Hunting Boar And Wild Pigs -

Did you know . . .

that the San Diego Zoo has the largest breeding program for boar in the United States? The zoo breeds not only the common 'wild boar' but also specializes in breeding programs for endangered pig species. Among them the Pygmy Pig, the bearded pig and the Visayan Pig.

Time To Go Boar Hunting Again

Fall time and the living is easy for wild pigs.



Acorn are falling and so are temperatures. Wild pigs all over pig country are living it up in the oak lands of California. They are putting on as much weight as possible for the coming winter. A well fed feral pig is a happy pig. Happy wild pigs want to share happiness with other wild pigs. Consequently sows will soon be in a better mood to make more wild pigs.

California boar are joined in the oak groves by deer and turkey that also prize acorn and other mast as a source for storing energy. For wild boar hunters who have languished during the long, hot summer doldrums oak mast may not exactly be the great attraction, but the porkers under the oaks definitely are. The time has come to take out that trusted rifle and make a few trips to a shooting range to brush up on shooting skills. Then it is time to head out into the oak lands.

This time of the year wild pigs are mainly found where acorn mast and other mast nuts have fallen. They will stay close to those areas until all acorns on the ground have been consumed and those that were trampled under have been dug up. Only then will they look seriously for alternative food sources again, such as corn and barley fields that have not been cleaned up yet or other agricultural crops left over or intentionally saved for the boar.

If you are a hunter who has a good relationship with a guide or access to a private ranch, you do not have to worry about where to go and, once there, where to locate the boar. Your guide will do that for you. However, if you believe in 'real hunting' and like the challenge of doing things on your own, then you have a little more work to do. Your question will be:'Where are the wild pigs?'

Most wild pigs are found and harvested on private land. Monterey and Kern county have the highest boar population numbers in California. Good to excellent boar hunting is found in the Central Valley and adjacent coastal ranges. Within wild pig territory the animals are at this time more concentrated in areas with mast than anywhere else.

Though few boar live on public land, decent wild pig hunting is still available to hunters who know where to look, what to look for and who have done their pre-season scouting well.

Among public land open to wild boar hunting Fort Hunter Ligget and Camp Robertson are the best known. They are military installations and hunters must therefore cope with very strict rules, access restrictions and even unannounced closures.

The Department of Fish and Game lists a few public areas with wild pigs: The Cache Creek Wilderness Area, the Cow Mountain Recreational Area, and the DyeCreek Preserve are among them. Boar are mainly transitory on these lands.

What you save on access and guide fees you will have to invest in shoe leather, gasoline and your own strenuous physical activity in pursuit of the precious prey.

DFG also organizes and manages several special wild pig hunts annually. Check their website for information regularly because most of these special hunts require permits that are awarded by drawing. Lake Sonoma and recently the East Park Reservoir are examples of special hunts. Carizzo Plains special hunts are another opportunity to do some drive -in hunting on the Nature Preserve that is normally only open to walk.in access.

But even private ranches can offer low-cost boar hunting if you are confident enough to strike out on your own on private land after a brief orientation.

The biggest and most well-known ranch in this category is the Tejon Ranch in Kern County. This sprawling ranch offers unguided wild pig hunts for about 
$ 400.00.

Less expensive is the Bryson Ranch and Resort. They charge only $ 200.00 for their unguided hunt. It includes an introductory orientation to the ranch with hints on where to look.

In response to our survey on wild pig populations Deedy, manager of the hunting operations on the ranch, wrote:

''My wild pig population is thriving, the numbers have increased around here by about 20% - 30% this year, but that is because we had good rainfall last year. Oak trees are loaded with acorns this year so it looks like we'll have a nice acorn drop for the fall/winter & spring. ''

Cedar Canyon Ranch in the Tehachapi Mountains is another place to consider when searching for low cost boar hunts in California.

Southern California does not have good boar hunting on either private or public properties. Riverside County had wild pigs in the Santa Ana River wash among dense bamboo but the animals were either shot out by locals or now live within the boundaries of a new nature preserve area. Farther south in San Diego County we have recently had many reports of feral pigs. They were released on one of the Indian Reservations and have expanded their numbers enough to move into adjacent areas. Problem with the San Diego boar access is very, very difficult. It is often only possible through posted private land or Indian reservations. Your challenge will be to overcome hostile sentiments of local ranchers, property owners and hunters towards visiting boar hunters.

Wherever you decide to hunt in California now is a good time to do so before a possibly very cold winter arrives. The longer you wait, the more our wild pigs will disperse again over wider areas. And the more likely it will become that your early morning hunt will take place in snow and ice. Old bones don't handle cold very well and young ones will remind you of your snowbound hunts later in your life.

Let us therefore enjoy a good and successful boar hunt while the weather is pleasant, the acorn are plentiful and the wild pigs are distracted consuming them.

PJJ

HuntingBoar And Wild Pigs -

Did you know . . .

that it is physically impossible for boar, wild pigs and domesticated pigs to look up into the sky?

