The Hog Blog

Well, I’m just about done wiping off the dust from the Lone Star State, but it’s gonna take a while to get over the fun 11 of us from Jesse’s Hunting and Outdoors just had down there. 

Now let me start right off by saying, I know that Texas exotics hunting doesn’t appeal to everyone.  It’s a lot like hunting pheasants on a preserve, although it’s not usually quite as easy.  But when in Texas, we hunt over bait, and sometimes from vehicles to shoot animals that come from another country… and sometimes an entirely different habitat, although they’re doing quite well in this one.  Many species that are endangered in their native habitat, such as the blackbuck antelope, are thriving almost too well in Texas. 

They’ve long since escaped the high-fence ranches that held them in, and they run wild across the Hill Country landscape.  I would say they compete with the native whitetails, but my eyes and experience tell me that the whitetails are definitely holding their own.  Even so, a trip with Shane Hearn, of Border Bandit Outfitters, is a lot of fun and a fair enough challenge as well.

Anyway, I may be a little defensive.  When I put up my video from this past weekend, I found it appeared in the company of a whole slew of anti-hunting and “canned hunt” videos.  I watched several, and was appalled at the blatant propaganda.  Anyway, I’ll save you the posting of one of the anti’s videos, although I was tempted.  But here’s my video from the weekend.  Hope you enjoy. 

And if you have a moment, it may be enlightening to see some of the anti-hunters’ video as well.  You might be surprised at how they twist our actions and our words against us, and how they use the actions of a small few to define the actions of many.

Just received this from the CA Department of Fish and Game, and thought it was worth sharing with everyone here. 

Those of you who’ve been around for a while may remember last year’s Texas exotics hunt.  Well that was so much fun and the meat was so tasty, I’m gonna hit the road (well, the air) again and head down for some more. 

I’ll probably be offline for the duration of the trip, catching a plane out of Oakland this morning, and returning on Sunday night (03/30) with plenty of stories and pictures. 

Hopefully there’ll be a little video to share too.  At least three of the group will be hunting for trophy axis this time, so there shood be some real good footage.  The outfitter, Shane Hearn of Border Bandit Outfitters, said there should be a lot more hogs down there this time too, since there wasn’t a trapping program this past year. 

To really top it all off, I sent my Savage 30-06 down to KDF in Seguin to get a muzzle-brake and a Timney Trigger installed.  It’ll be ready for me to pick it up when I get there Thursday, so I hope to get a chance to put it to work.  I’m really looking forward to easing the recoil on that rifle, since my neck isn’t what it used to be. 

In the meantime, ya’ll hold down the fort and don’t get to rowdy around here. 

Interested in hunting with Shane?  Here’s the contact info:

Shane Hearn -
Borderbandit’s Outfitting & Hunting Service
692 County Rd. 203
Uvalde, Tx. 78801
830-275-2199

I don’t have a lot to write about today, but I did want to mention that I’m finally getting the hang of this Bradley smoker.  However, this success did not come without tribulation…

When I first received the smoker, there was a problem with the electrical wiring.  I was very disappointed in Bradley’s customer support.  I called in the first time and described the problem.  The lady informed me that I should open up the controller box, examine the wiring, and solder the loose leads into place.  I must say I was a little peeved.  First of all, to assume that I was able or willing to solder a brand new piece of equipment struck me as pretty poor customer service.  Secondly, the fact that they know this is a common problem and still ship the units also seemed mighty inconsiderate of the customers.

I wrote a fairly heated letter to Bradley, complaining about the service experience and the new smoker.  I received a mail response, apologizing for my experience and requesting a mailing address so they could send me a replacement unit.  Unfortunately, the replacement had the same problem!  I got mad, but since I was travelling a lot at the time, I set it aside and didn’t get back to it.  Luckily for me, my wife has some background in electrical engineering, and one afternoon she figured out the problem and fixed it! 

