California Hog Hunting

HUNTING SEASON: Hogs are open all year. Hog tags are valid from July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2009.

LICENSE REQUIREMENTS: You must be 12 years of age to hunt hogs in California. You need a California hunting license and a 'Wild Pig Tag'.

California residents Wild Pig Tags for are $18.65 for one pig tag.

Nonresident Wild Pig Tags are $62.20 for one tag.

Definition of Resident. A resident is defined as any person who has resided continuously in California for six months immediately before the date of application for a license, tag or permit; persons on active duty with the armed forces of the United States or an auxiliary branch; or Job Corps enrollees.

Costs of Hunting Licenses.

Annual resident $38.85.
Junior annual resident hunting license is $10.25.
Non resident annual hunting license is $134.95.
Two-Day Nonresident license, age 16 and over (not valid for big game) $38.85.
Reduced Fee, Disabled Veteran $6.00.
Duplicate Hunting License $6.30 .
Hunter Education Stamp is $3.75.

NOTE: The Two-Day Nonresident license, age 16 and over IS NOT valid for hog hunting. You must buy the Non Resident Annual license.

The California hunting license is good from July 1, 2008 through June 30, 2009. California resident and nonresident hunting licenses are nonrefundable and nontransferable.

Disabled Veteran Hunting Licenses. A $5.75 hunting license is available for qualified disabled veterans. To be eligible, applicants must submit: (1) a letter from the Veterans Administration verifying that the applicant has a 70 percent or greater service-connected disability and was honorably discharged from the United States armed forces; and (2) evidence of meeting California hunter education requirements. Applicants renewing this license may submit their disabled veteran hunting license from the previous year as proof of meeting eligibility requirements. The reduced-fee provisions do not apply to hunting tags or species stamps. Disabled Veteran Hunting Licenses are issued only through DFG Offices.

Hunter Education Special Requirement. Hunting licenses shall be issued to hunters only upon presentation of one of the following:

An annual California hunting license from a prior year or evidence of having held such a license; a California hunter education completion or equivalency certificate; a certificate of competence or completion of a California approved hunter education training course from any state or Canadian province; or a current year hunting license from any state, province, European country or South Africa. For further information, contact any DFG office or license agent. A California hunter education validation stamp must be affixed to hunter education certificates from California.

LEGAL METHODS OF TAKE: The following methods can be used for hunting wild pigs: (1) rifles and handguns using centerfire cartridges with soft point or expanding bullets; (2) muzzleloading rifles of at least .40 caliber; (3) shotguns capable of holding no more than three shells and firing single slugs; and (4) archery equipment and crossbows (see Section 354, California Code of Regulations, for details). Spears, knives and other methods not specified in Sections 353 and 354 of the hunting regulations ARE NOT allowed for hunting wild pigs in California.

DAILY BAG AND POSSESSION LIMIT: There is no bag or possession limit for hogs.

BAITING: DFG reg. 257.5. You cannot use bait for hogs and no hog can be taken within 400 yards of any baited area. The definition of “baited area” shall mean any area where shelled, shucked or unshucked corn, wheat or other grains, salt, or other feed whatsoever capable of luring, attracting, or enticing such birds or mammals is directly or indirectly placed, exposed, deposited, distributed, or scattered, and such area shall remain a baited area for ten days following complete removal of all such corn, wheat or other grains, salt, or other feed.

SHOOTING HOURS: Legal shooting time for hogs is from 1/2 hour before sunrise until 1/2 hour after sunset at the location of your hunt. California does recognize and use Daylight Savings Time.

SHOOTING FROM VEHICLES: DFG reg. 252. No person shall pursue, drive, herd, or take any bird or mammal from any type of motor-driven air or land vehicles, motorboat, airboat, sailboat, or snowmobile, except: 1) When the motor of such motorboat, airboat, or sailboat has been shut off and/or the sails furled and its progress therefrom has ceased, and it is drifting, beached, moored, resting at anchor, or is being propelled by paddle, oar or pole. (2)if they have a Mobility Disabled Persons Motor Vehicle License.

