My recent hog hunt.

[muddy_udders]

Sorry for the long post.
I had a great hunt. No pigs but learned some more things and would go back again. (Already booked.)
I prefer still hunting and jumping pigs in their beds, that said it is somewhat too dry in California this January to really acomplish this method of hunting but that doesn't stop me from trying.

I am currently working graveyard shift and wasn't able to fall asleep the night before this hunt. When I met him at six I had been up for 20 hours and wen't the rest of the hunt with no nap. This may have clouded my judgement somewhat but it is still clouded so WTH.

George set me up in a bowl that hadn't been hunted with dogs in awhile by my request. He gives you a two way radio so you can keep in touch and a radio tracker device so if your injured he can find you.
There was alot of rooting in the lower sections of the bowl and it was all recent so I figured they would be bedding on the slope in the trees.
I started up the left side and worked my way through it. I am no master hunter and have struck out more times than I hit a home run but I still get back up to bat.
I jumped some does and a large buck at the blue dot. When I reached the yellow square George called me on the radio to check in and to see if I wanted to stay or move on. I hadn't found any large bedding areas and not a whole lot of pig droppings old or new but I wanted to make another pass on the hill side somewhat lower so I told him to check back in 3 hours.
[attachment=58297:Image1.jpg]

I worked my way across and down the creek. There was alot more droppings down in the valley on the trails but not in the rooting sections. I still found no major bedding areas. At this time it was 4:30 and I settled in an a small ridge where I could see the whole bowl hoping to spot 'em when they came out at sunset.
A lot of deer came out (30 plus) and one humongous hog appeared on the ridge @ 5:43 pm 12 minutes after sunset(Yellow dot). Nothing came out from inside the bowl except deer.
My learnings:
Lots of rooting little droppings=lower number of pigs
Low # of beds=pigs movin in to feed/root and bedding in a more choice area.

Would I move to a new area next time? probably not. Were there pigs hunkered down and I walked past them? I will never know. My passes were about 400 feet apart so there were large areas of land I didn't touch.

 

[sancho]

mr udders (may i call you mud?)

what is the range across that bowl?

i am no expert. i'm actually very green. i think i would have gone the left ridge, and sat there glassing the right ridge. walking about sleepy, i hate. i have done it, and i find myself just walking. just to the left of the yellow dot, looks very thick.

i cant wait to meet all of you guys and check out the scene.

 

[BackCountryHNTR]

Nice report man! Thanks for sharing...How do you upload your waypoints to Google?

 

[Mel Carter]

Wow, that bowl is the very first place I hunted on the ranch more then 20 years ago. We took 2 hogs out of that bowl. It's a great piece of property. Just further up the creek from where you went up into the bowl is Cassidy, that's the last place I hunted, we took 4 out that area.

George and I have been playing phone tag for the last few days. Would be good if Ken shows up, he can take half the group out.

 

[hatchet1]

muddy,how long was your hunt and what did it cost you,was it cheaper to go unguided?what did your total fee include?
i always like to see whats out there,and what people are charging these days

 

[Kentuck]

Hatchet1

The cost is $300/day for spot and stalk unless George gave him a discount. This if from talking to them at the ISE show.

 

[THE ROMAN ARCHER]

thanks for sharing the hunt with us my friend! dont worry about the strike out, i got a few of those at hunting hogs at Choppers place while trying to figure them out and the property, i would do it agian in a lickity split, and thats what i love about hog hunting, they are a super real honest challenge to hunt with a bow and i have no problem spending the money and time over and over agian in my pursuit to arrow a hog, no problem i am addicted to hog hunting.......tra

but i really look forward to hunting with you on the ranch when we get together in april, it will be good time for sure! have a great day!

 

[muddy_udders]

I gave my disclaimer about the type of hunter I am so people would know this was typical hunt for me and not think it is typical for the guide service. I know there were pigs there I just couldn't find them that day. I was dog tired and if I could have found some level ground in the shade I would have slept a couple hours.

TRA: I can't wait should be a lot of fun. I have never been on a hunt trip I always do one day stuff. It will be great to see them come out in the evening and catch them in the morning. I want to get that big one it was huge. It looked like it had a lot of domestic still in it because it was long but who knows.

Hatchet: The cost was $300 for what they call spot and stalk. They drop you in an area that they are 99% sure have pigs and the rest is up to you.
They also do a full guided hunt with dogs for $500 I believe.
My hunt was all day. I got in the field about day break and didn't come out until 1/2 hour past sunset.

Sancho : The bowl was about .75 miles long and .5 miles wide and I stopped along the way at different points to glass the trees and opposite ridge face. The trees to the left were thick I went in about half way up but there was only crawling trails and it was dry and noisy.

BCHNTR:Those were actually the google earth "path" feature, but to upload waypoints you have to convert to GPX files and then KML I think. I used GPS BABEL for converting. I haven't done it in a couple years so don't remember exactly. I have magellan GPS and I believe it is way easier or even direct drop with Garmin

 

[sidepass]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (muddy_udders @ Jan 30 2009, 12:19 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

Sorry for the long post.
I had a great hunt. No pigs but learned some more things and would go back again. (Already booked.)
I prefer still hunting and jumping pigs in their beds, that said it is somewhat too dry in California this January to really acomplish this method of hunting but that doesn't stop me from trying.

