by Jim Beutecale
As we rolled onto the ranch nestled in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada’s the sun’s light was beginning to turn black into grey. We could just make out the cold crooked fingers of the oaks, scratching at the sky. Our mood was light and expectant as this ranch has produced many hogs over the past few years. My brother-in-law, Vic Smith, had been the lucky bidder on an access pig hunt donated to the Napa Valley Chapter of Safari Club International. It just so happened that the …

by Mike Friend
I’m often asked why I still shoot a “stick bow”. With today’s modern equipment, why not take advantage of the speed and accuracy that today’s bows have to offer? The answer is simple…I love shooting traditional equipment. I have shot compound bows in the past and harvested many big game animals. My son still insists that I revert to a compound bow for carp shooting tournaments. I shot my first recurve in 1969 and have been addicted ever since. Having watched men such as Howard Hill and Fred …

by Kirk Edgerton
The view across the canyon was truly spectacular from our rocky outcropping as we could clearly see the length of the drainage before us and seven draws/cuts that funneled down into its bottom. To our left was another large ridgeline and an immense flat where a herd of elk had taken up residency to feast on the fresh spring grasses.
As I began to settle in behind my Swarovski 10×42’s and scan the shady hillside for bedded hogs, my mind began to wander and reply the events of the …

by Ryan Friend
If you had to pick one big game animal to bowhunt each year, what would it be? Deer, elk, antelope? For me that one animal would often be wild boar. Big bucks and bulls are hard to beat, but a toothy boar sure gets my heart pounding.
Most people rarely get the chance to see a wild boar, let alone have the opportunity to hunt them. The coastal mountains that border California are loaded with features that would make any wild pig happy. Rolling hills divided by numerous drainages, …