For folks who are unfamiliar with the Bradley smoker, it has an automatic feeder that drops disks of wood chips onto a conveyor, and allows you to smoke meats without having to stand watch over the danged thing all day.  The electric oven is controlled by a thermostat.  Simply load it up, set the timer, and come back several hours later to serve up dinner… no checking the temperature every half-hour, adding or removing coals and chips, or fighting flare-ups.  You really can set it and forget it.

Sure, some purists may consider this “cheating”, and I can understand.  I’m a bit of a traditionalist too, and my old “Smoky Joe” certainly turned out some tasty treats.  But I found myself avoiding smoking meats because of the hassle involved.  Doing a ham or shoulder required an entire day of running back and forth to check the temp, the chips, and the coals.  I seldom have that kind of time and initiative.  It was always easier just to put it in the oven or crock pot instead of smoking.  So, if it’s a question of having smoked meats or not… well, I can turn my back on tradition.  Besides, as Thoreau said, “a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds!”  Expand your horizons!

Anyway, last night I experimented with a ham shank.  I rubbed it real good with Pappy’s seasoning, and put it in the smoker at 220 degrees for about six hours.  With the exception of applying the rub, that’s all the work it required.  The result was a piece of nicely smoked wild pork, moist and tender on the inside with that slightly crispy, smoked skin on the outside. 

I’ve got about 50 pounds of meat in the freezer that’s waiting for grinding, so you can expect to hear more about this smoker. 

While I was down in the Central Coast this past weekend, I took a few hours to go scout out the turkey situation at Bryson Hesperia Resort.  As I’ve mentioned, I’ll be guiding there for turkeys this year, and figured it wouldn’t hurt to get some time in the field a bit early, just to see how things were going. 

Well, here’s how things are going…

I spent the past weekend down at the Native Hunt headquarters, along with Native Hunt owner/operator Michael Riddle. 

Part of the visit was spent getting a short tour of the property and Mike’s operation.  He’s got a great setup, with over 1000 acres fenced for exotics, including a herd of pure-strain European boar, some Fallow Deer, Corsican Sheep, and some buffalo.  Outside the fence are native blacktail deer, and hoards of feral pigs.

Ever since I came to CA, I’ve heard various hunt operators claim to have “pure” European or “Russian” boar on their properties.  However, unless those hogs are inside a fence, they’re not likely to be pure Euros.  The hogs most of us are familiar with in this country are feral hogs, or at best, a cross between the descendants of released Europeans and feral swine.

After spending a couple of days at the Native Hunt property, it was pretty clear that none of the hogs I’ve seen on private or public land in this state were pure Europeans.  The real thing is very distinctive. 

Mike did a pretty good article about the pure-strain boar in a recent issue of Boar Hunter Magazine.  It does a much better job describing the difference between the Euros and feral pigs than I could ever do here.  If you’ve got the time, go take a read. 

There was another purpose for our meeting this weekend as well. 

The timing and details are still in the final works, but I can now tell you that we spent a good bit of the weekend discussing a new organization dedicated to the promotion of wild boar hunting across the country.  We’re also interested in bringing various interests together, and working collaboratively with the diverse members of the hunting and wildlife management community. 

Membership questions?  Hang tight, and I’ll have a lot more information about this as we go. 

So my friend, Joe Patton moved back from CA to FL a couple years ago.  Joe’s a pretty hard-core hunter, and it was a shame to see him leave the state, but Florida has a lot to offer the hunting addict as well.  Even so, I don’t think either of us expected the turn of events he just experienced…

I’ll put it here in his own words.

I opened up our garage door here in our master planned Orlando community to get a phone number out of my truck. The first thing I notice as the door was rising, was two wild pigs rooting up my front flower bed, approx 25 feet away. Our six-month old dog was tailing me out to go to the bathroom. The pigs look up, and come toward us in the garage! I quickly kick the dog back in to the house.

