TRA'S 2nd Annual Wild Boar Hunt >@ CHOPPER'S

[hatchet1]

lure im with you,6 guys huntin,no storys,very unlike choppers place,always some kinda novel comin from there
sucessful or unsucessful ,come on boys,this maintaining computer silence is killing me!! i have not hunted
in 2 weeks and im not going thru the detox so well

BUELLER..BUELLER...BUELLER????

 

[wyemjohnson]

I'll 2nd or 3rd that motion....back in WY hoping spring will come again...out with the details boys!

 

[mattys281]

My GF & I saw a herd w/ Chopper on day 1, but they were already busted outta there & couldn't get on 'em. Later that night we kicked up another, but only got a look at his little piggy anus, as he was haulin arse over the ridge. Got w/in about 50-60 yards before he busted us. Unfortunately, he saw us before we saw him = GAME OVER!!!

An interesting side-note is that we called in 3 blacktail does w/ a predator call on the first night. 1st one came running in straight at me to about 10 yards, skidded to a stop, spun around & ran straight at INgrid, passing her w/in less than 5 yards. Second deer came in about 10 minutes later, circled up hill (down-wind) w/in about 30 yards or so & then snuck off. The third one also came in to w/in the 30-40 yard range, circled down-wind & snorted us eight or nine times before bailin.

Beautiful ranch, Chopper! Sorry to see you lock the gates, but I know it'll work out best for your family. Glad we got to meet you & the wife before you closed down!

P.S. TRA, quit thinkin about that Az. javi hunt & start making plans. January will be here before you know it!

 

[PIGIG]

from one of the non JHO members that attended

Hi Cecil,

I finally unpacked, and I just wanted to THANK CHOPPER for a great weekend. The accommodations were awesome! It was a good group of people to be with, but the food...oh my god. Sorry I let you down and didn't get one. I am working on getting new boots, but you are going to have to come and see if they are quiet. we really busted our ass trying, and I hope I can be invited again. Thank You Chopper for a great time!

Thanks again.

Matt

 

[Cold1nhand]

I can't take it... Pictures??? Where is TRA's story???

 

[Kentuck]

TRA must be home-bound with a severe outbreak of poison oak.

 

[Lurediver]

 

[mattys281]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Kentuck @ May 14 2008, 10:22 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

TRA must be home-bound with a severe outbreak of poison oak.[/b]

Saw him lurking in here earlier. WTH Tra? I know that sow-zilla story has gotta be near to bursting out of you on it's own by now! Come on man!

 

[THE ROMAN ARCHER]

goodmorning my fellow jho members and friends, sorry for the delay on my story of our epic weekend hunt at Choppers this past weekend but after what happend on my last morning hunt of the weekend on sunday its has really effected me and i will NEVER BE THE SAME! i had the chance to be the KING of JHO and Choppers, i will explian that later in my story..................

First i want to personally thank evryone who joined me for this hunt> Cecil, Matt and Allyn, Jay and John, and Matty and Ingred who drove all the way from AZ to hunt with us. if i had to do it all over agian i would want all of you to be there agian you really made it a weekend to remember and you are all true archers and bowhunters who have a great passion for what we do and represent.

Chopper, thank you for being a good friend and host! your property is #1 in my books!

...............and now the story!

last thursday morning it was a great feeling as i was driving on Chenaga rd. in Hollister hills just a few more miles to Choppers ranch of just looking at all the acres of prime pig habitat that surround the area and you now know you are out of the daily rat race and you are in the good life country scene and its so cool that you have to drive through a rock quarry to find a little dirt road and then its a 5 mi. journey straight to the top about 3000 ft elev. or so to get to the ranch and the lodge and once you are there you know you are in heaven. i was the first to arrive got settled in and Cecil, Matt and Allyn showed up just after and i knew the good times where just about to begin, and later we would be joined by Jay and John and fri. Matty and Ingred would join us.

DAY (1) it was an evening hunt and Chopper had a nice stand location for me and it would be diff. then finding a spot to stalk or ambush from, so i really enjoyed the spot and it was a nice tree stand but it ended up getting dark with no action, it is a hot spot for sure! back at the cabin the grub was cooking and everyone was sharing their hunt outcome for the evening, no one scored but their is always the next day!

