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WILD HOGS -- Jim Matthews/ONS -- 23jul03
Wild hogs continue to be state’s most-available big game quarry
The boar was feeding on the lush green grass in the shade of a sprawling oak tree on the ridgeline. Four of us were watching the large wild hog with binoculars, while Dave Campbell, the editor of Shooting Illustrated published by the National Rifle Association in Virginia, crept into shooting position with his .45-90 single shot.
Veteran California hog hunter, Durwood Hollis of Rancho Cucamonga, a long-time hunting buddy of Campbell’s whispered that it was one of the biggest boars he’d ever seen. “I thought it was a black bear at first,” said Hollis. “That boar is huge.”
Those words didn’t help Campbell’s steadiness. When the gun roared, the grass was parted and dirt was kicked up from the big slug just below the boar, indicating a perfect hold, just a foot of so low. The boar was gone almost instantly. While Hollis continued to rave about the size of the departed boar, two other in the group scrambled for rangefinders to try to explain the miss. The shot was nearly 200 yards instead of the 80 to 100 yards most thought it was when Campbell was shooting. The size of the boar and the uphill angle made the pig seem deceptively close and both helped turn what should have been a perfect shot into a perfect miss.
Of course, everyone blamed Campbell for blowing the shot on what was immediately decided was surely the biggest boar on the Tejon Ranch.
The Tejon has become the No. 1 pig hunting operation in California, with very close to 1,000 hogs taken during the past year, according to Don Geivet, the ranch’s game manager.
“I know that last year -- December to December -- we verified over 800 hogs taken, and we’re on a track to shoot a heck of a lot more this year,” said Geivet. “If you look at the published county pig [kill] numbers for the state, more than 800 of those listed for Kern County are ours.”
The Tejon offers a whole range of hog hunting opportunities, from the non-guided Pig-O-Ramas that cost $300 per hunter to the fully-guided $750 option. There are five full-time guides on the ranch and two part-time guides. In addition, hunters can arrange “Ham Slams” where you can set up a group on your own, non-guided hunt from one of the Tejon’s hunting lodges. These cost about $600 per hunter, depending on duration and other options hunters want to include.
While the Tejon might be the biggest and closest operation for most Southern California hunters, there are hog hunting operations all over the state -- and a smattering of public land opportunities for the die-hard hunter.
If the truth were known, wild hogs are probably California's number one big game animal. They have become more popular than deer for many hunters. Why? It's because hog hunters generally see game and take home the bacon.
Guided hunts -- about the only way the average guy has access to property with wild hogs -- are relatively inexpensive. In today's world of sky-high gasoline prices, it is much cheaper to stay close to home and hunt wild hogs than to take that annual trip to Colorado or Wyoming for deer or pronghorn. For Southern California hunters, it might even be cheaper than heading to Northeast California or the Sierra, providing you could draw a deer tag for these areas.
With most guided hog hunts running from $500 to $850, depending on services provided by the guiding operation, you begin to realize that it’s a bargain.
The second reason is that most private land hunts for wild hogs are successful. Hunters might not always kill a hog, but they always have at least a couple of good opportunities, and bringing home the ham usually hinges on how well a hunter shoots and not on whether or not a guide can show him pigs. The biggest complaint most hunters have about guided hog hunts is that they're over too soon. It is common for a pair of hunters to leave a ranch house with a guide at 5 a.m., have to dead pigs on the ground by 6:30 a.m., and be heading home before noon.
The last thing that makes hogs so popular is they a delectable table fare. Repeat hunters might say they are looking for a big old boar, but when they see a herd of hogs feeding up a ridge, decide the big boar isn't any bigger than the one they shot a few years back, they move the crosshairs over to a big sow without piglets or a young boar and think of dinner. Wild hog is not like any pork you've ever bought in a store. Darker, lean, and richer in flavor, the first time you eat the loins off a young hog, you realize how pork is supposed to taste.
Wild hog numbers remain at generally high levels throughout the state. That is partially due to a terrific acorn crop in some areas this past year and good spring rains in most places this year. While most wild hog hunting takes place on private lands, more and more hogs are being reported on public lands adjacent to the private property. Top places on public lands to look for Southern California hunters include the west foothills of the Carizzo Plain, Garcia Mountain in the Los Padres National Forest (east of San Luis Obispo), Camp Roberts, and Fort Hunter Liggett. Hunter Liggett has not been as good as pig population numbers would suggest because of more training than normal the last two years, which has kept many of the best areas on the base closed.
