Desert Dog
AH enthusiast
For those that don't have the patience to read a long report, enjoy this video of the hunt:
For those that like hunting reports, the following is for you:
Stipulation = This hunt was on private property. I WILL NOT give the property name or contact information. For those that know the area, the property is easily recognizable from the video.
REPORT
After another unsuccessful archery opener on public land, I couldn't wait to fill my freezer with delicious meat during general season. I took 3 days off of work mid-week so the lady and myself could escape the central valley heat and hunt on one of our favorite properties. This property has everything; amazing history, thick woodlands, beautiful beaches, clear creeks, rolling grasslands that meet steep mountains, and great weather year-round. Even though southern A-zone genetics are very bad, being on this ranch makes it all worth it.
DAY 0 = We head out to the desert the weekend before the hunt to practice shooting from field positions. Rebecca is shooting tiny groups standing off the sticks at 150 yards with her 30-06; damn that girl can shoot. We both practice setting up shots and taking them quick. This practice would pay dividends in the coming days.
DAY 1:
We sign waivers, unpack our sleeping bags and gear, and set up at base camp. Becka plans on looking for a really good buck. I plan on shooting every coyote I see (the ranch owners insist), getting a deer for meat, and possibly taking a meat-pig at the end of the hunt if I see one. When we arrived, we found out the ranch is only allowing 1 more buck to be shot, so Rebecca will get that. Rebecca brought her trusty Model-70 Supergrade in 30-06 that she shoots like a champ and has taken game from Cali to Africa with. I brought my custom 6.5CM to handle everything from yotes to boars. I know, the girl is shooting the big gun and I brought the "pussie gun"; don't bother rubbing it in, she already did.
Full of energy, we hunt hard that evening. We see lots of does and spikes but nothing to shoot. We did see a boar that would hang out in a clearing off the road and seemed to have no fear of people. If this guy decides to engage in this behavior after Becka gets her deer, he will be sausage in my freezer.
DAY 2:
Up before sunrise and out early. We hunt a different area than yesterday. We see lots of forkies, some with huge adult bodies and narrow small forks. The genetics have gotten REALLY bad in southern A-zone over the years, and even those already bad "Pacific forks" seem to be getting worse.
After hunting all day, we change areas that evening and Rebecca spots a decent buck at the edge of a clearing down the hillside about 300 yards from us. It was a nice bodied 4x3 buck, but had a smallish spread. We were going to take the buck, but a small forkie stood in front of it the whole time and blocked the shot before they both ran into the bushes. We spent the rest of the evening looking for a wide 3x3 that a ranch hand said he saw the day before, but had no luck finding it.
DAY 3:
We had planned to go to some high spots and glass the areas we hunted yesterday afternoon. Unfortunately, the marine layer moved in and completely blanketed the area in thick fog.
After unsuccessfully looking for the ranch hand's big 3x3 in the morning, we decided to go back to the area where we saw that 4x3 yesterday. Amazingly, those same 2 bucks were out in the same exact area. They were so interested in fighting with each other, that they completely ignored us. We stalked in and set up the sticks at 120 yards for a shot, but the big buck pushed the little buck behind some bushes and out of view for Rebecca. Finally, after what seemed like forever, the bucks walked right out into the open 150 yards in front of us. Rebecca clicked off the safety and put a 168gr TTSX right through the top of the heart; it ran 30 yards and piled-up dead.
So, now that Rebecca shot her buck and I had only shot pictures at this point, I couldn't stop thinking about the pig from day 1. That evening, we went to the same spot and he was there again! He was 550 yards out though; a little too far for the little 127gr LRX out of the Creedmoor to perform well on a pig's shoulder. So a stalk was on! I got within about 150 yards from where I last saw him and he had disappeared??? As I walked forward he flew out of a bush and ran away from me. I fired my first shot offhand at 150 yards and hit his hindquarter as he ran. My second shot (also offhand) hit him at 200 yards and he did a front flip and landed dead. he was running away from me at an extreme quartering away shot. I hit him in the side, destroying a lung, traveling through about 3" of spine, with the bullet stopping at the base of the skull. The 127gr LRX had perfect Barnes expansion, and weighed 126.7gr after the shot (99.7% weight retention). It is very rare to recover a Barnes, so finding one is awesome. What a way to end the hunt!