I am currently working graveyard shift and wasn't able to fall asleep the night before this hunt. When I met him at six I had been up for 20 hours and wen't the rest of the hunt with no nap. This may have clouded my judgement somewhat but it is still clouded so WTH.

George set me up in a bowl that hadn't been hunted with dogs in awhile by my request. He gives you a two way radio so you can keep in touch and a radio tracker device so if your injured he can find you.
There was alot of rooting in the lower sections of the bowl and it was all recent so I figured they would be bedding on the slope in the trees.
I started up the left side and worked my way through it. I am no master hunter and have struck out more times than I hit a home run but I still get back up to bat.
I jumped some does and a large buck at the blue dot. When I reached the yellow square George called me on the radio to check in and to see if I wanted to stay or move on. I hadn't found any large bedding areas and not a whole lot of pig droppings old or new but I wanted to make another pass on the hill side somewhat lower so I told him to check back in 3 hours.
[attachment=58297:Image1.jpg]

I worked my way across and down the creek. There was alot more droppings down in the valley on the trails but not in the rooting sections. I still found no major bedding areas. At this time it was 4:30 and I settled in an a small ridge where I could see the whole bowl hoping to spot 'em when they came out at sunset.
A lot of deer came out (30 plus) and one humongous hog appeared on the ridge @ 5:43 pm 12 minutes after sunset(Yellow dot). Nothing came out from inside the bowl except deer.
My learnings:
Lots of rooting little droppings=lower number of pigs
Low # of beds=pigs movin in to feed/root and bedding in a more choice area.

Would I move to a new area next time? probably not. Were there pigs hunkered down and I walked past them? I will never know. My passes were about 400 feet apart so there were large areas of land I didn't touch.[/b]

 

[sidepass]

What was the weather like? Know thats its dry, mostly want to know the daytime temp. Have scheduled a hunt on the 9th and will check out the weather report the weekend before. I walked some canyons on the Jack Ranch a couple of years ago and it was walking in HELL and that was before 9:00 am.Thanks .

sidepass



<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (sidepass @ Jan 30 2009, 06:24 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (muddy_udders @ Jan 30 2009, 12:19 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Sorry for the long post.
I had a great hunt. No pigs but learned some more things and would go back again. (Already booked.)
I prefer still hunting and jumping pigs in their beds, that said it is somewhat too dry in California this January to really acomplish this method of hunting but that doesn't stop me from trying.

I am currently working graveyard shift and wasn't able to fall asleep the night before this hunt. When I met him at six I had been up for 20 hours and wen't the rest of the hunt with no nap. This may have clouded my judgement somewhat but it is still clouded so WTH.

George set me up in a bowl that hadn't been hunted with dogs in awhile by my request. He gives you a two way radio so you can keep in touch and a radio tracker device so if your injured he can find you.
There was alot of rooting in the lower sections of the bowl and it was all recent so I figured they would be bedding on the slope in the trees.
I started up the left side and worked my way through it. I am no master hunter and have struck out more times than I hit a home run but I still get back up to bat.
I jumped some does and a large buck at the blue dot. When I reached the yellow square George called me on the radio to check in and to see if I wanted to stay or move on. I hadn't found any large bedding areas and not a whole lot of pig droppings old or new but I wanted to make another pass on the hill side somewhat lower so I told him to check back in 3 hours.
[attachment=58297:Image1.jpg]

I worked my way across and down the creek. There was alot more droppings down in the valley on the trails but not in the rooting sections. I still found no major bedding areas. At this time it was 4:30 and I settled in an a small ridge where I could see the whole bowl hoping to spot 'em when they came out at sunset.
A lot of deer came out (30 plus) and one humongous hog appeared on the ridge @ 5:43 pm 12 minutes after sunset(Yellow dot). Nothing came out from inside the bowl except deer.
My learnings:
Lots of rooting little droppings=lower number of pigs
Low # of beds=pigs movin in to feed/root and bedding in a more choice area.

Would I move to a new area next time? probably not. Were there pigs hunkered down and I walked past them? I will never know. My passes were about 400 feet apart so there were large areas of land I didn't touch.[/b]

[/b][/quote]

 

[muddy_udders]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (sidepass @ Jan 30 2009, 06:31 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

What was the weather like? Know thats its dry, mostly want to know the daytime temp. Have scheduled a hunt on the 9th and will check out the weather report the weekend before. I walked some canyons on the Jack Ranch a couple of years ago and it was walking in HELL and that was before 9:00 am.Thanks .

sidepass[/b]

Low to mid seventies. I had a long sleeve shirt and a BDU jacket that is really a shirt. Glad I had it in the morning and at sundown but didn't need it the rest of the time. Summer time would be hell 100 plus I am sure.

 

[Live2hunt]

That was the bowl I kept telling yall about. Like I said before, that bowl has only been good to me on evening hunts. I always like to position myself somewhere near the yellow dot and just glass for the evening. That way if anything shows up below, it will be an easier and quicker drop down to within range. Good luck on your next try.



L2H

 

[sancho]

mud, that is an awesome story.

very impressed you can work nights and hunt. i am hopeless, without sleep. you put in some miles. great job.