- Thread starter Rancho Loco
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Rancho Loco
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So what was the final tally?
C'mon killers, I know theres some more stories out there.
C'mon killers, I know theres some more stories out there.
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Got part 1 of the video done. It was a cold winter like hunt. Deepest/longest haul would go to Speckmisser or Rancho that I saw. Saul (bodega) gets honorable mention for his recovery.
I missed getting any kills on the tape. Got Scott (grtwhthntr) sneaking on some bedded and feeding hogs coming in part 2
Really missed going on the hunt with gnn961 and huntsndives Friday. They had the classic here comes hogs, gun jams story. By the time I got to Bear Trap after check in everyone had tore out for the ridges. Just a big dust trail up the mtn. This video has some blowed up hearts, 7mm Barnes bullet recovery by the Ammo Doctor hisself, Rancho Loco and more. No vehicles over that I know of, at least no ones admitting to any rollovers and all the roofs looked in good shape when I left.
No snakes, no ticks, no poison oak yet discovered so it was a good hunt. I still curse those that entice us fat guys down over the lip on the ridges into those hell holes, I could hardly walk today. Dayum thighs muscles are locking up bad. Downhills are the worst.
Missed the usual carne asada lunch at Los Pinos at the top of the Vine.
Someone snuck out I hear and went.
Carnage Asada Part 1 comin up
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I missed getting any kills on the tape. Got Scott (grtwhthntr) sneaking on some bedded and feeding hogs coming in part 2
Really missed going on the hunt with gnn961 and huntsndives Friday. They had the classic here comes hogs, gun jams story. By the time I got to Bear Trap after check in everyone had tore out for the ridges. Just a big dust trail up the mtn. This video has some blowed up hearts, 7mm Barnes bullet recovery by the Ammo Doctor hisself, Rancho Loco and more. No vehicles over that I know of, at least no ones admitting to any rollovers and all the roofs looked in good shape when I left.
No snakes, no ticks, no poison oak yet discovered so it was a good hunt. I still curse those that entice us fat guys down over the lip on the ridges into those hell holes, I could hardly walk today. Dayum thighs muscles are locking up bad. Downhills are the worst.
Missed the usual carne asada lunch at Los Pinos at the top of the Vine.
Carnage Asada Part 1 comin up
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Cold1nhand
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WOW!! Looks like a great time was had by all. Can't wait to see more video, pics and stories!! So who ended up with the biggest pig? The biggest cutters? Who one the raffle?
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First pig hunt and first post to the site. I have to say I'm addicted to both now. If you like reading carry on, I wrote a long one... if not, feel free to skip to the end.
Steve (Chirohunter, my uncle) told me about this hunt last year. I was scheduled to go out in earlier this year, which was cancelled due to weather, then couldn't make the March hunt due to a photoshoot. Glad I missed both of those hunts!! What a great weekend this turned out to be!
With less than 3 hours of sleep between the two of us, we split from The Bay at 230am, headed down 5 and hit the Flying J about 7. The discussion of "what ifs" consumed our drive. If we had a shot at a double, what's the count? 1-2-3? THat was the only way I thought it was done. Steve told me about a suggested 1-2-tha-ree, shoot on the "r". Hopefully we will get to put one of the two methods to the test.
I got to meet all the guys and Barbara; we set up camp and we were back in the truck at noon to head out. There was supposed to be a 20% chance of showers, but with the way things usually go for me I was sure it would be 100%. Fly fishing trips have always been windy and spring turkey hunts have always been rainy, even snowing. Duck hunts are sunny and warm. I've never had the best luck with the weather.
Needless to say as soon as we hit the spot, the rain was pouring down. I pulled my ultralight packed rain coat, fresh from cabelas out of the pouch it came in to find out they sent me rain pants, not the jacket. Not looking good so far, Steve luckily had an extra one that I definitely needed. We headed out, my Winchester Ultra light .270 in hand, Steve with his 30-06.