For whatever reason, the pigs went back to rooting. My Mathews was on the top shelf in the hardcase, so that wasnt an option. BUT, thanks to Arrowhead (beloved JHO Member), there was a brand new Fred Bear bow that he had given to Lil Buck-eye within arm’s length. I grabbed it, and slid an arrow in to it. The boar is at about 6 yards. I let loose with the arrow and it sticks right in to the shoulder. The pigs take off in to the neighborhood. They seemed inseparable. The one is running with an arrow poking through its side, while the other one is still feeding in people’s yards. It was the oddest thing. They stayed together the entire time. I called our Game Agency to make sure I was within the law. They confirmed that I was okay, but I could not finish off the pig unless I had permission from the owner of the yard they were in, or unless they were in mine.

By this time, the pigs had crossed the street, and gone behind other houses. They were about 150 yards from our home and out of sight. By this time, neighbors had called the police, and they were all standing outside wondering what was up.
Here is where it gets crazy….

I figure the only way to finish this hunt is to attempt to get them back in to our yard. I found them behind a house down the street, and I began to chase them, all the while clapping my hands. It was unreal. They did what I wanted. The sow (uninjured) went wherever the boar went. I stayed right on his tail. I even got close enough to pull the arrow out of his side. He didnt like that too much at all.

Unbelievably, I get them to cross the street and they get in to my yard. The boar flops down in to my bed that he rooted up. I run in to the garage to get the Mathews. No time to get the release. I grab one arrow, and head out the garage. The boar is looking at me and bedded low. I release another arrow and all hell breaks loose. The boar jumps up squealing bloody murder. The arrow didnt completely pass through as it hit the ground behind it. But, upon jumping up, it snapped the arrow in half. Both pigs bolt across the street and at that point I see the sheriffs pulling in.

I put the bow away, stood outside and let them know that I am who they need to talk to. They head over to the pigs (who are still together). The one is dead (or appears to be), and the sow is still feeding in the yard. Both sheriffs go over to the boar with guns drawn and one of them pops 3 shots in its head. Hit the jaw 3 times. Goofball.

The second sheriff grabs a rope, and hog ties the sow. They load that one in the truck alive. I asked if they needed anything from me, they said “Nope! You want the pig?”

I said - “HECK YA!”

So, in my little gated community, good old neighbor Joe…drags the dead pig across the road to my yard.  My peaceful community is now tainted with a blood trail in the street and pooling blood on the sidewalk. This was all so bizarre. I had multiple neighbors I had never met coming up to take pictures.

This is by far the craziest bow kill I have ever been a part of. Here are some pictures of the event. There is no fabrication in this tale. It was so whacky, I have trouble even typing it without pausing to say ” I cannot believe this all went down”

Gotta love it!

Wanna learn more about hunting California’s wild hogs? 

Tips, tricks, strategies, and more can be learned from the Department of Fish and Game’s CA Hunter Education Series, which includes the following Wild Pig Hunting Seminar on April 26.  You might also come home with a freezer full of meat! 

Check it out.

Advanced Hunting Clinics

Wild Pig Hunting Clinic

April 26
Fort Hunter Ligget, Monterey County

In partnership with Pacific Coast Hunter  Education Association, we bring you this exciting clinic which will cover pig biology, hunting considerations and requirements, methods of take, methods for locating wild pigs, hunting techniques, locations to hunt, care of game and, the final reward…wild pig recipes.  We will  be field dressing and skinning a pig and raffling it off at the end of the clinic.

Space is limited. Cost $40

Register

Contact for more information:
Susan Herrgesell
530-347-3980
sherrges@dfg.ca.gov

Well, even a “sure thing” can pan out and leave you with live rounds and an empty freezer.  So it was this past weekend, although it wasn’t as bad as all that.

Jerry and Jack are two of the guys who hunted with us last fall at Coon Camp Springs.  During the week, as we chatted, they found out about my love of hog hunting, and mentioned that they pretty much live in the heart of hog country… the Central Coast region in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties.  They talked about slaughtering hogs, both in sport hunts and depredation (keeping the hogs out of the vineyards), and how they were both kind of tired of shooting pigs.

Well, I never tire of it.  Great sport and great meat… how could you ever burn out?

So anyway, one thing led to another and the invitation was extended.  Well, this past weekend we made good on it.  Kat and I drove down, to join the Coon Camp Springs president, Dave Allen, and one of our other board members, Bob Olds for some pig hunting, camping, and good old-fashioned camaraderie.