SPOTLIGHTING: DFG reg. 2005. It is unlawful to use an artificial light to assist in the taking of game birds or game mammals. It is unlawful for any person, or one or more persons, to throw or cast the rays of any spotlight, headlight, or other artificial light on any highway or in any field, woodland or forest where game mammals, furbearing mammals, or nongame mammals are commonly found, or upon any game mammal, furbearing mammal, or nongame mammal, while having in his possession or under his control any firearm or weapon with which such mammal could be killed, even though the mammal is not killed, injured, shot at or otherwise pursued. It is unlawful to use or possess at any time any infrared or similar light used in connection with an electronic viewing device sometimes designated as a sniper scope to assist in the taking of birds, mammals, amphibian or fish.

The provisions of this section shall not apply to the following: (a) To the use of a hand held flashlight no larger, nor emitting more light, than a two cell, three-volt flashlight, provided such light is not affixed in any way to a weapon, r to the use of a lamp or lantern which does not cast a directional beam of light. (b) In the case of headlights of a motor vehicle operated in a usual manner and there is no attempt or intent to locate a game mammal, furbearing mammal or nongame mammal. (c) To the owner, or his employee, of land devoted to the agricultural industry while on such land, or land controlled by such an owner and in connection with such agricultural industry. (d) To such other uses as the commission may authorize by regulation. No person shall be arrested for violation of this section except by a peace officer.

RADIO USE WHILE HUNTING: It is legal to use and posses two way radios while hunting in California.

HARASSMENT OF ANIMALS: DFG reg. 251.1. Except as otherwise authorized in these regulations or in the Fish and Game Code, no person shall harass, herd or drive any game or nongame bird or mammal or furbearing mammal. For the purposes of this section, harass is defined as an intentional act which disrupts an animal’s normal behavior patterns, which includes, but is not limited to, breeding, feeding or sheltering. This section does not apply to a landowner or tenant who drives or herds birds or mammals for the purpose of preventing damage to private or public property, including aquaculture and agriculture crops.

USE OF DOGS: DFG reg. 265. (2) Three Dogs per Hunter Limitation for the Take of Wild Pigs. Up to three dogs per hunter may be used for the purpose of taking wild pigs, pursuant to the following provisions: (A) No more than one dog per hunter may be used in an area where the general deer season is open. (B) No dogs may be used within the closures described in subsection 265(a). (2) Global Positioning System Equipment. Electronic dog retrieval collars employing the use of global positioning system equipment (devices that utilize satellite transmissions) are prohibited on dogs used for the pursuit/ take of mammals.

TRESPASS: If the land you hunt on is not your own, it belongs to someone else. Make sure you have a legal right to be there. Contact the owner or person who administers the property, and secure written permission to hunt. A hunting license does not entitle you to enter private property. “It is unlawful to enter any lands under cultivation or enclosed by a fence, belonging to, or occupied by, another, or to enter any uncultivated or unenclosed lands, including lands temporarily inundated by waters flowing outside the established banks of a river, stream, slough, or other waterway, where signs forbidding trespass are displayed at intervals not less than three to the mile along all exterior boundaries and at all roads and trails entering such lands, for the purpose of discharging any firearm or taking or destroying any mammal or bird, including any waterfowl, on such lands without having first obtained written permission from the owner of such lands, or his agent, or the person in lawful possession thereof. Such signs may be of any size and wording, other than the wording required for signs under Section 2017, which will fairly advise persons about to enter the land that the use of such land is so restricted.” Section 2016, Fish and Game Code.

SAFETY: It is always unlawful to: Place on, or carry or possess a loaded rifle or shotgun in a vehicle or conveyance or its attachments on any public road or other way open to the public: Hunt while intoxicated; Shoot at any game bird from a powerboat, sailboat, motor vehicle, or aircraft while under power or still moving from use of sail or motor. (See Section 251) Shoot any firearm from or upon a public road or highway.

DISCHARGING FIREARMS OR OTHER DEADLY WEAPONS SAFETY ZONE: It is unlawful for any person, other than the owner, person in possession of the premises, or a person having the express permission of the owner or person in possession of the premises, to hunt or to discharge while hunting, any firearm or other deadly weapon within 150 yards of any occupied dwelling house, residence, or other building or any barn or other outbuilding used in connection therewith. The 150-yard area is a “safety zone.”