DAY (2) friday morning i decided to hunt the old graveyard path where i had spotted huge pigs in the past but their was no action or promising sign so after a few hrs i headed back to the cabin to chow and stories and get ready for the evening hunt, no one scored yet but there were spottings mostly during the day while inroute, game not over yet!
for the evening i decided to do the classic Twin Oaks walk down the bulldoze cuts into the oak flats and end up down by Old Hutchinson trial till dark, its one of my favorite walks but it did not produce and sign wasnt as strong as it was back in Dec., so the evening ended with out seeing a hog! so back to the lodge to chow and rest, and no one has wacked a hog yet, but still 2 days to go!

DAY (3) saturday morning i decided to head down into the ATT feild through a gully between two hillsides loaded with PO where i had previously found an acre of rooting! in hopes to intercept them going back in to their bedding but it didn't happen, so i backed tracked and crossed the road and headed down torwards Jamison pond but i didnt make it all the way it was getting hot and i had a long walk back to the 4x4 and needed to get back to the cabin to freshen up and rest for the evening hunt!
so saturday afternoon around 5 pm everybody had left for the evening hunt except me and Cecil, Matt and Allyn, and i looked at Cecil and told him i have ran out of spots and idea's and he said that why we are still here too trying to decide, between all of us we tried a lot of spots and some of the guys were going through and into the poision oak to try an find hogs it was getting to that point, i still did not see one hog on the hunt since thursday yet, which was strange because i can always spot hogs when i an on the ranch, but i was not discouraged at all because i know there plenty of hogs on that ranch and its not over yet!
so i asked Cecil where the rosd i was on earlier that day ended up and he told me and i said i will go back and continue where i stopped in the morning i really liked the area and never been on that part of the ranch before so it was exciting to pursue for the evening hunt and i had this strong gut feeling!
i found a nice spot to park the 4x4 and let my natural hunting instincts take me away and i started to climb a hill that lead me to a ridge that kept heading up to a classic peak with huge oak trees and a great veiw of the valley below and the hillsides across the ways, i said to myself if i was a wild pig i would love this area it had promise and it was turning out to be one of my favorite walks and areas on Choppers place as i took each step slowley looking down the hillsides and glassin the other hillsides as i was going up and up untill it finially peaked out and the back side down was all pine forest and poision oak brush and a long way down so i was going to rest and continue the walk back down to try another spot and i was on top overlooking the valley all a round me i started daydreaming that it was a nice place for a cabin and wishing i could wake up to this everymorning.
SO i did not see any evident sign or hogs at the top after that very long hike up, but i wanted to take a self photo with my digital to capure the moment and was looking for a spot to put my camera on and there was a huge fallen log just behind me about 20 ft. long that borderd the back down side of the mountian so went to place the camera on the log and thats when MY EYES POPPED OUT OF MY HEAD! there only 6 feet in front of me was a pig bed the size of a small meteor crash site at least 6x4 of supper fresh solid top soil with a high bank all around it, I COMPLETELY FROZE and started looking more closely around and it was like magic i stated seeing more fresh beds under all the big pines and i started carefully stepping around without trying to disturb or pollute the area and then within a few steps i find a large area loaded with clumps of huge pig shet and theres more beds under trees and there was a huge pine trunk that must have been their regular rubbin tree with a 3 ft. tall rub line i was freeeking out in my head so i backed off and called Cecil on the 2 way to tell him my discovery and get some advice on what to do next, he figured they already blew out and there was nothing more i could do at that time, the wind was perfect too! blowing towards me going down hill from the bed, so i posted up still in one spot with a 20 yrd rng. of the huge pig bed for the next hr till it was getting dark to see any pigs would show up, but nada! so i was already thinking about sneaking in at dark to the spot in the morning to see if i can get them coming back to their beds before light at legal shooting time if i plan everything perfect! so i timed my self all the way back to the cabin so i would know the time frame to be there in the morning for first light.

when i got back to the cabin i couldnt wait to share my discovery with my fellow bowhunters, i had plenty of photos and bowcam video of the site. back at the cabin we were all sharing our stories and making planes for the morning and finial hunt, and still after 3 days i did not see one pig yet, but finding that spot was just as good as seeing them, so i ate and crashed just after 11pm and was up at 4:10 am sunday morning for my finial weekend hunt to try and wack a wild boar with a bow!

