BY JIM NIEMIECWON Staff Writer

BITTERWATER VALLEY – Grow-ing up on the Grant Ranch,Clayton Grant started huntingas a young lad and he learnedhow to cowboy too. It was overa decade ago that newly retiredprofessional rodeo cowboy(healer) Clayton Grant hung uphis spurs and became a licensedguide operating out of the fam-ily ranch at the head of Bitterwa-ter Valley. Western Outdoor Newshunted with Grant during hissecond season after hearing somuch about the “Pistachio Run”that targeted wild hogs movingthrough ranch property afterfeeding all night on pistachiosand grapes in the valley belowthe ranch that had been in the family name scene the late 1800s.

Bitterwater Outfitters nowoffers the most complete selec-tion of big game, exotics andupland game bird species inthe western portion of theUnited States. With huntingleases on some of the finestranches along the central coastrange, the total acreage is inexcess of 250,000 acres.Whether it be Tule elk, black-tail bucks, wild hogs, exotics orupland game birds all are of-fered as multi-day hunt pack-ages by Bitterwater Outfitters.

Grant has been a strong sup-porter of Western Outdoor Newsand this hunting editorcouldn’t turn down an invita-

tion to come up to the ranch fora fall combo hunt for turkey,wild hog, dove and CaliforniaValley quail last week.

Upon arrival at the homeranch, Grant was in the cowarena giving calf roping instruc-tions to a couple of young girls.He told me to head to the cabinon the hill overlooking a coupleof ponds, get settled in and waitfor guide Mike Renteria to comeby to pick me up in the ATV foran evening dove shoot. Havinga neat pine cabin to spend thenight in is a recent addition toBitterwater Outfitters services.Hunters booking multi-dayhunts with Grant don’t have tostay in Paso Robles hotels anymore, as they have the optionof reserving one or both of thecabins. These twin cabins eachsleep two guests, there is a com-mon bathroom, covered veran-da with a BBQ and outside firepit to hang out around after ahunt. The cabins overlook twostock ponds that offer up somepretty good fishing.

Renteria was right on timeand we headed up to the top ofa nearby canyon with dovewinging overhead. If it were notfor a hungry hawk circling ahillside of oats and dove weedshooting would have been bet-ter, but we did manage to shootenough dove to put togethertwo dove breast shih kabobs.

Grant stopped by later thatevening to make arrangementsfor the following day’s hunt forboth a Thanksgiving Day turkey

and a wild hog. The turkeyswould be pretty much flockedup, with the exception of small-er satellite flocks of toms. Grantsaid that a local cattle rancherin Parkfield was having a hogproblem in one of his pastureswhere prized Black Angus cowswere calving. Seems that herdsof hogs were coming into cor-rals to eat prime hay and weredisturbing the cattle. Grant’splan was to set up at dusk andwait for the hogs to come out ofnearby chaparral and live oaksand shoot them as they crossedinto an open barley field.

The turkey hunt took a littlelonger to come together eventhough we located a flock ofabout a dozen birds just after flydown. But this flock was prettyalert and dropped down in adeep creek bottom and disap-peared. A second flock, spottedjust a few minutes later, headedoff into thick cover with nochance of cutting them off orsetting up for an ambush.

A move to another ranch didpay off with a huge flock ofhens, jennies and jakes movingthrough pretty open country.The plan was made to attemptto get ahead of where the flockwas going and ambush a bird asthey passed by under the coverof ancient oaks. It all came to-gether pretty good and a nicefat jake will be served onThanksgiving Day that wasdropped in its tracks with a sin-gle round of Federal PrairieStorm #4 steel shot, with a muz-

zle velocity of 1,600 FPS.There was time for a short

nap and then make the driveover to Parkfield to shoot a hog.Grant spotted a group of pigsfeeding on acorns under a hugeoak. This would be a “spot andstalk” hunt as there was no wayof getting the ATV close to thehogs without spooking themoff. This shooter followed onthe heels of Grant, as weworked through chaparral andditches to get within rifle range.At 100 yards, with the wind inour favor, we lost cover anddropped to our knees. TheWeatherby Mark V 7 MM WBYMag was sighted in and a singleround of a Barnes 140-graincopper bullet put a 125-poundboar on the ground.

Bitterwater Outfitters hasjust a few spring turkey huntsopen on leased ranches. Accord-ing to Grant, he wants to man-age his turkeys on each ranch inthe best interest of not overshooting any of the properties.

Not to be overlooked ashunting options for this outfiterare wild hog and exotic big

game hunts that have provedto be very popular with novicehunters as well as seasonedoutdoorsmen. Hunters can optto shoot sheep, goats, hogs, bi-son, water buffalo andvarmints all year long; nativevalley quail, dove and turkeyin season, while blacktail deerhunts take place during thezone A hunting period and elkon private ranches.

A hunt package for mostgame hunted by BitterwaterOutfitters are for two days andincludes guiding, field dressingof game, cold storage on thehome ranch and complimenta-ry delivery to a local butcher.With all the grain available, latefall and winter hog huntingshould be awesome as the pigswill head right for these ruralfeeding grounds. For WesternOutdoor News readers who booka hog hunt with Grant for awinter hunt, make sure youbring plenty of warm outerwear, scarf and gloves. The ridearound a ranch in the earlymorning, with the temperaturedipping below freezing, canmake for an awfully cold morn-ing on an ATV. For additionalinformation on booking a huntwith Bitterwater Outfitters logon their website at bitterwater-outfitters.com or give Grant acall at (805) 610-4521.

12 WESTERN OUTDOOR NEWS South — November 24, 2017

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THANKSGIVING DAY TOM – WON hunting editor Jim Niemiec willenjoy native wild turkey on Thanksgiving and this young jake shouldbe tasty. Pictured with Niemiec is Bitterwater Outfitters Guide MikeRenteria. The turkey was shot with a single round of Federal Prairie#4 shot and 35 yards. PHOTO COURTESY OF BITTERWATER OUTFITTERS

YOUNG, WILD BOAR – This 125-pound boar was shot by WON’sJim Niemiec while on a hunt withBitterwater Outfitters. The hogwas feeding on acorns and wasdropped with a 140-grain Barnescopper bullet at 100 yards.

PHOTO COURTESY OF BITTERWATER OUTFITTERS

Grant has been astrong supporter of

WesternOutdoor Newsand this hunting

editor couldn’t turndown an invitation

to come up to the ranch...