California Hog Hunt (Success Stories!)

[Moosie]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR> The closest I got was 62 yards (laser rangefinder). Just out of my archery comfort zone. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

TYSON.. should I bring up storys of a doe 74 yards off with a rangefinder (unit 39 ADA COUNTY tag).. a 6 point bull at 60+ yards and a turkey shot in the head at 30+ yards, I'm guessing I could share a few robbin hood arrow storys from you too.... Don't give me that 60 yards a long shot for you "CRAP" ....

Sounds like you had a blast !!! I don't know what Chopper paid Tyson to post that story, but I got a hunting woody for hogs now !!! I just wish I had the time and Money that you guys have.... Little ol' me stayed home and worked

 

[Calif. Hunter]

Where's the cheese to go with that whine?

How were the in-laws?

Let's see - I shot at least a dozen ground squirrels, saw more bobcats in one day that I have in my whole life previously, saw some huge bucks (for California blacktails!), saw some friends shoot their first hogs, ate some great food and drank one or two beers. I've got about 80 pounds of fresh pork and sausage ready to pick up from the butcher...do you think I will do this again???

Just getting even, in advance, for how I'll feel when you guys are off in Canada whacking bears.

 

[Moosie]

DANg.. I am kinda bummed that I picked hunting ELK in Montana and deer in Montana and DEER/ELK in Idaho and Bear hunting in Sask and...... Instead of shooting a hog in cali last wekend

Seriously though, YOU know I wish I was there, I almost pulled it off butthat was the weekend we were watching sisters KIDS.. she went to Texas for a weekend.. COOL thing is, NOW I'm in the YOU OWE ME ONE stage.... So... LOOKS like I'll have to do something soon

 

[A-con]

Sounds like you guys had a lot of fun ?
Wait a min. I was there and we DID have a lot of fun
Let me tell you about "Choppers wild hog adventures"
The hogs are really WILD, and it is an ADVENTURE, and Chopper is a great guy who really goes way beyond the call of duty to make sure everyone fills a pig tag.
I saw more wild game in two days then any other place I've ever been. Four bobcats, two coyotes, about thirty deer, most of witch were good bucks, at least ten thousand quail & squirrels and several dozen wild hogs.

Saturday afternoon, Chopper suggestes Keith & me sneak on down the ridge we're on and check out the medow at the bottem. When we get low enough to see under the trees, we see some movement under a big old live oak across the medow, about 225 yds. We both drop to a sitting position and I zoom my scope up to 9X. I get my 7-08 up and see a big fat hog, so I put the cross hairs on his shoulder and launch a 150 gr partition. I work the bolt but I don't see the boar anywhere so I ask Keith "Where is it ?"
"You flattened him, he behind the brush"
And thats where we found him.
Man these things are tough, built like a tank, hide like an elephant, shoulders like a bull.
We even have a "big one that got away story"
We saw a couple that we couldn't get a good shot at that were huge, maby 350 to 375 lbs. I think next time I'll take the .338
It's a fun hunt, the real work dosn't start till ya try to skin one ( make sure you have a good knife & sharpener )we were up half the night & several hours the next morning cutting & wrapping.
We trimmed down the ground squirrel population Sat. afternoon. I dusted a few with a .22 pistol, Keith shot at least eight with his 10/22 and Cailf. hunter nailed a bunch of them with a .22 mag.
We gotta do this again next year !!!!!!

 

[KeithE]

