where to go

[mdreisen]

Just got my first rifle. Ive been practicing a bunch with it and have it zeroed in. I really want to get out and get some kind of game. Ive just learned how deer tags work and will be putting in for those coming up here. i want to try and get out and get a hog, but have no idea where to go. I read the padres has some but more up north. i live in northern LA county. just north of D11. Anybody have any advise on where to go. or any advice is much appreciated.

 

[solus]

Tejon ranch. You can pay to hunt there. Its supposed to be good for pig.

 

[JustGuy]

LPNF is also good, as well as Indian Valley reservoir. i had great success there.

 

[mdreisen]

Indian valley is a bit of a drive for me but maybe. are there hogs or turkey in the lower part of the LPNF. My son wants to try turkey. and definatly looking for public land. I unfortunatly dont have the deep pockets for tejon yet. but ya that place is pretty close to my.what about out by the big bear area anything out there i can go for?

 

[JustGuy]

LPNF has it all in different areas, but you need to work on it as usual on public land. You need to spend a lot of time on scouting.
There are a lot of discussions on this forum about public land hunting.
many argue that the most expensive guided hunt is much cheaper then a free public land successful hunt. And i tend to agree if your goal is to pull the trigger and bring meat home.
In most cases public land hunting requires much more deep pockets to achieve some success.

 

[mdreisen]

@justguy why do you say public land can be more expensive? Is it just the time you spend out trying to find game. And thanks for the advice.

 

[THE ROMAN ARCHER]

If u live super close to public land then it's going to be more time consuming with little water and food added.
But for most hunters in cali that desire to Hunt public land it's major gas and travel time that's gets costly and adds up over time and many trips. A lot of hunters travel a minimum of 1 to 3 hrs one way to there public land spots and even farther for some so gas is a big expense depending on how often u want to make the trip. So sometimes it ends up being cheaper in the long run to do a paid hunt compared to what u would spend in gas cost going back and forth on many trips to hunt public land.
When i used to hunt Lake Sonoma it was a 5 hr round trip with my suv and gas was $35-$50. Ea. Trip so if I went once a week in one month I would have spent almost $200. Just on gas, 2 mo. $400. , 3 mo. $600.. so all that gas time and effort with no success could of been spent on one successful paid hunt. Hope this helps on the explanation.......tra

 

[JustGuy]

@justguy why do you say public land can be more expensive? Is it just the time you spend out trying to find game. And thanks for the advice.

Time? What about gas? additional money you would spend if were sitting at home. It was discussed 1,000s of times. but time??? isn't it American saying, "Time is money"? Again, i'm with you on this one, I hunt public land only for pigs and turkeys. All the rest is my land or my frient's. In general public land hunting much, much more expensive than guided hunts. I doubt you will get first pig on a public land in less than 10 outings, most likely it will take much more. Average outfitter charges $500 +- Now do the math.

 

[solus]

No pigs in the san bernardino national forest. Never seen them. Plenty of deer and bear but its not season. And trust us hunting public land is not cheap or easy. I love A zone for deer but i cant afford to go up there all the time. I know of soke tiny flocks of turkey in sbnf but its better to just let them breed and populate.

 

[JustGuy]

I do not have experience with SBNF. I was mentioning LPNF.

 

[Hikingwithguns]

With where you live I would say FHL is your best bet. Vandenburg if you are retired or active military.

LPNF was already mentioned, Tejon if you have the money (and its real close to you). Carrizzo is also a possibility.

Good luck, let us know how you do instead of disappearing never to be heard from again like the majority that ask this question

 

[HuntnBrew]

I know it seems like common sense but... Mdreisen, have you completed hunters education? If not, I'd start there.

 

[mdreisen]

I Have completed hunters education. My son and I actually had our first yr quail hunting this year. We had a blast, we are going to try turkey this weekend. we didn't have any time to scout but we have a good idea of where to go for that. So we will see how that goes, and thanks for all the advice everyone Ill defiantly post my experience hopefully my success

 

[easymoney]

I would suggest saving up and going guided or self-guided, as it gets you into better properties and if fully guided you get basic training by someone who's business is dependent on your success. Do some research on sponsors here on JHO and you can find a wide range of prices and experiences.
There are some very good public lands in CA, but as has been stated it can be very expensive in time and money. And not all areas hold huntable populations of pigs. The closest to you in So. CA would be the LPNF, the Tehachipies, or any of the counties going north from you, starting with San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Monterey, San Benito, Kern and Fresno. That encompasses a vast amount of land with large populations of wild pigs and many guides and outfitters.
Do some back searching on this forum and there is a wealth of info. good luck...

 

[savagehunter]

Hello mdreisen i have done alot od public land hunting since i started 2 years ago and i havent succeded in any hogs yet . But i have wasted alot of gas and money but i will not give up . Good luck its tough and hard as hell .

 

[thewolfman]

If I remember rite... It took us about 2-3 yrs before we even saw and shot at a pig on public land about 25-30 yrs ago...

Advice for u 1. Join Tejon because pigs are abundant along with other animals... 2. Join Wilderness Unlimited because they have a lot of Ranches u can hunt... And a lot of variety of game species to choose from like water fowl, small games, predator and big games... 3. Join Fort Hunter Ligget because for $110 u have almost the whole base to hunt a variety of animals... Goodluck

 

[Bubblehide]

If I remember rite... It took us about 2-3 yrs before we even saw and shot at a pig on public land about 25-30 yrs ago...

Advice for u 1. Join Tejon because pigs are abundant along with other animals... 2. Join Wilderness Unlimited because they have a lot of Ranches u can hunt... And a lot of variety of game species to choose from like water fowl, small games, predator and big games... 3. Join Fort Hunter Ligget because for $110 u have almost the whole base to hunt a variety of animals... Goodluck

How come nobody tells me where to go, oh wait, a driver just did [sent from my I-phone)

 

[KTKT70]

How come nobody tells me where to go, oh wait, a driver just did [sent from my I-phone)

do they have pigs in hell?? that's the only place drivers ever tell me to go. lol

 

[easymoney]

Anyone hoping to catch a glimpse of some hogs , especially on public land (mdreisen) should get out this weekend. It is raining here now on the central coast and they love that moist soil and the barley that is heading up now. In fact I'm going out on public land this evening and tomorrow morning, so wish me luck...
Just saw a giant black boar hit by a car at the entrance of town and there were two caltrans trucks and six guys trying to figure out how to get it into the truck bed. It was so hysterical to watch, in fact they gave me the stink eye and the move along look...
Good luck...

 

[BearValleySprings]

OK, so I just moved to the Tehachapi area and am trying to figure this out - rank novice - but have the itch - going to take the hunter safety course, etc. Does anyone know any guides in the Tehachapi area?