The story of my first hog began in May 2011 at the annual JHO POR at Tejon ranch. In fact, that hunt was my first big game hunt of any kind here in California. I was a complete rookie and had no idea what to expect when it comes to pig hunting in Cali. Two hunters decided to take me under their wings that weekend with the promise of getting me a shot at a hog.
Since I didn’t tell my success story ‘til now, you all probably guessed that I didn’t get my hog that weekend. What they gave me that weekend was the equivalent of a drug dealer giving a kid a sample of crack. They would tease me with groups of pigs spotted at a distance. Then they would parade their own kills back to camp and enchanted me with stories of glory and success. When I became discourage and fearful of not getting a shot, they would help me stalk to within yards of pigs only to slip up at the last minute and have the pigs wind us before getting a clear shot. The purpose of all this teasing was to get me to sign them up as my guides at FHL for the next season of hunting.
And so it came to pass that I was hooked and did indeed enlist their services as my guides at FHL. Our first trip to FHL was much like the Tejon hunt. They would put me on pigs just out of my reach. I ran into two different groups only to have them slip through my fingers. The price I paid for my failure was the infamous Chili Wrap. You see, these guides required neither monetary nor material compensation for their help. But they demanded amusement through success. And if amusement did not come from success, they got it from humiliation. And so for the next year, I became the new Chili Wrap Rookie. For that next year, they continued to guide me at FHL trying to get me my first pig while cracking up and throwing chili wrap in my face each time I messed up.
Well, this pass Saturday, I officially graduated from Chili Wrap Rookie to successful pig hunter. FHL was unusually dead last weekend as there were no decent areas open for general weapons hunting. My guide and I headed to our favorite area since we had primitive weapons at our disposal. I was a bit discouraged since the moon was fairly bright and I had heard that full moons were not great for hunting. We woke up on time but got out to the field a bit late. The sky was already somewhat bright as we arrived on top of the ridge to glass the area below. I spotted a shadow moving in the high grass and had my hopes crushed only to find out it was a coyote. My guide game over to laugh at me for mistaking the coyote for a pig. Then he said, “Look, you want to see what a pig looks like, look to the left.” Sure enough as I looked, I saw a outline of a humped black back moving through the tall grass and heading in our direction up the hill. We both grabbed our muzzleloader and raced down the trail to intercept the pigs. He allowed me to take the first shot, probably hoping I would miss and he’d get another good laugh at the Chili Wrap Rookie.
There were four grown pigs in the group. I spotted a calico colored one that was pretty large and was broadside to me. The next pig was facing me and I thought... "Wouldn’t it be great if I took a headshot? That would show these guys that I’m no rookie." Well, my hesitation almost cost me the pig as the group spotted me and took off. I raised my rifle and took a shot that the black pig facing us as it ran off. Luckily, it dropped dead in its tracks. A short moment later there was another boom as my guide took his shot. My shot landed a bit high and I broke the pig's spine. My guide took a difficult running shot, his hit the gut. At the end of the morning we each had a pig and I was no longer the rookie that my guides had such a good time laughing at. It took over a year for them to get me my first pig but they worked their asses off and they did it. Both pigs weighed about the same (110lbs) and both were black in color. My guide did make me gut and skin my own pig as that's part of the learning process.
I'm pretty excited for the next year of hunting as I hopefully get to laugh at some new rookie. The only thing I'm afraid of now is that my guides will send me off on my own and make me get one without their help. Because of that, it might be a few years before I can make another post so excuse this extra long one. Pics to come when I can download it from my phone.
Edit: I just realized most of you don't know what a Chili Wrap is. Well, for every failure to shoot at a shootable pig, your water pistol is also be made to fail to shoot by wrapping it with chili peppers. This is done around the camp fire while the rookie runs around looking for water. For everyone contemplating enlisting the services of these guides, think very carefully about the price of failure.:skeered:
Since I didn’t tell my success story ‘til now, you all probably guessed that I didn’t get my hog that weekend. What they gave me that weekend was the equivalent of a drug dealer giving a kid a sample of crack. They would tease me with groups of pigs spotted at a distance. Then they would parade their own kills back to camp and enchanted me with stories of glory and success. When I became discourage and fearful of not getting a shot, they would help me stalk to within yards of pigs only to slip up at the last minute and have the pigs wind us before getting a clear shot. The purpose of all this teasing was to get me to sign them up as my guides at FHL for the next season of hunting.
And so it came to pass that I was hooked and did indeed enlist their services as my guides at FHL. Our first trip to FHL was much like the Tejon hunt. They would put me on pigs just out of my reach. I ran into two different groups only to have them slip through my fingers. The price I paid for my failure was the infamous Chili Wrap. You see, these guides required neither monetary nor material compensation for their help. But they demanded amusement through success. And if amusement did not come from success, they got it from humiliation. And so for the next year, I became the new Chili Wrap Rookie. For that next year, they continued to guide me at FHL trying to get me my first pig while cracking up and throwing chili wrap in my face each time I messed up.
Well, this pass Saturday, I officially graduated from Chili Wrap Rookie to successful pig hunter. FHL was unusually dead last weekend as there were no decent areas open for general weapons hunting. My guide and I headed to our favorite area since we had primitive weapons at our disposal. I was a bit discouraged since the moon was fairly bright and I had heard that full moons were not great for hunting. We woke up on time but got out to the field a bit late. The sky was already somewhat bright as we arrived on top of the ridge to glass the area below. I spotted a shadow moving in the high grass and had my hopes crushed only to find out it was a coyote. My guide game over to laugh at me for mistaking the coyote for a pig. Then he said, “Look, you want to see what a pig looks like, look to the left.” Sure enough as I looked, I saw a outline of a humped black back moving through the tall grass and heading in our direction up the hill. We both grabbed our muzzleloader and raced down the trail to intercept the pigs. He allowed me to take the first shot, probably hoping I would miss and he’d get another good laugh at the Chili Wrap Rookie.
There were four grown pigs in the group. I spotted a calico colored one that was pretty large and was broadside to me. The next pig was facing me and I thought... "Wouldn’t it be great if I took a headshot? That would show these guys that I’m no rookie." Well, my hesitation almost cost me the pig as the group spotted me and took off. I raised my rifle and took a shot that the black pig facing us as it ran off. Luckily, it dropped dead in its tracks. A short moment later there was another boom as my guide took his shot. My shot landed a bit high and I broke the pig's spine. My guide took a difficult running shot, his hit the gut. At the end of the morning we each had a pig and I was no longer the rookie that my guides had such a good time laughing at. It took over a year for them to get me my first pig but they worked their asses off and they did it. Both pigs weighed about the same (110lbs) and both were black in color. My guide did make me gut and skin my own pig as that's part of the learning process.
I'm pretty excited for the next year of hunting as I hopefully get to laugh at some new rookie. The only thing I'm afraid of now is that my guides will send me off on my own and make me get one without their help. Because of that, it might be a few years before I can make another post so excuse this extra long one. Pics to come when I can download it from my phone.
Edit: I just realized most of you don't know what a Chili Wrap is. Well, for every failure to shoot at a shootable pig, your water pistol is also be made to fail to shoot by wrapping it with chili peppers. This is done around the camp fire while the rookie runs around looking for water. For everyone contemplating enlisting the services of these guides, think very carefully about the price of failure.:skeered:
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