CALIFORNIA DFG WEBPAGE is at http://www.dfg.ca.gov

Hog News

WILD HOGS -- Jim Matthews/ONS -- 23jul03

Wild hogs continue to be state’s most-available big game quarry

The boar was feeding on the lush green grass in the shade of a sprawling oak tree on the ridgeline. Four of us were watching the large wild hog with binoculars, while Dave Campbell, the editor of Shooting Illustrated published by the National Rifle Association in Virginia, crept into shooting position with his .45-90 single shot.

Veteran California hog hunter, Durwood Hollis of Rancho Cucamonga, a long-time hunting buddy of Campbell’s whispered that it was one of the biggest boars he’d ever seen. “I thought it was a black bear at first,” said Hollis. “That boar is huge.”

Those words didn’t help Campbell’s steadiness. When the gun roared, the grass was parted and dirt was kicked up from the big slug just below the boar, indicating a perfect hold, just a foot of so low. The boar was gone almost instantly. While Hollis continued to rave about the size of the departed boar, two other in the group scrambled for rangefinders to try to explain the miss. The shot was nearly 200 yards instead of the 80 to 100 yards most thought it was when Campbell was shooting. The size of the boar and the uphill angle made the pig seem deceptively close and both helped turn what should have been a perfect shot into a perfect miss.

Of course, everyone blamed Campbell for blowing the shot on what was immediately decided was surely the biggest boar on the Tejon Ranch.

The Tejon has become the No. 1 pig hunting operation in California, with very close to 1,000 hogs taken during the past year, according to Don Geivet, the ranch’s game manager.

“I know that last year -- December to December -- we verified over 800 hogs taken, and we’re on a track to shoot a heck of a lot more this year,” said Geivet. “If you look at the published county pig [kill] numbers for the state, more than 800 of those listed for Kern County are ours.”

The Tejon offers a whole range of hog hunting opportunities, from the non-guided Pig-O-Ramas that cost $300 per hunter to the fully-guided $750 option. There are five full-time guides on the ranch and two part-time guides. In addition, hunters can arrange “Ham Slams” where you can set up a group on your own, non-guided hunt from one of the Tejon’s hunting lodges. These cost about $600 per hunter, depending on duration and other options hunters want to include.

While the Tejon might be the biggest and closest operation for most Southern California hunters, there are hog hunting operations all over the state -- and a smattering of public land opportunities for the die-hard hunter.

If the truth were known, wild hogs are probably California's number one big game animal. They have become more popular than deer for many hunters. Why? It's because hog hunters generally see game and take home the bacon.

Guided hunts -- about the only way the average guy has access to property with wild hogs -- are relatively inexpensive. In today's world of sky-high gasoline prices, it is much cheaper to stay close to home and hunt wild hogs than to take that annual trip to Colorado or Wyoming for deer or pronghorn. For Southern California hunters, it might even be cheaper than heading to Northeast California or the Sierra, providing you could draw a deer tag for these areas.

With most guided hog hunts running from $500 to $850, depending on services provided by the guiding operation, you begin to realize that it’s a bargain.

The second reason is that most private land hunts for wild hogs are successful. Hunters might not always kill a hog, but they always have at least a couple of good opportunities, and bringing home the ham usually hinges on how well a hunter shoots and not on whether or not a guide can show him pigs. The biggest complaint most hunters have about guided hog hunts is that they're over too soon. It is common for a pair of hunters to leave a ranch house with a guide at 5 a.m., have to dead pigs on the ground by 6:30 a.m., and be heading home before noon.

The last thing that makes hogs so popular is they a delectable table fare. Repeat hunters might say they are looking for a big old boar, but when they see a herd of hogs feeding up a ridge, decide the big boar isn't any bigger than the one they shot a few years back, they move the crosshairs over to a big sow without piglets or a young boar and think of dinner. Wild hog is not like any pork you've ever bought in a store. Darker, lean, and richer in flavor, the first time you eat the loins off a young hog, you realize how pork is supposed to taste.

