New Hunter here.

[MrMullen]

Okay, another new guy here.

For the last 7 years or so, I have been wanting to try hunting. Now, being in California, hunting Hogs seems like a great thing to try. The fees are pretty cheap and there seems to be a fair amount of them (If you goto the right spots).

There are few problems:
1) I don't have a hunting rifle, and I don't want to spend alot of money on something I may not like.
2) I am in San Diego, not much boar hunting here, or much of any hunting here. I have to go north.

I get Shotgun news, and notice they sell some fairly cheap military rifles that could be used for hunting. The 7mm and 8mm Mausers seem like they would make good hunting rifle for just about anything, and if I don't like hunting, it would make a good addition to my gun collection.
I also have a Mossberg 590 which can shoot slugs. In fact, I keep personal defense slugs in it for intruder problems. From what I reading, using slugs is a possibility, but you need to get in under 50 yards.

Since I am in San Diego, where is the closest Public and Private hunting area that has boar where I have chance actually seeing a boar?


Thanks in advance.

 

[mjohns2]

I'm fairly new myself, wish I could give you some good solid advice, but.... Welcome to Jesse's though. Your best bet would be to go to one of the JHP events and hang out withe the people there, totally frendly, good bunch of people. Last time I went I was greeted with open arms and they showed me some do's and dont's. I think there is one event coming up towards the end of November hope to see you there.

 

[Grizzledbastard]

"In fact, I keep personal defense slugs in it for intruder problems." - bad idea. Get those out and replace them with Buckshot. What if you someone breaks into your home, and you shoot them? (sound easy enough) SLUGS go THROUGH everything. They'll keep going and end up in your neighbor's baby's head. Then you won't feel so nice. Please, for everyone's safety - do not keep slugs in your guage at home for defense. Put in a low # birdshot or buck.

Now - being in SoCal, a buddy I asked said that you're likely to not find them unless you head up towards Santa Barbara. Even then, it's a tough shot. Frt Hunter Liggett just may be among the closest realities for you.

Good luck, please think about changing out those rounds in your gun. Don't know how old you are or what you background is, but if you'd like to know mine for credibility purposes, I'll share in email. Mine's listed.

 

[Speckmisser]

First and foremost, welcome aboard! As you'll see, there's a ton of advice and info to be had here!

Now then, if you're way down in InSane Diego, prepare for road trips if you want to hunt hogs. You'll need to come up at least as far as the Los Padres Nat'l Forest if you want to hunt hogs on public land. I hear they're still spreading south, so who knows... but below L.A. you're pretty much out of luck. Best bets are San Luis Obispo and Monterey Counties. Fort Hunter Liggett might be the best all-around location, but there are plenty of BLM and Nat'l Forest lands that you can try. Check out the DFG Website for more information. Also check out the BLM California Website for info about the various BLM parcels available for hunting.

There's a good publication put out by DFG called Hunting Wild Pigs in CA. It's actually a few years old now, so some of the info could stand an update, but it includes recommendations for areas to hunt, as well as calibers and/or weapons. A good shotgun with slugs will do the trick, but odds are slim of getting too many opportunities for that on public land. I'd recommend looking into some of the Wal-Mart specials for a good deer rifle. You can pick up a nice Savage combo for a very reasonable price, and you'll have a gun that shoots great and will last forever. Keep your eyes open, and you may stumble across a good sale on a Remington or Ruger too.

The old military rifles can be decent, although I'd be REAL careful about what I bought. Those rifles are often in less than ideal condition, and accuracy is hit or miss (pun intended). You'll be much better off, and happier too, if you spend an extra hundred bucks and get a good hunting rifle.

The best bet, if you want pigs, is to find a pay-to-play hunt somewhere. Get onto private land, with or without a guide, and get your feet wet. You'll learn a ton and have some success at the same time. For $300, you can get into one of the Tejon Ranch Pig-o-ramas, meet some JHPers, and get in a really awesome hunt. Another bill, and you could be hunting with some of the better guided operations in the Central Coast region.

Of course, public land is cheapest, but be prepared to work your feet to nubs with little or no pork in return. It's hard to get a pig on public land, even if you really know what you're doing. It can be downright frustrating if you're new to the sport... unless you enjoy learning things the hard way (like myself and a few other JHPers). In that case, it can be pretty rewarding, as long as rewards don't necessarily include killing lots of pigs (or even seeing lots of pigs).

Oops, fixed the BLM link

 

[Kickaha]

Hi MrMullen and welcome to Jesse's Hunting Forum!

First, if you haven't already, you may want to read through this page:
http://www.jesseshuntingpage.com/calhog.html
It should answer a lot of your questions.

