Pig Down

Back to the ranch chasing pigs again today. We hunted yesterday evening and saw some but they were on the move and gave us the slip. We hunted our ass off this morning and we were blanked. Called it quits at noon and were headed out when we rounded the corner and ran into a herd of pigs. They walked over the hill so we grabbed the guns and scrambled after them. As we topped the hill there they were at less than 100 yards! Matt was able to drop a nice sized meat pig! Just goes to show you it's not over until you are out the gate!

     

Hills are looking good!

I went up to the ranch today to watch the crop dusters seed all of the areas where we have removed the brush! The pilots did a great job, getting good coverage of all the areas. Those pilots are damn good, the way they come right through the trees!

The pond in the picture was almost bone dry prior to the last few days of rain. It's full to the top now and spilling out of the spill way! What a difference a few days can make!

Nothing but sprig

The sprig cooperated today in the rice but that was about it. Hopefully tomorrows weather will get them stirred up!

Afternoon Pork Chops

I met up with Ryan this afternoon and we hit the hills in search of a pig. It was hot so I figured we would check water holes early and then go sit the wheat the last hour. We started on the east end of the ranch and worked up to the top checking ponds with no luck. As we headed back down hill we spotted a few pigs sleeping under some oaks. We put on a killer stalk and Ryan ended up smoking this sow at 50 yards! He made a great shot and she didn't go far before piling up!

Trifecta!!!

Today was one of those days! We had a hell of a time finding the pigs but when we did these guys flat got it done! Al was the first to strike anchoring his pig with an incredible 550 yards shot, not bad for a guy who had not hunted in a few years!!!! Paul and Jarrod got it done as well, doubling up on a pair of boars at a mere 50 yards! We spotted a big group of pigs and put a text book sneak on them. At 100 yards they were ready to shoot but I wasn't so we kept sneaking and I finally decided at 50 yards to let them shoot. When the smoke cleared they both looked at me and said "I thought you were going to get us close enough to kill them with rocks". I've seen both these guys shoot and by no means did we need to get any where near that close for them to get the job done but I was having fun watching them look at me like I was nuts so we pressed on! We had a great time on the hill today and I'm sure you will see these guys on the blog again before too long.  

Double down on pigs

We hit the hills early this morning with Dave and Matt in search of some pigs to fill their freezers. The morning started out particularly slow with us only seeing one group of pigs that eluded us but we stayed at it. We had just cruised past the cabin headed to check a few reservoirs when we looked up and spotted a group of pigs feeding in the flat. After a quick stalk the guys picked out a couple shooters and the war started! When the smoke cleared Dave had a nice sized sow down and Matt had a handful of brass! It was warming up so we got the hide off of the pig and went to go check some ponds. The first two we checked yielded nothing but as we topped the dam of the third pond it erupted with pigs and Matt laid the hammer down on a nice sized eater! The pig fell dead in its tracks and we quickly loaded it and got it skinned and ready for their trip home. It was a great hunt with a couple of great guys!

  

April Fools Day Pigs

This morning I hit the hills with Robert and Tim in search of pigs. We had no more got to the first gate from the cabin and I spotted a group of pigs feeding in a flat, so we put a quick game plan together and made our move. The creek allowed us to stay down low and out of sight as we closed the distance and when I thought we were close enough we came up over the rise and had them at 50 yards. The pigs had no clue we were there and the guys got set up and ready to take the shots. On the count of 3 they both fired and to my disbelief nothing fell!! The pigs took off up hill and out of sight but were confused at where the shooting came from and headed back down hill towards us. Robert settled in and took the shot sending one of the pigs squealing into the brush while the others scattered! We opted to leave the hit pig for awhile and went to find another for Tim. From along ways away we spotted a lone boar working his way uphill and I thought I knew where he was headed, so off we went. We got to an open hill side where I figured we would spot the boar, but no matter how hard I stared through the binos I just couldn't turn him up. We then headed back down hill to see if he had stopped short and sure enough we found the old warrior feeding in one of the flats. Again we were on foot and in hot pursuit!! It didn't take long to close the distance but as we neared the flat the old boar figured something was wrong and headed down the draw. The next time he popped out in a clearing he was 250 yards and I stopped him with the old coyote howl and Tim touched one off. It was an incredible shot at just over 250 yards, free handed he hit him right in the back of the head dropping him in his tracks!!!

