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Author Topic: My Idaho Boar Hunt Experience  (Read 3633 times)

Offline shadowless_nite

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My Idaho Boar Hunt Experience
« on: May 29, 2016, 10:19:30 AM »
Now I've tried a million times just about to post this and everytime it erases!  :bash: This are my thoughts/pictures on the whole experience and hopefully it will help answer future or current questions some may have on this hunt. First off here are pictures for those just looking to see the boar.....





Now that I weeded out most of you :chuckle: here is the rest of the story .... I will repost/edit this as I go before it or I erase it again and again.

It all starts here and detail of how I managed to book the hunt are in this thread. http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,189066.0.html I apparently was the only one successful in booming this hunt that Shootingstix posted up. My first thoughts on this experience were that ranch owner Richard Olsen seemed like a straight forward no bs type of guy over the phone when I asked some questions he gave answers. He didn't seem like the friendliest of people on the phone but I figured he was probably getting tons of calls at that time and could only imagine answering the same question over and over. After booking I was instructed to send a nonrefundable deposit payment to the address on his website via check which kinda sketched me out since google didn't quite show the right address and it was all mixed up. But he specifically said the address on the site and gave me the same one over the phone. I figured wth, if this was sketchy it was better to lose $100 on 2 deposits than over 1k due upfront for 2 pigs else where. We liked this idea of only paying fo a pig if you shoot one. We've been looking at hog hunts in california for years now and most have you pay for the hunt in full before hand and nothing is guaranteed. We knew this was a high fence hunt and went in it with that mindset of simply picking out our own meat and harvesting it ourselves. Better to know which fence this pig came from than the one on the grocery store shelf. My wife has been trying to get her first kill and with a bow since she started hunting a few years ago. We figured this would be a great opportunity. And me being me, I wanted to make this high fence hunt a challenge and an experience.... I wanted to film and hunt with the use of a drone. I wanted to know if all the hype and drama of using a drone is really worth it  and I simply just wanted a futuristic experience that was now possible. My main goal was to get my wife her first animal and film it using a drone and gopro.

Over the course of 2 months I decided on a drone to use, my wife and I practiced with our bows and we built a ar10 that would later serve as my wife and daughters rifle elk season gun. I got a readily available and consumer friendly drone to fly. I was also planning to film a wedding in June with it by request of some family so it wasn't solely purchased just for this hunt. I spent a lot of time learning to film with it and get familiar with its controls before the hunt. I'm not th best cinematographer or photographer but I'll try my best.

Fast forward to the week of the hunt and I never heard any confirmation of receiving deposit after leaving a letter saying to contact me after receiving payment. But the check was cashed so deposit was taken. I still didn't know where exactly we were going. So I called Richard for directions and he directed me to call him that saturday when I reached shoshone at 7am. Ok still kinda sketchy but I'll roll with it.

Friday comes around and we hit the road for our first trip to idaho. Great scenic drive and we go every kind of weather you could think of along the way other than snow. From nice hot sun to pea sized hail and pounding rain. After a long drive we get to our hotel in twin falls, just a little over 20 miles south from shoshone. We booked a room at the Hilton, based on reviews and pictures of the hotel. It looked the nicest and the prepaid price was significantly less than the other hotels that looked a little more run down. To our surprise it was right along the edge of the snake river canyon. The drive into twin falls over Perrine bridge during sunset was amazing. And we quickly checked in and hit the viewpoint just a hundred yards from the hotel. Turns out the viewpoint also over looked a waterfall that we noticed on the drive into town. And a creek that you would unknowingly drive over everyday provided a nice sight! I decided to deploy the drone for the first time. Right time of day and a just a little bit of a breeze. Perfect for capturing some shots with the drone.....




The Hilton is just to the upper left in the background. I would recommend this place to anyone looking to stay in twin falls.




We made our way over to the recommended restaurant on the other side of the waterfall and decide to soak in more of the view while having dinner



After dinner we unload the rest of the gear onto a cart and wheel it through the lobby. Apparently not a everyday sight as we got a few strange looks as we rolled this through the lobby and into a elevator....



Th next morning we get up and head to th gas station before hitting the road. A gentleman there noticed we were in camo and asked what we're were up to. We told him we were going to hunt hogs in shoshone and to our relief he actually knew th ranch owner personally and gave good review of the hunt and the owner. This came as a welcomed relief considering we still didn't know exactly where we were going. We drive to Shoshone and call Richard who meets us a local country store and we follow him to location. We get through introductions and I ask why the vagueness and secracy? He then tells us he had problems with anti hunters in the past, and that pretty much summed it up for me. We sign waivers, he tells us a few pig safe zones and that he seen a large herd that morning on the other side of the property. He hands us the gate key and leaves us to our own demise. We gear up and get ready. I deploy the drone for a test flight but am having trouble with satellite reception due to the cloud cover. After finally getting a good sun break I am able to fly out a bit. I find a group of goats and they spook. I quickly provide chase and have no problem keeping up.
After the short bit of flying and excitement I thrown the drone in the harness and finish getting gear together. My wife with her bow and the go pro and me with the ar10 and drone.