The Spot we were at was a spot that had burned probably last year, all the Manzanita was charred, but the new growth beginning to come through. It was a great looking area. We headed up the creek bed at the bottom of the canyon, not too deep, but deep enough. We stalked quietly hoping to come across some bedded hogs. This being my 1st Pig Hunt, besides chasing after them on the Sunol Driving range at night back in high school, I followed Steve's lead. He had been successful here in March, and before he left for that hunt he had told me about it. With all the new growth, it seemed like a make sense spot for hungry pigs to root around in.
We headed up the right side of the canyon, sliding through the damp ash and soft granite soil, only saturated about half an inch, which made the footing just a bit slippery. The wind was weird, switching directions with every gust. One minute it was blowing up the canyon, the next it was blowing down. Stopping to glass every few minutes, we didn't see much and the rain had now turned to hail. We reached the top of the ridge, glassed a bit more through the hail, not seeing much. We had a 360 degree view of the place, everything in site within about 6-700 yards. If there were pigs running around we could have seen them... with the exception of the bottom. The manzanita was thick and we couldn't see down the ravine. There was signs of pigs, but none in sight. By this time, we'd probably been out for a little over an hour. Steve knew had said we may have been too early, so we glassed a bit more, and decided to walk down and across to the other side of the canyon to see what the visibility was. After the up and down, we decided our original position, was our best bet. Then it was back to the car until about 330 and we were out again.
Following our tracks from earlier in the day, we headed back up the right side, and went about 3/4 of the way up. Still wet, not raining anymore, but getting cold enough to snow, we picked some spots to sit and glass. I watched the clouds roll by hoping, praying the sun would break through. No such luck. We sat and glassed, waiting for some movement.
Given my previous experiences, I began to over think the situation a bit. Here we are, waiting for the exact same scenario that Steve had experienced two months earlier, waiting for pigs to crest the opposite ridge, and make their way down to the burnt creek bed. Who knew if there were 20 oinkers just on the opposite side of us? I wanted to grab my rifle and run up to the top of the ridge to see what was going on over on the other side. But I knew as soon as I did that, the pigs would show up.
And then the sun broke through. I was looking up at the blue skies when Steve whispered to me. Across the ridge up to our left he spotted one. I put up the bino's and saw it as well, making it's way down, then saw a tan one right on top of the ridge. Steve ranged them, about 450 yards. We grabbed our packs and began to close the distance. Half way down the ridge we ranged them again, 300, them moving towards us and us to them, still across the canyon. I had been expecting to take a long shot on this trip and was ready to do so, except the piggys were moving down the hill pretty quick.
We made our way to the bottom, the pigs now out of site. I set my scope to the lowest power expecting to stumble upon them in the thick manzanita. With the wind still in our face, we closed the distance to where we had last seen them. Every now and then we would see their black bodies through the branches, but no shots. We inched closer. 75 yards, we inched closer, 50 yards we inched closer. Now within 40 yards, I had a shot on the tan one. Steve's goal was to make sure I got my 1st hog. My goal was a double. He told me to take the shot, but I held off. I knew we could get these together. So we moved closer, walking softly, eyes on the two pigs who were now snout to snout. At less 30 yards, we had an opening. With Steve to my left, I placed my barrel on a thin branch of manzanita to steady my shot. Not much help, but better than nothing. It was an easy shoulder shot. Again, Steve encouraged me to take it. I told him, no, the black one is going to turn, still snout to snout. As soon as she did, we began the count.
"Don't do the 1-2-tha-ree," I whispered. Steve counted out, "one...two...THREE!" The shots rang out simultaneously. The pigs crossed each other bolting down the hill. Mine was now coming right towards us! Instinctually, our hands worked the bolt, putting a fresh round in the chamber. I held my barrel at her from the hip as she darted towards us. As soon as she noticed we were in her path she veered left, eyes huge with surprise. I could see the exit would, right behind the shoulder. Not more than 30 yards past us she stumbled, fell next to a bush and stopped kicking. My eyes jumped to Steve's pig which was now into the thick stuff in the creek bed below us. We heard her running through the brush and then a crash. Two pigs followed and darted into the brush. Silence fell over the area.
We walked up to my hog, she was down and now began to search for Steve's. I thought she went in and turned down towards the opening of the canyon. We searched, but no signs. We headed back up to the spot where she had gone into the brush. We found the blood and began to follow the trail. Drop by drop, we crouched through the brush and found his pig tucked under the one live tree left down there. We wrapped the tow rope around her back legs and dragged her out. Once she was out, we wrapped the tow rope around her snout and dragged her about 100 yards into a clearing next to the creek bed. The truck was less than 100 yards away.
