The Hog Blog

Time to dodge the traffic and get the hell out of the city again… and this time I’m hunting for myself! 

Heading back up to Sonoma County, the Hedgepeth Ranch, in hopes of putting an arrow into a good blacktail buck… although I’ll take a hog, if the opportunity presents itself.   I’ve had pretty decent luck up there with the hogs, and managed a deer a couple years back, so I have pretty high hopes for this trip.  We’re also taking a friend and her son out, and I hope to let him see what a hunt can be all about.  It’d be awesome to put something in the freezer, but it’ll be pretty cool just to get out there and enjoy the Sonoma county hill country. 

My friend Matt, who some of you may remember as the “Hog Shootinest Gent’man“, has already filled his A zone tag.  Check out his buck… gives me something to aspire to!

I’ll be back on Sunday night, and hope to have some tales to tell and pictures to show!

Just saw this over at the Outdoor Pressroom.  Last year, following the mayhem and panic about lead fragments in venison, North Dakota food banks stopped accepting venison taken by firearms.  The panic appears to have receded a bit, and common sense has returned. 

A North Dakota program that distributes venison to the needy will resume accepting deer that have been killed with lead bullets.

The North Dakota Community Action Partnership, which administers the Sportsmen Against Hunger Program, accepted only deer killed with arrows last year, fearing that firearm-shot meat might contain lead fragments.

Check out the article from the Grand Forks Herald.

I’ve been involved with debates regarding the pros and cons of hunting for almost as long as I’ve been on the Internet.  I believe I got my first AOL account in 1988 or ‘89, and was embroiled in the conversation almost immediately after.  I was also involved in those conversations on campus, and, in fact, wrote my senior thesis on the defensibility of hunting. 

The point is, there really doesn’t seem to be any new direction to take the conversation.  It’s all been said, so to speak. 

But I apparently can’t stop myself from saying it again… and again… and such has been the case in the discussion over at the KQED blogs site, in response to the Quest hog hunting episode.  If you’re at all interested in seeing how such a discussion can go, you ought to check it out.  Chip in if you feel the need, but please read what’s been said already, and consider what you’re about to say in light of the current conversation.  There’s a lot to learn from M. Figgis’s comments, and her(?) attitude toward hunters.  This is not unusual. 

When an anti is confronted with hunters who challenge the stereotype, they still tend to lump all OTHER hunters into the previous category.  It’s an uphill battle for those of us who want to show that WE are the norm, and the slobs, jerks, and poachers are the exceptions. 

Or are they? 

Seriously, I think M. Figgis makes some interesting points.  I’ve said before that non-hunters and antis will eventually see through the fascade of uber-ethics.  When we make ourselves out to be paragons of “ethics”, someone is bound to challenge the rhetoric with reality.  Honesty goes a lot further than window-dressing.

A little while back, I did a post on hunting at Fort Hunter Liggett, down in Monterey county.  As I mentioned in that post, I’ve never actually hunted that base and had to rely on a couple of tours and the reports from many friends for my information. 

Well, in the interest of first-hand experience, I was fortunate enough to get my friend and fellow JHO member, Alan Crowder to give us a write-up on another great hunting opportunity… Vandenberg Air Force Base.

Vandenberg has a great reputation for both deer and hog hunters.  The catch, however, is that only military, their dependents, and Department of Defense (DOD) contractors are eligible to hunt on this base.  But let’s let Alan lay it all out:

I have had the pleasure of hunting Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) for the last several years and would like to pass on some of what I’ve learned while hunting there.  In addition, new regulations regarding hunting came into effect on 1 July of this year. 

 

First the who:  any active duty, retired, or active duty guard may hunt on VAFB as well as DoD employees including NAF and AAFES.  Law enforcement may hunt as long as a letter has been submitted by their commander and approved by the VAFB installation commander.  Guests are only authorized by active or retired military.  Of course, all State laws apply when hunting on base.  Leave your handguns and rimfires at home.  They are not authorized for hunting on VAFB.

