Favorite hog hunting method?

[Bama76]

I hope to someday get a chance to hog hunt. This got me to wondering what is the best way to hunt them? I don't have access to dogs so they are not an option. Is it best to hunt from a stand or ground blind or is it more successful to stalk them and listen for squealing (I have read that their biggest weakness may be that they are very noisy) and close in to shooting range? What is your prefered technique.? Thanks

Mike

[howie1968]

glad  you are interested in hog hunting,  you  have  came  to  the  right place!!  i  do  not  have  access to dogs  either  so  to  put  odds  in  your  favor  i  will  give  you  some  of  my  tips.  this time of year  look for water along creeks  look  for  wallows mudd rubs and feeding areas. or  carry  a  bucket of corn  and  make  a  little trail as you  walk  they will find  it  check  back  on  the  trail  along  these mudd rubs  and  look  for  fresh  sign   scat  and  such  when  you  find  that  put  you  up  either  a  ground  blind  a  stand  and  some  sort  of  feeder  i  prefer corn,  i  have  tried  every imaginable recipe  to attract  hogs  and  the  easiest  most simplest  thing to use  is  corn.   on stalking  and  still  hunting  true  wild  hogs  they  in  my  opinion  are extremely difficilt  to  stalk   there sense of  smell  is  awesome  and  hearing  is  unbelievable  most  people  say  there eyesight  is  horrible   but  i  believe it  to be better than  what people think,  they are highly intelligent.   but  if  you  do  so  go  scent  free  well  camoed  and  stay  down wind from them   try  to  hunt  the  bottom lands  and  creeks  during  thge  day   pigs  are  very nocturnal  and  i s eldom  see  the  wild  ones in  the  day  usually  dusk  or  dawn  although i  have  seen  the  feeding  near  the  creeks    at  about  10  am  or  so   if  you  do  not  know  what  roots   and  rubs  and  wallows  are  i can  send  some  pics  of  them  for  you

[palgeno]

Best way will vary widely with region, season and terrain----my favorite way is probably the hardest (great info in the previous post)---I like to still hunt them while moving slowly through the thick stuff where they live-- ( and I still don't know why they call it stillhunting since it ain't still!! :? -- pun intended!!!).  pg

[oso45-70]

Howie 1968
Good post howie, You covered just about every thing a feller needs to know to make a kill. good luck...........Joe.........................

[howie1968]

thanks,  i  have  still  hunted  adn  have  scored   but to  me  it is the  hardest  way!!! especially  for  me  but  when  i  do  still  hunt  i  like  to  walk  the  creek  banks alot  of  times  you c an hear  them splashing around and  grunting, in East Texas in  the  pine  forests  i  have  litterally  walked  up on them buried underneath pine needles.  the  easiset way  i  have  found  to  score  is  the  way  i  described  in  the  previous  post.  i  believe  you  are  right  about  the differences in  regious  but  pigs  need  food  and  water,  and  they  seem  to  like  thick  nasty  stuff  to  lay  up  in  so  if  you  find  the  signs   and  water  is  near,  you  add  the  food  and  if  you  put in enough time  you  will  bring home the bacon

[howie1968]

thanks  for the  complimentman  i  wish  i  could hunt  today  it  is  raising  so  hard  here,  i  am  hunting 4 miles  off  of  a  main  road  and  there  is no  way  to  get  in  there  when it is raining  we  cannot  use  4  wheelers  and  it  is  killing  me  to not  go  see  what  is  going on  the  good thing  is  in a  day  or  so  ill  be  able  to  track  movement  better  i  am  going  to  re-bait  my  trap  and  i  am  going  to  move  it  to  a  different  location,  as  i am  new  to  trapping  hogs  they  say  when  you  ttrap  one  and  kill  it  in the  trap  you  have  to  move  it  so  i baited  it   and  wired  it  open  so  pigs  will  get  used  to  it.  i  cannot  believe  how  many  hogs  travel  through  this  land  the  lease  is  only  125 acres  but  they migrate  to  our  area  for  some  reason,  i  am  the  only  one  realy  putting pressue on  them.

[Rmouleart]

I prefer to still stalk, but sometimes the hogs are on to the hunt, once this is the case, a good push with some friends work very well, three pushers and a couple of standers on the other side of the peace your pushing, work small areas, stand about fifty yards abreast, most of the time the hogs will see the pushers and try to elude them bye staying infront of the pushers, sooner than later they will come upon the stand hunters, this take some practice and being very careful never to shoot in the direction of the pushers,same goes for the pushers. this method is very productive,this method is very exciting and fast acting as well, you need to have your eyes peeled and be ready to take aim, remember these critters will plow you down if your in there path, hogs are very aggressive as well, they will stand there ground if they think they are cornered, don't want to get gored bye those sharp tusks:( Aim small hit small. RAMbo.