We then dragged my pig down to the same spot, another 100 yard drag, and snapped some photos. We cleaned them out and then pulled the truck up.
I know. I was completely spoiled on my 1st hog. I've heard the horror stories of the recoveries on these animals, but not me. I brought the truck to the pigs, didn't bring the pigs to the truck. Lucked out... I don't expect this to happen again.
Back at camp, there were already 2 pigs up on the rack, our 2, and 2 out in the field. Friday was a big day, I think 10 or 11 were taken the 1st night. Once the rack opened up, Steve and I went to work. A big thanks to Kenny for the tips!
The rest of the weekend was spent chillaxing. I woke up at 830 to Kenny and Carl stringing up their pigs. As the morning progressed, Rancho came in with his big boar and other guys rolled in with their pigs. Saturday ended with Steve and I watching Scott take a pig from across a canyon. We sat under an oak across the canyon and watched the hunt unfold as Phillip, Kenny, Carl and Jesse all watched from the other side. When we left on Sunday, there was 20 pigs in for 29 guys. 69%!!!
I have to say, I've been on a lot of public hunts, mostly turkey. Never have I seen a group of guys so willing to help and make sure everyone is successful. There's no secret spots. I have to give out a big thanks to Phillip for putting this thing together. I had a blast. What a great group of guys. Looking forward to next year!
Steve (Chirohunter, my uncle) told me about this hunt last year. I was scheduled to go out in earlier this year, which was cancelled due to weather, then couldn't make the March hunt due to a photoshoot. Glad I missed both of those hunts!! What a great weekend this turned out to be!
With less than 3 hours of sleep between the two of us, we split from The Bay at 230am, headed down 5 and hit the Flying J about 7. The discussion of "what ifs" consumed our drive. If we had a shot at a double, what's the count? 1-2-3? THat was the only way I thought it was done. Steve told me about a suggested 1-2-tha-ree, shoot on the "r". Hopefully we will get to put one of the two methods to the test.
I got to meet all the guys and Barbara; we set up camp and we were back in the truck at noon to head out. There was supposed to be a 20% chance of showers, but with the way things usually go for me I was sure it would be 100%. Fly fishing trips have always been windy and spring turkey hunts have always been rainy, even snowing. Duck hunts are sunny and warm. I've never had the best luck with the weather.
Needless to say as soon as we hit the spot, the rain was pouring down. I pulled my ultralight packed rain coat, fresh from cabelas out of the pouch it came in to find out they sent me rain pants, not the jacket. Not looking good so far, Steve luckily had an extra one that I definitely needed. We headed out, my Winchester Ultra light .270 in hand, Steve with his 30-06.
The Spot we were at was a spot that had burned probably last year, all the Manzanita was charred, but the new growth beginning to come through. It was a great looking area. We headed up the creek bed at the bottom of the canyon, not too deep, but deep enough. We stalked quietly hoping to come across some bedded hogs. This being my 1st Pig Hunt, besides chasing after them on the Sunol Driving range at night back in high school, I followed Steve's lead. He had been successful here in March, and before he left for that hunt he had told me about it. With all the new growth, it seemed like a make sense spot for hungry pigs to root around in.
We headed up the right side of the canyon, sliding through the damp ash and soft granite soil, only saturated about half an inch, which made the footing just a bit slippery. The wind was weird, switching directions with every gust. One minute it was blowing up the canyon, the next it was blowing down. Stopping to glass every few minutes, we didn't see much and the rain had now turned to hail. We reached the top of the ridge, glassed a bit more through the hail, not seeing much. We had a 360 degree view of the place, everything in site within about 6-700 yards. If there were pigs running around we could have seen them... with the exception of the bottom. The manzanita was thick and we couldn't see down the ravine. There was signs of pigs, but none in sight. By this time, we'd probably been out for a little over an hour. Steve knew had said we may have been too early, so we glassed a bit more, and decided to walk down and across to the other side of the canyon to see what the visibility was. After the up and down, we decided our original position, was our best bet. Then it was back to the car until about 330 and we were out again.