Wild hog numbers remain at generally high levels throughout the state. That is partially due to a terrific acorn crop in some areas this past year and good spring rains in most places this year. While most wild hog hunting takes place on private lands, more and more hogs are being reported on public lands adjacent to the private property. Top places on public lands to look for Southern California hunters include the west foothills of the Carizzo Plain, Garcia Mountain in the Los Padres National Forest (east of San Luis Obispo), Camp Roberts, and Fort Hunter Liggett. Hunter Liggett has not been as good as pig population numbers would suggest because of more training than normal the last two years, which has kept many of the best areas on the base closed.

Hog Harvest Info

By Cris Langner.

Here's a rundown of the 2000/2001 season. As reported from the DFG License and Revenue Branch, a total of 213,226 tags were sold, which included 42,273 resident tag books of five, and 1,861 nonresident single tags, a slight increase from last year. Hunters voluntarily reported taking 6,391 wild pigs by returning their harvest report tags to the DFG.

As usual, the Central Coast Region was responsible for the highest percentage of the total pig take, at 61 percent. This area seems to be the preferred habitat for wild pigs in California and for the past 10 years has been responsible for an average of 69 percent of the total pig harvest. Although the Central Coast Region remains the leader in the number of pigs killed per year, the percentage of the overall pig take has been on a downward trend (see table below). On the other hand, a couple of other regions have seen a steady increase in the number of pigs taken. The San Joaquin Valley and Southern Sierra Region saw a slight increase from last year and was second in numbers of pigs killed, with 1,231 (19.3 percent).

The success rates for particular hunting methods are as follows: hunters using rifles accounted for the largest proportion of the harvest again this year with 89 percent (5,693) of the take. Archery hunters, though few and far between, took 284 pigs which accounted for 4.4 percent of the total harvest. All other hunting methods accounted for only 6.6 percent (414) of the take. This year 7.8 percent (496) of pig hunters used trailing hounds and 29.9 percent (1,910) hunted within their county of residence.

Of the total reported pigs taken, a total of 3,462 (54.2 percent) were males and 2,782 (43.5 percent) were females. Similar to years past, most pigs (91.8 percent) were reportedly taken on private land -with the remaining 8 percent taken on public lands. After analyzing the returned pig tags, many places that are probably public lands have been erroneously reported as private land. Private land is defined as any parcel of land that is held in ownership by either a private citizen, like a ranch, or a private organization. The United States Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and the California Department of Fish and Game are all public entities, and although some of the lands they administer are restricted or have limited access-such as military installations, wildlife areas and preserves, they are still public lands. To improve the quality of data obtained from the pig tags it is necessary for hunters to be aware of where they are hunting. For a guide to hunting wild pigs on public lands, please contact the DFG at 9166534263 for a free Guide to Hunting Wild Pigs in California.

Cris Langner is a scientific aide in the DFG Wild Pig and Black Bear programs who compiles and analyzes data from license tags.

8/9/98  The first issue of California Hog Hunter, a newsletter dealing with perhaps the most popular game animal in the state, has just come off the press. Never has there been a publication devoted strictly to hunting wild pigs, and most other hunting publications devote little space to this popular game animal.

California Hog Hunter is information driven. The newsletter will feature one public land hunting spot in detail in each issue, providing maps that show access and actual locations on those public lands where animals have been taken by hunters. It will also cover one private land spot in great depth each issue, and have a directory of other private land hunting.

''All of the information will be news-based, giving the hunter information that is simply not available from other sources,'' said Jim Matthews, a well-known local outdoor writer who launched the new publication this month. ''The goal of the newsletter is to keep hunters updated on who is running good guided hunts, who is doing a poor job, where pigs are being taken on public land, and where the best trophies are being taken -- on public or private land.'' With each issue of the newsletter, readers are provided with a hunting report form to evaluate fee hunting opportunities. "Very quickly, we hope to be up to speed on which operators are providing good hunts and which one's aren't. We want to be the Consumer Reports of the wild hog hunting market, allowing hunters to choose an operation that fits their budget and provides the services they expect,'' said Matthews.