 

What to bring:  there are a variety of areas with specific firearm restrictions.  “A” zones are for archery tackle only.  “B” zones are for shotgun, muzzleloader and archery.  “C” zones are rifle, shotgun/muzzleloader and archery.  If you have one of those fancy “long range” muzzleloaders you will be confined to a rifle area. 

 

Of course copper ammo is mandatory on Vandenberg.  I am prepared to hunt in any of these areas and many others do the same.  The base is around 98,000 acres mixed chaparral, some oaks, some dunes, and lots of Manzanita thickets.  Good binoculars are a must!  A spotting scope is desirable.  VAFB has over 700 miles of road; some paved, others not well maintained.  Four-wheel-drive is necessary to access some of the more remote locations.  Sorry, no quads.  All driving must be performed on existing roads and no vegetation may touch the undercarriage of the vehicle. 

 

When you arrive for the first time you must go to the Base Exchange and purchase a “Use Fee” sticker for the type of game you are hunting i.e. pigs, deer, or small game (birds).  The cost for military is $15 per sticker and is valid for the season.  DoD stickers cost $35.  A guest sticker is $10 and is good for 72 hours.  Once you have everything you need to hunt, INCLUDING YOUR LICENSE, TAGS, USE FEE STICKERS AND ID, proceed to the base fish and game office to register to hunt.  Until you do this, you are NOT legal to hunt on base.  The conservation officer will provide you with a copy of the hunting instruction, your authorization (216), a set of maps, a dash placard, and will give you any specifics regarding area closures.  This is important to understand:  this is an active military base with an ongoing role of providing missile defense as well as a busy missile launch roster.  Areas are subject to closure at any time and that’s just the cost of hunting here.  Don’t bother complaining because you’ll just annoy the authorities.  READ THE REGULATIONS!  There are specific rules that must be followed when hunting on VAFB that are unique to the base and are in addition to the California regulations.  For example, all animals must be brought in for check-in with the hide on.  Do not quarter the animal, do not leave the base without check-in.  During the general deer season you MUST wear orange on your torso; it need not be a solid panel.  A hat is recommended, not required.

 

Our weather here is typical central coast:  morning fog, afternoon winds and generally mild temperatures.  This is not always the case and if you come up here to hunt deer and hogs in the summer you can expect to freeze one day and roast the next!  Be prepared.  Some years in some areas ticks are a real problem:  I have removed over 100 ticks from my pant legs at one time, so treat your clothing and wear repellent. 

 

VAFB has excellent camping facilities that can be booked through the Outdoor Recreation office.  The base has lodging as well and there are numerous motel options in the surrounding communities.  There is a full-service gun club on base with a pro shop, ranges and best of all a game cleaning and aging facility with room in the walk-in cooler for 25 deer at a time.  For members only, see the pro shop for membership details. 

 

The hunting.  I heard from the base biologist that 30% of the state’s pig harvest comes from; Fort Hunter Liggett, Camp Roberts, or VAFB.  That said, it isn’t easy hunting because the hogs get a lot of pressure.  This makes many of them entirely nocturnal.  The best option is to get up on a high spot and glass the surrounding countryside.  Sure, you can “bust brush” but likely you will only hear the hog go out the other side and see nothing but the brush moving.  It’s best to try spot and stalk.  Some guys use dogs.  I ask that you think twice about using dogs here because of the high amount of hunter pressure.  A pack of dogs will push hogs out of their beds and they will leave that area for months, wrecking the opportunity for others coming up later in the season to hunt.  Too much pressure and the hogs simply move off base to private land where they aren’t being hunted.  Shooting wet sows is discouraged for the same reason:  hunting pressure keeps the hog numbers well in check.   I’d rather see piglets shot than wet sows because then only one animal dies.  It is a complete fallacy that piglets get adopted by other herd sows.  They are coyote food.  There is always time to make sure of your target!