Following our tracks from earlier in the day, we headed back up the right side, and went about 3/4 of the way up. Still wet, not raining anymore, but getting cold enough to snow, we picked some spots to sit and glass. I watched the clouds roll by hoping, praying the sun would break through. No such luck. We sat and glassed, waiting for some movement.
Given my previous experiences, I began to over think the situation a bit. Here we are, waiting for the exact same scenario that Steve had experienced two months earlier, waiting for pigs to crest the opposite ridge, and make their way down to the burnt creek bed. Who knew if there were 20 oinkers just on the opposite side of us? I wanted to grab my rifle and run up to the top of the ridge to see what was going on over on the other side. But I knew as soon as I did that, the pigs would show up.
And then the sun broke through. I was looking up at the blue skies when Steve whispered to me. Across the ridge up to our left he spotted one. I put up the bino's and saw it as well, making it's way down, then saw a tan one right on top of the ridge. Steve ranged them, about 450 yards. We grabbed our packs and began to close the distance. Half way down the ridge we ranged them again, 300, them moving towards us and us to them, still across the canyon. I had been expecting to take a long shot on this trip and was ready to do so, except the piggys were moving down the hill pretty quick.
We made our way to the bottom, the pigs now out of site. I set my scope to the lowest power expecting to stumble upon them in the thick manzanita. With the wind still in our face, we closed the distance to where we had last seen them. Every now and then we would see their black bodies through the branches, but no shots. We inched closer. 75 yards, we inched closer, 50 yards we inched closer. Now within 40 yards, I had a shot on the tan one. Steve's goal was to make sure I got my 1st hog. My goal was a double. He told me to take the shot, but I held off. I knew we could get these together. So we moved closer, walking softly, eyes on the two pigs who were now snout to snout. At less 30 yards, we had an opening. With Steve to my left, I placed my barrel on a thin branch of manzanita to steady my shot. Not much help, but better than nothing. It was an easy shoulder shot. Again, Steve encouraged me to take it. I told him, no, the black one is going to turn, still snout to snout. As soon as she did, we began the count.
"Don't do the 1-2-tha-ree," I whispered. Steve counted out, "one...two...THREE!" The shots rang out simultaneously. The pigs crossed each other bolting down the hill. Mine was now coming right towards us! Instinctually, our hands worked the bolt, putting a fresh round in the chamber. I held my barrel at her from the hip as she darted towards us. As soon as she noticed we were in her path she veered left, eyes huge with surprise. I could see the exit would, right behind the shoulder. Not more than 30 yards past us she stumbled, fell next to a bush and stopped kicking. My eyes jumped to Steve's pig which was now into the thick stuff in the creek bed below us. We heard her running through the brush and then a crash. Two pigs followed and darted into the brush. Silence fell over the area.
We walked up to my hog, she was down and now began to search for Steve's. I thought she went in and turned down towards the opening of the canyon. We searched, but no signs. We headed back up to the spot where she had gone into the brush. We found the blood and began to follow the trail. Drop by drop, we crouched through the brush and found his pig tucked under the one live tree left down there. We wrapped the tow rope around her back legs and dragged her out. Once she was out, we wrapped the tow rope around her snout and dragged her about 100 yards into a clearing next to the creek bed. The truck was less than 100 yards away.
We then dragged my pig down to the same spot, another 100 yard drag, and snapped some photos. We cleaned them out and then pulled the truck up.
I know. I was completely spoiled on my 1st hog. I've heard the horror stories of the recoveries on these animals, but not me. I brought the truck to the pigs, didn't bring the pigs to the truck. Lucked out... I don't expect this to happen again.
Back at camp, there were already 2 pigs up on the rack, our 2, and 2 out in the field. Friday was a big day, I think 10 or 11 were taken the 1st night. Once the rack opened up, Steve and I went to work. A big thanks to Kenny for the tips!
