7-30-11

This morning we were back at it with the boys from Reno. Both Travis and Chad had yet to get a pig so Andy took them and headed to the south wheat field, while Andrew, Scott and I headed to the north field to take a look. Andrew had another tag and was looking for 1 more pig while Scott was just along for the ride. We walked out into the wheat field just like we had done the previous morning and within seconds I had spotted some pigs running around in the wheat. We took off in hot pursuit but as we climbed to the top of the knoll we spotted 3 different groups of pigs headed up towards the hills. They must have smelt us as the wind was swirling and the gig was up. We headed back towards the ranger and just as we got to it we heard all hell break loose in the south field. Andy called minutes later to let us know that they had 2 pigs down and we called it a morning. We headed over to the guys to give them a hand and get the story. Andy said they had no more than got to the top of the hill when he could see pigs moving around in the wheat field. He knew that they were headed for water so they snuck down the hill to try and cut the group of pigs off. As soon as they got into position the pigs came up and over the dam and that is when the shooting started.Travis and Chad's first shots were at a couple of 150 pounders but they did not connect. Meanwhile a couple of nice meat pigs in the 60-70 pound range walked out and just stood there so the boys pulled down on them and let them have it.  Both shots were good and they were soon standing over some of the finest eating pigs that they will ever eat. All in all it was a great hunt and all 4 of the Reno crew were able to harvest a pig. You can't do much better than that. These guys are regulars and already talking about the next trip.

Casey

7-29-11

This morning I guided Scott Seidenstricker from Reno, Nevada on a pig hunt. We headed up to the ranch and decided to take a walk in the north wheat field to see what was out there. We parked the ranger and began making our way towards the hills that are in the middle of the wheat so that we could get a better view of the field. As we topped out on the first small rise I looked down and spotted a group of 15 pigs making their way across the field. I ranged the pigs at 200 yards and Scott got on the sticks and ready to shoot. As soon as he was ready I stopped the pigs and he sent a round down range. The bullet went right over the lead pigs back and as they turned to run he gave them a couple more but never managed to connect. With all of the noise we had made we figured we would hop back on the ranger and see if there were and pigs left in the South field. We rode to the top of the ridge and glassed but could not locate any pigs so I decided to make my way south with hopes of spotting some pigs that may have left the wheat earlier. We had gone about a mile when I looked down and saw a boar making his way in our direction. I had no more then stopped the ranger and pointed the pig out to Scott when the boar stepped onto the road 15 yards from us. It did not take Scott long to get on the pig and touch the trigger. The pig fell dead in his tracks, and the only dragging we had to do was right into the back of the ranger. Scott had 3 of his boys in route from Reno to come and hunt with us on Saturday so we loaded up his pig and headed to the shop to get it skinned and hung in the cooler.

Two of the boys showed up early, so I grabbed Andy and we headed up to the ranch to see if we could get another pig killed. Andy decided to take Scott and Travis with him and head south and I took Andrew with me and headed north. We were going to make a big loop around the ranch towards each other and meet up in the middle. We had been hunting for a couple of hours when Andrew and I both spotted what looked like legs under a manzanita bush. I stopped the ranger and as soon as I threw up the binoculars I knew it was a nice sized pig. Andrew got on the sticks and prepared for the shot. As he was getting set to shoot we could hear the other ranger coming down hill towards us. Andrew got set and took the shot dropping the pig in it's tracks only seconds before the other guys came around the corner. The guys heard the shot and stopped to congratulate Andrew before continuing down the hill in search of a pig for Travis. They never did see a pig but it was so hot out that I think they were sticking tight to the brush and Andrew and I just got lucky. However,I have always said "I would rather be lucky than good". We headed to the shop to get Andrew's pig in the cooler and try to get a few hours of sleep before we had to be back at it again.

Casey

7-26-11 & 7-27-11

This evening Andy and I guided a group of 3 hunters on a pig hunt. We arrived at the ranch at 6:30 loaded up in the rangers and headed in separate directions. Andy was going to head into the big canyon south of the wheat field and just sit, while I took the other 2 hunters for a ride in the canyons to the north. I started up the center of the ranch and stopped in a couple of locations to glass. As we made our way into a big shaded canyon I spotted a big black and white boar and we headed down towards the bottom of the canyon to see if we could get in front of him. We got set up and waited about 20 minutes but the boar never showed, so we loaded back up in the ranger to make our way further into the canyon. Before we could take off Neil realized that he had lost his I-phone, so back up the hill we went to try and find it. Sure enough it was sitting on the ground at the first place we had stopped to glass. At this point it was nearing prime time and we did not have enough time to get back into the big canyons so we headed towards the wheat field to see if any pigs were out feeding yet. As soon as we got to the wheat I noticed a lone boar feeding along the edge in the shade, so off we went. We covered alot of ground fast and were soon within 200 yards of the unsuspecting target. I wanted to get closer but with the wind blowing the direction that it was we had no choice but to shoot from where we were at. Neil got set up on the sticks and started throwing lead. The first shot went a little high but the next 2 connected and Neil had a 175 pound boar down. We loaded the pig and headed back to the trucks to see what Andy and Jay had done. The guys had sat and watched the main trail that comes into the wheat but no pigs ever showed. We headed to the ranch and hung Neil's boar in the walk in and headed home to get a couple hours of rest before hitting it again in the morning. 