 

We have a large population of deer on VAFB and hunter success is far above the state levels at close to 50%.  Those hunters willing to get out away from the roads tend to do well, and success is enjoyed in every area on the base.  Hunting pressure during the deer season is only moderate, and one can get away from everybody else if you so desire.  Good optics and shoes are a must.  For the military and some DoD, there is a VAFB specific tag labeled a “G-11”:  this is an either sex tag with a season that runs from 26 August to 31 December.  It is only available to a limited number first come, first served.

 

Dove hunting is completely dependent on the weather around the 1^st of September.  If it’s hot, the doves are in.  If it turns cool the birds will head inland.  Quail hunting is often good and it looks like 2009 is going to be a good year.  Lots of babies and we are seeing the second clutch of young now.

 

So give some thought to coming to VAFB and participating in a wonderful hunting program.  The wildlife management team here excited to have hunters here as the important tool that it is!  Hope to see you out here!

Thanks, Alan!  That’s good stuff right there!

As you can see in the picture, this was the tale of the day on Saturday, as we guided a group of 10 hunters down at Native Hunt on a hog and ram hunt.  The photo was taken on Saturday night, after a quick trip out to the San Lucas ranch produced five more hogs. 

When we wrapped up on Saturday, our hunters had taken 11 hogs and two good rams.  The day almost turned in a buffalo as well, but the hunter wanted the hide, and the summer hides just aren’t as nice looking. 

It’s a good thing this is work I love doing, because between sweating through the chemise, crawling on hands and knees through hog tunnels, and spending a day up to your elbows in blood and guts…  I guess it’s not for everybody.  But Michael has a great crew of guys working down there, and everyone pulls more than their share.

But this is work I enjoy, helping out with some guiding down at T. Michael Riddle’s Native Hunt ranches.  We’ve got another large group coming in on his summer special, so we’ll be chasing boar and sheep.  I’m looking forward to getting back out in the boonies.  This city life… well, I’ve said enough about that.

In the meantime, and while I’m out, there are some good things going on out there.  For one, my daily visit over to Albert’s Rasch Outdoor Chronicles blog brought me back to another blog I hadn’t visited in a while… the Fair Chase blog.  Now I know, I know… I’ve gone on about the “Fair Chase” ideal many times, and probably will again, but don’t do like I did and jump the gun on this one (fortunately I decided to read the whole thing before posting my comments). 

This particular post is all about a pretty awesome effort to understand the intricacies of hunter recruitment and retention.  It’s actually a reprint of an article by Eric Nuse, President of Orion-The Hunter’s Institute.  Again, the name of the blog and the credentials of this author both predisposed me against the actual writing, but I’m glad I persevered and read the piece.  It’s not at all about hunter ethics or fair chase or protecting our “image”. 

This is important stuff here, and it could go a long ways in determining the future of our sport.  No matter which way our “battle” with the antis sways, if we can’t recruit and keep hunters, the tradition will die.  The bright side is, we are seeing an upsurge in a new kind of hunter, the individual who comes to the sport later in life, without the family tradition or upbringing that many of us take for granted.  Holly, the NorCal Cazadora, is a great example of that new hunter. 

So what I guess I’m saying is, go check it out if you get a chance. 

By the way, for what it matters… I have no axe to grind with Orion or the Fair Chase blog.  I totally appreciate what they’re trying to do, and particularly in the case of Fair Chase, I like that they’ve opened the dialogue to discuss the topics that many hunters shy away from.  There are some hard questions, and intricate answers, and if we don’t have a real discussion about them, we all lose. 

So anyway, I’m packing the binos and my boots.  Time to go guiding.  Ya’ll have a great weekend, and I hope to be back with stories and pictures on Monday!

