Dr. Rich
Arrested Development
My son David had flown in on Thursday night from San Diego so that we could head to Paso Robles for a boar hunt. This is not the type of wild pig hunt that Old Michael partakes in each Friday and Saturday night!
When David turned 16, I had taken him to a gunsmith and told him to pick out his first hunting rifle. He selected a brand new Ruger .308 stainless steel with a highly grained stock and we had a scope put in it. What a beautiful rifle....(I had always wanted my Dad to do this for me)
A couple of years later we did get a chance to go on a day pig hunt and David was able to get off one shot but he missed. He was so disappointed. So I decided that we needed to try again. Though a friend I contacted Tom Willoughby of King City and arranged a hunt. Tom has guided in Paso Robles / King City for about 30 years and has access to literally hundreds of ranches with over 100,000 acres.
We left the bay area and got to San Miguel in time to meet Tom at 5pm on Friday where we followed him out east of town to a ranch. We filled out tags and got in his blood covered old pickup and headed further east. Eventually we came to a ranch with hundreds of acres of young barley. Tom put David on a hill adjacent to a field of barley and told him to stay still. He showed him the hog trails and explained to him that in time the hogs would be coming into the fields. He gave David a radio and told him to call us if he needed anything. We then proceeded in his truck to another very steep canyon where we sat on one side and glassed over to the ridge on the other side. After about 45 minutes a group of hogs came right down the ridge were Tom had said. He picked out a large black hog for me and told me that when I was ready I could take it. It was the longest shot of my career but the old 30.06 was perfect. The rest of this story will have to wait but I can assure you that riding an FJR does not prepare you for the aerobic requirements of dragging a 225 pound hog down the hillside and then partway back up the other.
Knowing that this was really David's hunt I was anxious to know how things were progressing for him. When we got my hog loaded into the truck and we were on the top of the canyon ridge, we tried to call David.... No response. We drove a little further until we could see down the valley to where the barley field was and Tom said he could see David dragging something in the field. I was really excited as we drove back down the canyon when David came back on the radio and said that he had gotten his boar. When we arrived it was dark but David had gotten a beautiful reddish brown boar that weighed about 225 pounds. He was really tired from dragging it out of the field but he had the most wonderful smile on his face. We took the hogs back to the ranch where we skinned and dressed them. I paid Tom and thanked him for a wonderful hunt and we said goodbye.... David and I decided not to stay in Atascadero that night so we drove back to the Bay Area and got home at about 1:30 am. We were both very tired but elated. This morning we took the pigs to the butcher where he will smoke the hams, make chops, backstrap and sausage. Next week we will load the freezer.
The experience that we shared together last night is one that will last a lifetime.
My only concern all night was that as I was getting ready to squeeze off a shot, an old man from Creston named Carver would come riding up the canyon with Reno John on a couple of dirt bikes!
What a great way to spend a day with my son!
When David turned 16, I had taken him to a gunsmith and told him to pick out his first hunting rifle. He selected a brand new Ruger .308 stainless steel with a highly grained stock and we had a scope put in it. What a beautiful rifle....(I had always wanted my Dad to do this for me)
A couple of years later we did get a chance to go on a day pig hunt and David was able to get off one shot but he missed. He was so disappointed. So I decided that we needed to try again. Though a friend I contacted Tom Willoughby of King City and arranged a hunt. Tom has guided in Paso Robles / King City for about 30 years and has access to literally hundreds of ranches with over 100,000 acres.
We left the bay area and got to San Miguel in time to meet Tom at 5pm on Friday where we followed him out east of town to a ranch. We filled out tags and got in his blood covered old pickup and headed further east. Eventually we came to a ranch with hundreds of acres of young barley. Tom put David on a hill adjacent to a field of barley and told him to stay still. He showed him the hog trails and explained to him that in time the hogs would be coming into the fields. He gave David a radio and told him to call us if he needed anything. We then proceeded in his truck to another very steep canyon where we sat on one side and glassed over to the ridge on the other side. After about 45 minutes a group of hogs came right down the ridge were Tom had said. He picked out a large black hog for me and told me that when I was ready I could take it. It was the longest shot of my career but the old 30.06 was perfect. The rest of this story will have to wait but I can assure you that riding an FJR does not prepare you for the aerobic requirements of dragging a 225 pound hog down the hillside and then partway back up the other.
Knowing that this was really David's hunt I was anxious to know how things were progressing for him. When we got my hog loaded into the truck and we were on the top of the canyon ridge, we tried to call David.... No response. We drove a little further until we could see down the valley to where the barley field was and Tom said he could see David dragging something in the field. I was really excited as we drove back down the canyon when David came back on the radio and said that he had gotten his boar. When we arrived it was dark but David had gotten a beautiful reddish brown boar that weighed about 225 pounds. He was really tired from dragging it out of the field but he had the most wonderful smile on his face. We took the hogs back to the ranch where we skinned and dressed them. I paid Tom and thanked him for a wonderful hunt and we said goodbye.... David and I decided not to stay in Atascadero that night so we drove back to the Bay Area and got home at about 1:30 am. We were both very tired but elated. This morning we took the pigs to the butcher where he will smoke the hams, make chops, backstrap and sausage. Next week we will load the freezer.
The experience that we shared together last night is one that will last a lifetime.
My only concern all night was that as I was getting ready to squeeze off a shot, an old man from Creston named Carver would come riding up the canyon with Reno John on a couple of dirt bikes!
What a great way to spend a day with my son!
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