Tejon Blood Has Been Shed

[Speckmisser]

Heck yeah!

It was a great weekend at Tejon, as the stories can already attest. I imagine, as soon as a few more guys have recovered, they'll be on with even more stories.

For my part, first thing I want to say is that all of you guys on this hunt ROCK! The veterans helped out the newbies with advice and elbow-grease. You're also all mighty generous, as my bar is nicely stocked. Thanks for that!

I also want to thank Scott for his assistance all weekend, and for hosting me for a couple of extra days on his Explorer pass. It was sure nice to relax for a day without worrying about finding hogs or climbing up and down hell holes.

Congrats to all the newbies who tagged out this weekend! To those who didn't, I hope you at least had a good time. I don't think there's anyone who didn't see pigs.

I didn't take a whole lot of pictures this time, as I didn't want to get blood all over my camera! There were a lot of dead pigs around those two and a half days!

Final, and official count... 17 hogs for 27 hunters. Estimated (no scale this year) dressed weights ranged from a 30lber (killed in self-defense, according to the smiling hunter) to Brent's big sow at around 200lbs. the harvest was primarily sows this year, but I've forgotten exactly what the breakdown was. I believe it was something like 22 sows and five boars.

And yes, I did my "infamous" hell hole kill again this year, but only after missing a gravy shot on top of the hill with my .44 (this one is all on video and will be posted on YouTube soon...I'll share the link). Even so, I have to say that Jason may present a challenge to my title for toughest hell hole.

Petunia (my 'zuki Samurai) got a great workout as well, as we tested her limitations. Bottom line, as long as you're not in a hurry, she can do anything I ask her. The backward climb out of JB's hell hole was definitely a challenge, though. I still smell burning clutch.

As soon as the videos are all posted, I'll put links on here. I'll try again to put them on the JHO video/photo site as well...although I haven't been very successful at that the last couple of times.

Anyway, for now, I'm kicking it in Malibu for a couple of days between hunts. It's a nice change of scenery from a bunch of filthy, scroungy guys. The JHO/Tejon bowhunt starts Friday, and I'm looking forward to adding another hog to the freezer.

 

[Speckmisser]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div>

Phil,
Can you post the picture or email it to me thats the only thing i have.[/b]

I'll d/l the photos tonight and get them on here. I think I got a couple of good shots.

By the way, Q2, the skeeters were terrible down in my hell hole, but in general they were no problem. I never seem to see many rattlers, but that may be because the spot I hunt has so many hogs (they eat snakes).

 

[Stryder]

Man I am really bumming that I couldn't make it.

Reading all these stories is great, though I wish I would have been there hunting. Maybe next year. Congrat's to all who got them some pork!

 

[Q2Dude]

By the way, Q2, the skeeters were terrible down in my hell hole, but in general they were no problem. I never seem to see many rattlers, but that may be because the spot I hunt has so many hogs (they eat snakes).

Bummer about the skeeters. I hate em sumthin fierce! Remind me to NOT follow you to the Hell Hole.

Cant wait till Friday!

 

[One Track]

Q2: Take a facemask. Even a regular mesh facemask helps me from going nutty in skeeterville.

Loadsprayer: Good meeting you. You'll get one next time.

SuzyMark: Thanks for the 2am carnitas dinner and whiskey. Good seeing your crew and hanging out with y'all.

 

[spectr17]

There's a song called "High On A Mountain Top" that was written by Loretta Lynn and sung by Marty Stuart that runs through my head every time I stand upon those grassy mtns at Tejon with the wind in my hair.

This trip started out ugly. Flat trailer tire in Pasadena and then the trailer spare grenaded right by Tejon Lake as we drove in. Dry rot I guess, it looked good to go. I had to abandon the trailer about a mile short of camp since the steel rim would have made a nice bonfire trying to ease it into camp on the pavement. Big thanks to the guys who stopped to help and schlepped me back into town to look for a new tire. No luck there in town.

Got to camp and headed out with Russ, who wanted to get on the tote board this trip to show his wife we REALLY do go pig hunting and we REALLY can get one.

.

