Hello all there is a few of us JHO'ers (Jesse's Hunting Outdoors) it is a fourm site that us California guys use to stay up on the going ons here in our state. Any way we have a New Years Hog hunt in the cards on Fort Hunter Liggit, it is a miltary base that allows public hunting the hunt is schedualed for the 1st - 4th. I live about 1 hour from the base so i took it upon myself to do some scouting for the hunt
Anyway here is how the day went. I left the house about 5:30, that would put me at the check in station about 6:30 to 6:45, which is late but not in a hurry after all im just scouting things out tring to see where the hog sign might be if any. Get checked in its about 7:00 and i head out to the unit, get parked and there is not any trucks around which i found strange because the guy at the checkin station told my there was a lot of people in the training area i chose. I get out get geared up, pull the bow back a couple of times to loosen up the shoulders and head out. Well ill tell ya right off the bat, didn't get a hole lot of scouting done. I wasn't 50 yards out of the truck, well maybe 100, looked up on top of a knoll and saw about 12 to 15 hogs single file, i could see them pass in the clearings between trees and oak brush.
Off i went up the hill to try and cut them off, got there and no sign off them sat still for a few and let the ears do the work for a while, as im standing there listining i put my binocs up to my eyes and see this
They are about 300 to 400 yards off i drop off the knoll im on and head there way, wind is good and plenty of cover. Im humpin it fairly quick, drop off the last hill and bam hit the boundery fence, they are out of bounds :mad: Well i know i left some pigs back about 400 yards so i start back and run into a JHO'er (hntboar) we shoot the bull for awhile, its nice to put a face to the handles just like here on trad gang, and then we let each other know which way we are going. I make a big counter clockwise loop back to where i saw the hogs and hntboar makes a clockwise loop. About 15 min into my loop i hear a BANG, lot of people out there so im not sure if it was hntboar or not. I make it to the back side of the knoll where i saw the hogs and there is a big patch of poison oak and I can hear the hogs in there. Im on the down wind side so i park it and just wait. With all the hunters out here some one is bound to walk on the up wind side and spook some hogs to me. Well i was right some one walked by and the hogs were on the move i could hear them all over the place and see a patch of hog hide here and there as they are moving through the poison oak. After about 3 or 4 min everything calms down so i start the wait again about 5 min later i hear a noise right behind me, i turn and im face to face at 15 yards with a 200lb to 225lb boar, we are both froze just staring at each other. The only chance i got it to try and get my bow up for a shot, he was on the move for the poison oak and once he started to move again i knew he was not going to stop. He cought my movement and was gone in a flash. My heart is just starting to calm down and i see a hunter start to come over the knoll i stop him and motion him to go around the other side on the oak patch, he does and a moment or two later i hear a BANG. Hogs start to move again still no shot. Another 3 to 4 min and things calm down again then i see and hear two hunters at he top of the knoll talking about which way to drag the hogs that they have down. Come to find out its hntboar and one of the two others in his party. I make my way down off the hill and hook up with them to get some pics, i wont post them here because they are rifle hunters but of the three of them they took 2 nice 125# sows.
Well its back to scouting, here are some pics of some other sign i found
62" Black Widow, that mud is way up on that tree. I think its going to be a good new years hunt
Topic: Hog scouting trip......pics (Read 289 times)
