Go public and consider any game taken a real trophy. My two cents. dwc

Yep, 2nd that. Little spike I could’ve shot this morning would be trophy with my longbow. My freezer’s full so no need to shoot. He’s a mental trophy though. I don’t miss much at 10 yds. except for that stinking piglet 3D target:evil::evil:That thing has me jinxed.

3rd that. If you have to pay for the use of the land you have to wonder if the wild ones are really wild or released for you. Go public or get permission on private land that you can trust. I believe you are active duty–lots of bases your way that have hunts–check that out one of your few benefits:D

Semper Fi

Mike

Trophies are the things that bring back the fondest memories of hard work and effort used to get them. It is not the size of the trophy that matters, but the size of the smile that the memories generate. 😉

I know nothing about hunting in So. Cal. But it sure was pleasant to spend last weekend in Costa Mesa for an uncle’s 90th birthday celebration.

I have hunted public land 90+% of the time since moving to Wyoming in 1991. Trophy designation for me is based on “how” not “what” I hunted. Even with a rifle I consider myself a trophy meat hunter: trophy meat cow (elk), trophy meat doe, trophy meat forkhorn, etc.

The effort and the experience define the hunt. Tagging an animal is just a bonus.

Welcome to the world of traditional bowhunting! As the others have voiced so well, killing is just a small part of what shooting a traditional bow can be.

My only advice is take your time, keep your mind open to all the possibilities, and be patient. No need to set artificial timelines and goals.

I hate the word trophy.

so cal I think would be great I would try to find out where I could hunt hogs and then just go have fun – happy new year

I looked the ranch up and it is just a Texas-style canned shoot operation. Exotics are planted and you pay per animal you shoot. Ethically and realistically, it’s impossible to kill a trophy animal under such false hunting conditions, no matter how big. The guys above are telling you true. Pay-to- play operations are for incompetents and losers. As a Navy/Marine corpsman, you clearly are not among that bunch. Lots of deer along the road up to Saddleback Mtn., public land not far north of you. There were no feral hogs there when I was stationed there, but that was a long time ago. Just go hunting, have fun, and the “trophies” will come in time.

Corpsman- I assume you are at camp pendleton, right? If so, then the closest public land you can hunt is Cleveland National Forest. There is great opportunity for spot and stalk style. I hunted down there for 3 years. It was a ton of fun because I could usually find deer and try to stalk them even though the deer always won. I hunt on the ground, most modern archers use tree stands, so during the archery seasons I had hundreds of thousands of acres to myself cause there is nowhere to hang a stand! Have fun and watch out for rattlesnakes (never been bit but usually stepped next to a 1/2 dozen each season).

I am a trophy hunter until something else comes along:)

J