When is enough, enough?

[myfriendis410]

To Bryson Hesperia: We are kind of jaded about it; I'm Steve Reisbeck's hunting partner on base, so you can ask him about it.

Rampage: Good to hear from you man; it was in Area 4. Of course, we're seeing hogs everywhere now--saw 18 last night--sows with piglets.
We were happy to see them and watched them 'til they went over the ridge. I won't say where, you can understand why.

 

[Rampage1]

I hear yeah 410! The wife and I are itching to get back up there it's been about a month and a half, we'll drop into the rod and gun club if we make it up and say hello.

 

[Birdi23nls]

I think that in a hog hunting forum such as this, most people are going to agree with you...as I am pretty sure that I agree as well. Although I know many hunters who feel that Pigs are pests and should be treated as such. I have read many comments on this site in this forum by hunters very upset at the price of hog tags being high when they are considered "pests." Having said that, shooting 3 wet sows on purpose in an area that you like to hunt seems a bit like, in the words of Larry the Cable Guy, wiping before you poop, it just doesn’t make much sense.

 

[Flatbroke]

Birdi23,

you cant make sense out of nonsense.

 

[rsolo]

I'm with you, leave the wet sows alone. If you're a rancher and need to protect your investment, blaze away, on basically public land, let 'em walk. I plan on hunting deer on vandenberg this year and have been trying to talk my dad in to a pig hunt. Hopefully there will be some left.

I'm guessing this guy won't be welcome around the rod and gun club anymore...if he ever was...probably not the type who cares where he's welcome.

 

[PIGIG]

In the last four years I have passed on shots on sow’s pregnant or not at choppers ranch. Mostly to make sure we all have a new resource to hunt. I have not takeen a ping in two years! Not that i didn’t have a chance wet or not! These sows are what prolong my hunting/ with out them I might as well hunt public land where pigs are very scarce. I believe in keeping our resource even with an empty freezer!

 

[spectr17]

Had 3 preggo sows at 15 yards at Choppers back in March. Chopper was hurtin for hogs so I never shot. Had it been another situation and the hogs needed to be thinned down and I would have shot one. What's the meat taste like on a wet sow anyways, never shot one myself.

Last wet sow I saw shot was Westy when we headed into camp one afternoon at Tejon. That mud pit just east of the camp in Bear Trap was where we stopped to check. There was a backside of a hog sticking out of the mud so I'm saying shoot the lump. Westy says, "Is that a hog?". "Yup", I say, "Shoot the big black bump". I wasn't sure which end was which but I knew that lump wasn't there when we left. Dern pig had it's head down to hide.

BANG!!!

About 7 striped footballs popped out of the tulies. Never saw them.

 

[myfriendis410]

It happens. And it's kind of hard to take the shot back.

Pork is pork. I have heard comments over the years that a "lactating sow" tastes better than a dry sow or certainly a boar. Baloney! How it's handled, assuming no disease or distress in the animal, is more important. Hanging the carcass in a cooler for four or five days is critical. The only difference I've ever noticed is between a youngster and an adult, and I have to admit that a thirty to forty pound hog in the smoker is a real treat. But I've had two hundred plus boars in the freezer and seventy five pound juveniles and they all eat the same. (I like wild pork)

 

[pbrdog]

I won't shoot at a wet sow either. Now some of the guys that I hunt with, I can't speak for them. I'll be up at Vandenberg over Memorial Day weekend. Will try to swing by the gun club. Gotta turn in my ap at the PX for my G-11 tag. They opened doe season this year.

 

[ltdann]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (pbrdog @ May 7 2008, 08:21 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

I won't shoot at a wet sow either. Now some of the guys that I hunt with, I can't speak for them. I'll be up at Vandenberg over Memorial Day weekend. Will try to swing by the gun club. Gotta turn in my ap at the PX for my G-11 tag. They opened doe season this year.[/b]

I'll be up there that weekend as well, in the tent area. Gotta pick up my 07 mount from the taxidermist and chase some big porkers around. Maybe I'll see ya out there.

