3-30-11

Today I guided Jeff Ralston on a pig hunt. We met in Maxwell and headed to the ranch. After filling out the necessary paperwork we headed into the ranch to see what we could find. As we went through the second gate on the ranch I looked up hill and spotted a big black and white boar just up hill from us. We bailed out of the ranger and tried to close the distance but the boar winded us and circled around below us and crossed onto the neighbors ranch before we could get a shot. We re grouped and got back to the ranger and went in search of another target. As we crested the next ridge I spotted a lone boar feeding down in the flats so we took off in hot pursuit. We drove doen into the valley and as we crested the first hill the boar came walking out in front of us. Jeff bailed out of the ranger cracked a shell into the chamber and took a shot. His first shot went high and as the boar started to run he hammered him with his second shot. The shot was a little far back and the boar kept moving but did not make it too far before he stopped in the bottom of the creek bed. Jeff snuck up to where he could see the boar and gave him a final shot to the head ending the chase. We drug the boar back to the ranger and got him gutted and loaded up to head for the skinning shack. This was Jeff's first pig and he assured me that it would not be his last! As we made our way back to the truck we spotted another boar up on the ridge that will make a nice trophy for one of our clients in the near future.

Casey