Junior
Pig Hunt at Canada de los Osos Ecological Reserve
June 7-8, 2008
On June 7 and 8, four
lucky junior hunters participated in a wild pig hunt at
the Canada de los Osos Ecological Reserve east of Gilroy.
Each year 30 junior hunters are drawn to participate in
a variety of hunts sponsored by the California Department
of Fish and Game and CDA. Canada de los Osos also provides
a junior fishery program, hunter safety classes, and hands-on
wildlife habitat projects for youth to learn about wildlife
management and managing natural resources. For more information
about these programs, check out the CDA website under
Canada de los Osos.
This year’s pig hunt
started off with a firearms safety talk, followed by a
great BBQ. Then the junior hunters
paired up with their CDA guides and drivers. While hunting
pigs everyone saw lots of deer, wild turkeys, coyotes,
and a few pigs. One group even saw a bobcat take a dove
right out of the air as the dove flew up beside the road
– you never know what you’ll get to see in the great outdoors.
The
first day of the hunt went unexpectedly well for two of
the junior hunters. It's been a drought year with a dry
spring and it was anticipated that the pigs might be hard
to find because of the dry conditions. Jeff Amstutz and
Jeff Floersch took Vincent Lionel out on the ranch. As
they drove around a turn, Jeff spotted a group of pigs.
Jeff Floersch walked him closer to where the pigs had
gone. He then used a pig call to get the pigs to come
out the trees/bushes. They showed Vincent how to get in
close to the pigs to make a good shot. He killed a nice
sow. Jeff and Jeff showed Vincent how to field 
dress
the pig and then they all jumped into the jeep to go help
Corin load up her 'boarasaurus'.
The
last junior hunter out in the field was the first one
to kill a big boar when John and Todd guided Corin Keller
out to a stock pond with a shaded wallow. After quietly
walking the perimeter of the first pond, Todd guided Corin
past the wallow and jumped a huge boar that was bedded
down in the grass. He jumped out of the tall grass about
twenty feet to her left and ran away and uphill. Corin's
first shot was at about 35 yards, with her last shot at
about 75 yards. She was shooting a .270 and is a very
good marksman. It took three solid hits to bring him down.
We didn't realize how big he was until we came up on him
and he was HUGE. He was a very impressive boar with intact
bottom tusks, one of them measuring 4.25 inches long.
In order to get him back to the camp we had to take the
jeep back to camp and bring a pickup truck. It took several
guys to hoist him into the bed. 
Back
at the skinning shed Corin and Vincent skinned out their
pigs while sharing hunting stories. The other two junior
hunters didn't get a shot at a pig on Saturday, so they
went back out on Sunday morning. The pigs proved more
elusive the next day and the other two hunters couldn't
get close enough to some pigs to get in a shot. Overall,
the experience was a blast for everyone involved.
Thanks
to the CDA volunteers who cooked up a delicious BBQ for
the group and to the volunteer guides who brought the
juniors to some really nice pigs. And a big thanks to
Henry Coletto for the informative presentation for the
junior hunters, and the assistance to Vincent and his
Dad for helping them to get off the ranch when their jeep
driver went home, accidentally taking their vehicle keys
with him.