Bob, once a Marine always a Marine, was there early and camped out to wait for our hosts.  Kat and I made it just before sunset, and just in time to transfer rifles from my truck to theirs for a last light scouting/hunting run. 

We didn’t have to scout hard, as we entered the property and found a huge clump of hogs standing in the open, less than 50 yards from the road.  Honestly, I’ve never seen anything like it… and apparently the hogs were kinda shocked too.  We drove by once, took a look, and kept going.  As soon as we were well out of sight, we flipped a U-turn and came back. 

I had no hopes that the pigs would still be there, but these guys were either stupid or brave… and they still milling around in huddled confusion.  In my imagination, I could hear them whispering to each other, “OK, they’re back.  Which way are you gonna run?” 

Bob, Kat, and I rolled out of the truck and took up positions to shoot.  I had the .325, and since I know its deafening effect, I’d promised not to shoot until everyone else had time to cover their ears.  I really wanted Kat to take her shot, and was hoping she and Bob would double up and kill some hogs.  I didn’t need to kill one, as I’d just put one in the freezer last weekend.  Even so, my finger was brushing the trigger as I put a big boar in the crosshairs while waiting for the shooting to start.

But it never did.  Kat said the hogs kept crossing up and turning their butts to her, so she didn’t have a safe shot.  Bob had the same complaint.  Finally, the hogs turned and trotted off another 50 yards before stopping to mill around again.  At this point, I wanted to shoot, but told Kat to hurry up and pick a target. Then Bob finally touched one off, and I saw dust fly from the back of a big sow.

The herd broke for good, then, and Bob’s sow kinda lingered and fell.  Kat never squeezed the trigger, since a Texas Heart Shot is simply not the right thing to do in that situation.  Good choice on her part.  A lot of folks would have simply started spraying and praying.

We made the drag back to the truck, and headed back to camp to wait for Dave.  Jack grilled up some delicious buffalo burgers, and the first night quickly became a memory of flickering oak flames, good food, and lots of hunting stories.  Oh, and the total destruction of a bottle of really good Scotch. 

Saturday morning saw us posted over the vineyards.  Good sign, including a trail that couldn’t have been more than an hour or two old kept our hopes high… but the fog rolled in over the fields, and for most of the morning visibility was less than 100 yards.  There could have been hogs everywhere, but we never saw them.  Jack and Jerry had driven up onto a high ridge, and stumbled over a bedded sow.  While neither of them was really planning to hunt, Jack decided to go ahead and take her.  The tally for the weekend rose to two hogs.

Saturday afternoon, we relocated, heading down into Santa Barbara county to another property that our hosts had been given sole access to.  We rolled in kind of late, so we set up quickly to glass a patch of chapparal that couldn’t have been more than a half-acre.  We sat and watched this spot, constantly assured that there were almost always hogs in there.  I couldn’t help my doubts as I looked at the tiny patch of cover, compared against all the open ground around it.  Then we spotted the first hog.

It was tough to make it out, as it looked like a log laying there.  But then another hog stood up and stretched, giving us just a glimpse before it lay down again.  I ranged the animals at about 185 yards… not a bad shot, but a tough call on an uncertain target.  I had Kat beside me with her Browning .270, but she was having a hard time finding the hog in the scope.

We sat tight for quite a while, as the wind whipped up and the temperature dropped steadily.  Soon we were facing a gale, and our watering eyes had trouble making out any detail on the far hill.  Still, the sleeping hog had not risen, and we could only catch glimpses of the other one.  Then a literal squall came roaring over the hills.  We could see the grey curtain coming, and as it drew nearer the wind driven rain flew horizontally across the ground…stinging our faces and flooding our scopes and binoculars. 

Just as the squall hit, the hillside came alive… almost literally!  Every bush became a moving hog, and I think we were all stunned by the number of pigs in such a small area.  There were black, red, grey, and calico hogs all over the place!  One large calico sow came downhill and stood, back exposed, for several seconds.  I held the crosshairs just below the pig’s head, but kept encouraging Kat to take the shot.  Dave was trying to find a pig as well, but both of them seemed to be hesitating.