Second, take a look here:
http://www.dfg.ca.gov/hunting/index.html
There's a Guide to Hunting Pig in California in PDF format. Look here for the latest info from the DFG.
Third, here's a good book on hunting wild boar in California:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/093...3148851-6456915

All the references above will have details on where the pigs might be hanging out. In general though, the southernmost private land pig hunting is probably Tejon Ranch up near the top of the Grapevine off the 5 freeway. The southernmost public land pig hunting is probably Los Padres National Forest. For public land, the farther North you go, the better your odds. For private land, Tejon Ranch gets excellent reviews.

As far as using slugs for pigs, they're certainly allowed. Personally, I would not use them because I would not want to tear up my shoulder practicing enough so that I felt I could hit a 3" to 5" circle with every single shot.

Good luck and be sure to give us all a report on any of your hunts!

 

[sportyg]

Welcome MRMullen,

Everyone has hit the nail on the head as to what to check for your pig hunt.

However I must say take those slugs OUT !! #4s are ideal for your home shotgun.

Next an all round rifle for here would be a .270... I shoot a 30/30 or 7mm. However you don't need that much stopping power.. You may also think about getting in to archery we have a long season here..

 

[MrMullen]

Alright, I'll swap out those slugs. Switch to non multi-wall penitrating round since, I do live in a fairly dense neighborhood. Just really like the slugs, so nasty when they hit something.

The cool thing about the Mossberg 590 I own is that it has iron sights that actually work. When I test fired the slugs at a range of 50 yards, I was getting within 6" grouping. It was spooky being that acurate with a round and gun that is not suppose to be. I may put a shotgun scope on it and try it out. If I could boar hunt with a shotgun, I would be very happy.

I do plan to check out the Pig O Rama coming up in December. I would like to tag along with some people (Gunless of course) and observe the action. It would give me a good idea what boar hunting is about.

Here is the whole thing about hunting that appeals to me. I want this to be hard. I really don't like the hunters who want to go out and find what they want within a few hours. I really want to trek around and use my skill to find a hog and use my skill to kill it. Then I want to clean it myself.
Baring any good reasons, you should be getting out there and hunting. I guess I am just a purist. To me, an awsome hunting trip would be droped off on the Santa Rosa Island only the supplies I could carry and 96 quart cooler to fill with boar.


P.S> I do have Hunting Wild Board in California and I have read all the DFW Boar hunting information on the web page.

 

[Kickaha]

Originally posted by MrMullen@Nov 5 2002, 09:37 AM
Here is the whole thing about hunting that appeals to me. I want this to be hard.

Then you're sure to like public-land pig hunting!

Especially with slugs at less than 50 yards!

 

[Speckmisser]

Hey MrMullen,

The Tejon hunt doesn't allow non-hunting ridealongs. Go ahead and take your Mossberg out there. If you can score with it anywhere, Tejon would be the place. A lot of us got our shots well inside of 100 yards. I had a similar gun by the way, only in 20 ga. With the rifle sights I could smack a milk jug all day at 50 yards. Never shot any big game with slugs out of that one though...but it spoke for several whitetails with #3 buckshot.

Don't get the idea that Tejon is all gravy hunting either. Especially on the POR (non-guided) you do it yourself from start to finish. They just let you use their property (which happens to have a very healthy hog population and good access). My guess is that it's probably similar in difficulty to hunting the island, except you'll have your truck instead of a 96qt cooler to toss your pig into.

Glad to hear you wanna get out there and do stuff the hard way. Just remember you said that after two or three years without a hog in the freezer.

 

[MrMullen]

I guess I'll have to get out there a few times before I realize I am an idiot.

 

[spectr17]

Welcome MrMullen,

Won't be long and you'll be one of the oinkanators here.

 

[MrMullen]

So I have thought about it, taken all the advice and come up with these as my possible action plan:

1) Buy a cheap military surplus rifle. 7mm or 8mm. Price: No more than $150.
Upside, they're cheap.
Downside, the barrel could be warn out, leading to poor and inaccurate shooting.

2) Buy a real hunting rifle. Price: $200 - $400 with scope.
Upside, new accurate hunting rifle I can pick out. Would keep for a lifetime if I like hunting.
Downside, I may not like hunting and would be stuck with a possible expensive firearm.

3) Buy a scope for my Mossberg 590 and hunt boar with slugs. Price: Under $100.
Upside, good shotgun scopes are cheap, already own the shotgun and would have access to more hunting lands with shotgun. I think would make hunting a real challenge.
Downside, have to shoot boar in under 50 yards, which can be near impossible on public lands. Shotguns with slugs not know for their accuracy. I would have to practice _alot_.

4) Buy new or slightly used military style rifle; M1A or M1. Price: $500 - $1500.
Upside, would have a military style rifle I would love to own anyways, their .308's and I love M1A's and M1's.
Downside, $500 to $1500 and that might not include scope. Ouch!

