The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Hunting American Big Game Hunting Looking for hog hunting recommendations in CaliforniaGo | New | Find | Notify | Tools | Reply | |
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I am looking for recommendations for a good place to go for a group of four to hunt hogs in California next year. Perhaps a 2-3 day hunt with additional hogs an option. We would prefer to stay on or near the hunting property(ies). If you have done the California hog thing please chime in with your experience and tell me where, with who, how much, and when plus any good or bad details. Thanks. . | ||
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California isn't a small state. There are really 3 options. Far North, around Los Angles and near Paso Robes. The Los Angles are option is the Tejon Ranch, prices are pretty steep, but everyones California hog prices are generally 3 or 4 times what the same feral hog will cost in Texas. Craig Boddington claims that California has the most expensive Feral Hogs in the country. The first 50-80 miles of closest to the coast between LA and San Francisco would be the 2nd major area. Epicentered around Paso Robles, CA. The third area would be anyone up north of San Francisco. There are a lot of put and take places around, if they offer much beyond feral pigs then it is fairly safe to say that is the situation. Tejon is hard to book with because it is hard to find a slot that works. I am avoiding the put and take pig places for now, but if I still can't get a slot on Tejon (and we are still living here next year) I am going to consider it. | |||
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When I was stationed in CA on the USS Pyro AE-24, homeported at the Concord Naval weapon Station, I used to hunt the vineyards at Napa for hogs. The hogs were hard on the young grape vines and the expensive landscaping so it wasn't too hard to get permission to shoot them. But they wouldn't let me touch the quail and the blacktails on the vineyards which was a shame since there were a lot of both. | |||
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I'm not sure if Bill Burrows in Redding still offers hunts... He'a retired ag professor, great to talk with & be guided by. | |||
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Can't beat Tejon Ranch. Hunt it every year and its just an awesome place (and only about 90 minuteas from LAX). They have nice cabins for the guided hunters. I'm a member so I've never done a guided hunt there, but I've heard nothing but good things. I think last year was a slow year for some reason. I still saw pigs each time I went. Should be very high success rate for the 2-3 day hunt. Getting a good bit of moisture this year, so that should help a lot. I think they were about $1000/hunter last time I checked. Might be a little more now. Another option would be to contact Tom Willoughby. He's like california's pig master. He has access to many ranches in the King City area. Only problem with him is that he'll probably have you tagged out within the first 30 minutes of the hunt... Which someone people may prefer. I think Tejon would be a better overall experience. Lots of other operations further North but I am not familiar with anyone up there. The two above are solid choices. Here are a few videos of mine from Tejon. Might give you an idea of what to expect. https://vimeo.com/10336563 https://vimeo.com/17449861 https://vimeo.com/64781078 https://vimeo.com/132031603 many other tejon pig hunt videos on youtube as well. https://www.youtube.com/result...arch_query=tejon+pig | |||
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Kyler Hamann, a poster here, offers pig hunting in CA. http://www.boaring.com/Boaring...riences/Welcome.html | |||
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Kyler is a great choice. The area he hunts holds a lot of pigs. He grew up in the area and has access to prime ranches. I met him through friends at a community shooting event. Really a nice guy. We hunt pigs on a lease in the area it has been productive. lb | |||
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I've hunted with Kyler a couple of times and Mike Dettore has hunted with him many times. Great guy and has always been a great hunt. Let me know if you decide to come to Paso and we can get together. Have gun- Will travel The value of a trophy is computed directly in terms of personal investment in its acquisition. Robert Ruark | |||
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Hunted with Tom and his son twice. Once for hogs, once for deer. Bobby's comments are spot on. ____________________________ If you died tomorrow, what would you have done today ... 2018 Zimbabwe - Tuskless w/ Nengasha Safaris 2011 Mozambique - Buffalo w/ Mashambanzou Safaris | |||