The next morning we came up with a plan, and Andy headed to the South wheat field with Jay, while I took Brian to the north field. Brian and I had not gone 100 yards from the ranger when I spotted a lone pig making his way up hill. I ranged him at 200 yards and Brian got set up to shoot but a good shot never presented its self. As Brian was watching the lone pig another 10 pigs walked up on the same trail but I could not get them to stop and Brian was not comfortable with the shot so we decided to keep walking. Just over the next rise we saw a group of 8 pigs, but they had already made it to the neighbors property so they were safe. We glassed for another minute or 2 but did not see any more pigs so we headed back towards the ranger. Just as we were getting to the ranger Andy called and said that there was a lone boar in the flats feeding 1000 yards south-east of us and he did not look to be in a big hurry. Brian and I decided to go for it and the race was on. We could not see the pig but I had an idea of where it was at and we checked the wind a set off in that direction. As soon as we gained a little elevation I spotted the pig but he was still over 500 yards away. Brian and I came up with a plan and the stalk was on. Pretty soon we were 300 yards and closing. At 150 yards Brian said we were close enough but I knew we could do better so we pressed on. When we finally got ready to shoot we were within 50 yards of the boar and Brian smoked him. The boar ended up being 150 pounds.

After a couple of quick photo's I called Andy to see if they had seen any pigs. Andy was watching our stalk when he looked down the hill and saw a group of pigs making their way towards him. His focus immediately switched from watching our stalk to putting on a stalk of his own. They closed the distance to 200 yards and Jay got set up and ready to shoot. As soon as Jay was ready Andy stopped the pig and Jay took the shot. He ended up hitting the pig in the neck dropping his first ever wild pig. The boar weighed in at roughly 150 pounds and had some nice sized cutters. We then met up and compared stories and took a few photos before heading back to the shop to start skinning. The group of guys had killed all 3 of the pigs that they had shot at and they couldn't have been happier. It was a great hunt and the group has already booked a fall turkey hunt so I am sure you will see them again this fall.  

Casey    

7-23-11

Today Andy and I guided a group of 4 hunters for pigs. We met in Maxwell and headed for the ranch to see what we could get done. Andy and I decided to split up and he took 2 of the hunters to the South wheat field and I took the other 2 hunters to the North field. We waited until legal shooting and began walking towards the hills in the center of the wheat field to get to a better vantage point. We did not get 50 yards from the ATV when I spotted a lone boar feeding in a small depression no more than 75 yards away. Tim was the first shooter so we got him set up on the sticks and he dropped the boar in his tracks. At the shot I grabbed Mike and told him to stay on my heels as we needed to get up onto the hill so we could see what else was in the wheat and after the shot I assumed that we did not have much time. As soon as we got to the top of the hill it only took seconds to spot another big boar making his way out of the field. I ranged the boar at 200 yards and Mike got set on the sticks and ready to shoot. As soon as he gave me the go ahead I stopped the pig and Mike sent a bullet on it's way. The first shot was just over the boar and the next 2 shots followed suit. Needless to say all we could do was sit and watch as the boar made his way back up into the hills. As we were watching the boar I looked to the left and saw another group of 10-12 pigs but they were already on the move and there was no way to catch them. We then grabbed the ranger, threw Tim's pig in the back, and headed up into the hills to see if we could cut off any of the pigs that we had seen headed that way. In the back of the ranch we saw a few other pigs but they beat us into the brush resulting in no more shots.

At this point it was getting warm so I called Andy to see if he had any luck. Within minutes of hearing our shots Andy spotted a lone boar in the wheat and they closed the distance to 200 yards and got set up for the shot. Andy stopped the pig and the shooting started but the pig managed to escape without injury. Andy and his hunters had also seen a few more pigs but unfortunately they did not get any more shots.

It was getting warm so we decided to call it a day and headed to the shop to get Tim's pig skinned and cooled off before the meat spoiled.

It was another fun hunt with a great group of guys that I am sure you will see on the blog again in the future.

Casey 

7-20-11

It has been awhile since my last post so I figured I had better update the blog for all of our loyal followers. We finished up striper season the end of June and switched our focus to pig hunting, as the wheat had started to dry out and the pigs were taking advantage of the easy meal. We have conducted 8 hunts since my last post and all we have to show for ourselves is a pile of empty brass. We are still hunting and there are still plenty of pigs but it seems as if the bullets just haven't been flying true. We have had alot of near misses lately, but that just means more pigs for the rest of you who have not made it to the ranch yet this season. We will be hunting pigs thru mid August and then we will let the ranch rest for a couple of months before we get back after the pigs. We are currently booking into October and have some dates available for the early fall.

Casey