vandenberg

[hogsarunnin]

anybody been up to vafb lately?

 

[Outaline1]

Hogsarunnin....I been hunting Vandenberg pretty hard lately since the days are getting longer. I've been seeing lots of wet sows. Seems like they have had a strong reprodutive year. I have hunted Vandenberg about 9 years and never seen as many so often as I have this year. Last week I saw 3 different sows with various ages of pigglets in tow. One of the sows was well over 250lb on the hoof. I just smile and leave them alone

In fact my son posted a picture or a few weeks back of a couple of sows that had teamed up with their little ones. I guess thats pretty common.
Anyway, yes. Hunting has been good to those who know where and when. I've gotten pretty good a figuring them out and have done really well on base over the years.
Last Friday I spotted what I thought was a monster boar and made a stalk that took me over an hour. When I finally got up to it I discovered it was the monster sow I mentioned with 6 pigglets. Oh well,it was a great stalk with lot of excitement and heavy breathing.

I happened to glass back close to where I parked and spotted a black animal that was crossing a grassy patch on a hill. It was by itself and I'm thinking hmmmmm a boar finally and I'm way over here with very little light left. I decided I would hunt early in the morning Sat and start close to where I'd seen him that night. Well Sat morning arrived and I was ready. The sun started to rise and I was in position to watch the hill and grasslands below. At 0630 I started walking the ridge and glassing the grassy hillside when I spotted a big black hog about 300 yds away on the opposite ridge. I put on a stalk and got to withing 30yds of him. Being extra careful because I have been seeing all these sows lately.I wanted to be sure. The hog started up the hill towards heavy cover as the sun hit the hillside. I followed him up straddling him about 40yrds away. He finally made a broadside move where I could tell that it was a him!!! I raised my gun and fired. Dropped him in his tracks with a good neck shot. I was pumped up now! His weight dressed out was 176lbs. Pretty respectable hog for Vandenberg.
This is my 3rd hog since Dec. and you can bet I'll be out there again this week getting my exersise!

I'll get my son to post a picture since I haven't figued that out yet.....Outaline

 

[Surfswest]

Wow!!!! Good job on that one.

It's nice to hear about guys that aren't so desperate to get a pig that they take a sow w/ Piggies. Leaving the big ones helps ensure there are lots of more litters to come in futute seasons.

Frosty

 

[CaliJeephuntr]

Here's the picture

 

[boarcrz]

Great story and the pic.
Congratulation!
I should've been to service.

 

[sbrady]

Wow, very nice! A friend of mine and myself are new to hunting hogs.... we both live in the Ventura area and are trying to figure out where to go, that's relatively close. Sounds like Vandenburg might be an option. What are the requirements and regulations for hunting there? Thanks!

 

[BobcatJess]

Nice pig there. Last time my unlce and I were there in Oct. we were on some hogs, but ran out of daylight. We plan on heading out there probably in April. This time I think I am going to take my bow. We'll see what happens. Great Job.

Jess.

 

[hogsarunnin]

those sows look very familiar to the ones in my scope last weekend . I saw some that were over by the tracking station and just had to smile and let em go . I am a firm beliver in quality hog management and you cannot take the wet sows if you want a good population. Kudos to your father for not being so trigger happy.

we should talk a little more about the pigs up on the airbase . I think that my buddy and I shot the boar that was runnin with that big sow that your father killed. we shot him on new years eve and he dropped at the shot but got up and hauled ass . walked up expecting blood but found a small bone shard that was all , tracked him till about 7:30 and then backed out till the morning and piced up again next morning followed him for about 900 yds off of his track he had never quit running . anyways he ended up in the ravine right behind the tracking station and I lost track. I TOTALLY BELIEVE HE IS RUNNIN AROUND WITH A 7 mag IN HIS SHOULDER JUST FINE .


write back if ya can.

 

[Speckmisser]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (sbrady @ Mar 22 2006, 12:47 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

Wow, very nice! A friend of mine and myself are new to hunting hogs.... we both live in the Ventura area and are trying to figure out where to go, that's relatively close. Sounds like Vandenburg might be an option. What are the requirements and regulations for hunting there? Thanks![/b]

Vandenburg is military only, sbrady. That's why the hunting is so good there... relatively limited pressure.

Nice job on the hog, Outtaline. He's definitely a fatty. I expect the coming year to be a boomer for the hog populations, as well as for the deer.

 

[HOGHUNTER714]

Very nice indeed! Congrat's on the hog...Thats meat in the freezer...HH714

 

[baboltin]

nice.

 

[pbrdog]

I was waiting for another 3 day weekend to go up there. I may just have to declare a 3 dayer. Do you guys camp in the Grant Rd campground (area 4) when you go there? That's where I usually stay.

 

[spectr17]

Nice piggy Outaline

Vandenberg AFB info http://www.jesseshunting.com/site/vandenburg.html

 

[Outaline1]

Vandenberg is not an easy hunt by a long shot. It takes time to learn it. If you know the signs and stay with it you can score. For me working on base provides me with the oppurtunity to hunt such a great place and only minutes from where I live. I hunt 3-4 times a week mostly evenings after work. Its my form of exersise. I call it hiking with my gun because it is mostly hiking with my gun. I put in a lot of hours to be succsessful. I'm 50 yrs old now and probably in better shape than when I was 30. I can tell you this also.... use elevation and a good set of binoculars. That is what works best for me! As the pigs on Vandenberg tend to be really nocturnal I don't waste too much time looking after 9am or before 430pm. There have been some exceptions but for the most part unless you are willing to bust brush you won't see them during the day. That is probably true anywhere.

One last thing.......Please don't shoot a sow with small pigglets. You will be killing more than just the sow. Know what your shooting. I have had several encounters with sows and pigglets recently and if I wasn't being careful could have really done the wrong thing! I am hopeful that everyone hunting this fantastic place we have will think that way and we will have great hunting for the coming years!

Enough of my preaching guys. Now go get a good hog!

 

[larrysogla]

Awesome......very nice big piggy in that picture, Outaline1. Congratulations.

 

[larrysogla]

Awesome......very nice big piggy in that picture, Calijeephuntr. Congratulations.

 

[Lurediver]

No, I wouldn't shoot a wet sow but I'd smoke a pigglet anytime!

 

[Outaline1]

Bad news this morning! One of the sows I'd been seeing ended up hanging at the base rod and gun club.

I'm pretty pissed off too! After seeing this sow so many times the last couple of weeks it kinda hard to swallow. I'd seen the same guy a few days before in the area and warned him to be careful. Some guys just have to shoot something. Its pretty un-ethical in my book. What a waste!
I can say this he wasn't the proudest hunter I've seen. I had to confront him on it as a few others did. Lots of excuses. Didn't see it was a wet sow, no pigglets around etc. I could tell by what he said and how that he didn't give a s---! He knew! Too bad that this kind of thing isn't against the law.

 

[Lurediver]

I'm sorry, pigs are fun to hunt but having laws to protect Sows is just stupid! They are not native to California so there is no law protecting them from being hunted. To some people they are considered a pest because they destroy property, breed like rats and the next thing you know you have a herd of them tearing up the front yard. Yes Sows are legal to be hunted, this doesn't give anyone the right to confront the guy on shooting a legal animal. He wasn't breaking any laws! Maybe he was right and didn't see any piglets around. Who knows?

Would I shoot a wet sow? No, becuase I'd like to see more of them when I'm hunting but I also understand the problems that are caused by them too.

 

[BobcatJess]

Not to condone that shooting a wet sow is ok. But on the brighter side of things, at least hog piglets can take to another wet sow. The pig is one of the few animals that can.

Jess.