Question re hunting hogs.

[PinnedAndRecessed]

I might/maybe be able to start hunting hogs. Without dogs. I've read on the internet how dangerous it can be. If it works out that I can start hunting hogs, it'll be from an elevated stand around tall grass. But, have any of you ever been in a precarious situation w/hogs?

Also, on a hog hunting thread (some internet source) an expert said if you place a feeder at your spot, and said feeder is set to go off a certain time of the day, that the hogs will arrive when they hear said feeder dispensing feed.

Dunno if that's true but the information was posted as an answer to "how to hunt hogs in daytime." I'm definitely a daytime hunter.

 

[Gator89]

Hogs are smart and harder to hunt from a stand than deer. Hogs can hear and smell as good as a deer, and their eyesight is better too.

You can stalk Hogs, just play the wind, but you will often have to get into the thickest brush in the area to find them.

99% of Hogs encountered are not really dangerous. But a mature boar can ruin your day if he is cornered and feels threatened enough to charge.

Old boars don't get that way being dumb.

 

[PinnedAndRecessed]

Interesting. Also, the interwebz state that a dangerous place to be is between a sow and her piglets.

 

[xitnet]

Hogs are smart but I've killed a bunch around feeders over the years. You're correct about when they hear the feeder go off, they'll come running in. But they'll go nocturnal around the feeders after you bust them a couple of times. I have a thermal scope and scanner for that.

 

[Gator89]

Interesting. Also, the interwebz state that a dangerous place to be is between a sow and her piglets.

Sows will defend their pigs. But sows do not have the tusks that boars have.

Sows can bite, but I have never seen a catch dog cut by a sow

 

[PinnedAndRecessed]

Hogs are smart but I've killed a bunch around feeders over the years. You're correct about when they hear the feeder go off, they'll come running in. But they'll go nocturnal around the feeders after you bust them a couple of times. I have a thermal scope and scanner for that.

Which, is to say, the feeder must be relocated?

 

[xitnet]

We only have one blind set up for my 10 year grandson on a feeder. I just keep feeders out to keep animals on the property. But the answer is yes, once they get busted a few times around or close to a feeder, it would have to be moved for the same effectiveness during daylight. They'll still come in after dark after being busted or not. Hence, the thermal.

 

[pisgah]

The danger of hog hunting is about the same as the danger of squirrel hunting, assuming a normally intelligent adult. If you're stupid enough to corner either one, you will get hurt...

 

[gnappi]

While scouting Florida wildlife management areas off season I've seen a number of them, but as soon as the first shot of the season breaks the silence they disappear.

 

[willicd76]

Hogs are smart and harder to hunt from a stand than deer. Hogs can hear and smell as good as a deer, and their eyesight is better too.

You can stalk Hogs, just play the wind, but you will often have to get into the thickest brush in the area to find them.

99% of Hogs encountered are not really dangerous. But a mature boar can ruin your day if he is cornered and feels threatened enough to charge.

Old boars don't get that way being dumb.

I am covered up with hogs and kill a whole bunch of them every year. They smell even better than deer but DO NOT see near as well. They hear very well but aren’t as alarmed when they do hear something and usually go back to feeding in short order. It makes stalking them much easier and it’s quite entertaining. I’ve been on hands and knees crawling through tunnels in brush and grass within spitting distance many many times and only once was I ever uncomfortable. I was hunting with a long bow and snuck up within about FIVE yards of a sow with piglets and was enamored with watching the piglets jumping and playing on her as she was basking in the winter sun. Eventually she caught my wind and when she came out of her bed she wasn’t happy. There wasn’t a tree big enough to climb within a quarter mile! It made for a very intense stand off though it only lasted a few seconds.

 

[JohnL]

I met up with a good size boar in dense brush. He charged me and I shot him in the shoulder with a .30-30. That turned him and he ran across a shallow ravine. He was killed by one of the guys I was hunting with. The moral being choose enough gun. Today, I would use my Mauser 7.92 X 57 with soft point 197 grain ammo and limit shots to 150 yards max. Some of those tuskers are big fellows. If I still had my .45-70, that would also be a good choice.