Wild hogs continue to be state’s most-available big game quarry
The boar was feeding on the lush green grass in the shade of a sprawling oak tree on the ridgeline. Four of us were watching the large wild hog with binoculars, while Dave Campbell, the editor of Shooting Illustrated published by the National Rifle Association in Virginia, crept into shooting position with his .45-90 single shot.
Veteran California hog hunter, Durwood Hollis of Rancho Cucamonga, a long-time hunting buddy of Campbell’s whispered that it was one of the biggest boars he’d ever seen. “I thought it was a black bear at first,” said Hollis. “That boar is huge.”
Those words didn’t help Campbell’s steadiness. When the gun roared, the grass was parted and dirt was kicked up from the big slug just below the boar, indicating a perfect hold, just a foot of so low. The boar was gone almost instantly. While Hollis continued to rave about the size of the departed boar, two other in the group scrambled for rangefinders to try to explain the miss. The shot was nearly 200 yards instead of the 80 to 100 yards most thought it was when Campbell was shooting. The size of the boar and the uphill angle made the pig seem deceptively close and both helped turn what should have been a perfect shot into a perfect miss.
Of course, everyone blamed Campbell for blowing the shot on what was immediately decided was surely the biggest boar on the Tejon Ranch.
The Tejon has become the No. 1 pig hunting operation in California, with very close to 1,000 hogs taken during the past year, according to Don Geivet, the ranch’s game manager.
“I know that last year -- December to December -- we verified over 800 hogs taken, and we’re on a track to shoot a heck of a lot more this year,” said Geivet. “If you look at the published county pig [kill] numbers for the state, more than 800 of those listed for Kern County are ours.”
The Tejon offers a whole range of hog hunting opportunities, from the non-guided Pig-O-Ramas that cost $300 per hunter to the fully-guided $750 option. There are five full-time guides on the ranch and two part-time guides. In addition, hunters can arrange “Ham Slams” where you can set up a group on your own, non-guided hunt from one of the Tejon’s hunting lodges. These cost about $600 per hunter, depending on duration and other options hunters want to include.
While the Tejon might be the biggest and closest operation for most Southern California hunters, there are hog hunting operations all over the state -- and a smattering of public land opportunities for the die-hard hunter.
If the truth were known, wild hogs are probably California's number one big game animal. They have become more popular than deer for many hunters. Why? It's because hog hunters generally see game and take home the bacon.
Guided hunts -- about the only way the average guy has access to property with wild hogs -- are relatively inexpensive. In today's world of sky-high gasoline prices, it is much cheaper to stay close to home and hunt wild hogs than to take that annual trip to Colorado or Wyoming for deer or pronghorn. For Southern California hunters, it might even be cheaper than heading to Northeast California or the Sierra, providing you could draw a deer tag for these areas.
With most guided hog hunts running from $500 to $850, depending on services provided by the guiding operation, you begin to realize that it’s a bargain.
The second reason is that most private land hunts for wild hogs are successful. Hunters might not always kill a hog, but they always have at least a couple of good opportunities, and bringing home the ham usually hinges on how well a hunter shoots and not on whether or not a guide can show him pigs. The biggest complaint most hunters have about guided hog hunts is that they're over too soon. It is common for a pair of hunters to leave a ranch house with a guide at 5 a.m., have to dead pigs on the ground by 6:30 a.m., and be heading home before noon.
The last thing that makes hogs so popular is they a delectable table fare. Repeat hunters might say they are looking for a big old boar, but when they see a herd of hogs feeding up a ridge, decide the big boar isn't any bigger than the one they shot a few years back, they move the crosshairs over to a big sow without piglets or a young boar and think of dinner. Wild hog is not like any pork you've ever bought in a store. Darker, lean, and richer in flavor, the first time you eat the loins off a young hog, you realize how pork is supposed to taste.
Wild hog numbers remain at generally high levels throughout the state. That is partially due to a terrific acorn crop in some areas this past year and good spring rains in most places this year. While most wild hog hunting takes place on private lands, more and more hogs are being reported on public lands adjacent to the private property. Top places on public lands to look for Southern California hunters include the west foothills of the Carizzo Plain, Garcia Mountain in the Los Padres National Forest (east of San Luis Obispo), Camp Roberts, and Fort Hunter Liggett. Hunter Liggett has not been as good as pig population numbers would suggest because of more training than normal the last two years, which has kept many of the best areas on the base closed.