One of the “holy grails” of CA public land hog hunting is public land that offers a good opportunity to actually find and kill a hog.  A big part of the learning experience for me was doing the research and hitting many of the public land spots that dot this state.  A quick read through the DFG documentation, and some of the BLM pages suggests that there are pigs all over the public lands

I walked up and down over an awful lot of ridges and draws with little more than the occasional rooting and track to keep the motivation going, and I can probably count the total number of hogs I saw on my fingers and toes.  Many of the places listed as having hogs are actually transit routes between private land… or were often marginal places with little habitat to attract and keep pigs.  The small number of places that could be ideal are hammered by hunting pressure, or are so remote as to make it unrealistic for the weekend warrior to reach them. 

But one of the best known secrets for public land hunters is the property owned and managed by the U.S. military. 

Here in CA, there are a handful of military installations that are available to hunters.  Two of the best known are Fort Hunter Liggett and Camp Roberts.  Both bases are located in the central coast region of the state, which is essentially ground zero for wild hogs!

We’ll start with Ft. Hunter Liggett, 165,000 acres of Monterey County splendor.  A good portion of the property was purchased from the Hearst estate, as well as property from several adjacent landowners.  Hearst managed much of his property as parks, and the military has done a great job of keeping the underbrush burned or cut.  The result is a beautiful patchwork of rolling, oak meadows, divided by well-maintained roads.  The Nacimiento River has its headwaters on the fort property as well, and carves its way across the landscape. 

The  fort is bordered by the Los Padres National Forest, and is also the entry point to a large portion of the Ventana Wilderness.  I have yet to hunt FHL, but I’ve visited the place a time or two.  The fort also borders T. Michael Riddle’s Native Hunt property… and I’ve certainly hunted there enough.   Deedy’s Bryson-Hesperia Resort is also right down the road from the gate… and as regular Hog Blog readers know, I’ve spent an hour or two on the ground there as well.  Point is, I know the entire area is thick with wildlife, and as a place to find public land hogs, Fort Hunter Liggett is probably one of the best bets in the state. 

Of course, the success ratio is still pretty low, especially compared to private land hunts.  But folks who put in the time and effort to learn the place consistently do pretty well.  In addition to hogs, there are all sorts of other game to be found on the place, including blacktail deer, turkeys, upland birds, and a healthy herd of tule elk! 

You’ll find a lot of information, including the requirements for hunting the fort at the FHL website.  Among other things, you’ll need to get a base permit.  The instructions are on the site.  You’ll also want to check the weapons restrictions.  Remember, this is a military base, under control of the federal government.  While the DFG rules and regulations apply, the military applies some specific regulations that go beyond those of the state.  And trust me, you don’t want to get on the wrong side of the base law enforcement.

You’ll also find a good bit of conversation about FHL over at Jesse’s Hunting and Outdoors forums.  Log in and check out the conversations.  Most of the folks there are pretty helpful too, if you have your own questions to ask.

Hang in there, and I’ll try to get to Camp Roberts in the very near future.

Well, after over six months on “hiatus” (read, seriously underemployed), I’ve been back in the corporate world for about two weeks. 

And it sucks. 

Don’t get me wrong, I’m working with a great team at a pretty good company, but man… all that kicking back, hunting whenever I got the call, and writing a lot… a guy could get used to that.  As it is, I’m working on getting back into the swing of spending the day in the office, then rolling home dead tired.  It doesn’t leave a lot of energy for blogging right now, or for much of anything.  I’ve barely even felt like making dinner most nights.

Anyway, not meaning to whine too loudly, but I do want to let you all know that the Hog Blog slow-down is only temporary.  As soon as I get back into the flow of things with a full-time job, I’ll work blogging back into the schedule. 

Bear with me, if you will.

Now, time to get the coffee, the shower, and on the road with the rest of the lemmings.

As you may notice in the picture, it got a little warm this weekend.  The photo is  from the drive home yesterday, as we were passing through the pit of hell that is Sacramento, but it was warm all over.  Up at Coon Camp Springs on Saturday, temps topped out around104… and that’s at an elevation in the neighborhood of 6000 feet.