Up on one of my fave spots we dropped down off a little bench to look down some hellholes for pigs that would fed slowly up the slope before dark. With a bad heel that's been nagging me for a couple weeks now I had to stay pretty high up and hope the pigs got up to where I could get a shot. I can't help myself, when I get out on one of them finger ridges with the cool breezes and swaying oats, I just have to take a power nap just like Rip Van Winkle. It's wave music to me out there. Squirrel Ridge looking north up Interstate 5. And I actually found a tree to sit up against that didn't have ant crawling all over it.

Bout 20 minutes later I awoke to the radio crackling. Might be Russ I thought so I grabbed it and then noticed the volume was too low. Rats, bet Russ is on hogs and he's been calling me to do a tag team. I didn't want to call Russ and bust a stalk he had going so I grabbed my pack and headed back up the ridge for a look around. .

POW!!! was what I heard next as I was about to crest the ridge we were on. One shot usually means a dead pig so I called and asked Russ if he got one. Yeppers was the answer so I hustled up the hill to help drag the hog.

Back at the skinning rack

Russ and his pig. Bout a 125 lb. sow.

They'll let just about anybody in Tejon. To wit. Brent (oneshot) with his bruiser sow. I'd say he won heaviest with this 225 pounder. dirtpoor on right helped a lot of hunters skin their pigs. Thanks dirtpoor.

Saturday morning hit Squirrel ridge didn't see any on my side. You sure can glass up some doozies looking across at Tunis and Ghegis Ridge where may of the other hunters were. Ran into dirtpoor on the road coming out and they had just ambushed a group of 17 hogs and the survivors were running around on the hills above the road so I skeedaddled up there to take a look around. I couldn't find any hogs after walking out a couple finger ridges so I headed back to camp. Brent treated us to carnitas at the Tres Pinos restaurant in Lebec which was deeelicious.

Saturday afternoon went out with Stone Cold Brent & crew. Jay and I still had tags. Jay got a shot at a pig right before dark. The crew looked like Laurel & Hardy when it happened. Steve and I are standing back up the ridge glassing ridges and Brent pokes his nose around the ridge further down from us and comes back flailing his arms like a madman. I wasn't sure if he was having a heart attack or what and then Jay flops down to use his sticks to line up the pig and it turns out there were 2 deer Brent saw and 1 pig Jay saw. Brent thought Jay was lining up the deer and was trying to squelch the shot when Jay pointed out the fat pig standing broadside between 2 trees near a water pump. Kapow!!! A bullet thwack was then heard.

Sunday I got out late after getting a tire on the trailer and pulling it into camp. I wanted to stay for the late hunt Sunday but I was on call and had to pull out early.

We had the raffle Sunday mid morning. The Bryson Pig hunt was won by Chris (Dilproxo) Thank you Deedy for donating the hunt. http://www.brysonresort.com/

I'm not sure about who won the skull from Scott at Hi Desert Skullworks http://www.hdskullworks.com/

Huge thanks to Phil for setting the adventure up every year. Thanks to Barbara and the staff at Tejon, they are gracious hosts.

Thanks to Phil, Scott and Brent for being the keymasters

Big thanks for Brent for taking in the trailerless.

shout out for Eric too at http://www.Hiway395.com for the kewl JHO POR t-shirts.

And for those wondering about SNAKES!!! I ran into this one with Jay. He was already squished into the road from another vehicle. Seeing a snake as long as I am tall and big around as my bicep makes me pucker pretty bad. Someone had already cut the buzzer off this big Pacific rattler and I knew 2 suspects who probably did the deed.

Brent & Steve

Brent and Steve giggled like little girls when I asked if they had done the buzzer cutting and they denied it. I knew one of them had the buzzer in his pocket and was waiting for the right time to sneak up behind me with it in the tall grass. I warned them both it was a killing offense in CA to do that to a man, just like yelling fire in a crowded theatre or something like that.

I would personally shoot the guy in the foot but they never tried it. At least they never got the chance.

They had me walking around looking like a cat crossing a water puddle.

 

[Q2Dude]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (One Track @ May 29 2007, 07:24 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

Q2: Take a facemask. Even a regular mesh facemask helps me from going nutty in skeeterville.

Loadsprayer: Good meeting you. You'll get one next time.

SuzyMark: Thanks for the 2am carnitas dinner and whiskey. Good seeing your crew and hanging out with y'all.[/b]

You betcha! Been there a bunch in the summer. Me gots the headnets, bugjuice, plated armor, and they still manage to tear me up. No biggie. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[One Track]

Good read Capitan! Enjoyed your company as always. Beware the buzzstick.