The rest of the weekend was spent chillaxing. I woke up at 830 to Kenny and Carl stringing up their pigs. As the morning progressed, Rancho came in with his big boar and other guys rolled in with their pigs. Saturday ended with Steve and I watching Scott take a pig from across a canyon. We sat under an oak across the canyon and watched the hunt unfold as Phillip, Kenny, Carl and Jesse all watched from the other side. When we left on Sunday, there was 20 pigs in for 29 guys. 69%!!!
I have to say, I've been on a lot of public hunts, mostly turkey. Never have I seen a group of guys so willing to help and make sure everyone is successful. There's no secret spots. I have to give out a big thanks to Phillip for putting this thing together. I had a blast. What a great group of guys. Looking forward to next year!
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Speckmisser
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I've got video and "the long version" in the wings after I get some sleep and a little spare time. In the meantime, here's the final stats...
29 hunters killed 22 hogs.
10 of those hogs were killed on Friday evening, although three were recovered on Saturday. (edited due to fuzzy math... my eyes are fuzzy from lack of sleep)
There were seven boars and 15 sows taken. (No wet or pregnant sows were harmed in the making of this hunt.)
All 29 hunters took at least one shot at at least one hog.
Some took more than one shot at more than one hog.
Big pig award goes to Rancho for the 180lb field-dressed boar. I'm drawing a blank on who it was, but someone else brought one in all cut up, and from the size of the hams it might have given Ranch a run for his money... but the rules say field-dressed. Scott (Grtwythunter) is managing the big-pig pool, so he and Rancho can square things up.
Everybody had a pretty danged good time, despite the challenging weather on Friday and Sunday.
And yeah, here's one more money shot...
[attachment=52106:me_and_boar_small.jpg]
29 hunters killed 22 hogs.
10 of those hogs were killed on Friday evening, although three were recovered on Saturday. (edited due to fuzzy math... my eyes are fuzzy from lack of sleep)
There were seven boars and 15 sows taken. (No wet or pregnant sows were harmed in the making of this hunt.)
All 29 hunters took at least one shot at at least one hog.
Some took more than one shot at more than one hog.
Big pig award goes to Rancho for the 180lb field-dressed boar. I'm drawing a blank on who it was, but someone else brought one in all cut up, and from the size of the hams it might have given Ranch a run for his money... but the rules say field-dressed. Scott (Grtwythunter) is managing the big-pig pool, so he and Rancho can square things up.
Everybody had a pretty danged good time, despite the challenging weather on Friday and Sunday.
And yeah, here's one more money shot...
[attachment=52106:me_and_boar_small.jpg]
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photo-shooter
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Couple more pix... now that i know how to post pix on here.
chirohunter
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Sean (Photo-Shooter) pretty much summed it all up....better than I could! Good write up, Sean!
I think the only thing I need to add is:
This was Sean's first big game animal he has ever taken. Congrats to that!!
After observing me field dress my pig, Sean picked up the knife and proceeded to jump right on in with both hands, gutting his first pig....without hesitation! No Fear!!
Back at the skinning rack it became obvious, nobody was going to touch Sean's pig but Sean....He skinned his entire pig with only a few pointers from some other JHOers. Awesome!!
Finally, back at home....he processed his entire pig...again with only a few pointers!
GREAT job for a first-timer!!!!
Great hunting with you Sean...It was a hunt I'll always remember!!!
The rest of the guys were same-ole-same-ole.....helpfull, fun, insightful, great stories, generous, knowledgeable, shared their sausage, shared their vehicles, shared their honey holes, shared their beer, shared their tequila, shared their power tools(that's right!!! flood lights, saws-all and generator...Nice!...thanks Rich!)....like I said..."same-ole-same-ole"!!!
Thanks to all you fellow JHOers....It made for one great time!!
Kenny, thanks for the new skinning and sausaging techniques!!
Jesse, thanks for the raffle give-away!!
Phillip, thanks for all the time and hard work you put in for this hunt...it was another home-run!!!
Steve
[attachment=52110:3a.jpg]
I think the only thing I need to add is:
This was Sean's first big game animal he has ever taken. Congrats to that!!
After observing me field dress my pig, Sean picked up the knife and proceeded to jump right on in with both hands, gutting his first pig....without hesitation! No Fear!!
Back at the skinning rack it became obvious, nobody was going to touch Sean's pig but Sean....He skinned his entire pig with only a few pointers from some other JHOers. Awesome!!