I was shooting my grandfather’s old Browning BAR in .308, and I’ve never had a lot of confidence in this rifle outside of 100 yards.  I was also shooting the new Extreme Shock ammo, which I couldn’t really get to group well at the range in this gun.   Confidence is key in a hunting rifle, and I should know better than to hunt with something I don’t trust… but there I was.

Finally, after waiting a seeming eternity for either Kat or Dave to shoot, I found the big calico in the crosshairs again.  I settled in, took a deep breath, and squeezed off the shot.  It looked good, felt good, and the sow squealed and bolted.  Unfortunately, she was still running with the herd as they crossed the distant hillside over a half-mile away. 

Dave and I crossed the canyon and scoured the chemise for sign of a hit, but there was nothing to be seen.  Somehow I’d missed her.  I replayed the shot over and over, but couldn’t figure out how.  I immediately wished I had my .325 or the 30-06 with me…but the .325 was at camp, and the 30-06 was at the KDF shop in Seguin, TX, getting a brake installed.  You have to dance with the one you brung, so there I was…

A bit later, as sleet, hail, and snow whipped across the green, central CA landscape, we scoured the property looking for more hogs.  They appear to have dug in for the day, though, and we slowly made our way back the way we came in, the main group riding in Jerry’s H1, and Dave and I following in the Kubota ATV.  Then, as light was fading, I spotted a huge boar standing alone on a hillside.  Dave and I slammed on the brakes and I hit the boar with the rangefinder.  383 yards… much too far for the .308, and out of Dave’s comfort zone with his 30-06 AI.  We watched as the boar stood there for a while, then turned and ambled into the brush. 

I radioed Jerry, and we caught up to them and discussed options.  Next thing I knew, we were 4-wheeling cross-country, heading for the last known sighting.  We hit the ridgetop and everyone spread out.  Suddenly there was a shout and a gunshot from Bob.  The boar had broken cover less than 50 yards away!  Bob’s shot apparently went wild.  The boar reappeared across the canyon and Dave took a shot at the fleeing animal.

What came next was a scene directly from Rat Patrol (you youngsters can look it up on IMDB.com).  Bob and I leaped into the back of the Hummer, and Jerry took off across the property to head the hog off.  There was nothing but open hillsides for probably 1000 yards, and we could see the pig running as the Hummer bounded and flew up and down the rises in this race. 

Unfortunately, the hog won.  I don’t know how, or where he disappeared, but at some point he found cover and we could not manage to put him up again before darkness fell.  We made our way back to camp, arriving late in the evening and too tired for much frivolity.  We ate chili and retired…

Sunday was sort of a strange day.  No one stirred before daylight, and when we did rise we decided to get camp broken down before heading out to do one more hunt.  The sun was shining, and while the wind was chilly it was a really beautiful day.  We had a big breakfast of tortillas, pulled pork, and scrambled eggs… then finally pulled out and headed back to the scene of the evening hunt.

We had no sooner arrived than the wind sprang up again, driving down the temperatures and spattering us with cold rain.  We covered the property from one end to the other, but could not turn up a hog for love or money.  Chilled and discouraged, we finally rolled back to the trucks, packed up, and called it a weekend.

All in all, it was still a great weekend.  Jerry and Jack are awesome hosts, and they have a beautiful piece of property, in addition to the places we were able to hunt.  I shared some excellent times, great food, and lots of stories.  It’s hard to complain about that.  We also had good opportunities to kill a lot more hogs than we did. 

I’m looking forward to getting back down there again! 

Here’s the second part of the Tejon hunt video. Thanks to the guys on the hunt for the camaraderie and for making this event what it is!

We’ll be doing it again at the end of May. While it’s primarily a group of folks from Jesse’s Hunting and Outdoors, if you’re interested in joining the fun you can get in touch with me and I’ll be sure you get an application. Completed and paid apps are due back to me by May 7.