So there is what my choices are.
I personally like #3. Keep it cheap, do a few days of hunting. Kill a boar or two, if possible. Figure out if I like it. Then do #4 or #2.
I would most likely do #4, if I like hunting. A good .308 rifle is what this man needs, and it would be able to knock down a number of tasty animals in the forest.


P.S. I change my Home Defense Shotgun from slugs to OO buckshot.

 

[Speckmisser]

You could be on the right track, MrMullen.

The shotgun will probably be fine, and in a lot of places on public land it's so thick that you'll be surprised how rarely a shot over 50 yards opens up. Shotgun also opens up a few more areas to you that rifles can't get into. I'm working on my accuracy with my Ruger Blackhawk in .44. As soon as I'm confident, that will be my primary brush gun for hogs. Still carry the -06 when hunting the ridges and such, though.

Anyway, I agree, Option 3 is your best bet.

 

[dbeerman2000]

#2 is not a bad idea. If you picked up a Savage in .270 or 30-06, both being fine hunting rifles, you would have an easy time reselling either. The M1 or M1A rifle would be fine, do not worry about a scope, the iron sights are good to at least 500 yds. The main thing is to get out and go, paying for your first trip is good, higher percentage for a succesful hunt. Get into hunting before trekking off on public land, sometimes it is a hard road to take if you do not know where to go, very discouraging. Keep an eye out for folks on the board who want company on a hunt, take advantage of others info and willingness to help out a "Newbie". Whatever you do, go, have a good time no matter if you get something or not, and always try again.

Dbeerman

 

[Kickaha]

Using a shotgun would give you definate advantages if you were considering hunting shotgun-only areas.

At FHL, for instance, area 29 seems to be open a lot more often than other hunting areas. That area also seems to get really good results with both pigs and turkeys. If you were using a shotgun, you'd be all set.

 

[SDHNTR]

#2 is the way to go. If hunting ends up not being your thing (doubtful) you could sell it very easily. A Savage combo, or a nice used weapon in .308, .270 or 30-06 should not be too hard to find in the $300-400 range. You will have far more versatility than your shotgun or a surplus rifle. Having the right tool for the job will certainly add to the enjoyment of the sport. And if you're going to be hunting public land don't count on killing a boar or two in just a few days hunting. With expectations like that you are setting yourself up for dissapointment. On private ranches that may be possible. On public, it would be a feat just short of a miracle, especially with a 50 yard weapon. Good Luck.

 

[MrMullen]

Alright, I am fairly sure what I am going to do. I am going to try #3 and #4.
I have been shopping around and I am fairly sure I can get a shotgun scope for under $100, and I found out about the Civilian Marksmenship Program (www.odcmp.com). I can get a M1 Garand under $500, and their selling M1A's soon too. The shotgun would let me access to more hunting ground, and the M1 Garand's and M1A just plain ol'e rock!

I would highly recommend you check out the CMP and look into getting a M1 Garand.

 

[jackrabbit]

Any decent shooting big game rifle (.25 and higher caliber) is cheap if under$250-300. There are a lot of decent 7.62x54R (I think that's right) rifles on sale at Big 5 and other Discount stores all the time; and with new barrels installed. I have friends who have bought them and can shoot .5" groups with handloads with no mod's to the rifle. If you really are wed to that shotgun for big game, kool; but a good iron-sighted rifle that can shoot out to several hundred yards can be had for cheap. I thought I could get by with a shotgun in SoCal even though I had several short and long action bolt rifles, but I soon found the spots where I could use full advantage of the big bores in SoCal (deer), even more than up here in the central sierras! Shotguns were great for birds, but rifles ruled for me in SoCal! Oh, and rifles in SoCal for big game are a challenge.

 

[Dave in LB]

I know this is out side the stated price concerns, but Bolsa Gunsmithing had a sweet little Savage 110 or similar package gun for sale for $285 and it included a scope. It is a 7mm Rem Mag. and that would be plenty of gun for a lot of different game, and it was fairly light too. I thought long and hard about it for elk etc, but I believe my .308 will be fine and I want to by a Marlin guide gun next anyway. It is probably still there and they may take less for it. Was

 

[Two Rugers]

Me and my Dad have hunted with Surplus Rifles. Infact the ONLY gun my dad ever hunted with other than a .22 was a 7X57 Spanish Mauser. He sporterized the stock and trimmed the barrel to 20" or so.
But he went through rack after rack of them till he found one he liked.
I hunted afew times with my .303 Enfields when I was strapped for cash and I was invited to hunt but had no "Hunting Rifle" available.
That .303 is actually the best iron sighted rifle I ever hunted with.

But really just pick up a Marlin 336 30-30. Wally Mart has em for $270. or so. Before I stopped hunting big game cuz of new family and stuff I've slayed many a Hog, deer with my old trust Thuddy, Thuddy.