Finally, back at home....he processed his entire pig...again with only a few pointers!
GREAT job for a first-timer!!!!
Great hunting with you Sean...It was a hunt I'll always remember!!!
The rest of the guys were same-ole-same-ole.....helpfull, fun, insightful, great stories, generous, knowledgeable, shared their sausage, shared their vehicles, shared their honey holes, shared their beer, shared their tequila, shared their power tools(that's right!!! flood lights, saws-all and generator...Nice!...thanks Rich!)....like I said..."same-ole-same-ole"!!!
Thanks to all you fellow JHOers....It made for one great time!!
Kenny, thanks for the new skinning and sausaging techniques!!
Jesse, thanks for the raffle give-away!!
Phillip, thanks for all the time and hard work you put in for this hunt...it was another home-run!!!
Steve
[attachment=52110:3a.jpg]
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Eric Mayer
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Good job guys!! I'll bet Tejon has never seen better success out of a group of hunters.
Keep the stories and pictures coming!
Eric
Keep the stories and pictures coming!
Eric
An awesome weekend, great folks, good times, tons of hogs, and high success... what more can you ask for? I'll apologize in advance for the "novel" but it was an "excellent adventure" and I've got to share!
Started hunting right away after the early check-in. My buddy Dennis and I went immediately to scout the area near where I scored my first hog a month earlier. Plenty of fresh sign so we decided to come back at pig:30 and see what we could see. Until then we drove around to get our bearings on some unfamiliar roads in other areas of the ranch. Came back a bit early to "the spot", ate some lunch and caught a few z's waiting for the pigs to show.
About 4:30pm we spot 2 of them, a decent looking sow and and small one. I ask Dennis if he wants to go stalk them now or wait a while to see some more... its still real early. He's pumped and ready to go now so we were off to mess with those 2 pigs about 1000 yards across the canyon. 20 minutes later we're getting close and I hear a squeel above us, right where they should be. Slowly we creep up where we should see them but they must be hiding. Slowly moving up about 20 yards from a big fallen tree a twig breaks under Dennis' feet and the 2 hogs, who ended up being right behind that tree, get nervous and scoot up the hill about 20 yards, stop, and sniff around. Dennis is at full draw with the pigs about 45 yards in front of him, but just then they move about 10 yards to the right of him and now the tree's in his way. But as luck would have it I now have a perfect broadside shot. Out comes the range finder, 41.5 yards. 5 seconds later I squeeze the release and THWACK! A decent shot! She runs up and over the hill and 30 minutes later we're following the blood trail. It started out REAL good but after 50 yards only very small drops every 5-10 yards or so. We decided to mark the last blood and just hike up and look around because she can't be far if it was a good shot. Sure enough she lay at the bottom of a small draw on the other side of the spine. She ended up basically getting over the hill then started rolling to the bottom. PIG DOWN! Ended up getting that G5 Striker broadhead through the near lung but the shot was a little high (and uphill) which apparently caused the small blood trail. Sure enough there was a ton of blood in the chest.
After dressing her out we began the drag up about 600 yards to the road and we were hunting again by 6:30 trying to get Dennis his pig. Spotted quite a few hogs, only one group accessible off powerline road around 7:30 but the winds swirled and busted about 10 seconds too early.
At dark we head back to camp to get my pig weighed and skinned (158lbs)... 8 hogs down already and quite a few folks yet to return.
Saturday we didn't spot anything in the morning and spent the rest of the day driving all over the Tunis/Ghegus and Bear Trap area to get familiar. I dropped Dennis off around mid-day for a 1000ft vertical descent down a hillside and he got into some beds only to find a wet sow he passed on. A few pigs spotted starting around 5pm but nothing we could get to (or recover). We're back at Friday's spot by 7pm to see what's there. Sure enough after a while we're spotting 4 groups of pigs, most of them out of reach but a group with a nice bigger one (maybe 200lbs) around 600 yards across the canyon. We've only got about 15 minutes of good light so out comes the rifle and Dennis runs off to try and get in position. 15 minutes later I hear the shot and pigs scatter but no hit. He missed about a 300 yard shot (says he couldn't find a good rest!). Back to camp there's something like 19 pigs down so far.
