Well guys I returned home last Saturday and here is my story about my first bow hunt in California.
The first day (Sunday 07-12) I had to do the California Hunter Safety test at my friend's (Ross McClintock) house. I scored 94 points out of 100.
The next day my friend and I went to Fresno to get the paperwork done to get the required tags and then we drove to the Tejon Ranch to get our hunting permits.
(http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l118/V-Archer/California%20bowhunt/meattheTejonRanch.jpg)
Me at the Tejon Ranch office.
Tuesday morning (very early) the three of us went to the so-called area 8 hunting grounds on the Tejon Ranch.
(http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l118/V-Archer/California%20bowhunt/thehuntingparty.jpg)
From left to right Rick Brauer, Ross McClintock and me with my new Blacktail Elite VL.
We soon spotted some pigs in the distance and tried to get in front of them but we had to cross several ridges and valleys. When we finally got there and climbed some ridges there was no sign of the pigs anymore. We tried a number of other places without luck; they were gone for the rest of the day. To "kill" the time I shot ground squirrels with a .22 rifle that I got from Rick.
Wednesday morning we tried another area and spotted one pig at approximately 400 yards away on a ridge. Also we saw a group of pigs moving down into the valley brushes. So we went to the other side of the ridges, close where the pig was supposed to be. My buddy said that I have to climb over a few ridges trying to get above him and he was going through the lower part of the ridges trying to get under him. Coming close there was no sign of the pig anymore; he probably went down in the valley brushes as we came in with the Ranger earlier. So my buddy and I went over another few ridges (rough climbing at some places) and then down back through the valley trying to spot pigs. No such luck, but it was a good hike!
As we did not see any other signs of pig rut we decided to go back to the area we were on Tuesday.
While moving around in the Ranger we saw some elk and some signs of deer but that was all.
Later that day we discovered a freshly used pig trail and my hunting buddies decided to set up a blind for me. So I was sitting there waiting for the pigs to come by while my buddies went for a coyote hunt a couple of miles away from where I was sitting. While waiting, no signs of pigs at all, not even a sound and it was getting darker and darker. Well I can tell you that, for me being an inexperienced hunter, this was quite an experience being all alone in that area and nobody around than the (wild) cows their calves and some yapping coyotes in the distance. Finally and well after dark my hunting buddies came back to pick me up. They also had no luck getting a coyote.
Thursday morning was more or less a copy of the last two days; trying to spot pigs and their tracks but we had no luck this time either. Later that day suddenly a group of pigs was crossing the road track at approximately 50 yards so I got out quickly and moved up to the ridge where they were last seen. My hunting buddies pointed me where to go and I followed the pig tracks but they were on the move, and they moved fast. I climbed over a couple of low ridges and the only thing I saw was the rear end of a pig at some 40 yards away and that was it, no luck again! This was however the most exiting part of these days so far as I was really tracking pigs and got relatively close but not at a shootable range.
We moved on and had a long lunch break where I popped some ground squirrels with the 0.22 rifle. After this break we moved on and suddenly we spotted a bobcat running in front of us. My hunting buddies were trying to get their rifles ready to shoot but the slings got in the way; the bobcat disappeared. We moved further along the road track and suddenly the bobcat came down from our right side on to the road track at approximately 100 yards in front of us. Two shots brought the cat down. After finishing the "paper work" it already was getting darker and we drove to the water trough we were the first day to see if anything was going on there. Only cows and calves and no signs of pigs there at all so we decided to go back home and call it a day as it was getting darker.
So guys, this was my first hunting experience in the USA and I had a great time being there with my buddies. "The one time in life" experience that probably no one in my circle at home ever will have. I'm grateful for the opportunity that my shooting buddies offered me to experience a real bow (and rifle) hunt. I'm looking forward for my next USA bow hunt.
Some pics of the areas where we have been hunting.
(http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l118/V-Archer/California%20bowhunt/compilation2.jpg)
(http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l118/V-Archer/California%20bowhunt/compilation1.jpg)
V-Archer
Nice pics
Great pics my friend.
Cody
V,
Glad you enjoyed the visit and thanks for the good reading!
Merry Christmas
I am happy you had a good hunt, Arnold----come back when you can.
Cool! Glad you had a great time! Are those roosted turkeys in the pic on the right in the second row down?
hnh
Thanks for sharing and beautiful photos. :thumbsup:
I'm glad you got to hunt over here Arnold. Sounds like you had a great time, and that's worth the most.
I congradulate you on understanding what the true nature of the hunt is. It is not what gets harvested, but the memories you create that make a hunt something special.
Glad you got to experience a hunt over here and were able to enjoy yourself.
Nice pics. Sorry that you didn't get a pig with your new Blacktail, but I'm really glad to hear you had a great time. Hopefully you'll be able to come back and do it again someday.
Enjoyed the great pics and story! Thanks for sharing and hope you can again one day and take up where you left off.
Good pic and exciting story, Arnold.
Maybe I will joint your next hunting trip in USA.
enjoyed your story and pics.
good one
Arnold, Sounds like you had a good time.Thanks for sahring it with us. Fred
Glad you had a good time while you were here. Maybe on your next trip, someone here can get you into more pigs and get some shots.
V, Glad you had a good time here in SoCal we are doing a hunt on Tejon in January with a bunch of Tradgang guys.
Thanks for sharing
Glad you had a good time Arnold! It was great meeting you. Maybe next year you can hunt in New York with us. You could come to the Adirondack Attack and hunt the magnificent Adirondack Mountains. You will not be disappointed! Thanks again for the feathers.
Brian
Some pics of the bow Arnold made for me:
(http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z267/horatio1226/bows/v-archer008.jpg)
(http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z267/horatio1226/bows/v-archer005.jpg)
(http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z267/horatio1226/bows/v-archer006.jpg)
(http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z267/horatio1226/bows/v-archer011.jpg)
(http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z267/horatio1226/bows/v-archer009.jpg)