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The long road in, and some success...... CA public land hunt.
4/22/2012 8:01:47 PM
Well, for those who don't know, we do have hogs here, and they are usually on the nice mellow ranch land, soaking up the good life. BUT- some hogs DO live on public land, even here. I had a long time desire to hunt the western Sierra foothills, north of Fresno a ways. I know they get some there, and this weekend I took my buddy Greg from Lake Jackson out to hunt the 'Big country'........... a mere 1.5 million acres to cover in a day between 3 of us.
So, we picked one canyon, and stuck to it for the day. By the term 'canyon' I mean 11.7 miles in, and 2100 ft of elevation change. Saw sign in the early morning, mixed with cattle. Got good turkey calls from one hill, and then in the wet dirt we saw good, if not great bear tracks.
Leave it to the Texan to cluck up a turkey for me.
No calls, just him doing his thing- pretty cool. As we worked the canyon, we found lots of quail, and actually loacted some great numbers of band-tail pidgeon. Awesome find!! Still, no hogs. More sign.
We near the top of the canyon, and the trails are thick up off the roads. A LOT of pigs are using this trail system, so we head in. A pox on me- the 30-06 does not crawl well under brush for 2 hrs. Twice I had heavy breathing in dense brush not 20 feet from me...... and I am talking blackberry patch, thorns all over, and I am laying on the ground with no way to stand up, let alone run or fight. Both times, the hog decided to cut a path away from me rather than charge me. For once in my life, I was OK with this.
A friend told me "When we hun that area, we use dogs every time." Now, I know why........
In the end, we saw a lot of great sign, and got really close, but no shot was taken. Since there is no night hunting hogs here, I am limited to scouting at night, which I will be doing as much as I can in the near future. And, I am praying for rain, as it will turn the hogs onto moving more, and staying out longer.
Total tally for the weekend was 3 ticks on my neck, and sack. Such.....is....life!!!
So, we picked one canyon, and stuck to it for the day. By the term 'canyon' I mean 11.7 miles in, and 2100 ft of elevation change. Saw sign in the early morning, mixed with cattle. Got good turkey calls from one hill, and then in the wet dirt we saw good, if not great bear tracks.
Leave it to the Texan to cluck up a turkey for me.
No calls, just him doing his thing- pretty cool. As we worked the canyon, we found lots of quail, and actually loacted some great numbers of band-tail pidgeon. Awesome find!! Still, no hogs. More sign.
We near the top of the canyon, and the trails are thick up off the roads. A LOT of pigs are using this trail system, so we head in. A pox on me- the 30-06 does not crawl well under brush for 2 hrs. Twice I had heavy breathing in dense brush not 20 feet from me...... and I am talking blackberry patch, thorns all over, and I am laying on the ground with no way to stand up, let alone run or fight. Both times, the hog decided to cut a path away from me rather than charge me. For once in my life, I was OK with this.
A friend told me "When we hun that area, we use dogs every time." Now, I know why........
In the end, we saw a lot of great sign, and got really close, but no shot was taken. Since there is no night hunting hogs here, I am limited to scouting at night, which I will be doing as much as I can in the near future. And, I am praying for rain, as it will turn the hogs onto moving more, and staying out longer.
Total tally for the weekend was 3 ticks on my neck, and sack. Such.....is....life!!!
4/22/2012 10:42:22 PM
Are you related to Ar15kid?
4/22/2012 11:19:43 PM
we cause.. lol tis a well kept secret that using a turkey cal while easing threw the woods colms the critters.. shhhhh
4/23/2012 12:22:11 AM
Originally Posted By CORNHOLIO1:
Are you related to Ar15kid?
Are you related to Ar15kid?
In the kindred spirit of being willing to walk the free lands we all have the right to hunt, then yes.....we are brothers.
Now, in a practical sense, unless ARkid is a Hawaiian Polack, then we are not related.
I was happy to get my first turkey, and to do it on public land is a true feat in many places.
