Need help please. Public land pigs in CA

[modlinb]

I know you guys dont know me but I'm a farm boy from Ne stuck in cali looking for pigs. I'm the real deal Bust my butt and find my own quail, chuckar and deer and have no problem doing it just love to hunt. I'm so sick of these dumber than dirt so called hunters paying 600 or more for a hundred pound pig. It just blows my mind thats not hunting its ruining the sport but anyway I'm in bakersfield if anyone can tell me where to look or try i'd love to go shoot some pigs. thanks for the help

 

[weekender21]

Not exactly the best way to introduce yourself here. Most of us "dumber than dirt" hunters here in California have paid for a private land hog hunt at one time or another.

Numbers don't lie and well over 90% of the hogs killed here every year come from private land. If you do a little research and a ton of scouting and hunting it is possible to kill hogs here on public land.

Good luck...

 

[CAjackrabbitWCP]

I'd get buddy buddy with a rancher on the central coast. Lost of cattle ranches have pigs on them.

 

[Farmerdoug]

modlinb, welcome to the forum! It's always great to get the "farm boy" perspective when it comes to any type of hunting or fishing. Word of advise; I've found that it's best to just bight your tongue when it comes to mentioning "high fenced ranches" and "pay to hunt". It's an arguement nobody's gonna win around here. Saying that, glad to have you aboard. There's a lot of good guys here who have a lot a good info to share.

 

[HOGHUNTER714]

Not exactly the best way to introduce yourself here. Most of us "dumber than dirt" hunters here in California have paid for a private land hog hunt at one time or another.

Numbers don't lie and well over 90% of the hogs killed here every year come from private land. If you do a little research and a ton of scouting and hunting it is possible to kill hogs here on public land.

Good luck...

Well put Weekender

 

[spectr17]

Well, when you spend a couple $1000 looking for a public land pig them $600 hunts don't look so bad here in CA.

Then again many think I'm dumber than a box of rocks.

 

[chip01]

WELL SAID SPEC

This is California, you need to know someone in order to hunt pigs or just pay. The place that i go hunt pigs is on private land, and i can only go when i get invited. other than that i have not even seen them anywhere.

 

[coothunter]

Well, when you spend a couple $1000 looking for a public land pig them $600 hunts don't look so bad here in CA.

Then again many think I'm dumber than a box of rocks.

Money and time. That is just the way it is in this state.

 

[Badland Elite]

Im near Bakersfield as well and don't think that paying for a hunt is dumb. My fiances family has land and I know some people. If I didnt then I would be paying to hunt pigs like weekender stated 90% of pigs in this state are taken on private land. Unlike many other states, California land owners are making money off the pigs instead of letting the pigs take money (destroy crops) from them.

 

[easymoney]

I know you guys dont know me but I'm a farm boy from Ne stuck in cali looking for pigs. I'm the real deal Bust my butt and find my own quail, chuckar and deer and have no problem doing it just love to hunt. I'm so sick of these dumber than dirt so called hunters paying 600 or more for a hundred pound pig. It just blows my mind thats not hunting its ruining the sport but anyway I'm in bakersfield if anyone can tell me where to look or try i'd love to go shoot some pigs. thanks for the help

First off, get in line and take a number...
Second, like most have already said, it usually takes money or knowing somebody with private property...
Third, we have loads of public land, and good numbers of wild pigs, but we also have the highest population in the nation and all that public land does not have pigs...
Fourth, hunting on public land is more a labor of love and certainly not a guaranteed deal, even for those of us who spend the majority of our hunts there...
Fifth, do a little homework and search back on this forum and there is a load of info and discussion on this topic...
Welcome to California and good luck, you will need it...
If you really want to actually score especially first time out, pay the money, hire a guide and then you can learn how to DIY.
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[boar slayer]

the reason its public land in california is because nobody wanted it.
public land usualy has little water or was to steep to farm and to poor of feed for grazing .
also good luck on people letting you hunt on thier property unless you know some body or are in the agroculture or cattle biz .
one method is to offer services repair fences fix water devices etc this would be your time time = money.
you could as others have said research this site and dfg web site books etc buy maps gps to find these small pathes of crappy publicland nestled between beautiful ranches.
then there is learning the areas driving back and forth a tank of gas in a full size truck is almost 100 bucks so by the time you take three trips out and see nothing but a couple of does you will be 600 bucks into it by then.
since 1999 ive killed 10 bucks on public land only one pig on public land and it was while deer hunting.
ive hunted hunter ligget many times the blm lands around coalinga santa maria sanluis obispo on and on saw a lot of sign rooted up areas even a pig or two over many years.
so you think a guy who is chained to his desk in an office in the middle of los angeles is a fool to pay for a hunt they have wives they have children that take up thier time due you realy think that it would be wise for this guy to take off work leave his family for extented periods of time scouting hunting begging land owners for permission to hunt and not much other than a huge gas bill to show for it .
now with all that being said dont you think thats why people pay me 600 to hunt and to see pigs and have a 75% chance of getting one if they choose to shoot a 100 pounder that thier choice .
IF you think you can do what 10% of the hunters are pulling off more power to you good luck happy hunting.
paul from cedarcanyon ranch