Day (4) ITS NOW OR NEVER! i wake up at 4:10 am and i waste no time getiing dressed sucking down a frapp and danish while everyone was still dead asleep or thinking about getting up and i was out of there in my 4x4 in total darkness trying to drive to my spot without spooking everything in the area. it was 5:15 am now and i am parked and getting my gear on and getting ready for the climb and hopefully successfull ambush. its totally dark i and hikeink up the side of the ridge with just my green light on, the grass was moist enough to muffle my steps and the wind was in my face, perfect!
step by step inch by inch as i am now only within yards of the pig crater i want to ambush at the top of this ridge, the green lights off and my invisionment of the hunt all starts to evolve in a momemts time of popping over the creast and getting ready to draw my bow, its is now a half hr before sunrise around 5:45 am give or take a minute or so just at first shooting light and all of a SUDDEN i here russeling in the bushes and i say to my self crap i know its gotta be a hog starting to move and then everything onfolds within seconds before my eyes as i get ready to draw, now a big trophy boar appears out of the brush 35 yards away to mw left, a clean easy shot but then my eyes catch movement to my right and ther 22 yrds away in the pig crater in front of me are the fattest pigglets around 60 lbs a few of them standing in the bed, so i thinking wheres the mom shes got to be close, i thinking big black hog right! WRONG! there are 2 trees between me and the hogs bed but i have veiw of the bed in between and then i notice the mom, one of the tree trunks was blocking her mid section and her head and A$$ end were sticking out from both sides of this wide tree, she was huge and dark brown and she blended in with the bed, she was their in front of me BROADSIDE with her little ones and i took a side step to open her vitals to my arrow drawed the bow for the shot and SHAZZAM! they were gone! ther was still one more boar hanging out in the brush about 60 yrds with just his black mid section showing so i took an instinctive hail mary shot and watched my illuminok fly threw the air into dead silence as i herd the last boar grunt and head back down hill into the cayon, i did not think i hit it so i stayed posted up still in that spot only 20 yards away from the bed hopeing maybe another boar would still come through for another hr and i realized it was over and it wasnt even 6 am yet! i spent another hr looking for my arrow but it was light now and i would not be able to see my illuninok, there was no evidence of a hit at all and clean tracks runnin off everywhere. one thing i didnt think of to later is i am lucky i wasnt CHARGED from big momma trying to protect the little ones! there where at least 3 other large hogs ther too, to late to think about that now!

i was in total shock and still am in shock of what happend that morning, i realize it was just too perfect of timeing of my morning ambush and i was there at the same time they were getting ready to bed and if i waited till around 8 am i am sure i would of caught them off guard dead asleep in their beds and would of been able to seal the deal, but it was a hard lesson learned and i have only been wild boar hunting a few times and just getting the hang of the ranch, so all i can do is hope and pray i get another opportunity like that agian, i now have a better game plan for my next ambush in the future for another wild boar bowhunting adventure at Choppers someday!

I WILL GIVE SOMEONE MY DISK TO DOWNLOAD THE AWESOME PHOTO"S OF THE BOAR BEDDING AND AREA AND THE REST OF OUR TRIP!.............when you see my photos you will know why i will never be the same agian!

it was the best group hunt of my life so far with the Most awesome group of fellow bowhunters you could ask for to share a hunt with, i will miss everyone, and hope to share a hunt agian with you all!

THANKS CHOPPER YOUR PLACE IS SPECIAL TO ME! man, i love hunting those wild boars!...............tra

 

[hatchet1]

DUDE, GREAT NOVEL, AND THE BOW CAM!! EVEN BETTER!!STRONG WORK

 

[Kentuck]

Dang TRA! That even had my heart going. I think I know exactly where those beds were. I found a similiar spot last year there. I can also relate on how you feel about the hunt. I stuck one in Feb. that if I'd just been a little more patient on it would have worked out better. Thanks for sharing and we all are going to miss Chopper's.

 

[bigtusker]

SHAZZAM!!!!

 

[Lurediver]

Umm TRA, I have a hunt there the 1st weekend in June, care to send me a PM on the location? I'll owe ya.

 

[Rancho Loco]

Nick's email is getting hammered!

