. I've only been out 25 minutes. I squeeze the trigger and BOOM. About 7 pigs explode from the bush I watch the one I shot at get up and run down the hill. No blood, No squeel, No crashing down the hill = no pig. I looked all over the hill side and found nothing.

We get out there first thing saturday morning and start driving up to a high point. Along the road we spot a few hogs going up the side of the hill. I try to cut them off but no luck. Across the Canyon I spot a few working their way down so I start my decent from the canyon I'm on to cut them off. I get to the saddle across from my and star working my way up. Wind is in my face everthing is going good except I am not seeing the pigs. To my left I spot one about 60yds working its way down. I turn and start angling my self toward the pig. I walked about 20yds and two pigs pop out beside some brush about 40yds from be down hill. They have no clue I have the jump on them. I waited for the first pig to take a few more steps out giving me a quartering away shot. Pulling the trigger and Pig DOWN! she let out a nice squeel and hit the ground rolled about 20ft to a perfectly place tree that stopped her from rolling the rest of way down. While gutting her I had 5 pigs walk past me no less than 20yds away, they were all over. I strapped her up to my frame pack and started to hike out of the ravine and up the saddle. 2hrs later and burning legs I finally made it to the road. My dad had a shot the same morning but again we found nothing. The weather sunday was foggy foggy and more fog. We packed up around 10 and headed home, my dad will get one next year.

My pig was a nice meat pig probably around 130-140 with all her guts.

Thank XD and ED, agian great food from you guys and thanks for all the help. See all you guys next year.

 

[MJB]

What a hunt seen over 100 hogs. Almost done with processing my pig, back tomorrow with the story and pix.

 

[BDB]

Nice work everyone, counds like a hell of a hunt. Rancho, nice teeth ono that fella, good work. Can't wait to read the rest of the stories, congrats to all

 

[One Track]

Wow. Nice job guys.

Rancho: Great tusker!

 

[Rancho Loco]

Nice on that side - other side was all busted off. I'm still pretty happy..

How 'bout you mr. bow only?

 

[One Track]

I didn't kill. But, we had lots of stalks! Friday night was epic. Sorry I didn't make it over to the south to visit. We were busy trying to close the deal. You guys rocked.

 

[Rancho Loco]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (One Track @ May 26 2008, 11:11 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

Friday night was epic.[/b]

Steve take all your money again?

 

[FForF]

Had a great time with One Track chasing pigs all over the north zone. We were at full draw at least 5 or 6 time each. Could of stuck some smaller one but passed. Had a great stalk on 2 nice big ones bedded under a tree. No cover and still got up to 30 yards. 30 more seconds and we would have got em.

Here he is doing his thing.

[attachment=520975240003.JPG]

 

[Rancho Loco]

Gee, I wonder where that was..