 As soon as we get in the gate we see a couple hogs cresting a hill in the distance through the sage. We bee line it straight there and get right on them. They spook and no shot opportunity. We follow a bit but can never get a shot. The hogs run but not far and the terrain is easy to catch up in. A lot easier walk than walking through wetside jungle back home. We do this for about a hour before we see a thunderstorm  heading our way. With the drone exposed on my back we decide to head back to drop it off before it gets ruined since its not meant for inclement weather. We decide to leave the back pack and drone and only make our way with the weapons and optics. It was now almost 10am and the sun came shortly after we go drenched. It was hot and we couldn't find any hogs for about 30mins as we pound through the shade. Not a hog in sight until we stepped on what seemed like a hog land mine! They exploded from underneath the brush and one that was 4yds away scared the crap out of me and my wife. We definitely were not expecting that but we're glad we were finally on hogs again. We spent 3/4 of the day enduring rolling thunderstorms with pea sized hail and trying to get the right shot for my wife. Here are some pictures from throughout the day...

Some I spotted across the pond on the property huge pigs but couldn't distinguish if it was a boar or not. About 120yds from us maybe less when we first saw them. This would've been a easy shot for most with a rifle.


A slightly better view of them....


A few more to give everyonea feel for scale, these were about 90yds away. I had no clear shot and they were always moving with another pig right behind the other, and the ones pictured were significantly larger than the one we harvested....



Eventually we get in front of what turned out to be the largest herd of the day. Me laying prone waiting for the right hog to stop in the quad trail. And my wife next to me waiting for the right shot. As the herd passes neither of us get a clear shot and one decides to come right in next to us and blow our cover. It was now almost 5pm and my wife decides that we can't come home empty handed. We decide that if the right boar comes along we would take it with the rifle if possible. As much as we wanted a giant fat pig, Richard advised  us that some sows may be pregnant and we decide that is best if we didn't settle on the absolute biggest one we can find. We would've hated to take a giant hog only to find out it had piglets inside. And neither of us are hog experts to tell you which one was or wasn't pregnant. Well we get on a smaller herd and try to get my wife a shot, they eventually bust and we see there is a nice size boar trailing. He eventually stops at about 40yds quartering away and I let him have it. One shot in the back of the neck and he drops in his tracks.   We jump for joy, give each other hugs and snap some pictures.



I had a game cart with me that pianoman was so kind as to let us borrow, and had left it in a central location.  Richard advised us not to leave a downed hog unattended as a herd may come in and chew it up! So my wife stayed behind. I go back for the cart and to leave the weapons behind. As soon as I get to the cart I see some hogs make there way passed a close by. I provide chase and miss a shot on a nice boar with the rifle. I then decide it would be best to get back to my waiting wife who had  plenty of time to snap chat her friends and post on Facebook. She also had enough time to watch me plenty of yards away carrying the cart and snap some pictures of me....




We load up and start the hardest part, dragging a game cart with a 200lb+ hog over the sage to the quad trail about 200yds away. We eventually make it back to the truck where Richard was already waiting. Now about 630pm. He congratulates us and we pay him for the one hog. We hang it up and get to work.
 

I've never broken down a hog before let alone one with a armor plate in its hide and we finally get it down and in the cooler at about 1130pm. It was a beautiful night as the sunset and we didn't need flashlights till about 10pm with the clear skies. We make it back to town and iced it before hitting the hotel for hot showers and finally food and water. We made the poor choice of leaving the backpack with the food and water early in the day and got so wrapped up chasing pigs all day that we didn't make it back for my bow or the pack with food and water! Every time we almost stopped for a break to the truck we ended up in hogs and going after them! Yes it was that much fun!

The next day we were beat and ready to go home. We decide to stop by the Perrine bridge visitor center to see if there were any base jumpers that day. As we pull in we see a few getting ready to hit the bridge. I quickly gear up and get the drone out in hopes of getting some awesome footage. Well they didn't jump due to the wind being a little stronger than usual, I would learn this shortly after.I do a couple passes with the drone over and under the bridge.



