When I had the opportunity to join eight other bowhunters for a wild pig management hunt on the historic Tejon Ranch I counted my vacation days and decided I could fit a couple more in..
“COUGH COUGH…Gotta be the swine flu boss….Probably won’t make it in Friday.”
The Tejon ranch is California’s premiere diversified agriculture entity including enterprises in Wildlife, Ranching, Farming , oil and gas development and even real estate development. If you have ever driven over the Grapevine pass to or from Los Angeles on Highway 5 you have seen the steep and rugged hills of Lebec.
At nearly 270,000 acres, Tejon Ranch is the largest contiguous expanse of private land in California. Its 422 square miles make it larger than the City of Los Angeles and about 40% the size of Rhode Island. The Ranch is located along Interstate 5, approximately 60 miles north of Los Angeles and 30 miles south of Bakersfield.
Tejon Ranch was founded in 1843 as a Mexican land grant. In the decades that followed, the Ranch grew in size as additional land grants were purchased by Tejon’s founder, General Edward Fitzgerald Beale, a historic figure in early California. The 270,000–acre Ranch is now the principal asset of the Tejon Ranch Company, which was incorporated in 1936. The Company’s stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “TRC.”
I was going to be taking part in one of the ranches wild pig management hunts for 2 1/2 days in May. The ranch offers a variety of options for the hunter from season access passes for nearby residents, guided hunts, or even a package deal for groups. Check out the Website www.hunttejon.com for details.
On this trip I was in the company of some experienced porcine pursuitists. Most were from the southern half of the state. I already knew Zeke Bass. The Triathlete / Realtor / commercial diver from the Santa Barbara Area. The fellow Pope & Young Measurer was on his third trip to the ranch.
Nate Treadwell is another Pope and Young measurer along on the trip. He had been successful in previous years. You may have read his adventures over at Phillip’s Hog Blog
So I felt confident that I was in the company of eagles even if I was just a turkey.
The Archery Wild Pig Management hunt is similar to the public and private hunts except that it is designed to offer additional help to archers to help raise the rate of success. This is a 2½ day unguided hunt. The hunt includes meals, lodging and one of our guides working with your group. The guide will work with you by directing and assisting all the hunters in getting to areas that have active pig populations and informing them on how to successfully hunt these areas. As with all of our hunts, each hunter will be required to have hunting liability insurance, purchased from Bob Boggs Insurance. There must be a minimum of 8 hunters and can be up to 11 hunters.