California Hog Hunter is available at all Turner's Outdoorsman stores and through direct subscription. The newsletter is also offering a drawing for a free hunt for wild boar on the Tejon Ranch in southern Kern County. All subscribers who sign up before September 1 will be entered. Special introductory subscription price for the quarterly newsletter is only $20 per year -- this is $29 off the regular subscription price. For more information, contact California Hog Hunter, P.O. Box 9007, San Bernardino, CA 92427-0007 or call Jim Matthews at (909) 887-3444. Email is .

California Hog Hunting Guide .... DFG publication to hog hunting in California. Maps and info to public lands. Call PH # 916-653-4263 to receive it in the mail, or pick it up at your nearest regional office.
Hunting Wild Boar in California .... Great book on hog hunting in California by Bob Robb.
Wild Boar USA .... Wild Boar USA is a magazine that is dedicated to providing boar hunters with in-depth information covering all aspects of hog hunting and trapping. Wild Boar USA is not a generic story book of hunting tales, but more of a "tips and tactics" guide to help boar hunters of all skill and experience levels to improve their hunting experience and ability.  

Hog History as a Game Species in California

Pigs (Sus scrofa) are not native to North America and did not exist in California before the early 1700s. Spanish and Russian explorers and settlers introduced domestic swine to California and allowed them to forage freely, especially in the fall, to take advantage of fallen acorns This practice allowed many pigs to become "feral." Since those early days, the odd domestic pig has escaped and been added to the wild population. In the 1920s, a Monterey County landowner introduced the European wild boar, a wild subspecies of Sus scrofa, into California. European wild stock from this introduction bred with the established feral pig population, resulting in a wild boar/feral domestic pig hybrid.

Prior to the mid- 1950s, wild pigs were unclassified under state law. During this period, wild pigs could be killed with no restrictions. In 1957, the wild pig was designated as a game mammal by the State Legislature. To manage this resource according to the goals established by the Legislature, the Fish and Game Commission established hunting seasons, bag and possession limits, methods of take and conditions for using dogs. Fish and Game Code (FGC), Sections 4650 through 4657, were added in 1992. They require hunters to possess wild pig license tags to hunt wild pigs. When a wild pig is taken, hunters are required to place the tag on the carcass, answer the questions on the other portion of the tag, and return the tag to the California Department of Fish and Game. This requirement provides the Department with wild pig harvest information and funding for the management of wild pigs.

The number of wild pigs taken before the mid- 1950s is unknown. The Department initiated the Game Take Hunter Survey in 1957; at first the estimated wild pig harvest was relatively low. Beginning in the mid- 1960s, both the harvest numbers and the number of counties where wild pigs were harvested have steadily increased. The lower average harvest in the 1990s probably reflects the effects of the long drought that started in the late 1980s, which reduced pig populations. Wild pigs currently exist in at least 45 of the state's 58 counties.

Hog (Sus scrofa) Biology 101

Reproduction - The wild pig population has the potential to triple every year. When conditions are optimal wild pig sows can produce two litters of five to six piglets per year. The breeding rate is highly dependent on environmental conditions. When environmental conditions are unfavorable (e.g., drought or crop failure), birth rates are lower and mortality of young wild pigs can be quite high. If these conditions are particularly severe or predation is exceptionally high, the population will decrease.

Food - Wild pigs are omnivorous and consume a wide variety of available foods, including both plant and animal matter. Their food includes acorns, grasses, forbs, berries, bulbs, tubers, invertebrates, reptiles, birds, eggs, and animal carcasses. In general, wild pigs feed on: grasses and forbs in the spring; mast and fruits in the summer and fall; and roots, tubers and invertebrates throughout the year.

Habitat Requirements - As long as water and some cover are present, wild pigs are found in many habitats - woodland, chaparral, riparian, marshes and open grassland. They are comfortable on flat to very steep terrain. They do not tend to inhabit deserts, high mountains with substantial winter snowfall, alpine areas, or intensive agricultural areas where cover is scarce. In California, they are most abundant in the oak woodlands interspersed with grassland.

