8-2-2010

Today I had the pleasure of guiding Jerry Pryde from Granite Bay, California. We decided to switch things up a bit this morning so we headed up into the hills to try and catch the pigs as they left the wheat field and made their way to bed. At 6:00 AM we caught a glimpse of 8 nice sized hogs making their way towards us but at the last minute they turned and went up another draw that headed North of where we were set up. We knew where they were going so we hot footed it in their direction hoping to catch them crossing the road in front of us as they made their way up hill. As luck would have it they crossed the road and made it into the thick brush before we could get there. We then headed back to our original vantage point and within minutes saw another group of 10-12 pigs headed right for us. We were set up and watching the trail that they always come out on when I looked up and saw them sneaking out another trail on the top of the draw. Again we headed towards them but by the time we caught up to them all we couls see were a couple 40-50 pounders so we let them go. At this point we had been fooled twice but I knew that it would not happen a third time. We hopped on the ranger and headed deeper into the ranch checking a few of the likely spots with no success, so we pushed on. As we made our decent from the top of the ridge down into the valley movement in the creek bottom caught my eye, it was pigs and a bunch of them! The group of pigs were on the move and heading up a brushy draw so we headed up the hill to try and catch them when they came out the top. As we got to the top of the hill almost immediately we could hear the crashing of brush and knew that the pigs were about to make a fatal mistake. I ranged the trail coming out of the brush at 150 yards and Jerry got ready to shoot. The first couple pigs to come out were 125-150 pounds and as Jerry got ready to shoot I noticed a huge boar bringing up the rear. I told Jerry to look at the back of the group and within seconds Jerry dropped the big boar. After dragging the boar to an area that we could get the ranger to we took some photo's, gutted the pig, and headed to the barn to get the hide off. The boar weighed 265 pounds field dressed and 185 pounds after skinning. That is a toatl of 80 pounds of just hide and head. Jerry is taking the head to the taxidermist and once completed will hang it in J & G Gunsmithing out of Granite Bay. Jerry owns this shop and I would recommend him to any one in need of gun repair or custom work to any type of firearm. Another great hunt with another great client.

Jake