Sunday's weather was miserable for us but the pigs must have been loving it. COLD drizzle, low clouds and fog were a plenty and we got some good rain at times. Certain sections of roads were downright evil. All the honey holes we'd found this weekend were now at zero vis. We were forced to find new areas with pockets of clear areas and basically our morning hunt was a bust. Mid day we decide to hike up a canyon after a tip from Speckmisser and found a ton of sign but no pigs. We now make the hike up the same area Dennis had came down the day before trying to get into some beds, but our legs are done after about 500 vertical feet and we side hill for a while before giving up and heading down the steepest hill I've ever been on without skis strapped on. Checked in at camp and hung around for a while trying to make a plan for the evening. We head out at 2:30pm for the final attempt. We're just looking for any area that isn't in total fog. Hard rain comes around 5pm as we make our way up powerline road and the road is getting slimy as heck. I'm worried we're gonna get stuck if we go much further but Dennis is confident things are ok for the moment. We start spotting pigs in between clouds and theres a good sized boar up a draw and off goes Dennis for the stalk while I try to flag him up the hill from the truck. Winded again! A bit higher up the road we spot another good boar around 300 yards across the canyon in a questionnable recovery area. They're on the move and almost out of sight so out comes the rifle again. Range finder can't get a good reading through the rain and fog but we're guessing anywhere from 250 to 350 yards. Shot and a miss around 2 inches over his back. I've never seen a pig run so fast. The cheetah boar must have covered 1000 yards in 10 seconds. I'm glad he missed because the recovery would have been a complete nightmare.
Trying to get up to squirrel ridge from powerline road the road is snot and we're barely getting up the hill. We end up getting to the top only to come to a steep downhill section that resulted in a high-speed no-brakes death charge for 300 yards and a near heart attack on my part. ABS didn't like the mud. After that little trick I notice I'm holding my door open ready to jump out! After a few deep breaths we're trying to get lower down into squirrel canyon hoping for some fog-less hillsides to look at. Finally just a bit before dark we spot some hogs near the top of a ridge not too far away and charge after them with the rifle. 240 yards away we find a nice fallen tree for a rest. A minute or two to catch the breath and he fires and connects. Pig Down! It rolls right down to us. It's not a big pig but a good eater, around a 75lb boar.
Anyhow, this was my 4th trip to Tejon and 2nd hog with the bow. For Dennis he got his 3rd pig out of 6 attempts (first rifle pig). We must have seen over 100 hogs for the weekend. They were out in force!
Thanks to Phillip for setting this all up and helping out in many ways. All the hunters were helpful and fun... some good times and great memories. Can't wait for next year!
Started hunting right away after the early check-in. My buddy Dennis and I went immediately to scout the area near where I scored my first hog a month earlier. Plenty of fresh sign so we decided to come back at pig:30 and see what we could see. Until then we drove around to get our bearings on some unfamiliar roads in other areas of the ranch. Came back a bit early to "the spot", ate some lunch and caught a few z's waiting for the pigs to show.
About 4:30pm we spot 2 of them, a decent looking sow and and small one. I ask Dennis if he wants to go stalk them now or wait a while to see some more... its still real early. He's pumped and ready to go now so we were off to mess with those 2 pigs about 1000 yards across the canyon. 20 minutes later we're getting close and I hear a squeel above us, right where they should be. Slowly we creep up where we should see them but they must be hiding. Slowly moving up about 20 yards from a big fallen tree a twig breaks under Dennis' feet and the 2 hogs, who ended up being right behind that tree, get nervous and scoot up the hill about 20 yards, stop, and sniff around. Dennis is at full draw with the pigs about 45 yards in front of him, but just then they move about 10 yards to the right of him and now the tree's in his way. But as luck would have it I now have a perfect broadside shot. Out comes the range finder, 41.5 yards. 5 seconds later I squeeze the release and THWACK! A decent shot! She runs up and over the hill and 30 minutes later we're following the blood trail. It started out REAL good but after 50 yards only very small drops every 5-10 yards or so. We decided to mark the last blood and just hike up and look around because she can't be far if it was a good shot. Sure enough she lay at the bottom of a small draw on the other side of the spine. She ended up basically getting over the hill then started rolling to the bottom. PIG DOWN! Ended up getting that G5 Striker broadhead through the near lung but the shot was a little high (and uphill) which apparently caused the small blood trail. Sure enough there was a ton of blood in the chest.
