Christmas Pigs and White Deer

I wish I could say that I was able to shoot both a pig and an the an albino deer, but sadly I was unable and unallowed (sp?) to remove the pig hoard and genetic freak from the lush gated community of Bear Valley Springs in Tehachapi, CA.  All the same it was a pretty game rich holiday for me starting on Thursday when I took a friend and his son out to my local duck hollow for a little evening jump shoot and flyby massacre.

  Boone my pup is still to young and at only 15 weeks he still needs more time so I left him at home and just dreamed of what next year was going to be like when he finally is big enough to come along.  We unloaded tromped in and within an hour 4 ducks were to be had by my friend and his son. I pretty much just wanted them to get some action since I still had a few ducks on ice in the freezer and was in no hurry to replace them right away.  It was fun though for sure, to see them stoked on shooting ducks was good enough for me.  Hmmm Bearded Boar Guiding Service does sound pretty good to me to be honest, but I digress.  Fast forward two hours and I am now dining on 4 pounds of pure Idaho Elk steaks cooked medium rare and oh so tasty.  I am not relinquished to the doldrums of beef, desiring nay hungry for more of the most prestigious and succulent of game meats.

  Fast forward to Saturday morning Christmas eve and I am now in the beautiful Tehachapi, CA where the game is plentiful and the ability to hunt them is not. Either you pay to play or really you just don't play because it is illegal to shoot them on private property (Home Owner Association Rules).  So mix that with a few really wet, but mild winters, lots of food, little hunting pressure and a really big fire nearby that pushed all the game up into the mountains you have a recipe for these fine specimens, and to be honest this is just what is in the front yard of my father-in-laws house.  Notice the Grey thing at the bottom of the right picture, that is my wife interior door panel.  They were driving down the driveway watching that bruiser.

Oh so not fair, but really cool all the same.  Strange thing is that on Saturday I went up to the same spot to look for those "little guys" again and I found something entirely more astounding and truly way more exciting than I could ever imagine.  Pigs!!!! Oh yes my friends, those hairy little beasts have invaded the little mountain community of peace, puppy dogs and flowers and are now rototilling up a front yard near you.  The exact area where that big buck on the left was sitting two days later looked like we were about to plant corn on it.  No more nice green grass, just a war zone of porkic proportions. So with video camera in hand I walked the area and checked out the damage.  It was pretty extensive and honestly quite disturbing.  I mean I have seen it in the field a lot and have watched pigs to it to land, but never right in the midst of houses like this.

  Later that day the kids and I took a drive to check out some houses that are for sale in the area, which is a favorite past time of mine.  House, house, deer, deer, house, more deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeer and wait more rototilled front yards!  I could not believe what I was seeing. So many yard had been destroyed by the pigs it was unbelievable. Earlier in the year a really big fire had pushed them up the mountain side and into the valley. Pardon the pun, but the are really living "High on the hog."  And as we called it quits on the drive we came across this fella, which is just as shocking.


 
 An albino Pacific Black Tail-Muley Hybrid, a genetic defect that only effect 1 out of 250,000 deer.  The thing looked a little manged as you can see from the pic in the top, but really cool all the same. Look at the color difference in the middle pic too, the deer in front of him blend in nicely and he stick out like a sore thumb. Also notice all the deer in the coral behind him on the bottom pic, can anyone say "Bait Pile?"  Probably the only Albino I will see in my lifetime and honestly, he should be glad he does not live on my property, because daddy would have a new mount come next fall if he did.

  So for me a really cool Christmas, ducks, pigs and a ton of deer all of which did not grace my freezer, but was great all the same.  So to all of you, Merry Christmas and hope your days were as great as mine.

Peace be the Journey,

The Bearded Boar

Categories: Albino Deer, Duck, Pig