And that is why you have the bravest of the brave boar hunters do so from helicopters.

On Hunting Boar - Do you know whether 'nuttier' sows really mean more boar the next spring?

Maybe – maybe not. The answer depends on more factors than just the size and the quality of acorn mast. Environmental conditions and the weather can easily offset the benefits of a good mast harvest.
Harsh winters notably can make a big dent in the survival rate of piglets from early litters, especially if the winter is long and particularly cold close to springtime. A low survival rate of piglets could reduce the peak in birthrates considerably.
September and October of a year is a good time to scout your prospective hunting areas. It is also the time to observe carefully the behavior of other wildlife. Preparations of many species for the coming winter can give us valuable hints with regard to the nature of the next season. Then take an educated guess based on your observations or order the Almanac.

If all else fails – ask the squirrels!

(Source: Sage to Meadow in a blog post by Jack Mathews on 09/26/10)

PJJ

Mast Production Looking Good in 2 010.

Wild Pigs, deer and squirrels ready to increase production as well.


Hard mast, that is acorns, and mast from other trees plays a decisive role in the health, well-being and the reproductive rates of our wildlife. We also need germinating mast to replace fallen old oaks and to keep our oak lands healthy.
Most notable for mast consumption are boar and wild pigs, deer and squirrels. They are the most visible because they live in great proximity to human populations. Squirrels and their mast gathering activities are therefore used by many to 'predict' the nature of the coming winter.

(Source: http://duckcreekcaupdates.blogspot.com/2009/09/mast-surveys-are-done-every-year-at.html)

The mast harvest in 2010 is much better. In fact, many regions report heavy to extraordinary mast fall. Red oak are outproducing all other oak species. White oak trees delivered a good mast harvest last year. This year however red oak beat them hands down.
 

(Source: http://duckcreekcaupdates.blogspot.com/2010/08/2010-mast-survey-feeling-little-nuttier.html)

The past few years produced only poor to mediocre mast harvests. 2008 brought little mast production. The following year was better. The chart below reflects the mast harvest at the Duck Creek Conservation area in 2009.


While the overall mast production is up for most species of mast trees, the quantity of mast produced by individual trees varies greatly. It can even vary on a single tree with very little acorns on the lower branches and plenty of mast higher up in the tree.


This trend applies not only to California but can be observed in other parts of the country as well. Commentators from Florida, Connecticut, Virginia, Texas, Ohio, upstate New York, Illinois, New Jersey, Massachusetts to name a few are all reporting excellent to outstanding mast production. And it seems that squirrels all over the country also know that something special is going on – if one can believe the post by Peter Geiger in the Farmers' Almanac Blog titled 'Do the Squirrels Know Something We Don’t?'


As I pointed out in an earlier post, wet winters and plenty of rain in spring and early summer do not necessarily translate into excellent mast production. In 2008 David H. Peter and Constance A. Harrington published an article for the Northwest Scienctific Association on the synchronicity and geographical variations in white oak acorn (Synchronicity and Geographic Variation in Oregon White Oak Acorn Production in the Pacific Northwest, Northwest Science 83(2):117-130. 2009 doi: 10.3955/046.083.0203) that explains the influence of tree species, weather, precipitation and time of precipitation on the resulting mast crop.


If you are scientifically oriented and want to go to the bottom of the mysteries of annual variations of acorn harvests before you harvest your wild pig, this study will answer many of your questions. But it will not tell you where to find your next wild pig to shoot.


The answer to that question can only be found by diligently scouting prospective hunting areas and by locating producing oak trees or stands of oak trees. Or by hiring a guide who knows where to find producing oak trees – and the wild pigs under it.
In any case, now you have a good chance to find some boar 'harvesting' their share of mast under these trees.


Be aware however that not all oak trees will be equally prolific mast producers this year. As I mentioned before white oak produced a good harvest last year. They will not do as well as other oak species this time around.

“Since trees are long lived species their variance in acorn production may cycle over several years. For example, red oak species typically produce a good crop every 2-5 years. On the other hand, white oak species typically have a good crop every 4-10 years. (http://duckcreekcaupdates.blogspot.com/ ).

The availability of mast is most significant for the reproductive rate of wild pigs. Well fed sows are healthy sows in the mood for making many more boar. They produce larger litters and do so more often.
To boar hunters this translates into good hunting, but for ranchers and farmers it may mean more damage to crops and to the environment. On the other hand, it also means more income from access fees and from guided wild pig hunts on their property.
The solution? Allow more hunting on private land for lower access and guide fees.


Early fall is a great time for pre-season scouting. The more time a hunter can afford to spend in the woods now, the better his chances will become to find and harvest a good boar later in the year. Moreover, it might also present you with a great opportunity to get the early – no, not worm, but wild pig. Because if the squirrels are right, we may experience a harsh winter all over the country. Hunting boar in a deep freeze is not fun.
PJJ