Behavior - As with all game species, wild pig behavior tends to change as hunting pressure increases. Where hunting is a rare occurrence, wild pigs are active in the daytime, though they become less active in hot weather. With moderate hunting, they bed down around sunrise and become active again in the late afternoon. When they are heavily hunted, they generally feed only at night. Depending on the density and abundance of cover, wild pigs tend to leave an area where hunting pressure becomes severe. Female wild pigs are generally considered social, not solitary, as they are usually found in family groups. As they approach one year of age, boars are often seen alone, though they sometimes join family groups during breeding.

General Info - All pigs belong to the family Suidae. In addition to the domestic species, several species of wild pigs are found on the Eurasian and African continents. The Eurasian wild boar (Sus scrofa), a popular game animal during medieval times, still roams over many parts of Europe, Asia, and North Africa. The first true pigs were brought to the United States by Hernando de Sota to the Atlantic Coast of Florida in 1539. The First "Pure Russian" wild boars were brought into the USA by Austin Corbin. They were released into a 20,000 acre enclosure in Sullivan County New Hampshire in 1890.

In spite of their reputation, pigs are neither filthy nor stupid. Because their sweat glands are relatively ineffective in lowering body temperature, pigs seek relief from the heat by wallowing in mud or shallow waterholes. When provided with a clean environment sheltered from the sun, however, pigs are fastidious. Furthermore, in tests of intelligence, pigs have proved to be among the smartest of all domestic animals--even more intelligent than dogs. Pigs are closely related to peccaries and distantly related to hippopotamuses. Their snouts end in a flat, rounded disk, which is used by all species but one to root for food. Their stocky, barrellike bodies weigh between 300 and 700 pounds (140 and 300 kilograms) and sometimes reach weights as great as 1,900 pounds (860 kilograms). Both males and females have tusks, which they use for defense. Tusks which are found on the lower jaw, or mandible, can be extremely dangerous when put to use by a mature boar. The upper tusks, or whitters, help keep the lower tusk extremely sharp by rubbing against each other while the pig chews.

Male pigs are called boars; the females are called sows. A shoat is a young, weaned pig of either sex. A male pig that has been castrated before reaching sexual maturity is referred to as a barrow, whereas a male pig that was castrated after reaching maturity is called a stag. A gilt is a sow that has never given birth. Wild pigs existed as far back as 36 million years ago. The hunting of wild pigs by early humans was often depicted in Western European cave and rock paintings dating back thousands of years.

Pigs have a firm, thick skin covered with a usually sparse coat of stiff hairs called bristles. Pigskin is renowned for producing a high-quality leather that "breathes" better than other types of leather. This is because only pigskin has bristle follicles that extend completely through the hide.

Aging Hogs - Using the body weight or size of the cutters is not a real reliable way to age hogs. Looking at the wear of the teeth is the best way to age hogs. You can find some pics to age your hog here.

General Physical Differences Between Wild and Domestic Hogs

Legally, any pig that is not branded or confined is considered a wild pig. However, most hunters have a physical description in mind for the term "wild pig." The appearance of many wild pigs falls somewhere in between the examples.

Hog Weight/Girth Info

If you have the known weight of a hog you've taken please email the measurement in inches of the girth of the hog behind the front legs around the heart to . If you also know the field dressed weight of a hog that you've measured the girth of we can add that figure too. Thanks.

Wild pigs can be hunted on private land with the permission of the owner, and on public land such as national forests, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land, and some state wildlife areas. As a general rule, wild pigs are much harder to find on public land, though access is usually free. Data from about four years of returned wild pig license tags indicate that almost all (about 93 percent) of the wild pigs killed in California are taken on private land.

Click the links below for maps and info on BLM and other public hog hunting areas.

Northern California - North Coast

King Range National Conservation Area BLM (Humboldt and Mendocino Co.)
Mad River Ranger District, Six Rivers National Forest (Humboldt and Trinity Cos.)
Tehama Wildlife Area (Tehama Co.)

Sacramento Valley - Central Sierra

Putah Creek Wildlife Area (Solano Co.)
Spenceville Wildlife Area (Nevada and Yuba Cos.)