[howie1968]

now  that  is interesting,  never  thought  of  having  a  drive,   and you are  right  they  will  come  right at  i  had  that  happen  2  years  ago  twice  after hunting ground  blinds  and  boars sneaking up on me  i  shot  them  and  they  came  my  way,  i  did  not  realize  i  could  still  get  up  a  tree  by  the  way  that  looks  like  a  nice hog  in  your  avitar

[Wynn]

I have hunted and trapped them just about every way described as well as with dogs. I disagree with Howie about the need to move a trap after making a kill in it. I have been using the same trap location for years and kill most anything between 50 & 100 lbs. on the spot for the freezer. A couple of days and 15lbs of corn and they are back. I release everything over 100 for hunting. I used to raise off the small ones, but it is to expensive and they don't really eat any better.  I sometimes switch to restaurant breakfast scraps if they get edgy about going into the trap and I give it a rest after a few catches. Hogs are smart, smell and hear as well as a deer and I agree they can see movement better than most people think. On the other hand, I have stalked a herd and never gotten close only to drive right up to the same group a week later within 10 yds and they just stood there.

Hunting these days, I get out of the Lazy Boy, drive 2 miles, sit on the tailgate with a cup of coffee about 75 yds from a feeder and wait until almost dark. As long as I can see in the scope, I stay put. They always come but I don't always shoot. If he is big and has teeth I can identify as trophy size, I take him with my 6.5 Swede or Remington 06.
My best hunts in the past have been working the edges of swamps from the inside in about knee to hip deep water. Moving slow and quiet in water is easier than in head high palmettos and brush and they don't seem to expect it.

"American by birth: Southern by the Grace of God"

[howie1968]

thanks   for  the  info  on  moving  the  trap,   i  am  new  to  trapping  them  and  all  the  info/knowledge  i  can  gain  the  better.    a  friend  was  telling  me  about  scraps  to  bait  with  also.   i  have  heard  through  the  grapevine  that  it  is  better  to  move  the  trap.    do  not  have  any  experience  with  moving  it  so  i  wi9ll  leave  it  in  the  same  location   for  now   thanks

[Wynn]

My secret weapon for trapping spooky hogs is bacon, eggs and lots of grits left over from the cafe a freind owns. The biggest boar I ever trapped went 375 and had 5 inch cutters and 3 inch wetters. He must have visited that trap baited with corn every night for two months but would not go in it. He would literaly push the trap aside to get at the corn. ( The trap weighs at least 200 lbs) The very night I switched to a country breakfast, he was caught. It has worked for me ever since when the hogs get skittish about a trap.

I raise chickens and hogs love whole, raw eggs. I will let a couple of them rot, put a few in the trap for bait and then toss and break the rotten ones around for scent. (I suggest you leave quickly at this point) Works great! Trapping hogs is almost as much fun as hunting them and you are never out of pork.

By the way, that big boars head is on my gun room wall.

[hoosierdaddy1]

My brother is based in Hawaii and is hoping to get into some pig hunting. He has access to military land and plans on hunting with his remington 870 12 guage with slugs and OO buckshot. Any suggestions as to strategy for hunting pigs there without dogs and is his choice of firearm OK. He doesn't have a rifle and hopes to not have to buy one.
I am new to this site so if I am posing this question in the wrong area please forgive me.

Josh

[howie1968]

welcome  to  the  site,  as  ffar  as  the  12 guage  from what  others  have talked about     do not  use  the  buckshot, stick with slugs. personally  i  did  by  me  a  12  guage  for  this  purpose  but  have  not  killed  one  to  date  with a  slug.    the  first  thing  your  brother  will  need  to  do  is  find positive sign, tracks scat, wallows( where a pig  lays in the water and mud) mud rubs  (  when a  pig  is  scratching his back) and roots.  pm  me  and  i  will  send  you  photos  of  each  that  i  have taken.  he  will  need  to  find  the  area  were  the  most  sign is   probally around  the  water  i  assume  i  am  sure  hawaii  is  fairly war.  if  possible  throw  a  little  corn on  the  ground  and  revisit  the  next  day  to  see  if  gobbled  up  if  so  make  a  ground  blind  or    some  sort  of  a  stand  and  start hunting  the  times  i  am  most  succesfull  are  late in the evening  and early in the morning  but  have  seen  pigs   traveling  the  creeks  during  the  day  good  luck  and  keep  us posted  it  is  ahrd  work   but  when  you  look  at  the  price  of  pork  it  is  well  worth it

[jaberegg]

I have three benches set up usually with a gun on each one. The feeder is 116 yards away, just before dark they come in, then decide which gun to use if I shoot. Usually I sit behind a gun watching, then move to the next one. If it's got tusks........... that's a different story then. I figure it's safer then walking through the thick stuff an a whole lot more relaxing as I can pick the hog up with the 4-wheeler when I'm done. Plus if I'm camping I can clean it out an put it on the smoker for something to do for the rest of the night.