 

[gnappi]

Funny you should say that... I was with a friend in a State mgt. area and we heard what sounded like a large boar in a thick stand of brush. He's a big guy and decided to go in after it, well a few minutes later I hear a BOOM from his Ruger .44, a squeal, and all Hades break loose as the pig ran out of the opposite side of the brush.

My bud came out and said he shot at the pig at 10 feet or so, the round hit it to the side at the shoulder plate and he could see the bullet rip the hide from the shoulder half way to the rear leg before it did a 180 and crashed out of the brush. It's a good thing he missed too, by his estimate it was a huge animal and we'd have had a devil of a time packing the carcass out.

 

[xitnet]

I was guiding a hunter and we were going out on the ranch for an evening hunt. On the way there, a nice size bore came out in a clearing at about 60 yards. I stopped the truck and he shot it out of the window with his rifle. He hit it in the spine behind mid-body. It broke down his rear end down and he was dragging himself back to the brush. Asked the hunter if he would like to use my Ruger .41mag to finish him off. When he got about 20 feet from the bore, it turned and was doing his best to get at the hunter. Five shots later, he finally killed him. I carry a 44 mag now if I'm not hunting.

 

[JAYDAWG]

This is a bucket list thing for this Pacific NW Boy!!!!
I need to butter up some of you Texans to take me one day

Curious, are they edible?

Cheers,
JaydaWg

 

[willicd76]

This is a bucket list thing for this Pacific NW Boy!!!!
I need to butter up some of you Texans to take me one day

Curious, are they edible?

Cheers,
JaydaWg

I think they are better than deer. Usually put several in the freezer every year. I also offer some very affordable hog hunting if you would like to give it a try. I have people come from all over the US and even other countries to hunt. It’s low fence free range, but success is all but guaranteed.

 

[XUSNORDIE]

Yep they are edible. But you can only eat so much pork as a Texan according to my TX kin.

The hog hunts in TX we went on folks were using anything from 223 to 308. I usually brought my Hawkeye in 243 w/SSTs since my hunts were dual hog/predator. Depending on type of hunting and where I was placed I sometimes used my SBH. We used 5 gallon bucks filled 3/4 way with corn, and then filled the rest of the way with Shiner Bock and let sit for several days. Made great pig bait. Same with the pigs. A few pigs makes a great bait pile for the night pred hunts.

 

[JAYDAWG]

Dang, Shiner Bock for bait?!?!?

I'd feel kinda bad shootin' an old hog for just bellin' up to the bar for a beer.

 

[XUSNORDIE]

Dang, Shiner Bock for bait?!?!?

I'd feel kinda bad shootin' an old hog for just bellin' up to the bar for a beer.

That's the recipe used on a ranch outside Lockhart. I didn't ask questions.....heck I was more partial to ice cold Lone Star long necks anyway...... The racoons that came in were the biggest I've ever seen and loved that beer soaked corn....maybe too much...

Another ranch we hunted in San Marcos filled buckets with corn but instead of beer they poured something in that resembled oil bottles these were placed in pen traps.....I couldn't bring myself to partake in that. I understand they want them eradicated but shooting them in a pen they were trapped in over night was not my thing. Guys who worked that ranch said it was the easiest way.

I'm hoping to be put back together again soon and get hunting. I want a couple more hog/pred hunts in TX.....but the relatives down there are not getting any younger....

 

[XUSNORDIE]

I've read on the internet how dangerous it can be

A knife hunt has been on my bucket listed for years......I have had numerous times over the years to join a Navy buddy in Palatka FL on a knife hunt but never did it....I'm kicking myself now as there is no way I'm able to wade through swamp and brush behind chase and catch dogs.

Another Navy buddy in South Carolina has wanted me to come down for a hog/gator hunt. That may be doable in the near future. We'll see.

 

[Watertender]

Dang, Shiner Bock for bait?!?!?