The easy part was done, now we had to figure out how to get him out of the roadless canyon which proved to be quite the ordeal but after a few hours the trophy lay in the back of the ranger! The old battle scarred boar was loaded with cuts, scars, and split ears. He definitely had ruled the ranch for quite some time. We eventually made it back to the first pig and after a short tracking job, Robert was standing over a 150 pound boar, perfect for eating.

The guys had a great time and assured me that they would be back!       

Filling Freezers!

Took a break from the sturgeon fishing and headed out to fill another freezer! We got to the ranch in the dark and set out in search of some pork! We looked high and low without much luck until we spotted this guy and 5 of his friends tearing up one of the flats down in the valley. They were a long ways off but in a good spot for a stalk so off we went. We covered most of the distance on the ATV and then closed in on foot. As we crested the last rise there they were, a mere 25 yards away!! The wind was perfect and they had no clue what was about happen. One shot from Scott's trusty rifle and he was standing over a perfect sized pig for eating!! It was a nice change of pace and by all the rooting on the ranch looks like we have several herds of pigs working it over.

In search of pork!

We did not offer many pig hunts last season due to low animal numbers but decided to offer a few this season. Based on the sign we are seeing on the ranch there is a pretty good population of them up there. I met Mike in Arbuckle and we headed for the hills to see what we could find. We got up on a high ridge and were making our way along it glassing down into the valley. On the fourth stop I looked down and spotted a lone boar feeding on the edge of a brush patch. The boar looked to be 300+ pounds and we tried to put a stalk on him but could only get as close as 300 yards due to terrain and Mike was not comfortable with the shot. I was trying to find another way to close the distance when the boar slipped into the brush, never to be seen again. We jumped on the ranger and went in search of more. As we were driving along I looked into the bottom of the ravine and spotted a small group of pigs feeding on the brush line. We bailed out and got set up on the sticks but Mike was blinded by the sun in the scope. I quickly took off my hat and shaded the scope the best I could and it worked. Mike got the biggest pig of the group in his sights and touched one off! The shot was perfect and the pig dropped in it's tracks, a perfect head shot at 175 yards! The pig was in the bottom of the canyon so we hiked down and mike helped me get it up on my shoulders after a quick gut job and up the hill I went. The pig was a nice sized sow around 235 pounds!  

2-20-10

Below is an e-mail recieved from a CICC Outdoor Adventures Customer. It tells a pretty good story and paints a pretty picture about what we offer and the quality of our services in which we pride our business on! I am always so pleased to read letters like this and wanted to share it with all of our blog followers. Thanks P-Dubb and Two Bucks for being the awesome guides and guys that you are!

Regina


Casey, good morning! It’s the morning after our hunt and I think I owe it to you and your future customers to tell you that my son Beau and I had one of the best hunt experiences we have ever had hunting with Outdoor Adventures. I am an avid hunter and have passed this time honored tradition on to my son Beau who is now 14. Beau began hunting at age 6, walking the pheasant fields with my dog and me while armed his trusty Crossman .176 BB gun and now at the age of 14 has become one of the best duck, goose and pheasant hunters I have ever shot with.

In 2009, after proving to me that he could be patient and he had a clear understanding of pursuing game (countless “zeroes” hunting turkey and pigs on public land) it was time for him to begin fulfilling his passion of hunting big game. In November of 2009 Beau shot his first Whitetail in Montana and in December 2009 harvested his first Mule Deer on Tejon Ranch in the CDA Junior Deer Hunt. Beau was ready to hunt hogs.

We met Jake at the Sportsman’s International Expo and immediately gave him the name, Big Dipper. If you know Jake, you know this has nothing to do with the stars, wind and the sky… We liked him. He seemed no nonsense and at the same time to be a likeable guy who was knowledgeable and who would get you on the hogs. I have never hired a guide before in all my years of hunting so I didn’t know what to expect to be honest but Beau liked him and I had a good feeling about this hunt before I called you to book it. We talked to every other outfitter at the show who hunted hogs in California and hands down, Jake was our man when it was all said and done.

