2-22-11

Today we guided Dan, Kevin, and Jake on a pig hunt. With 3 hunters this morning Jake and I split up and he went up the middle of the ranch with 2 of the guys and I went up the East side of the ranch with 1 hunter. We had both planned on meeting up on the North end of the ranch to make a big hunt with all of the guys but before we could get there all hell broke loose. About half way to where we were going to hunt I spotted a lone boar and we crept into position. At the crack of the rifle Dan had smoked a 150 pound boar. We spent a little time taking photos and then packed the pig out to the ranger. As we began to head towards where Jake was going to meet us he called on the radio to let me know he had a group of hogs spotted and they were going to put a sneak on them. As they closed the distance the wind shifted and the pigs moved off in the opposite direction but not before the clients were in position and ready to shoot. As the pigs moved into a clearing at a mere 75 yards Kevin and Jake both fired almost simultaneously. Jake's shot was true but Kevin had a good clean miss. After all of the excitement we got together for photo's and then headed back to the shop to get the animals skinned and ready for the butcher. It was another great day in the hills and the animals were out and moving. We ended the morning seeing over 30 pigs, 10 coyotes and a bob cat. It looks like we are going to have to get started on the coyote eradication sooner than later.

Casey

2-12-11

Today I guided Max and Isaac on a pig hunt. We started the morning by working our way to the North end of the ranch stopping to glass down into the canyons along the way. We were not seeing much movement in the early morning hours, so we headed over to a water hole to do some glassing. We set up above the pond and within minutes I spotted a huge black and white boar making his way across the hill side and the race was on. We took off on foot and tried to get ahead of the big boar, but he beat us into the brush and was never to be seen again. I guess he did not get that big by being stupid!! We spent about 20 minutes watching for movement in the area, but the boar never showed up. We then headed towards the South end of the ranch on an old logging road, and as we crested the ridge I caught movement on the adjacent ridge line. I threw up the trusty bino's and could make out the shape of a couple pigs behind the brush. We exited the ranger, formulated a plan and made our move. Within minutes we were less than 100 yards from where we had last seen the pigs and could hear them squealing and rooting around in the brush. We moved down the hill another 20 yards towards the pigs so that we could get a better view of the draw and the guys got set up and ready to shoot. After what seemed like an eternity(5 minutes) the pigs fed out into the open and presented a shot. Each of the guys picked out a seperate pig and on the count of three fired. When the smoke cleared they had 2 nice sized meat pigs on the ground. After a easy drag to the top of the hill I was able to drive the ranger right to the pigs, where we gave them a photo shoot and a quick gut job before we headed to the barn to skin them. It was 12:00 as we left the ranch with a couple of nice pigs. It was a great day in the hills and I cannot wait to get back out there.

Jake

2-8-11

Today we had the pleasure of guiding Paul, Jarrod, and Al on a pig hunt. We met in Maxwell at 5:30 AM and all had a comment about the lovely 35 MPH North wind that was howling. We all knew that the hunting was going to be tough but I assured them that we would get our animals. We started the morning by splitting up and Jake headed South with Al, while I headed to the North end of the ranch with Paul and Jarrod. These guys were in good shape and willing to work so we took off on foot and began searching for some hogs. The early morning hours were pretty un-eventful but around 8:30 we spotted a couple of big pigs up on a side hill feeding and off we went. We stalked to within  250 yards and Jarrod got ready to take the shot. As soon as he flipped his safety off the pigs walked into the brush never to be seen again, Strike 1!! We then headed downhill and began to work our way back to the ranger. About half way back we crested a ridge and  took a peek into another small brush patch. We had been standing above the brush throwing rocks for a couple of minutes when a 150 pound boar trotted across the hill below us. The boar proved to be lucky and he bailed into a creek bottom where we could not see him to get a shot, Strike 2!! We then met up with Jake and Al who had seen some pigs but were unable to get a shot as well. We put together a game plan and we all headed South to see what was hanging out on that end of the ranch. We glassed for awhile and then headed over the hill to check out some other country. As we rounded the corner I looked down and spotted a group of pigs feeding on the edge of the brush line 300 yards away. We jumped out of the rangers and the stalk was on. We quickly closed the distance to 180 yards and Jarrod was the first to fire dumping a 200 pound sow in her tracks. As soon as Jarrod shot Al lined up on the next sow dropping her as well. Then Paul got ready but the pigs walked over the ridge and out of sight before he could get a shot off. By the time that we had the 2 pigs gutted, tagged and loaded it was 4:00 PM and was approaching prime time for the afternoon hunt. We loaded up in the rangers and began hunting our way back towards the parking lot stopping to glass all of the shaded canyons. We saw a couple of more groups of pigs that eluded us but as we made our way out of the ranch we spotted another group of pigs feeding in the bottom of a draw. With only minutes of legal shooting light left Paul got into position and smoked a nice 150 pound sow. She dropped in her tracks a mere 20 yards from the road making for a great ending to a long windy day. These guys were great hunters and willing to work for their animals. We had a great time and I hope they did as well.

Casey

      

2-1-11

Now that duck season is over we can begin the grueling task of picking up all of the decoys and getting everything put away until next year. Looking back on the season it is very apparent that it was a tough year for most of us. The ducks came and went and never seemed to be consistent in any of the areas for too long. Don't get me wrong we had alot of great hunts but we had alot of mediocre hunts as well. The birds had me wanting to pull my hair out all season long. We would shoot great for 4 or 5 days and then have slow shooting for a couple of days. It did not seem to matter what the weather was like as I had most of my really good hunts on clear calm days and most of my poor hunts on rainy, windy days. It seemed like you should just take everything that you had ever knew about duck hunting and throw it out the window and just hope for the best! I can tell you one thing for sure, as a rule we would sit in the blind every day until 11:30-12:00 and most days we killed the bulk of our birds between 9:00-12:00. We had some great shooting while most of the other guys had already given up for the day. It just goes to show that patience is always a virtue. The season had it's ups and downs but thanks to all of our great client's we had a successful season as far as I am concerned.  I would like to thank all of you who rented seasonal blinds from us as well as all of the guided day hunt shooters. Thanks guys!!!!!!

Casey