Frustrating Hog Hunting Experiences

[sleepyone]

We have 200 acres in North Texas and last November discovered we had hogs for the first time in 35 years of our family owning the property. They got pushed east because of all the wild fires last summer. We had 17 originally, and they have almost quadrupled in numbers. I have hunted them three times without success. They are almost always nocturnal. I keep my feeder going year round now just to keep them coming around. My trail camera showed them coming pretty consistently each night so me and a buddy sit in my stand half the night waiting on them and they don't show. Next two times I hunted in the morning and at dusk near ponds where I have seen them before and they don't show. I even dug some holes and poured in corn and beer before those two hunts to attract them. They devoured the corn after I had quit hunting. Anybody have any tips for hunting them? Do they follow same habits as deer such as not coming out in the open on windy days, not feeding at night during new moons, etc. I know they have a better sense of smell than deer and prefer not to move around in the heat of the day. Any advice would be appreciated. I have my AR setup for night hunting with a green LED light and Aimpoint PRO red dot.

 

[The Termite]

Have you read Flintknapper's "book" yet? Lots and lots of good info there.
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=449721

 

[finnwolf64]

First advice I'd give is perseverance, since you say you've only been hunting them on 3 occasions. Next I'd try & work out if they are resident pigs or just travelling through.
If they are resident pigs, why not try to find where they hold up during the day. Shouldn't be to hard on 200 acres.
Pigs are creatures of habit, so work out what time they are coming out to feed & work out their usual routes. Try to find that hole in the fence they are getting through & set up ambush, as day or night, they tend to use the same escape routes.
Failing this, buy a spotlight. Not really sporting, but a better control method than hunting, & if you have tracks around your property you can cover 200 acres reasonably quickly at night spotlighting, letting you try different times over a few nights.
If this fails, or your block is covered in scrub & unsuitable for spotlighting, bring in the doggers.
Final solution down under is 1080 poison baits, but I refuse to use poison baits on my 3,500 acres.

 

[walker944]

Invest in a good hog trap and let that do the work while you sleep. Check it each morning and dispatch the little suckers at your leisure.

 

[alsaqr]

Invest in a good hog trap and let that do the work while you sleep.

Bingo!!!

Trapping is the solution for serious hog problems. We have three homemade raps: Its not unusual to catch five or more hogs at once.

This picture was taken after several adult hogs were removed and the trap re-baited and set:

 

[Patocazador]

Get a dog that likes to trail/run them. The hog will usually bay up in a short distance .. less than half a mile. If you're in good shape follow behind with a shotgun with 00 buckshot. Call the dog off and shoot the bugger in the head/neck area.

You can get a catch dog too but they usually get hurt.

 

[sleepyone]

Thanks for the replies. I'm not sure if they are resident hogs or not. I thought they were a first but I'm not so sure now. They come to my feeder several times a week usually more than once each night. There are several sounders now that they have exploded in population. Most of our 200 acres is heavy brush and trees except for two 10 and 15 acre pastures. We see them pretty regularly on my trail camera at night but rarely during the day. I have tried to find where they may bed down, but the heavy brush makes it difficult. I won't use poison as this is also where we hunt deer. Looks like a live trap may be the best option. Our land is 70 miles from my house, so I can't get up there every week. Usually once or twice a month at the most. Even a live trap will be difficult unless I'm willing to drive up there much more frequently to kill the captured hogs and reset the trap.

 

[MachIVshooter]

My experience has been that they're most active between about 10 PM and 4 AM. Every shot I've taken has been during that time frame.

Night vision is best, but if you can't swing it, try setting up some of those solar spotlights near the feeder. That way, the hogs become accustomed to the light, and you should be able to see well enough with a day scope.

I use an ATN Mk 390 "Paladin" 4x gen I+ night vision scope atop my Remington 673 .350 mag. I have been very pleased with the results. This $500 scope, with the included illuminator, is good to ~120 yards even on a dark night, 200+ with a full moon and light colored backdrop.

 

[BP Hunter]

When I used to live in S.Texas and hunted pigs (man, I miss it so much), the pigs were always there late afternoon and at night. Yes, I agree with the previous posts, you have to be persevering. They will show.

GOOD LUCK!