 

[spectr17]

Almost forgot, thanks Eric (xdhunter) for letting me use your radio. Should I send it to the address you had for the sticker?

I also saw a big bruiser boar Saturday with Brent and crew. Big boar that we had to use the spotter on to see him good. With binos he looked like cow but he didn't act like a cow. Too far to drive around the mountain for before it got dark. I looked for him Sunday morning but no joy. He's still there for somebody.

 

[richw]

Hey guys sorry I couldnt make it this year but just wanted to know how the skining rack is holding up it looked ok in the pictures of it are they treating it with respect


Rich

 

[spectr17]

We missed you Rich. We did a head count and you were one of the MIAs.

The rack is doing good except for some minor dings. Beer can holders are broken off, they may have been in the way and just got bumped as many times there are 3 hogs going and 6 or more people hovering around the rack helping.

The knife sharpeners are gone and I looked for the chains to attach a couple I had but no chains.

There is one pretty big split in the top beam. Wasn't sure if it was there from the start or not. Split runs about 2/3s the way down the beam and is an inch or more deep????

Rack worked fine other than the cosmetics.

Thanks again.

 

[grtwythunter]

It was good to meet some new faces and hook up with friends from past years. I was lazy about getting a hog since I have until August to do it. I did get on a group Monday morning, but wasn't able to seal the deal.

My snake count for the weekend was 5. 2 Southern Pacific rattlers, 2 Cali kings, and a garter snake.

Jesse, I assume the tires got you home OK?

Scott

 

[spectr17]

Tires worked great Scott thanks.

Thanks to Scott's boy too for playing mechanic and saving my butt by bringing a trailer tire off their trailer up to Tejon for me to get home with. Thanks to Eric too for helping look for a tire for me. Memorial Day isn't the best time to go looking for a trailer tire we found out.

 

[Speckmisser]

Rich, the skinning rack is still holding up great...as long as the pig isn't too big.

As Jesse mentioned, the can holders are gone. The sharpeners and gambrels are in a box in my garage, since Barbara insisted last year that I take them before someone else does.

We did miss you on this hunt. I had a hog picked out just for you.

Jesse, you have the worst luck when it comes to things with wheels. I think it's all that abuse you did to them in the desert racing days or something... kinda like automotive karma.

Oh...and the first videos appear to be live.

Here's Chirohunter moving in on his first wild hog. Chirohunter's first hog

And here's the classic blown stalk. My stupid, rookie mistakes...all in a row. How many screw-ups can you count?

As to the previous video... Steve had just killed his boar on top of "my ridge" (across from Speckmisser Ridge...most of you know where it is). We're gutting this pig, when the damned herd comes wandering right back onto the hill. My rifle is out of reach, so Steve hands me his. I decline, and draw the Ruger from my holster. It's only Friday night, and this is too good of an opportunity to pass up.

Unknown to me, Steve (Chirohunter) digs my video camera out of my pack (I dropped it for the stalk) and films the whole bloody debacle.

I have a bunch more. I'm gonna try to edit it together and put out something more comprehensive.

 

[XDHUNTER]

" BIG BRUISER"

Now i have an excuse to go back .
Jesses, same address will be fine.

 

[irishhunter]

great stories pics and videos ,congrats to all who scored and even for those who did not, it seems like everyone enjoyed themselves on that slice of heaven on the grapevine.Im going to the next JHO on tejon

 

[irishhunter]

specmisser just curious about which camera u used on these vids im impressed with the quality of the shots

 

[Speckmisser]

Irish, it's one of the newer Sony Handi-cams.

I really like it, because it's so bloody forgiving. I've never really done much videography, so although I do know something about photography this stuff is all brand new. This Sony really makes it easy.

 

[jb229]

Haha, at least there was a decent trail and "road" to walk out on. THANKS again for your help. I should have my picture tonight and will post it.

Petunia rocks, if you need any clutch work done let me know and I will cover it.

Jason.

 

[Speckmisser]

Thanks, Jason. That's thoughtful.

I don't think we did any real damage... just got her a little heated up. Couldn't let her run all the way out or I'd have either run her off the hillside or backed over you guys up on the trail.