We started out right around 6:30 with Jake and Smith (did his mom really name him Smith?), loaded up in the Ranger and went on a tour of some of the most beautiful country in California. Within an hour and a half we spotted a lone Boar and Jake decided to move us to a better vantage point to pursue. We moved to the other side of the ravine and glassed for a short time before seeing 6 pigs running across the ridge and down into the tree line. Within 5 minutes we spotted the boar moving up the hill to the same location as the other 6 and we decided to pursue (after the silence was broken by a loud gobble from the hill behind us).

Smith went down the ravine to help push, Beau and Jake went up the creek and I went around the ridge to cut them off. After a bit of hiking (and a lot of hard breathing) through the a beautiful valley, we found a lot of pig sign but the pigs had out-smarted us and would live to see another day. Another thing; that Smith (Two Bucks) is a big drink of water and he gets up and down the hills as well as anyone I’ve seen. We scouted the ranch until 1:00 through hill tops, valleys and creeks. We spotted the remains of two plane crashes that had occurred years ago on the ranch and saw lots of animal sign from every species God put in Northern California, including 4 deer making their way up a canyon, it was amazing!

We headed back to the trucks and enjoyed some tri-tip barbecue and some great conversation before heading out again. At 2:00 we headed for what Jake was referring to as the back side where he was preparing to bust some brush and get the hogs moving as the sun was now out from behind the clouds and the pigs were bedded down. Earlier in the day I let the team know that although I no longer “dipped” that if we didn’t have a hog down by the afternoon, I was going to have to take a ceremonial “good luck dip” to be sure we got a hog, I was willing to sacrifice for the good of the hunt (yeah right). So, before heading into the bush, I did as I promised and took the dip, now the pigs were in trouble. As we walked along the edge of the brush, we spooked a sleeping hog that shot up and ran down the hill; the hogs were in here and there was more than one, a lot more.

Jake set his plan into motion, positioned Beau and I for a shot and went to work hiking to the bottom of the hill and working the brush. Within 10 minutes there was more grunting and squealing than we had ever heard coming out of the bushes and here they came. First bore to step out got a beautiful brass necklace as Beau put a shot in his neck/shoulder at 25 yards and then the fun started; pigs shot out of those bushes from every direction including directly at us which we were ready for and got out of their way. A minimum of 30 pigs burst out of the bushes and we were in absolute awe, it was pig pandemonium! It was a once in a lifetime experience and I was lucky enough to catch it on film. Beau harvested his hog at 4:30 in the afternoon.

We cleaned and drug Beau’s pig out (after I removed the ceremonial good luck dip from my lip), skinned and quartered him, packed him in ice and hit the road for home. We hit the road at 7:00 PM which meant we had spent the past 12 or so hours with Jake and Smith and it could have gone any way having four people who had never met hunting in the outdoors together. In our minds, it went great! We would not have done anything differently, Jake and Smith (the Big Dipper and Two Bucks) are really great guys, skilled hunters/trackers and all around guides. Beau and I hope that we lived up to your expectations as clients as well, we didn’t come to your ranch expecting not to have to work for our harvest both before and after Beau put him on his side.

Beau and I wanted to extend a sincere thank you to the Outdoor Adventures team for showing us a great time, an unforgettable experience and of course a great hunt. Here are a couple of photos from the hunt, I will edit the video and post it on YouTube in the next couple of weeks as well. You can also put any or all of this on your website, we would be honored to serve as a testimonial.

-Mark Rogers

2-13-2010

First Hog Hunt of the Season!!!

The ranch has been resting for quite some time and that "time-out" sure paid off for our first hunt of the season. Finally back home after spending weeks at expos and tradeshows. We were happy to get back out in great outdoors. Bob Sufi from Carmel, Indiana returned for a second time to bag yet another hog on the White Oak Ranch!

The hunt started out on a rough note as Bob's alarm clock failed to sound off that morning causing him to arrive almost an hour late. However Bob's luck changed when he fired one shot from 275 yards with his .30-06 rifle. One shot - one kill on a nice size hog weighing just about 225lbs with 2" cutters.

-Stony

12-11-09

Scott Seidenstricker of Reno, Nevada hunted pigs with us today. The hunt was short and sweet with the end result being a nice 120 pound sow dead and loaded in the truck by 8:00 AM. He made a perfect shot at a mere 50 yards and could have killed 3 others. If you are interested in a pig hunt we still have availability in December.

Thanks, Casey