 

[spectr17]

http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=10...=9&t=611760

 

[Isolated Addiction]

thisn reply is for hronk. I know i am a little late with this reply but when i read you coment about the 500 yd shot i knew it was one of my posts you refered to. I can assure you that there were no piglets with the sow. The shot was across the canyon and we were looking down on her, all by herself. in fact we were supprised it was a sow when we got to her. She weighed 134 and was big in our binos, there were 4 of us looking also, the other 3 of us had already tagged out. Our ethics are in agreeance with most and we want to hunt tomorrow as well as next year. I hope i didnt sound to abrupt but my text is clear and has made my point. Thanx, isolated addiction.........

 

[Speckmisser]

Isolated, I don't think anyone is picking on you, but Hronk's point is absolutely valide. It can be danged hard to tell a wet sow in the grass at relatively close range, much less at 500 yards. Sounds like ya'll did it right, but everyone can learn from the cautionary tale.

It's easy to mess up...

I sat and watched a pig at Tejon a few years ago from about 225 yards. It was feeding in and out of head-high grass, and I glassed and glassed for several minutes to be sure there was nothing else around. Finally, as the pig was stepping behind a tree I determined it was not a wet sow, and I took the shot... fortunately it whacked the tree instead of the pig. She ran about 20 or 30 yards to my left where there was a shallow draw in the side of the hill, and when she came out she was trailing a line of babies. She'd stashed them in a bed and was feeding alone. I never could have known the babies were there, but because I couldn't see her teats hanging, I figured she was dry. Lesson learned with much relief... if you can't see the belly, maybe it's best not to take the shot.

Some folks might remember this video from last year's Tejon hunt...

<object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/vHBqrq5KsKI&hl=en"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/vHBqrq5KsKI&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>

The reason I got so close and still didn't shoot was because there were babies, big pigs, and medium sized pigs all over the place. The grass was taller than most of the hogs in the group, so even on video you couldn't see half the herd. I had to get right in the middle of them to figure out which ones were dry, which were boars, and which were wet sows... and then I had to stand up to take a shot because I couldn't see their bellies from the ground. Of course standing up allowed them to eventually see me and blow out, and my shot... well, it was just a bad shot. No excuses there.

Point is, if anyone feels like they absolutely must shoot several hundred yards, take the extra time and make real sure what you're shooting at. It's better to pass a shot than take a wet sow just because, "it's the only shot you'll get." Nobody's gonna starve if you don't shoot a pig.

 

[myfriendis410]

Been there done that.....

 

[New Pig Hunter]

no grief from me, I passed on a shot like that a few years back. Seemed like the ethical choice.

Cheers,

Carl

 

[hatchet1]

PHIL, IS THAT WHERE THE HANDLE"SPECKMISSER" CAME FROM?

GREAT VIDEO!

 

[BGH831]

Hang me now but I say once again any wild hog in California is an enviromaental and public hazard and should die. Thoose that are choosy about the pigs they kill are being selfish and not worried about the planet they leave for thier kids. There are enough hogs in this state for three generations of hunters to not ever get bored. Pigs in California are not natural and allmost worse on the enviroment than cows. Kill them all. Pick my tree out now.

 

[BGH831]

Not wanting to stir the pot but that video looks like and excited heart pounding miss rather than a choice to pass on a wet sow or piglet.

 

[Flatbroke]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (BGH831 @ May 14 2008, 09:19 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

Hang me now but I say once again any wild hog in California is an enviromaental and public hazard and should die. Thoose that are choosy about the pigs they kill are being selfish and not worried about the planet they leave for thier kids. There are enough hogs in this state for three generations of hunters to not ever get bored. Pigs in California are not natural and allmost worse on the enviroment than cows. Kill them all. Pick my tree out now.[/b]

Holy crap did the $$hit water treatment facility break and mix with your water over there in tres pinos again or are you drinking heavily tonight, Lord kows I am. You cracked me up with this one.

 

[hatchet1]

the topic has been breeched, i say again ,the topic has been breeched....

STAND BY...