Wild pig hunting in California in June can be a short hunt because of the heat. I have been on several hunts where the only action is the first or last 30 minutes of light and the rest of the day is spent hoping that something else happens. Their schedule often seems to be that you have about 30 minutes to catch the boars out feeding maybe 30 minutes to catch them travelling to their bed which is likely the thickest densest brush around. If you’re lucky, you may find one bedded under an oak that you can actually see. We don’t shoot sows with young or wet sows which is often the only thing you see out feeding after about the first hour or so of daylight or before dusk if the temperatures are up. This day the temps would hit 98 degrees.

We met Kyler Hamann (who posts here) at 4:45 am and headed to a pig ravaged barley field. We parked about 100 yards from where the property line crossed the county road and walked in. Sure enough in the back of this parcel were two boars but they were acting very nervous constantly picking up their heads. We got to within about 200 yards, legal shooting time was just occurring…and the boars walked on to the neighboring property that is off limits.



We then hustled out of the first parcel towards the parcel that was across the county road. Sure enough as we approached the road we could see three pigs in the back of that parcel with no little ones about. The wind was good and we walked about 100 yards thru a dry water course to a good shooting vantage point. We popped up out of the dry water course and stalked to within a lasered 93 yards.


The sticks went up and my son Phil let one fly from his stainless takedown BLR in 30-06. The 180 grain Barnes X hit a little high and clipped the spine. The pig went down.

I attempted a few running shots at a light colored boar as it fled the scene. The only thing I connected with was the trunk of a Quercus Lobata.



I hung back looking for 376 Styer brass that was now littering the country side as Phil approached his pig that would get up move 5 yards and drop only to do it again. Phil attempted a few head shots to put it down for good with his 30-06 but didn’t connect till finally he used Kyler’s 375hhmag.




Subsequent range test the next weekend show the 30-06 was printing about 2.5 inches high at 100.

We took a few pics and loaded the big on the back of the Suburban to head up into the hills to see if we could intercept anything in route back to their beds. Our quest met with no result so we headed to the skinning tree. After skinning it was time to head back to the motel for a nap get some lunch and return for the evening hunt. Shooting light ends at about 8:45. We figured nothing would be out any earlier than 7:30 or 8:00 that night but what fun is it not being in the field so we agreed to meet at 6:00pm.

After a nap and lunch in Paso Robles and roaming gun shops we headed back to meet Kyler at 6PM. My son had a 4 hour drive home so we said goodbyes loaded his pig and off he went to Southern California.

Kyler and I headed out to check a spring and not 3 minutes from the gate a pig pops up out of a trickling stream bed and starts to run. Kyler thinks it has 3 legs and I think it is lame because it’s definitely limping. Kyler stops the truck, we dismount…it’s still trotting…Kyler whistles…it stops...it turns back slightly towards us...it's going to bolt the best it can on three legs. I get as steady as I can off hand and put the wobbling cross hairs on the shoulder and squeeze...it goes down with a bang flop. A neck shot with 250 grn TTSX out of my 376 Steyr. It was 55 yards from the truck. Probably a 90 lb sow with a front leg that is all knotted up. Amazing how well they can move on three legs.

She either was grazed by a bullet earlier or had a nasty gash on her leg from something based on the scaring. When we (the conceptual we - Kyler did the work, I just stood around and looked handsome) skinned her out and put pressure near the old injury a fair amount of puss oozed out (ewww gross) so we sacrificed the majority of the front leg.

All and all a great trip with my son and Kyler who I have been hunting with going on a dozen years. My son Phil has lined up on 3 big game animals and bagged all three.

Happy Father's day to all.

Just fer shitz n giggles, where is it written that you've gotta come down to the last 10 minutes of a 7 day hunt before you shoot something. I love getting in the stand early, watching the woods come alive and about 5 minutes before good shooting light popping a porker about 7 AM. I can get down get him loaded and back to camp by 8 AM. Make coffee, light up a cigar and have that dude skinned and on ice by 9 AM. Beats skinning during mid day and all that fat turning to grease.

Mike, what you describe is spot on. Here in the part of Texas I hunt in, several months out of the year it can be above 100 degrees F at 7PM. I find that the hogs move about 5 to 10 minutes before dark-thirty, all night long and until about 8 AM. Almost never see them during the day as they are laying up somewhere.

Best

GWB

Great story. Thanks for sharing -- and congrats all the way around!

Really good story and Great job on the pigs.

Thanks for sharing!

As usual, Mike, you fail to disappoint! Nice work, congratulations! And Happy Father's Day!

Hey Mike,

As always it was great hunting with you and Phil.

Phil seemed to take a liking to my .375... he may be looking for a good buffalo rifle to add to his growing collection...

Thanks,
Kyler

Well done Mike!

Congrats to all!

i drove over to Parkfield a few years ago to shoot doves on opening day. we arrived about 5:30 AM . i have never seen as many hogs as we saw crossing the road and out in the fields. i really don't see how the farmers manage to grow a damn thing...