Tejon Habitat Question

[fairchase]

I know these pigs are not like farm crop pigs, and hard to pattern. But, in different seasons are there any major food types that they really key in on? You know, a wild mast type crop like acorns, bulbs, or maybe insect hatches.
April is when I'm going, so spring time is of special interest . Thanks.

 

[Speckmisser]

Hi Fairchase,

Tejon hogs have tons of food sources. They'll be eating tubers and mushrooms during the spring, as well as left-over acorns. There's also cattle on the ranch, so they'll be eating whatever the cattle leave. I looked around the salt blocks last year, but they didn't seem to care much for that.

Lots of water sources also, even in the drier months, so that's kinda a tough one to pattern as well.

What that boils down to, is you just have to find where they are during the weekend you're there. Lots of driving and scouting on the first day will really help your odds. Bedding areas are super places, so look for deep cover in the steeper canyons. Then look for fresh sign.

The nice thing is, once you find them, you can usually count on them being nearby for the rest of the weekend.

Stay tuned, and when the March hunt is over you should get lots of great intel from those of us who hunt then.

 

[fairchase]

Speck,
Thanks for the reply. That's just the type of info I was looking for. I'm a bit surprised that yours was the only reply, what with all the hunters from this board who hunt at Tejon? Oh well, maybe it's because it is a biology related question and not directly related to actual hunting of hogs.

I am just trying to look at all the angles because I am coming a long way for just 2 1/2 days of hunting and while success isn't everything, and I'll have a good time regardless. Nun the less, I have to rise to the challenge and give it my best try. Thanks again.

 

[Bishop]

Fairchase, thats the problem. Everywhere you look at Tejon there's food, water, and fresh sign. There are trails everywhere, and it's hard to find a hillside that hasn't been rooted. It would be a lot easier if there wasn't sign everwhere. Being private land that is rich in food sources, the pigs just move around wherever they want without having to concentrate anywhere.

 

[fairchase]

Bishop,
I guess I have hunted public land too long. On my normal hunts I believe you could say that 90% of the big game population uses 10% of the land. I'm gonna have to re-think my strategy.

 

[Speckmisser]

No problem, FairChase.

You will definitely have a great hunt at Tejon. I think it's easily one of the premier hunting properties in CA, and you won't be sorry you came. My brother flew all the way from North Carolina last year to hunt with us, and he still raves about it. On Sunday morning, when we still didn't have our pigs, he was satisfied with the trip anyway. Of course, a couple of hours later when we DID have our pigs, he was blown away.

He just went into business for himself, so he couldn't swing loose to hunt with me this year, and it's driving him nuts.

Yeah, I'm a little surprised you didn't get more responses too, but I guess your post got buried under other discussions. As I mentioned, I would keep an eye out for the reports from the March POR. Should be some good info there, and at least you'll have some ideas how to plan your April hunt.

If you hunt hard and smart, you have really good odds of bringing home some bacon (and ribs, and chops, and tenderloin... ).

 

[jrifenbark]

They also seem to be looking for bugs (I presume) underneath cow pies. I saw a lot of them turned over where RKRIII and I saw pigs seconds before we gave them an excuse to leave. But, cow pies are everywhere.

 

[mudhen]

Everyone should save up and go on a guided Tejon hunt on occasion - it's just that good.

The only problem is that it's usually over too quick!

While your question is totally appropriate to most hog areas - there are just too many hogs and too much feed at Tejon to worry about patterning.
They are just scattered everywhere.

On the guided hunt areas - especially in the early morning and just before sunset - the hogs are just everywhere. They seem to appear like magic! On our last hunt we saw 200+ hogs just driving back to the lodge from an evening hunt.

It's a very well managed property and they are very nice folks - they deserve all the accolades.

mudhen - CA

 

[elkron]

Hey Fairchase, April is a great time to hunt hogs on Tejon. Acorns of course are a big part of the hogs diet but they also eat grasses and wild flowers in the spring. Do not worry about only having a two and a half day hunt. I think you will be very impressed by the number of hogs you see. Are you looking for a big boar or a meat pig?
See you in April.
elkron

 

[fairchase]

Elkron,
Thanks for the info. I am really looking forward to going. As far as pigs, it will be my first try, so any size hog would be great. I just need to get within muzzleloader range. See you in April, good luck.

 

[One Track]

Fair Chase:

Sorry, I didn't see your post in mid-Feb. You're going to love it. I've never had time to think about what the hogs were eating. There is sign everywhere. You will find them feeding out on the steep meadowed hillsides, or moving between bedding and feeding. It's great.

Elkron - welcome.

As you can see the JHPers have become huge fans of Tejon and the POR. I think that we are accounting for more than 30 hunters on the southside, and a half a dozen on the northside in March. Look forward to seeing you again.

Elkron is one of the coolest and most generous people I have ever met. He was on the ranch during my first pig hunt. He helped us drag a hog straight up a mountain, in the dark, just out of kindness. He was my first contact at Tejon. He wrote a story about the two rookie hog hunters that scored at Tejon. It was the trip where my buddy Steve took the Jackpot on the southside. His first big game kill, at 4pm on the first day, in the first 1/2 hour of hunting . A 250 lb. sow. We had a blast.

15 days to go!!!

 

[Tonopah01]

jrifenbark--
That was really intersting about cow pies. In your experience, do hogs prefer fresh ones or ones that have been on the ground for some time?