Photo by John Higley.

It was just about sundown on a spring day that was imitating summer in a big way. The brushy foothills were desert-dry. The previously lush grass of spring was already bleached like straw.

“Well,” I told myself. “You wanted to try warm-weather wild pig hunting again . . . and your wish certainly came true!”

Conditions for hog hunting were not ideal. But I can’t say that I was surprised.

Long-time friend Ben Myhre, of Wildlife West, warned me in advance that the drought-like conditions would make things tough. Right or wrong, however, my motto has always been to go hunting when the opportunity presents itself, even if conditions aren’t perfect.

My son Mark and son-in-law Robert Feamster were hunting with Myhre on a 3,500-acre ranch east of King City in southeast Monterey County. Normally, the habitat -- with stock ponds, cover and plenty of food -- would be ideal for hogs. But now, due to those parched conditions, the feed was dwindling fast.

On his winter hunts, Myhre’s hunters scored nearly 100 percent success rates, but since then the situation had plainly changed. Fresh sign indicated that on the land we had access to, only a skeleton crew of pigs remained.

To make the best use of our limited time, Myhre decided we should watch three different areas where he figured the pigs would show on their way to water or food.

In late afternoon, Mark was directed to a spot where he could see several finger ridges and draws. I was stationed on a hillside overlooking a series of trails leading to a small pond. Meanwhile, Myhre took Feamster to another location about a mile away, where they could look down on a valley and a series of brushy draws leading to a large stock pond. While Mark and I were preoccupied with watching, we heard a distant shot. It turns out that Feamster and Myhre had spotted a small herd of mature hogs coming to water about 600 yards from their post. The sun was setting, and it would be their only chance. They made the most of it by closing the gap in a hurry.

Huffing and puffing over the last hill, the hunters caught up with the herd just before shooting light was gone. Myhre pointed out a hefty black pig separated from the group.

Feamster made a good 140-yard offhand shot with his .270 Winchester Model 70. It was his very first wild pig -- a large, surprisingly fat sow that weighed around 200 pounds on the hoof. That’s an exceptional wild hog in any man’s woods.

While it’s hard for me to believe, I’ve been hunting wild hogs in California for 47 years. There are hunters with more pig-hunting experience than I have, but I’ve shot a fair number, and guided hunters to kills as well. Somehow, I’ve never grown tired of talking about the pigs, hunting them, or just watching them do what they do.

I suppose there are several reasons. First, of course, hunting wild pigs is fun, and the meat they provide is delicious. Hog hunting can also be exciting because there’s an element of danger when dealing with these gnarly critters. While I’ve never been in dire trouble myself, I’ve learned to respect pigs. Toothy boars, especially, can get nasty when cornered or wounded. I’ve known more than one hunter who let his guard down at the wrong time and paid the price in some nasty gashes.

Another bonus is that wild pigs can be hunted all year ‘round. Also, there’s no bag limit -- which is certainly part of their growing appeal. In an era when deer tags are often limited by low quotas, you can always get a pig tag . . . or several.

This year, resident tags cost $17.85 while non-residents pay $59.50, in addition to hunting license fees.

The total number of tags sold annually is usually more than 40,000, including several hundred non-resident permits.

The latest available tally of the tags returned by successful hunters to the California Department of Fish and Game showed that the total reported take from July 2005 through June 2006 was 5,453. That’s considerably higher than the same period for 2004-05, when the reported take was 4,106.