Central Coast

Big Sandy Wildlife Area (Monterey and San Luis Obispo Cos.)
Boggs Mountain State Forest (Lake Co.)
Cache Creek Wildlife Area and BLM Area (Colusa and Lake Cos.)
Camp Roberts (Monterey and San Luis Obispo Cos.)
Covelo Ranger District (Mendocino and Trinity Cos.)
Cow Mountain Recreation Area BLM (Lake and Mendocino Cos.)
Indian Valley Wildlife Area (Lake Co.)
Jackson State Forest (Mendocino Co.)
Laguna Mountain BLM (San Benito Co.)
Lake Sonoma Wildlife Area (Sonoma Co.)
Red Mountain Area BLM (Mendocino Co.)
Stockdale Mountain BLM (Monterey Co.) I get a few emails on this topic every few weeks so this post is to help get the word out on hunting Stockdale Mountain in California. Heed the info or you WILL be cited!! This E-mail is from Joe about Stockdale Mountain.

I was out at Stockdale Mt. getting info. What I found out from residents up there was scary. The only access is a narrow point off of Slack Canyon. Rd. The boundaries are not marked clearly! Mr. Kester owns all land around the area and patrols it often and Fish and Game also roams through daily. I was told by one of the outfitters on your page (one I trust and have a personal relationship with) up there that this area is pretty much a trap for hunters. I was told that going up there is just cause for trouble. There are no friendly warnings, no matter what game is being pursued.

I hear that many hunters are sighted for poaching even when they are not meaning to do so. I suggest that you post a warning on your site for ALL TO BEWARE! and to know their location at all times. This area does have lots of hogs, but the terrain is thick with brush and hunters get in trouble when they look for a clearing (Kester's land). I suggest using a topo map with GPS in this area, and talking to DFG for boundaries. By the way, Kester is an outfitter and guide.

Thanx Joe.

Upper Lake Ranger District, Mendocino National Forest (Lake and Mendocino Cos.)

Sacramento Valley - Southern Sierra

Clear Creek BLM area (Fresno and San Benito Cos.)
Coalinga Mineral Springs BLM area (Fresno Co.)
Cottonwood Creek Wildlife Area (Merced Co.)
Groveland Ranger District, Stanislaus National Forest (Mariposa and Tuolumne Cos.)
Hollister Resource Area .... For info call (408) 637-8183
Hume Lake Ranger District, Sequoia National Forest (Fresno and Tulare Cos.)
Hunter Valley Recreation Area, BLM (Mariposa Co.)
Little Panoche Reservoir Wildlife Area (Fresno Co.)
San Luis Reservoir Wildlife Area (Merced Co.)

Southern California - Eastern Sierra

Monterey Ranger District, Los Padres National Forest (Monterey Co.)
Santa Barbara Ranger District, Los Padres National Forest (Santa Barbara and Ventura Cos.)
Santa Lucia Ranger District, Los Padres National Forest (San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Cos.)

The Weather Channel  

Straight Shots

Summer Hogs by Jim Matthews 8/16/01

I've been on hog hunts the past two weekends. Two weeks ago, eight hunters took six hogs, and this past weekend, there were five hunters who shot 10 hogs The hunting was excellent, and that is an often overlooked fact of summer hunting. Most hunters seem to think of hogs as something to pursue in the late winter or spring. I just don't get it. Yes, the weather is nicer then and the hillsides are green but the predictable part about summer hunting is that pigs need to water in the heat.

Whether you hunt on private land or on public land, a key element will be the availability of water. On the Turner's Outdoorsman/Mike Raahauge Shooting Enterprises hunt the first weekend of August on the Tejon Ranch, one of the hunters did some preliminary scouting, found a water hole the hogs were using, and nearly sat in a lawn chair and killed two meat hogs - one with a rifle and one with a bow.

Sig Schreiber of Crestline figured out the essential thing about summer hog hunting: water. The only problem with sitting on water is simply whether or not the hogs will come in during shooting hours. There are a lot of variables involved in whether the pigs will be moving while it is still light.

If pigs are bedding in an area some distance from the water they are using, hunters have a good chance of seeing hogs going to or coming from the source both early and late in the day. But they might not reach the water until long after sunset or leave it long before sunrise This requires that hunters more time in scouting to find the likely routes of travel between bedding and feeding areas and how water relates to the equation. Watching saddles or canyon corridors between bedding, feeding, and water areas can then be a good bet.