What a great way to spend quality time with the significant other!
For those that like hunting reports, the following is for you:
Stipulation = This hunt was on private property. I WILL NOT give the property name or contact information. For those that know the area, the property is easily recognizable from the video.
REPORT
After another unsuccessful archery opener on public land, I couldn't wait to fill my freezer with delicious meat during general season. I took 3 days off of work mid-week so the lady and myself could escape the central valley heat and hunt on one of our favorite properties. This property has everything; amazing history, thick woodlands, beautiful beaches, clear creeks, rolling grasslands that meet steep mountains, and great weather year-round. Even though southern A-zone genetics are very bad, being on this ranch makes it all worth it.
DAY 0 = We head out to the desert the weekend before the hunt to practice shooting from field positions. Rebecca is shooting tiny groups standing off the sticks at 150 yards with her 30-06; damn that girl can shoot. We both practice setting up shots and taking them quick. This practice would pay dividends in the coming days.
DAY 1:
We sign waivers, unpack our sleeping bags and gear, and set up at base camp. Becka plans on looking for a really good buck. I plan on shooting every coyote I see (the ranch owners insist), getting a deer for meat, and possibly taking a meat-pig at the end of the hunt if I see one. When we arrived, we found out the ranch is only allowing 1 more buck to be shot, so Rebecca will get that. Rebecca brought her trusty Model-70 Supergrade in 30-06 that she shoots like a champ and has taken game from Cali to Africa with. I brought my custom 6.5CM to handle everything from yotes to boars. I know, the girl is shooting the big gun and I brought the "pussie gun"; don't bother rubbing it in, she already did.
Full of energy, we hunt hard that evening. We see lots of does and spikes but nothing to shoot. We did see a boar that would hang out in a clearing off the road and seemed to have no fear of people. If this guy decides to engage in this behavior after Becka gets her deer, he will be sausage in my freezer.
DAY 2:
Up before sunrise and out early. We hunt a different area than yesterday. We see lots of forkies, some with huge adult bodies and narrow small forks. The genetics have gotten REALLY bad in southern A-zone over the years, and even those already bad "Pacific forks" seem to be getting worse.
After hunting all day, we change areas that evening and Rebecca spots a decent buck at the edge of a clearing down the hillside about 300 yards from us. It was a nice bodied 4x3 buck, but had a smallish spread. We were going to take the buck, but a small forkie stood in front of it the whole time and blocked the shot before they both ran into the bushes. We spent the rest of the evening looking for a wide 3x3 that a ranch hand said he saw the day before, but had no luck finding it.
DAY 3:
We had planned to go to some high spots and glass the areas we hunted yesterday afternoon. Unfortunately, the marine layer moved in and completely blanketed the area in thick fog.
After unsuccessfully looking for the ranch hand's big 3x3 in the morning, we decided to go back to the area where we saw that 4x3 yesterday. Amazingly, those same 2 bucks were out in the same exact area. They were so interested in fighting with each other, that they completely ignored us. We stalked in and set up the sticks at 120 yards for a shot, but the big buck pushed the little buck behind some bushes and out of view for Rebecca. Finally, after what seemed like forever, the bucks walked right out into the open 150 yards in front of us. Rebecca clicked off the safety and put a 168gr TTSX right through the top of the heart; it ran 30 yards and piled-up dead.
So, now that Rebecca shot her buck and I had only shot pictures at this point, I couldn't stop thinking about the pig from day 1. That evening, we went to the same spot and he was there again! He was 550 yards out though; a little too far for the little 127gr LRX out of the Creedmoor to perform well on a pig's shoulder. So a stalk was on! I got within about 150 yards from where I last saw him and he had disappeared??? As I walked forward he flew out of a bush and ran away from me. I fired my first shot offhand at 150 yards and hit his hindquarter as he ran. My second shot (also offhand) hit him at 200 yards and he did a front flip and landed dead. he was running away from me at an extreme quartering away shot. I hit him in the side, destroying a lung, traveling through about 3" of spine, with the bullet stopping at the base of the skull. The 127gr LRX had perfect Barnes expansion, and weighed 126.7gr after the shot (99.7% weight retention). It is very rare to recover a Barnes, so finding one is awesome. What a way to end the hunt!
What a great way to spend quality time with the significant other!
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