6-1-13

This morning I guided Brian, Viola, and Robert for pigs. We were on the hill at first light and looking for a group of pigs that I had spotted a few days prior. We made a big loop searching high and low but could not turn them up so we kept searching. As we came back down the hill and into the valley where we had parked I looked out in the field behind the cabin and there stood a group of pigs. We quickly got out of the ranger and took off on foot but the pigs were on the move and we hustled to try and get ahead of them. We eventually caught up to them in a small valley and Brian and Viola got set up on the sticks and ready for a shot. As the pigs hit the clearing they started shooting but none of the shots were true. We got back into the ranger and headed up the hill to try and relocate the herd of pigs. As we topped the ridge the pigs were coming up the draw. Brian hopped out of the ranger and drew down on the lead sow but again no luck!!! We tried to find the herd again but they eluded us so we went in search of some more. As we got to the top of the ranch we started looking over the water holes for fresh sign. At the first pond I noticed a large set of tracks in the pond and the water was still muddy. I followed the tracks and they appeared to head down into the canyon so I grabbed Robert and told him to come with me and we started our treck into the canyon. We were walking on an old trail and had not gone 50 yards when a huge boar stood up out of his bed. Robert was quick to draw a bead on him and as he squeezed the trigger on the .300 ultra mag the boar buckled but stayed on his feet and headed up hill. Robert was able to get another shot off as the boar headed into the trees but we were unsure if it connected. We quickly scrambled up the hill to try and see where the boar was headed and as we rounded the corner we saw him take his last few steps and then expire. We decided to just sit and makes sure he was finished before we headed over to get our hands on him. I knew the boar was big but as we got closer there was no ground shrinkage! I guessed the live weight to be around 350 pounds! He was as big around as a 55 gallon drum and solid as a rock. After a photo session I rolled the guts out and the 4 of us did all that we could to muscle him back to the ranger. By the time that we got him loaded we were all covered in sweat and it was getting warm so we heded to the cabin and got the pig skinned, quartered, and on ice before calling it a day. It was a great hunt and it's always nice to get a look a big boar like this one!!!

Casey