 

[adelbridge]

if they are regulars to your feeders on game cam and dont show when you are there they are smelling you. Set your blind up down wind of the feeder or vice versa. If you bury a handful of corn 4 ft deep they will find it and dig it up, that should tell you something about their nose.

 

[modarmory]

Night Vision and Thermal is all we hunt hogs with in Texas. L3, ITT, FLIR and Night Optics are the industry leaders in night vision and thermal.

The entry level thermals can help you spot too 500 yards.
There are fixed night vision rifle scopes from Night Optics that easily cover 400 to 600 yards.
The PVS-14 is the most versatile unit of the night vision devices because it can be hand held, weapon mounted or helmet mounted.

Send a pm if you are interested in more of how we hog hunt.

Hope you can solve your problem!

 

[MCgunner]

Invest in a good hog trap and let that do the work while you sleep. Check it each morning and dispatch the little suckers at your leisure.

I am not a night person, much prefer to let the trap do its thing.

One thing I've found that works out of all the favorite recipes from all the people I know with "THE recipe" for hog bait is to sprinkle strawberry jello over the corn. I get the "great value" at Walmart.

 

[Double Naught Spy]

MCgunner, it is good you shot that hog. He had a gun!!!!!!

Sleepyone, in what county are you located?

 

[MCgunner]

He drew first, officer. I had no choice........

 

[sleepyone]

Sleepyone, in what county are you located?

Jack. Hogs showed up last fall after getting pushed east from the fires around Possum Kingdom.

if they are regulars to your feeders on game cam and dont show when you are there they are smelling you.

Possible. My stand and feeder are 50 yards apart. Both are much too cumbersome to move. My stand is a 4x6 on a 5' steel frame. I have a Selph Arms, much like the Elusive Wildlife xml250, green LED light that shines out to 200+ yards and puts out a pretty wide beam.

 

[birdshot8's]

signal baits for night hunts.

Hang some heavy pipes over a few bait piles. Let the pipes hang together like wind chimes close to the ground. The hogs will get on your bait and ring the pipes. Just follow the sound to your hogs. Make sure you have the wind and you can get close.

 

[The Termite]

http://www.sportsmanscondo.com/hogslammerweb/index.html
Use one of these, and build your trap pen any size you need, small to huge. I generally use seven 16' stock panels, with T-posts every 5ft or so, for a round pen.

Have caught quite a few hogs using it. Most ever at one time was seven.
Downside is that it is labor intensive to set up.

 

[alsaqr]

"THE recipe" for hog bait is to sprinkle strawberry jello over the corn. I get the "great value" at Walmat

Got game camera photos of hogs eating corn sprinkled with strawberry jello outside the trap: When the outside stuff is gone they make a bee line into the trap. Several big old boars were trap shy until they tasted strawberry jello.

 

[BP Hunter]

That gun looks like a Kel Tec P3At! Who said the .380 couldn't kill....

 

[alsaqr]

Caught these hogs last night. More proof that corn sprinkled with strawberry jello works.

 

[theblakester]

Texasboars.com forums will surely help you. If you are going out there to drop corn and walking around the feeding area just before you hunt, then that's probably where your mistake is. Hogs noses are awesome and it takes several hours of direct sunlight radiation to burn off your scent. I would stay out of the feeding area for at least a day before you hunt. Post up over 50 yards away, and do it down wind. Check out the lights they sell on texas boars too. Absolute best for the price. Good luck

 

[der Teufel]

Our land is 70 miles from my house, so I can't get up there every week. Usually once or twice a month at the most. Even a live trap will be difficult unless I'm willing to drive up there much more frequently to kill the captured hogs and reset the trap.

One successful strategy is to position a feeder over the trap and direct the corn so that it falls mostly into the trap. Secure the door open so that the hogs get accustomed to entering (and leaving) the trap. Then, assuming you're able to stay overnight, set the door to trip and wait for the hogs to come. Hopefully by the time the sun rises you'll have trapped some hogs.

Given that you already have feeders running you can set up a corral trap around one of the existing feeders. Read this tale of trapping hogs written by the experts at Texas A&M — http://feralhogs.tamu.edu/hogs-in-the-peaches-follow-us-live/ and note how they set the trap up a little at a time. This way you could break the task up into small chunks if you can't (or don't want to) do it all at once.