 

[sancho]

dumber that dirt; is a bit harsh. knocking an individual with the means to buy into some productive hunting areas..is unnecessary.

first thing a "smart" guy would do, is to do an internet search. cal pig hunting on public land as been documented. that is how i found lake sonoma!

 

[Hogs_and_Sturgeons]

As larrysogla (spelling?) advised...go back and read live2hunt's old posts. If you have questions on any of them I would send him a message, as I did. He's very helpful, in addition to that, get Bob Robb's Hunting Wild Boar in California, it's a little old but has what seems to be some good advice on public land hunting.

H&S

 

[Shmave23]

I live in San Jose and love to Pig Hunt. Founds some nice outfitts in Sonoma that will let you on for $300-350 for :hog chewing:. You just have to do some hard research if you wanna get them.

 

[Hogs_and_Sturgeons]

First of all...could someone please enlighten me on how to edit posts? I think I've seen it done before but couldn't figure out how to.

Also, I meant to recommend Hunting Wild Boar in California II (the second one).

Shmave, mind revealing the names of the outfits in Sonoma? I'm assuming you just get access to their property? No guides?

Thanks,
H&S

 

[Shmave23]

H&S if you private message me I would love to give you the Outfitters Contact info. They drop you of in parts of the property and give you the lay of the land and then pick you up at the end of the day.

 

[modlinb]

First of all guys im sorry if i pissed any of you off. Secondly boar slayer wouldnt it be smarter to go to albertsons and buy the pig as you need it???? much cheaper but anyway thats just me i'm used to the hard work and thats what hunting is about thats what I love. to each his own. Thanks guys i'll keep looking and hope to find them. Oh by the way slayer I work on average 90 hours a week and still do this because i love it.

 

[weekender21]

It would be MUCH cheaper to buy pork in the store than shoot a pig on public land in CA. Obviously that's not why we hunt.

 

[Fugaloo]

Yeah, I'd say start with an attitude change. With that "dumber than dirt comment" I'm surprised anybody's willing to help you. And it certainly won't get you very far trying to get access. We're not known for our "southern hospitality" but please and thank you still go a long way here in California.

 

[RIFLEMAN]

I can understand how you guys might be upset by the comments modlinb made disparaging those who are willing to pay high prices for guided hunts, but if you take out his characterizations of guided hunters, his frustrations make sense.

A provider of goods and services is going to charge as much as he can, and the consumer is going to pay only as much as they have to...without artificial or external stimuli, each will balance the other out on a continuous basis. With the introduction of an artificial or external stimulus, the figures may skew in one direction or the other either super-inflating or depressing the value of the good or service. As an example, the emigration of Bay Area residents to the Central Valley or Californians into Montana have resulted in the cost of residences and acreage dramatically increasing despite the fact that the actual value of the property has not. In this case, the willingness of Californians in certain areas of the state to pay significant amounts of money for a guided hunt or hunting lease has helped spread the trend statewide and has caused the cost of these hunting opportunities to continue to increase. The purchase of quality properties by the State and the success of programs such as SHARE that provide less-expensive hunting opportunities may ultimately bring the cost of private property hunts down.


boar slayer,

the reason its public land in california is because nobody wanted it.
public land usualy has little water or was to steep to farm and to poor of feed for grazing.

I understand your sentiment, as a large portion of public land in the state is covered in brush or timber. However, there are a number of places in the state that are public and nothing short of beautiful and accessible. Some are popular, while others are known only to those unafraid of doing some research. Bolstered by various programs (such as the otherwise dubious Proposition 117), DFG has made some great strides in acquiring some properties very ideal for hunting.

also good luck on people letting you hunt on thier property unless you know some body or are in the agroculture or cattle biz.

Again, I think this statement can be qualified. While it is true that gaining access to private property without having connections can be challenging, it is not impossible.

Standing out from the crowd, personifying trustworthiness, and demonstrating that your presence on their property will provide tangible benefit to them will go a long way towards securing access to pristine private property. Don't get frustrated by the repeated rejections you will get, and stick with it...all it takes is one yes to make all the difference. In many cases, that one yes will lead to many more as word of mouth spreads about your usefulness to neighboring landowners.