Jr. Hunter Pig Draw for Joice Island!!! 411 please

[Summitdog]

My 13 year old son was drawn for a Junior Pig Hunt on Joice Island. This is a welcome relief from the years of turkey hunting on public land with zero success. (He was becoming disenchanted with the hunting and the not succeeding aspect)

He will be using his upland bird shotgun: 20 guage Remington 870 (smooth bore). Any recommendations for non-lead slugs? His shotgun is not setup for a scope. I would like any mounting suggestions too.

From my limited research it appears that waders are an essential. Any suggestions and/or recommendations are welcome. I want to (finally) have a successful hunt for me son. Attached is a copy of the site map with highlights.

Scotty

 

[Planetcat]

Federal copper sabots will work fine out of the 870. Make sure your son practices before the hunt, especially with no scope or iron sights. Keep shots def under 100 yards. Hip boots are fine. Check the tide tables, because the pigs will come running out of the montezuma slough onto the levy when the tide rises. You will need to walk the entire property on the road to figure out where they are hanging out. Could be a total of 6+ miles by the end of the day, which is tiring in waders. If you don’t connect on Saturday, go back on Sunday for sure. Rolando is the biologist for Grizzly and Joice Island. If you call him at the local office, he’ll give you some tips. He’s a great guy. Good luck finding 20 gauge copper slugs.

 

[Summitdog]

Planetcat,

Thanks.

Is it possible to access Joice Island to walk the road to get an idea of the best sites?

I have adjusted my strategy to look for 20 gauge or 12 gauge copper slugs. There is a nearby shop that has a Mossberg 695 in stock so if I can find shells in the 12 gauge that is another option. The only shop I have found so far with 12 gauge copper slugs is a few hours away.

Scotty

 

[Planetcat]

I don’t believe you are allowed to pre-scout prior to the hunt, but there is only a private duck club there, which is empty off season, and not locked for people walking. You probably can just park in the lot and walk the property unarmed before the hunt weekend.

As for slugs, you may not have much of a choice, but 12 guage is better. 3” are not worth the extra recoil over 2-3/4” too. I found that a 28” smooth bore with modified choke shoots as good as a short barreled rifled shotgun. About 6” groups at 100 yards with open sights.

You will need to be on the move the whole day, doing laps around the property. I’ve hunted there multiple times, but about 4 years ago my son got drawn for the junior hunt. The island was heavily flooded due to big rains. There were several groups of pigs way at the far west end of the island that another kid shot and dragged it back in the dark about 4 miles. We got lazy and didn't walk that far out and got skunked. I have seen pigs by the big bridge on the east side, but the marsh is practically unpenetrable there. Most of the pig activity runs along the slough side of the property. They will camp out on islands in the middle, if there hasn’t been much recent depredation. Rolando will tell you what the current conditions are.

You may want to bust through tules that the pigs tunnel through. For you (non-hunter) you might want to carry a long, pointed stick to push through the reeds. I use a wooden closet pole, sharpened at the end. Helps walking in the mud and water too.

Good luck. Should be fun!

 

[dthome]

I have found that sabots will not hit the broadside of a barn in a smoothbore. You’ll need to get a rifled barrel or find a rifled copper slug to improve accuracy.

 

[Summitdog]

Trying to find ammunition has proved exceedingly difficult.

 

[fuzzymarindave]

Found some winchester sabot copper slugs at Sportsmans Hunting shop in Stockton.

 

[canamrider07]

Trying to find ammunition has proved exceedingly difficult.

I just got some 22LR from Optics Planet, I felt like I hit the jackpot, try them. And use whatever you can find. I had no problem shooting this boar with a non-rifled slug in a smooth bore shotgun. It was a 12 gauge.

 

[Summitdog]

Found some winchester sabot copper slugs at Sportsmans Hunting shop in Stockton.

I drove there the other day only to find out that I could not buy any ammo. I have moved since the last time I bought a firearm and I did not update CFARS. (If they can update voter registration when one changes one's address with the DMV , why not CFARS?) I have updated my address with CFARS. Day #3 and still no update in the system.

 

[fuzzymarindave]

I struggled with CFARS and ended up buying another gun to get in the system. That shop has used guns so maybe you can ask them to hold the ammo in reserve and buy a cheap .22 to get into the system. Your hunt date would have to be beyond the wait period. I'm also drawn for Joice Island pig hunt and this will be my first time after those critters. Couple years ago I nearly stepped on one there that was sleeping in the grass as I was dragging a bad of duck decoys out to a small pond. It was a big one and my 80 lb Lab started to give chase but he happily turned around when I called him back.

 

[K.Sosay]

It's a super tough hunt. I took my son (he was 15 at the time) out a couple of years ago and the best we got was a 100 yard shot at running boar at the very end of shooting light the last day. It was super hot. There's no shade and a ton of mosquitos. I wouldn't bother going into the tules and the muck. The pigs are smart and go nocturnal and hide out when there's an influx of human activity. We saw a ton of pig signs. They're deep in there but deeper than you can go without getting stuck. I would've toughed it out and hunted harder if solo, but with a kid, you can't force them on a death march if you ever want them to want to go out hunting again ...
justsayin

 

[Summitdog]

We finally did get everything together at the last minute. We were able to get him zeroed at Richmond Rod and Gun Club on our way up to Joice Island Friday afternoon. It was not the ideal way to go into a hunt but sometimes things just go that way.

We hiked a lot. We saw one good pig off in the distance on the other side of a slough. It was ambling towards the tules so we decided to cross and close the distance. When we got to the other side and made it to the clearing he was gone. The rest of the time we were just hiking with a gun. My son enjoyed the hunt but to have another unproductive hunt was disappointing. Maybe I’ll sign him up for one of the canned pig hunts so he can finally have some success.

Scotty

 

[Bigolwiggler]

It might have been said but On Joice Isl. you will likely not need a scope . If it was me , I would not mount a scope . Short 60 yd Max shots , probably less. Tall tules in trails for the most part. Hard to hunt . I would scout low grass Low height tule areas to look for major active sign.... then wait em out and listen for near-by hogs. They usually make noise. used to live out there ( Well Grizzly Island ) .....and used to fish and duck hunt on Joice . Scout hard if you can before
the hunt .
BOW

 

[Bigolwiggler]

I

It might have been said but On Joice Isl. you will likely not need a scope . If it was me , I would not mount a scope . Short 60 yd Max shots , probably less. Tall tules in trails for the most part. Hard to hunt . I would scout low grass Low height tule areas to look for major active sign.... then wait em out and listen for near-by hogs. They usually make noise. used to live out there ( Well Grizzly Island ) .....and used to fish and duck hunt on Joice . Scout hard if you can before
the hunt .
BOW

I know that out on grizzly island , during the elk hunt, guys cruise the levee roads ( which are a bit higher than the rest of the land . They park , set up a folding ladder in the beds of their pick-ups to get up higher than all of the vegetation and use their glass to spot elk . Not sure if this would work for hogs or for finding their rooting areas but its worth some thought . Ask the biologist there if he/she thinks this would aid you . And hey , bring your fishing rod. There are some descent Striper fishing spots out there in Short Cut Slough , especially where two channels meet together.
BOW

 

[canamrider07]

Nothing wrong with spending money on someone or someplace that will help you be successful.