California wild pig hunt

trackboss

FNG
Joined
Jan 8, 2015
Messages
64
Had a very successful guided pig hunt last month. On the first afternoon hunt the guide and I ended up sitting in a barley field and watched the nearby hills where pigs tend to travel down to feed. A group eventually came down at a distance and we just stayed put. There was a lot of piglets and wet sows which I was not willing to shoot. A while after two pretty large pigs came down a bit further away so we chose to stalk them. The two of us walked inside a ditch so as not to be seen. When we got up and into the area we thought they were they had actually swapped positions with the initial group we saw. At this point we were pretty much out in the open if we stood up. I chose a target, but over estimated the range and shot clear over it's back. Luckily the group didn't spook much and only heard the arrow hit the ground off in the distance which worked in my favor. I had time to properly range a pig and took a 40 yard shot which couldn't have been better. Sow had no idea what hit her. She simply walked slowly a few yards and fell over. All that happend in about a minute. As that happened the two large boars we originally targeted to appeared to our left. Light was running out fast, but my guide asked me if I felt comfortable taking another if we could get within 20 yards. I did and we went back down in the ditch and ran over to the general area we thought they would be. As we came up the boar was right there with an obstruction between us so all I could see was his head. He was probably less than 10 yards and when I drew my bow he saw me and spooked so that opportunity ended.

My cousin got a boar in the same general area the next afternoon.

The last day, in the early morning, the three of us went up on a hill where pigs were known to travel back from a night of feeding. They actually came up on us much earlier than anticipated so I was not really ready and didn't have much cover. First several small pigs came into view, but I knew there were lots more so I decided not to draw so as not to be waiting for a long time, but I should have. The larger pigs came immediately after and I had to draw my bow. They were moving fast so waiting was not a choice. I targeted a small calico boar, but once I drew he took notice and spooked along with several others. The red sow made the decision to only turn around and that was my shot opportunity so I took it. Just under 20 yards. My arrow made the loudest impact I have ever heard when hitting an animal. Not sure why, but it was strange. I do shoot fobs, but I've had several similar pass throughs and they never made any noise when popping off. She ran off, but it was a steep hill and judging by the blood she went maybe 50 yards down hill then fell and rolled down quite some ways. It was a tough drag getting her back up, but we did.

Got a whole lot of good meat on this hunt. About 180 lbs. process between the three pigs. Looking forward to going again some day
may 20 2022 sky rose blacked out.jpg
may 22 2022 sky rose blacked out.jpg
 

Rob5589

WKR
Joined
Sep 6, 2014
Messages
6,243
Location
N CA
Congrats! I want to but, then I see 1500 for a pig hunt and just can't.
 

JBrown1

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Sep 8, 2021
Messages
162
It sounds like you had an awesome hunt.

No offense, but the blacked out faces ruin the aesthetics of your photos. I understand why you want to do it, but it sends the wrong message to antis and non-hunter: that we are somehow too ashamed to show our faces publicly. A better option would be to crop yourself out of the photo. Even better would be to take a photo of the animal without the hunter in the frame if you want to post them to the internet.
 
OP
T

trackboss

FNG
Joined
Jan 8, 2015
Messages
64
Weekender 7 - Thanks! Whether I harvest an animal or not it's always a win for me to be able to get away for a day or two and enjoy some beautiful country.

Muleyczy - I was accompanied by my cousin with an outfitter in San Miguel, California

Robb5589 - I completely understand. It was actually $1200 for the 3 day package with lodging. I paid an additional fee for a second hog, but that was my choice. I had two tags and they were expiring in June. Taking home extra meat was something I wanted to do should the opportunity reveal itself. It usually does not.
It's all relative. For me, it's reasonable, and to have the opportunity to hunt thousands of acres of beautiful private land that's well cared for and with a guide who is also passionate about hunting made it all that much better. Prior to 2014, if I remember correctly, I had never even considered a guided hunt. The rare opportunity I had to go hunting was on public land. It's definitely an easier hunt. Contrary to what some say all the ranches I have hunted on are completely free range the same way public land is. The animals are all wild and roam freely. I would never hunt any sort of fenced or otherwise similar operation. It's cheaper to buy protein at the grocery store. Not to mention I feel sorry for the animals in such operations. The outfits I have hunted (Tejon, Camp Five, Sky Rose) there simply is much, much less pressure from humans (as opposed to public) and the outfits do manage the land well.

JBrown1 - you have a fair point about the message. I will consider learning how to crop a photo next time. I am not all that good with trying to edit photos and such. In all honesty, taking photos is, for the most part, an afterthought for me. The enjoyment is in the moment itself whether it be a successful harvest or a part I made (machining, fabrication, etc. is another passion of mine). I don't always think about photos as much as I should. When I do take them it's mostly for my own personal memory. With all the craziness in this world I prefer to stay private and this was the only way I knew how to share some photos to go along with my story.
 
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