Take some footage then fly back in to the observation deck. I  then decided I wanted some photos of me and my wife using the drone. Now the drone uses GPS to hover in its location and will try it's hardest to stay put. I have it just a few feet from the rail for a picture when a very large gust of wind came in and blew the drone back, naturally it corrected it's position and is it did the gust stopped and it clipped the rail. Of course when I'm not running prop guards since I didn't want them in the footage. The drone goes down over the edge of the rail and into the canyon.  :bash: I go to the rail here it went over and see its about 35 ft down on a ledge below the deck. I run the edges of the deck and see there is a way down. I run back to the truck and grab rope, tie it up and throw it over the rail to the drone. Strip my jacket and gear off and climb down the hill side to get it. Probably one of the more risky things I've done lately. But I managed to get to it and tie it up and my wife pulled it up as I climbed out


This hill was definitely steeper than that picture looks and the pucker factor was in full effect climbing out.  After a near close call loosing the drone we decide it's time to go home. Here's what the hog looked like stuffed in the cooler before it made its way to the butcher


It weighed about 140lbs at the butcher,  so I figure it was a bit over 200lb on the hoof. Not bad. And for the price I thought it was worth it. I was also glad we didn't get a second hog, it would have been a ton of work that would have been unpleasant between the two of us that night as we were completely beat just from dressing down 1. Richard was a great guy to deal with and the ranch though only 440 acres was plenty big if you were looking for some close quarters hunting. We covered about 3/4th of the property on foot, and while a 100yds shot would have been easy first thing that morning I would say that this place is best hunted with close quarters gear for a more enjoyable experience. We hope to be back next year and my wife definitely wants to shoot one with or without a bow. There are plenty of hogs to go around, but not to the point that they were always out and exposed. For the price and experience I would say this was well worth it. As for hunting and the use of a drone....I would say it would only be somewhat effective. While I didnt get to use it near as much as i liked during the hunt, it proved its real world challenges. Weather grounded the drone and if i were hunting the wetside in the fall like i normally do it would render the drone useless with the constant rain. They do in fact spook animals unless you are flying well above them at which point the live feed would be hard to distinguish game with. Also flight times are about 20min and prolonged distance flying wouldn't be feasible without a lot more investment into UAV technology and not for the everyday hunter. It was a fantastic tool for looking at terrain and capturing those shots you can't get without being in the sky. All in all I would say drone use and effectiveness is very limited for the average Joe who just wants to use a readily available drone and attempt to aid themselves while hunting. It would be more effective used for scouting and photography. Even though this was a enclosed high fence hunt and a controlled environment short of the weather, I have no desire to say this is something that would greatly increase your chances of harvest and am perfectly fine with it being banned while hunting. However, its capabilities to scout terrain in the off season would be useful. anyone has any questions about the hunt, feel free to ask. I'll add more pictures and eventually video as I learn to edit and upload them on YouTube or something.

« Last Edit: May 29, 2016, 11:11:57 PM by shadowless_nite »

Offline shadowless_nite

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Re: My Idaho Boar Hunt Experience
« Reply #1 on: May 29, 2016, 10:20:12 AM »
First time using YouTube to upload video. These were shot with the drone and edited only on my phone so unfortunately you aren't able to fully enjoy the 2.7k ultra HD video it was actually filmed with. And unfortunately for me I don't have anything capable of loading and editing the video till I get a better computer or tablet that can play it. 

Here's one of the Perrine coulee falls next to the hotel.

Here's another video.... this is shortly before I crash my drone. A quick fly underneath the Perrine bridge. I really wish I had means to edit this in its full HD quality. But instead everyone just needs to watch these on their phones so it looks a bit better. :chuckle:


A few more random pictures from throughout the hunt, take note of the constantly changing weather.......

A hog crossing the river.....






Will add more as I get it all figured out. Gotta sift through the gopro footage and edit the highlights..
« Last Edit: May 29, 2016, 11:18:31 PM by shadowless_nite »

Offline mfswallace

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Re: My Idaho Boar Hunt Experience
« Reply #2 on: May 29, 2016, 12:31:19 PM »
 :tup: And video

Offline Todd_ID

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Re: My Idaho Boar Hunt Experience
« Reply #3 on: May 29, 2016, 03:21:57 PM »
Exceptional write up and story. That video is simply excellent.  :tup:
Bring a GPS!  It's awkward to have to eat your buddies!

Offline Kazekurt

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Re: My Idaho Boar Hunt Experience
« Reply #4 on: May 29, 2016, 04:53:46 PM »
Thanks for sharing!

Offline pd

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Re: My Idaho Boar Hunt Experience
« Reply #5 on: May 29, 2016, 08:54:34 PM »
Very well written!  That was a great hunt.
Si vis pacem, para bellum

Offline HUNTaHOLIC5

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Re: My Idaho Boar Hunt Experience
« Reply #6 on: May 29, 2016, 09:07:44 PM »
Enjoyed reading that! Thanks for sharing  :tup:

Offline Kit Carson

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Re: My Idaho Boar Hunt Experience
« Reply #7 on: June 04, 2016, 06:19:08 PM »
Beautiful area & a nice Boar! Thanks for sharing!   :tup:

Offline Machias

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Re: My Idaho Boar Hunt Experience
« Reply #8 on: June 04, 2016, 08:38:44 PM »
Awesome write up and photos and videos!!!!!
Fred Moyer

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Offline seth30

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Re: My Idaho Boar Hunt Experience
« Reply #9 on: June 04, 2016, 09:46:12 PM »
Great pictures and write up!  My dad and his family are from that area looking at the river and those pics brought back memories :tup:
Rather be dead than cool.
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