After dressing her out we began the drag up about 600 yards to the road and we were hunting again by 6:30 trying to get Dennis his pig. Spotted quite a few hogs, only one group accessible off powerline road around 7:30 but the winds swirled and busted about 10 seconds too early.
At dark we head back to camp to get my pig weighed and skinned (158lbs)... 8 hogs down already and quite a few folks yet to return.
Saturday we didn't spot anything in the morning and spent the rest of the day driving all over the Tunis/Ghegus and Bear Trap area to get familiar. I dropped Dennis off around mid-day for a 1000ft vertical descent down a hillside and he got into some beds only to find a wet sow he passed on. A few pigs spotted starting around 5pm but nothing we could get to (or recover). We're back at Friday's spot by 7pm to see what's there. Sure enough after a while we're spotting 4 groups of pigs, most of them out of reach but a group with a nice bigger one (maybe 200lbs) around 600 yards across the canyon. We've only got about 15 minutes of good light so out comes the rifle and Dennis runs off to try and get in position. 15 minutes later I hear the shot and pigs scatter but no hit. He missed about a 300 yard shot (says he couldn't find a good rest!). Back to camp there's something like 19 pigs down so far.
Sunday's weather was miserable for us but the pigs must have been loving it. COLD drizzle, low clouds and fog were a plenty and we got some good rain at times. Certain sections of roads were downright evil. All the honey holes we'd found this weekend were now at zero vis. We were forced to find new areas with pockets of clear areas and basically our morning hunt was a bust. Mid day we decide to hike up a canyon after a tip from Speckmisser and found a ton of sign but no pigs. We now make the hike up the same area Dennis had came down the day before trying to get into some beds, but our legs are done after about 500 vertical feet and we side hill for a while before giving up and heading down the steepest hill I've ever been on without skis strapped on. Checked in at camp and hung around for a while trying to make a plan for the evening. We head out at 2:30pm for the final attempt. We're just looking for any area that isn't in total fog. Hard rain comes around 5pm as we make our way up powerline road and the road is getting slimy as heck. I'm worried we're gonna get stuck if we go much further but Dennis is confident things are ok for the moment. We start spotting pigs in between clouds and theres a good sized boar up a draw and off goes Dennis for the stalk while I try to flag him up the hill from the truck. Winded again! A bit higher up the road we spot another good boar around 300 yards across the canyon in a questionnable recovery area. They're on the move and almost out of sight so out comes the rifle again. Range finder can't get a good reading through the rain and fog but we're guessing anywhere from 250 to 350 yards. Shot and a miss around 2 inches over his back. I've never seen a pig run so fast. The cheetah boar must have covered 1000 yards in 10 seconds. I'm glad he missed because the recovery would have been a complete nightmare.
Trying to get up to squirrel ridge from powerline road the road is snot and we're barely getting up the hill. We end up getting to the top only to come to a steep downhill section that resulted in a high-speed no-brakes death charge for 300 yards and a near heart attack on my part. ABS didn't like the mud. After that little trick I notice I'm holding my door open ready to jump out! After a few deep breaths we're trying to get lower down into squirrel canyon hoping for some fog-less hillsides to look at. Finally just a bit before dark we spot some hogs near the top of a ridge not too far away and charge after them with the rifle. 240 yards away we find a nice fallen tree for a rest. A minute or two to catch the breath and he fires and connects. Pig Down! It rolls right down to us. It's not a big pig but a good eater, around a 75lb boar.
Anyhow, this was my 4th trip to Tejon and 2nd hog with the bow. For Dennis he got his 3rd pig out of 6 attempts (first rifle pig). We must have seen over 100 hogs for the weekend. They were out in force!
Thanks to Phillip for setting this all up and helping out in many ways. All the hunters were helpful and fun... some good times and great memories. Can't wait for next year!
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grtwythunter
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grtwythunter
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