Panoche Hills...

[theseacow]

Anyone ever been to the Panoche hills? I've never been, but I plan on going soon. I heard that pigs occasionally pass through there, but I'm sure its few and far between. Would it be a good place to shoot ground squirrels? Are there alot of them? How crowded is this place usually? Any info you guys could give me would be great. Would it be a good place to take the lady out for some target/varmint shootin? Also any tips on where to go?

Well, its been about 6 months now of roaming all over public land and no pigs yet, but one day......(save the speaches on private ranches and guided hunts, because I can't afford those

)

Thanks for any input.

-theseacow

 

[Live2hunt]

Theseacow,

I'm sure you're not going to like it at Panoche Hills and Tumey Hills. I passed through there too many times and the only time I see hunters there are during opening weekend of dove season. Pigs may have passed through there but in my mind I doubt that any pig would go through the area. There are some ground squirrels and plenty of room for target plinking but the sign at the parking lot says "No shooting within a hundred yards from parking lot." To get 100 yards away from the parking lot you need to do some rock climbing. If you want to plink around or shoot varmint, you may want to consider continuing the drive up New Idria road to the Clear Creek BLM.


L2H

 

[bubba]

For plinking, I would not go as far as Clear Creek via New Idria. To far of a drive. Tumey Hills and Panoche Hills is fine. Live2hunt might be thinking of the area near the reservoir (shotgun/bow only area) If you go to the upper part of the property by going further down Little Panoche road past the reservoir, you will see the sign for the access road up top. Most of the time that gate up there is locked, but just walk into the area and you will have plenty of room. I spoke with someone a couple of months ago and he claimed to have bagged two pigs out of Panoche Hills recently. Again, you will have to be there at the right time to catch them going through.

I am currently working with the BLM office out of Hollister. One of the areas I was assigned to is Panoche Hills. My main goal is to better assess the porperties in the area (Panoche, Tumey, Griswold, Stockdale, etc) for better descriptions and maps that are currently available via the BLM Hollister office.

Good Luck

 

[Rocketman]

Panoche hills is closed to vehicle access as of 4/15 and won't open again till the fall. You can drive up the road for 3 miles and park at the gate and go in on foot.

 

[shaginator]

There isn't enough food and water to support any resident hog population in those areas, and so you're only likely to get hogs that pass through.

Plenty of jacks and yotes. Last time I was there was 1.5 years ago and I don't remember seeing too many ground squirrels, but I'm sure there are colonies there if you look around enough.

 

[Live2hunt]

I was thinking of Tumey Hills and Griswold Hills that's off of New Idria Road in that tight canyon with very steep hills on both side of the road. I forgot that Panoche Hills was off of Little Panoche Road closer to I-5. Sorry for the confusion.


L2H

 

[Speckmisser]

It might be worthwhile to head back into the deep canyons in Griswold Hills, but be ready for steep and rugged territory.

The pigs seem to pass through most of that area, though, and it'd be just a matter of great timing to get on one.

The ground squirrels there seem to know they're relatively safe across the street on private property, as they've been shot at a LOT on the BLM side of the boundary.

Good plinking and target shooting place, though... lots of good backstops and relatively long-range opportunities.