 

[Flatbroke]

WORD!!!!!! Cant wait to see the video.

 

[wyemjohnson]

Nice writeup! way to never give up and keep a positive outlook, patience and perseversence usually gets you a last morning opportunity!

 

[kelly106]

Always like hearin youre stories TRA, sounds like it was a blast !

 

[THE ROMAN ARCHER]

thankyou everyone for your kind words and support, i feel very satisfied with my performance and outcome of my weekend hunt, and after doing a lot of soul searching the last three days i have come to the conclusion that it was ment to be not to harvest that sow, after all she is produceing future trophy boars for us to hunt and i now feel she is a great asset to the ranch and i hope no one ever wacks her. my initial feelings and reaction when i found that bed saturday evening was to wack the wild pig who made it if at all possible because i know it had to be freeking huge, so i went to sleep that night with one thing in mind besides wacking any a pig first thing that morning is i had to see the pig that made that bed or i would never be the same, and of course i could only speculate the night before if it was one large boar or two large pigs or a sow ands its litter, but my curiousity got the best of me and i have no regrets on my decision that morning, and i did get to see the monster sow and it was worth it.

i will tell you right now that was a very mature clan of wild boars and sow, it was a lair of kings and queens of the ranch for sure and i was faceing them all for a total of at least 10 seconds during the whole episode and thats a long time they just coudnt figure me out at first so i had time to wack one, but the way it all unfolded it just didnt work out, first i here the russeling, then e big black boar appears, then the huge lille pigglets cought my attention and then the big momma materializes in front of me and then SHAZZAM! game over, but it was the best adreniline high of all my hunting adventures for sure! it was just too perfecectly plan! for another note, that sow wasnt your typical fat feral type of porker she was built like a euro boar for sure!

well guys be patiant with me! i will have a successfull bowkill story in the future someday for all my fellow jho bowhunters to enjoy, just not right now. thanks agian everyone, and have a great day!...............tra

P.S. old age sucks, as far as the location right now my 50 yr. old mind is having a hard time remembering where that spot is, let me bang my head on a wall a few more times to see if it would jar my memory...........tra

 

[PIGIG]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (THE ROMAN ARCHER @ May 15 2008, 08:04 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

thankyou everyone for your kind words and support, i feel very satisfied with my performance and outcome of my weekend hunt, and after doing a lot of soul searching the last three days i have come to the conclusion that it was ment to be not to harvest that sow, after all she is produceing future trophy boars for us to hunt and i now feel she is a great asset to the ranch and i hope no one ever wacks her. my initial feelings and reaction when i found that bed saturday evening was to wack the wild pig who made it if at all possible because i know it had to be freeking huge, so i went to sleep that night with one thing in mind besides wacking any a pig first thing that morning is i had to see the pig that made that bed or i would never be the same, and of course i could only speculate the night before if it was one large boar or two large pigs or a sow ands its litter, but my curiousity got the best of me and i have no regrets on my decision that morning, and i did get to see the monster sow and it was worth it.

i will tell you right now that was a very mature clan of wild boars and sow, it was a lair of kings and queens of the ranch for sure and i was faceing them all for a total of at least 10 seconds during the whole episode and thats a long time they just coudnt figure me out at first so i had time to wack one, but the way it all unfolded it just didnt work out, first i here the russeling, then e big black boar appears, then the huge lille pigglets cought my attention and then the big momma materializes in front of me and then SHAZZAM! game over, but it was the best adreniline high of all my hunting adventures for sure! it was just too perfecectly plan! for another note, that sow wasnt your typical fat feral type of porker she was built like a euro boar for sure!

well guys be patiant with me! i will have a successfull bowkill story in the future someday for all my fellow jho bowhunters to enjoy, just not right now. thanks agian everyone, and have a great day!...............tra

P.S. old age sucks, as far as the location right now my 50 yr. old mind is having a hard time remembering where that spot is, let me bang my head on a wall a few more times to see if it would jar my memory...........tra[/b]

Nick do not injur your self leave that to me i am a pro at it! i have sat on that hill top a many time, i can draw you a map or send you GPS if you can ever get back up there.

 

[hifi55]

Awesome story TRA, sounds like a super great hunt even if pigless. Those few moments when it all went down around you are what its all about eh? Congrats!