Well, the heat got the better of us, and we didn’t get a heck of a lot done on Saturday.  Actually, the culprit was a combination of heat and exhaustion… from my 0500 wake-up on Friday to my 0200 arrival on Saturday, sleep was a precious commodity. 

Even so, I got there before Dave, and sat sipping tequila as the crescent moon slowly rose over the sage-covered hills.  I gave up around 0300 and went to bed… he arrived about an hour later.  We were both up again around 0630. 

Sunday, we got a bit more done before the heat rolled in and I had to hit the road for home. 

We weren’t the only ones out in the heat doing good stuff this weekend, by the way.  Jake Theyerl was out at Camp Roberts helping folks learn more about lead-free ammunition.  I mentioned the event a time or two here on the Hog Blog.  Anyway, here’s his account of the weekend… sometimes, no matter how well you plan, things get a little awry.  The best of us work around it and overcome, as Jake did.

Hi Phillip,

Hope you had a great weekend.  The shoot Saturday went just fine.  Got a little hot…about 106, but we still had 30 shooters come to test out some non-lead.  I think that the heat definitely kept a few folks at home that were originally planning on coming, but those that attended seemed to have a great time.  We were able to set up targets initially at 25 meters for folks to get dialed in and then moved out in steps all the way to 400 meters.  In all honesty, the demonstrations didn’t go as planned.  I usually do the shooting for these, but bumped my scope hard while loading my truck.  Luckily, I was able to recruit 3 shooters to take the shots for me.  Unfortunately, it took all 3 shooters and a lot more time than planned to finally get the shots in the gel and barrel.  I’m very grateful that some people stepped up to the task.  Unfortunately, Instead of doing 3 rounds of the gel and water barrels, we only wound up having time for a single round.  That’ll teach me to be more careful with my rifle!  Good news though, I didn’t hear a single negative comment about the performance at this event.  There are usually a few people that can’t get it to group, but we had great luck on Saturday.  I was also able to hear some good success stories from last season.  That is definitely encouraging.  In general, it seems that people give more feedback when it’s negative than positive.  As a result, I hear my fair share of horror stories.  People don’t usually call me to tell me that they had a great dead right there shot (although I know I’m not the only one that is experiencing these).  Well, I could go on and on about the day, but I’m sure you’ve got better things to do than read a play by play of the entire event.  Just wanted to thank you again for your help advertising.  I’m sure we had a few folks show up that heard about it through the blog.  I’ve attached a few pics if you’re intereted.

Take care,

Jake

I know what he’s saying about negative feedback.  It’s pretty common with the Human Condition that folks are more likely to talk about the bad stuff than the good.  The lead ammo ban pretty much guarantees a large segment of the population will find any issue they can with the ammo, simply because it was jammed down their throats. 

Anyway, glad to hear the event went well, Jake.  Good job, even if it’s not as widely appreciated as it might be. 

Hey all, before I leave for the weekend, I wanted to remind you all of the lead-free shooting event at Camp Roberts tomorrow.  I wrote about the event a couple posts back, but in case you don’t recall, here are the details. 

The shoot runs from 10:00 to 15:00.  Camp Roberts is just off 101 near Bradley, CA (a few miles north of Paso Robles).  To participate in the shoot, enter the camp at the main gate.  You can get specific directions there.

Bring your hunting rifles and eye and ear protection, and the organization will provide ammunition to try out as long as supplies last.  Ammunition will be available for the most common calibers:

• .22 wmr
• .223
• .22-250
• .243 win
• .25-06
• 7mm Rem Mag
• .270 win
• .30 carbine
• 30/30 Win
• .30-06 Springfield
• .300 Win
• .300 Win Mag
• .338 Win Mag

Anyway, it’s a great opportunity to get out and try some of the new ammo.  You’ll also have the chance to speak with some folks from DFG and other organizations about lead-free ammo and some of the issues.