Well, here's my version. I think I'l leave out a couple of those misses though. And to my defense, pigs run fast, real fast. We arrived at Choppers place Fri. Afternoon,
and after some car trouble we finally got up to the cabin/Lodge. What a great place, high on a ridge overlooking Hollister and San Juan Batista. What a view!! Chopper got us all in his Jeep for a tour of his 4000 plus acre ranch. Wild game abounds on his place,Quail in the thousands, Bobcats , Turkeys, Dove, and Lots of Hogs. It was decided that I would have first crack at a hog. And it wasnt long before I got my chance. Didn't take long to get one. A group of about 8 pigs flushed in front of us and took off throught the trees, I let one rip, did not connect. Later another chance, killed a fence post deader than hell. The next morning Tyson and I left the cabin at dawn, found a likely spot and parted ways. I hiked down a trail through a canyon. Pig sign was everywhere, but no pigs. A couple hours later, Rick Dan and Tim came by in Ricks truck and offered me a ride. We drove just a ways and Dan and Tim exited the truck to pursue the wily ground squirel. They walked down the road firing at will, while Rick and I followed. Rick would let them walk and we would sit in the shade, It was hot that day. They would walk for a while until we could pull up to the next shady oak. What a Life! Soon we met up with Tyson and his story of the butt shot coyote. Tim and Tyson decided to go one way and we the other. Thats when the squirrel killin began. After putting quite a few to their death, we met back at Choppers house. Tyson Tim and Chopper had finished cleaning Tims porker and we headed back to the cabin. T-bone grabbed a sandwich and headed to that water hole. Later Chopper took Dan Tim Rick and myself ou in the Jeep. We drove from spot to spot and finally jumped some Pigs, HUGE PIGS. We all jumped out of the Jeep to try and intercept them. We ran over to the ravine, and here they came down the other side.These things barreled through there like tanks. The first one came through but didnt allow a shot, the second came through and hesitated, Offering me a shot. I had him square in my crosshairs, pulled the trigger and CLICK. In the rush to cut them off I had short cycled the bolt and didnt get one in the chamber. My heart sank into my stomach. Well we all piled into the jeep and headded off to the next spot. Chopper stopped short and Dan and I headed down to the water hole to check for Pigs. We walked about a hundred yards down the hill, when I spotted a Pig feeding under a massive LiveOak tree. We both sat down in a flash and tried to get that hog in our sites. Dan got him in his sites and fired. Let me tell you, that pig didnt just fall, It was knocked off its feet. Dans "little" 7-08 packs a mighty wallup. By that time Rick had joined us and we walked over the 200 some yards to find that hog. What a trophy. After high fives and pictures, We got that boar int the Jeep( it took all five of us straining to do it) and headed back to choppers place. We got that pig unloaded and headed back out. We went to the "swamp". We spotted hogs and Tyson was up. He fired and whap, the pig was hit. It barely stumbled and was off, he fired twice more and the hog was down, but not out. After a little uncertainty about getting out and gettin personal with the pig, Tyson finished him off with the 357. And back to Choppers we went. With just Me and Rick left to fill our tags, we headed back out. We decided to check the swamp again as it had been a while gettin Tyson hog taken care of. Sure enough, we spotted 3 more hogs and they were off and running. Chopper said take the one in front he's a good one. I settled in and got the crosshairs on him, he slowed a little and I fired, whack he's down. Dropped him like a bad habit!! Rick fired at the remaining hogs but didnt connect(His rifle had given him trouble earlier and still wasnt right) and the pigs were gone. We drove over to where my pig was, about 200 yards away. What a nice boar I had hit him just in front of the shoulder ripped a 8- 10 inch gash through his neck and stopped in his head. Dont ever think these pigs arent tough, There was no exit hole in his head, I was shooting a 300 win mag with 180 grain Failsafes. WOW. After more high fives we got the pig loaded in the Jeep and went to pursue another for Rick. It wasnt long before we saw another headed up a hill, Rick now armed with Choppers 30-06, fired and hit the hog but it didnt go down, he fired again and it was all over. After a long evening of gutting an skinning we got back to the cabin in the early am. I dont think my head hit the pillow before I was asleep. The next morning, we finished cutting upt our hogs so they would fit in the coolers. Well I cant say enough to Thank Chopper adequately. This is a trip I'll never forget. Chopper went above and beyond the call of duty to provide us with everything we needed to fill our tags. Chopper, you da man!!!!! I made some friends, Dan Rick Tim Tyson Chopper are really great people to be around. I look forward to seeing them all again. And I want to thank Rick for making the arrangements for us. You know I can still close my eyes and see it all. What a fantastic trip and hunt!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh yeah the food was awesome tri-tip, elk burgers and steaks, and some flank steaks from Freedom lockers that you couldn't stop eating. And did I mention, ice cold beer to wash it all down.

 

[HOGHUNTER714]

Wow...Sounds like you guys had one heck of a trip...Cant wait until the next one. Congrat's to all =)

Bryan

 

[Calif. Hunter]

Here's a tip for skinning them next time, Dan, especially with the belly, hind legs and sides mostly skinned - grab ahold and peel the hide down towards the head. You should be able to peel it off at least to the shoulders. Much faster and easier on the knife.

It is kinda un-nerving to have a pig down but not out if you want to finish him off "up close and personal," especially if that boar looks like he outweighs you! Tyson's boar was looking at him/us, snapping its jaws and trying to get up. We all got over there fast, but no one wanted to get tooooo close...

They can be tough. Tyson's pig just refused to die, although he was hit solid more than once. My sow was hit in the shoulder, exiting in front of the opposite hip, and in the neck (breaking bones, the windpipe, etc.) either of which should have put her down, but she ran a good 50 yards between shots. Add that toughness to the difficulty of most shots being on the run, and we all did pretty well. I think Anaconda's was the only standing shot; he hit the hog perfectly and down it went. Picture perfect.

Bryan - how did you do in Lockwood?

 

[Reddoggie1]

Sounds like you guys had a Great time, and I'm really looking forward to seeing the pic's.

With all the Deer you guys seen, I wonder if Chopper offers Deer hunts as well, it might be fun to get together for a Deer hunt.

Dennis

 

[HOGHUNTER714]

Rick,

Well...I went to a new ranch thats about 1200 acres..Spent the first night just learning the layout of the ranch...20 minutes into "Hunting" (at about 7:30pm) we ran across 3 hogs crossing a field at dusk heading to water. When I first saw them I was 564 yards away (according to the rangefinder)..So, my buddy and I started our stalk. The wind was in our favor and everything looked good. All of a sudden the wind shifted and was at our backs,, the hogs got a sent of us and started to run (with us still, out about 300 yards). One of the boars had to of been 250-300 pounds (it was a HUGE pig, one of the bigger pigs I have seen in a long time) the other 2 were smaller meat pigs. I shot at the Bigger one and shot a few feet low. My buddy shot low as well. The pigs ran over a ridge and we never saw them again. The next day we didnt see any hogs at all...Oh well...Get em next time, thats why its called "Huntin". Sounds like you guys had one heck of a trip. Wish I could of been there.

Bryan

 

[bigtusker]

I got pics, anybody want to host 'em?

 

[Calif. Hunter]

Chopper - email them to del. His email address is in his profile, I think. I'll also email it to you. I want to see them!

T-bone - did you get yours scanned and sent to Oscar yet?