I'd feel kinda bad shootin' an old hog for just bellin' up to the bar for a beer.

We had a boar hog that wasn't cut when he was young. We got him in a load of hogs that we bought and we had to take care of him to sweeten the meat for butchering. We gave him 5 gallons of hard cider and got him good and drunk... He passed out by the trough drunker than drunk and we converted him right there. He made a half grunt and squeal and passed out again. We doctored up the incision with blue ointment and let him sleep it off. He woke up with a hangover and a sore rear end but we solved the problem.

 

[gnappi]

This is a bucket list thing for this Pacific NW Boy!!!!
I need to butter up some of you Texans to take me one day

Curious, are they edible?

Cheers,
JaydaWg

Years ago the family of a boss of mine was into raising trees for the paper mills in north Florida and on their properties he used to trap them and squeeze the males to castrate them. He said a couple of weeks after castration they were the best eating pigs ever. Based on the couple he pit roasted at his house at parties I'd agree.

 

[Mobuck]

" he used to trap them and squeeze the males to castrate them."
That would be a new one on me but then, I'm not a pork producer.

 

[thinckley]

I think they are better than deer. Usually put several in the freezer every year. I also offer some very affordable hog hunting if you would like to give it a try. I have people come from all over the US and even other countries to hunt. It's low fence free range, but success is all but guaranteed.

I am going to have to talk to you about that. My son and I have both been talking about a hog hunt for a couple of years now. We have the tools for it now. 2 different guns in .450 Bushmaster:

I have a thermal scope for that one.

Plus a couple in .44 Mag

I'll probably need to pick up another revolver for a backup piece for the boy.

 

[hike]

I might/maybe be able to start hunting hogs. Without dogs. I've read on the internet how dangerous it can be. If it works out that I can start hunting hogs, it'll be from an elevated stand around tall grass. But, have any of you ever been in a precarious situation w/hogs?

Also, on a hog hunting thread (some internet source) an expert said if you place a feeder at your spot, and said feeder is set to go off a certain time of the day, that the hogs will arrive when they hear said feeder dispensing feed.

Dunno if that's true but the information was posted as an answer to "how to hunt hogs in daytime." I'm definitely a daytime hunter.

There are many camp throughout the SouthEast for hog hunting. Maybe contacting them and trying one or two before you go out by yourself.
An experienced hog hunter as a leader/guide or even a paid guide who knows what is going on with hogs.
YouTube had (maybe still up) of Texas hunts from trucks. Helicopters are offered and used in Texas also.
HTH

 

[JohnL]

I think they are better than deer. Usually put several in the freezer every year. I also offer some very affordable hog hunting if you would like to give it a try. I have people come from all over the US and even other countries to hunt. It's low fence free range, but success is all but guaranteed.

The hogs I hunted long ago in northern California fed on plentiful acorns and in old fruit orchards. They were excellent eating.

 

[Mobuck]

Most of the 'hogs' I see pics of aren't huge tuskers. Mostly 30-40# young of the year or 100-150# sows. Even the big boars are going to roll over when hit with a heavy 44 mag bullet, a 30/30, or .308.
It's been 40 years since there was anything resembling a 'wild boar' in this area. My stock dog and I captured them w/o firing a shot.

 

[Hankus]

As a young man I was tasked with keeping down the hog population at a local dairy. The feeding area for the cattle had some spotlights on poles. After the cattle were back in the barns for the night we would sit in stands and wait an hour then throw the switch for the lights and have at it. I used my dad’s old Winchester ‘94 and never had a problem with a hog staying down after it was shot. One of my buddies used his dad’s M1 carbine and it usually took him two hits to put one down for good. This was at a range of only 25-30 yards though.

 

[cmattson]

Got this guy with a 22 creedmore at 270 yards.

 

[Brant]

This is a shot from a ruger American 350 legend. My great nephew. His 3rd for the year. His 1st 2 dropped in tracks. One about the same distance and the other 90 yrds. A group like this can make your hunting spot smell like a barn!

 

[Hankus]

It looks like he hit that one in the shoulder…