Boars - Sam Houston National Forest

[jess_nicole37]

I don't hunt, so I'm sorry if my lingo isn't precise. This is just friendly advice.

My boyfriend and I love hiking, so in the middle of May we spent a week out in the Sam Houston National Forest camping at the Stubblefield campgrounds. We went hiking our first day down the trail at the camp and only came across a squirrel and few field mice.

But the next day we went back down the trail. The trail splits to the right at the beginning, so we decided to go down that trail instead. We hadn't even walked 40 yards before my boyfriend heard something. We also noticed that the forest around us had gotten really quiet. Being a little spooked, I requested that we turn around and go hike the familiar trail. We turned back and followed the trail for about a quarter of a mile. We stopped at the first bridge and stopped to sit and chat for awhile. The bridge covered a dry creek that was only two or three feet deep and only had railing on one side. We sat for about 20 minutes when we noticed the forest had gotten quiet again. We suddenly heard grunting and snorts. We stood up and saw a pack of 3 sows and 3 piglets. The sows were staring at us. The only things we had on us were our water bottles. My boyfriend jumped onto the railing of the bridge and shook a nearby tree. They backed up and began to walk in the opposite direction. We waited for awhile and he jumped back down so we could head back to the beginning of the trail. Right as we stepped off the bridge we heard more grunting coming from down the trail. We looked near some trees and saw what looked like an older male boar. He was much bigger than the ones we had just seen. He stared at us and rubbed his front hoof against the dirt. He continued to grunt and snort. My boyfriend and I quickly got back on the bridge and climbed up on the railing. We shook the trees around us and my boyfriend made loud throat clearing noises that echoed. The boar eventually backed up and walked around the bridge and toward the pack we had seen earlier. We waited until they were out of sight so we could leave.

Also later that week, our friend woke up around 2 am to more boars rustling around our tent. They kept grunting but eventually went away.

At the end of the week we brought some friends of ours down the trail with us to find a nice fishing spot. We went about half a mile down and saw this little side trail that was only 20 or 30 yards long and led down to a small opening of the lake. We went down there only to find hog nests and hoof prints. And before we headed up the trail, I saw the same male boar hiding in some brush about 50 yards away from us.

I don't think they nest in the same spot for very long, but their definitely damaging the root systems and plants in that area. You can see rooting all the way to the front of the trail by the campgrounds. We also saw a bobcat during that week, but it was very elusive. Hopefully this can help some of you boar hunters out.

 

[FLAvalanche]

Hogs have become a very widespread problem all across the south. The University of Florida did a study and found that just to maintain the population of hogs in Florida that 80% of them must be killed each year. That's obviously not happening...

Be careful when you're out in hog country. Sometimes they'll just run away, sometimes they'll decide to try and shred you.

Be thankful you saw a bobcat though, they're quite a sight. I've never been able to see one during the day but I get pictures of them and panthers on my game camera in the middle of the night.

 

[MCgunner]

I've got 'em all over my place. I trap 'em. I go down there and work on stuff and hear 'em fighting in the oak mot thickets. They aren't going to attack you unless you pose an immediate threat which usually involved blood trailing a wounded one. The ain't Kodiak Bear, they aren't looking at you as available, easy protein. They are wishing to avoid you and stumbled in to you. Yeah, they might scare the Sierra Club set, but they're not the dangerous animals their tusks might lead you to believe. Just don't pose a threat to them. They'd rather hide from you. YOU are the threat.

Now that we've been told where you were, there'll probably be some guys out there lookin' for some protein for themselves. Heck, if you're against guns, a nice 60 lb draw weight compound bow and some broad heads on your next hike and you could be eating like Conan the Barbarian. If you take along a sidearm, a well placed heavy .357 load or more powerful round will do the job.

 

[mbt2001]

Boars...

The Klingons of the animal world...

 

[nathan]

The place is open to hog hunting year round. One has to have the TPWD and Public Hunting Permit to do it. ANd im not surprise the hogs are moving bec its so hot now. They either bedded all day to avoid the stiffling heat or they move to shaded areas to cool down and move to muddy areas close to water's edge during the day.