Going feral pig hunting in three weeks!

I went for my last spring break in college last March. We went rifle hunting the first few nights, although we were grossly misinformed of what time of the day they would be out. I had an open sight .30-06, and my buddy had a bow, and we were both in the same blind the first night. They came, but they didn't come till it was pitch black out. If I had a scope I would have easily been able to shoot one. My buddy tried with an arrow, missed and lost that. Then I took like 5 minutes trying to line up a shot along the reflection of my barrel and missed. Then my bow buddy went and got his scoped rifle and went out with another friend and they had a group of 30 or so around. They counted to 3 and both fired, ended up shooting the exact same pig, but at least they got one. Then the last night we went out with knives and dogs. THAT WAS KICK A. If you get the chance to do that, you are in for a ruthless treat! We were out till 5:30 a.m. We got three pigs after running probably a total of 5 miles full out jumping barbwire fences and washouts. It was a blast. Good luck. Sounds like you have done it before so you know what to expect, I hope your friends enjoy it as much as we did when we went.

Hunting hogs around here is sorta like hunting rabbits in New Mexico. Just about anyone with land has 'em.

The smaller sub 200 lbs ones eat a lot better.

Look out, you'll be addicted.

Good hunting out there.

Here's my night rig, poor man's night vision. It's a lighted reticle scope and I also have a 1,000,000 candle power spot light if I need it. The one on the scope is good for 75-100 yards or so, about all you're going to shoot at night anyway. Hog huntin's usually pretty close. I've always hunted with spotlights if night hunting, but I've had this light for 30 years and never used it. I ordered it out of gander mountain in '76, remember it. I now have land, though, with hogs on it, so I've been trying to rig up a good night set up without spending a fortune on night scopes. The light runs off a 6v that I have to carry in a coat pocket or belt pouch.

MCGunner, could one impose on you to give a few more specifics on that pig-rig of yours? I need to build one up. The area around my stand up at my deer lease is always torn up bad by porkers, but I haven't seen any in a couple of years- they seem to have gone seriously nocturnal.

Kind of looks like you were working off an SKS?

You Texas guys looking for a little help whackin down some of those pigs? A buddy of mine and I are looking for a little fun and we dont like the game ranch aspect...

PM me if you want a little free help in exchange for a couple free piggies.

Quote: "more specifics on that pig-rig of yours?"

FWIW, it did not take a whole lot of $ to get my 21" 870 set up as a poor-boy pig-rig. A set of snap-on-the-vent-rib hiz viz sights, a $15-$20 mount (that is held on by magazine cap) for a Streamlight TLR-1 (optional flip-up red filter costs about 1/2 as much as the $100 flashlight). Well, come to think of it, maybe it's not a poor-boy rig. Yeah, it is - I'm poor after buying it all and the 123 batteries to feed it.!

Anyhoo, it's still compact enough for getting around (without wires hanging up) in thick cover and good with slugs out to about 50 yards.

And SniperX, I'd highly suggest ya try to locate a "Hawg Light" (or some such name) for ya bow. They mount in stabilizer hole, come with a red filter and I think sell for "only" $50 or so. Last one I saw was at Sportsman's Warehouse. It's yet another toy I'd like to have one of these days, but not something I'd want to have to explain to park ranger or game warden on "archery only" Corps land where I've been lately.

Edited to add: And for anyone thinking about the set-up described above with TLR-2 (incudes laser), think twice about it. After lots of grief in zeroing, I decided those "laser lights" are meant to be mounted on handguns, not shotguns. Recoil with various types of slugs (even "low-recoil") caused laser zero to go south quickly with the first shot. (Maybe a bigger $ mount would help, then maybe not ...)

Good luck!

If the hogs are moving there like they are moving here, you should have no trouble getting one.

Got my 1st hog in Kerrville this last deer season. I have heard they had pigs, seen captured pigs, eaten butchered pigs, but never seen one on the hoof in 20+ years of hunting there. This year I finally got a little porker. My scenario makes a case for the controlled round push feed rifles. I shot my piggy, then when I went to jack a shell into my gun to shoot at 2 others that were skeedaddling away, my shell got loose and jammed in the action. By the time I got it cleared and ready to shoot, the other pigs were gone. Oh well. (BTW- it was a Weatherby Vanguard in .270 Win). My piggy was DRT.