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Okay. I am extending the search further than just California. The ideal "package" would have lodging, meals, and be based in the southwestern US. FWIW, I tried the Tejon Ranch about 12 years ago. I took my teenage son and my pregnant wife, paying for two hunters and one non-hunting guest. There were about five other hunters. We were all put up in the log cabin for two nights and two days of hunting. My wife stayed in the cabin. It was "unguided" but we had a "host" who also worked as a guide for other hunts. All of the hunters got their pigs with the exception of my son and myself. We saw deer, turkey, bobcat, and coyote but no pigs. It was snowing and snow restricted movement and limited the areas we could hunt. Additionally, were were told not to go beyond a very, very small part of the ranch that was probably less than a couple of square miles total area. The "host" went out a few times with other hunters while my son and I were totally on our own. One group of three got their pigs while with the host. The remainder got their pigs the next morning while with the host. After everyone else left the afternoon of the last day the host offered to point out an area where he knew there were pigs "just outside of the cabin". That seemed a little too much of a setup to me and my son and I went out for one last try on our own. I don't know if the others paid the "host" to guide them, whether he knew them or had some prior relationship with them, or if it was just dumb luck. That can happen and that is why they call it hunting and not killing. The Tejon Ranch policy is that if you don't get your pig you can go back for another try for free but when I contacted them the next year they said they had changed the way they were doing pig hunts and I didn't qualify because they no longer offered the hunt I had gone on before. I had paid more for our hunts than the unguided pig hunts they were currently offering (no lodging or meals) plus my wife's non-hunting rate but they didn't care. The whole thing put me off. . | |||
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I was going to suggest the same outfit. Kyler is a member here, and his reputation precedes him. "Ignorance you can correct, you can't fix stupid." JWP If stupidity hurt, a lot of people would be walking around screaming. Semper Fidelis "Building Carpal Tunnel one round at a time" | |||
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PM me your cell number, happy to fill you in. I have probably hunted with Kyler two dozen times Mike Never under estimate the internet community's ability to reply to your post with their personal rant about their tangentially related, single occurrence issue.  What I have learned on AR, since 2001: 1. The proper answer to: Where is the best place in town to get a steak dinner? is…You should go to Mel's Diner and get the fried chicken. 2. Big game animals can tell the difference between .015 of an inch in diameter, 15 grains of bullet weight, and 150 fps. 3. There is a difference in the performance of two identical projectiles launched at the same velocity if they came from different cartridges. 4. While a double rifle is the perfect DGR, every 375HH bolt gun needs to be modified to carry at least 5 down. 5. While a floor plate and detachable box magazine both use a mechanical latch, only the floor plate latch is reliable. Disregard the fact that every modern military rifle uses a detachable box magazine. 6. The Remington 700 is unreliable regardless of the fact it is the basis of the USMC M40 sniper rifle for 40+ years with no changes to the receiver or extractor and is the choice of more military and law enforcement sniper units than any other rifle. 7. PF actions are not suitable for a DGR and it is irrelevant that the M1, M14, M16, & AK47 which were designed for hunting men that can shoot back are all PF actions. 8. 95 deg F in Africa is different than 95 deg F in TX or CA and that is why you must worry about ammunition temperature in Africa (even though most safaris take place in winter) but not in TX or in CA. 9. The size of a ding in a gun's finish doesn't matter, what matters is whether it’s a safe ding or not. 10. 1 in a row is a trend, 2 in a row is statistically significant, and 3 in a row is an irrefutable fact. 11. Never buy a WSM or RCM cartridge for a safari rifle or your go to rifle in the USA because if they lose your ammo you can't find replacement ammo but don't worry 280 Rem, 338-06, 35 Whelen, and all Weatherby cartridges abound in Africa and back country stores. 12. A well hit animal can run 75 yds. in the open and suddenly drop with no initial blood trail, but the one I shot from 200 yds. away that ran 10 yds. and disappeared into a thicket and was not found was lost because the bullet penciled thru. I am 100% certain of this even though I have no physical evidence. 13. A 300 Win Mag is a 500 yard elk cartridge but a 308 Win is not a 300 yard elk cartridge even though the same bullet is travelling at the same velocity at those respective distances. | |||
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The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Hunting American Big Game Hunting Looking for hog hunting recommendations in California
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