If bedding areas are close to water, your are likely to see the hogs in the morning as they get a last drink before bedding down from the heat. But you are far less likely to see them in the evening before dark because they are reluctant to move much until the sun is well down and things are really cooling off. There was a huge boar coming into the same water to wallow and drink each evening on a Tejon hunt this past week, but he was not coming to the water until well after shooting light was gone. Twice I sat on this water in the evening, but we only saw and heard the big boar after dark.

When the hogs are feeding can also play a key role in when they come to water. If you are hunting ranches where the hogs are feeding on crops, morning is generally a better time of day to hunt simply because it stays cool longer and the hogs are likely to stay out later. I hunted at Camp 5 when we literally would see hogs at a galloping trot leave barley fields at 8 a.m. on a summer day, long after they should have been bedded down.

Many times hogs will actually bed down in a mud wallow and stay there throughout the day. My buddy Durwood Hollis, likes to tell of the time they saw a big boar at mid-day lying almost completely submerged in a cattle trough. This past weekend there was a big group of hogs in a muddy bog at 10 a.m., long after they should have been off bedded somewhere. They had obviously been bedding in a nearby thicket that was muddy throughout the day. With their bedding ground so close and the bog actually still pretty cool, the hogs had been feeding on the grasses around the water until late in the morning, allowing us to spot them.

One of the, other positives about summer hunting is that the hog meat is often much better than other times of the year, especially the big boars. Several of the hogs taken on the Tejon Ranch this past weekend were big boars, and all of them were sweet-smelling and would make great roasts, chops and hams - not just grinding fodder for sausage. With most of the sows already bred and trailing piglets - there is little breeding activity right now and the boars are in good condition.

It's essential that you dress and skin your hogs immediately this time of year and then get them into a locker as soon as possible so the meat doesn't spoil. We had ours quartered or boned and in ice chests quickly so the meat didn't go sour.

Hog hunts are a great tune-up for other big game hunts later this fall; and while many guides cease guiding this time of year, those who do are often booked up solid these summer months by hunters who know how good the hunting can be and how delicious the meat is this time of year.

Field Dressing Hogs

Wild pigs should be gutted, skinned, and cooled as soon as possible after being killed because they can spoil rapidly, especially if the weather is hot. Trim out scars or any wound tissue. Small wild pigs can be skinned in the same way a deer is skinned. Large wild pigs can be skinned using the strip method. Hang the carcass with the head pointing up and make a cut through the skin around the neck. With a sharp carpet knife or razor knife , make cuts perpendicular to the neck cut down the whole body about 4 inches apart. Peel each resulting strip off the carcass by pulling firmly.

Care of Meat

After field dressing the wild pig, hang the meat in a shady place to allow it to dry and cool. In general, wild pigs tend to spoil faster than deer.

You can get mattress covers with a drawstring at the top for a small price at any army surplus store to cover your hog to keep out the bees and flies. You can also use cheesecloth.

After the meat is cool, it can be butchered or taken to a meat locker to be hung and aged the same as with deer or livestock. Meat should be properly wrapped and frozen. As with other big game, the cleaner the meat is kept, and the quicker it is cooled, the better it will taste. Young pigs up to about 9 months of age tend to be the best tasting. They can be identified by their smaller size and temporary needle-like lower canine tusks. For large wild pigs over 200 pounds, consider grinding most of the meat into sausage.

Disease Considerations

Wild pigs can carry parasites and diseases - in particular, trichinosis and brucellosis - that are potentially transmittable to humans, livestock, pets, and wildlife. The risk of becoming infected is very small, and can be further minimized by proper handling, care and cooking of the wild pig carcass.

When handling a wild pig carcass, it is recommended that you take the following precautions:

• wear rubber gloves when dressing wild pigs
• avoid puncturing the urinary bladder and gastrointestinal tract
• freeze the meat until hard
• completely cook the meat (170 degrees F.)
• bury, bum or dispose of in the garbage the unusable portions of the carcass so that it can not be dug, up and eaten by wildlife or pets.

List of California meat processers

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