what are reasonable expectations?

[wipartimer]

For a south Texas, private property, free range, pre baited, bait and stand, 3 day (3 nights and 3 mornings) hog hunt with a profesional outfitter that will know 6 of us hunters are coming at least 6 months in advance to shoot (with rifles) as many hogs as possible to fill up our freezers. what do  you think would be a reasonable expectation for as far as the number of shot opportunities?  BTW  I have been going to the South Texas brush country yearly on hog hunts for 6 years now and have used 4 different outfitters.  I thought I had found a good one and last year was my 3rd year hunting with him , but last year he was obviously doing his scouting as he was driving us around the ranch trying to see if any of his feeders were being hit the first night of our hunt.  After 3 days, only one of us got any chance to shoot at hogs.  3 of us didn't even see any. I know that can be part of hunting, but is it too much to ask to have some idea of what feeders if any are active before the clients arrive? It seems like every outfitter talks about how the area is being overrun with hogs and then the hog suddenly "stop moving"  just  as we arrive. (The hogs also stop leaving any sign and apparently clean up all of thier old sign too !) Anyway, my expectations are evidently way too high so maybe if some of you could help me be a little more realistic, that would be great.
Thank you:)

[Land_Owner]

Some thoughts...

1.  There is no "rule" that hunting hogs means killing hogs, or even seeing any.  With 6 month's advance booking, expectations run pretty high.  Temper expectation with the number one rule...it is only a hunt for us but a life experience for the game.  Sometimes the game just doesn't participate no matter how much we plan.  Similar situation, different game...been fishing on a party boat lately?  They get paid before the outing whether the fish participate or not (...and I am talking a LOT of "usually not"). 

2.  Good guides should be spoken of with the highest praise possible.  Good guides are hard to book.  You were satisfied on two previous bookings or you would not have booked a third.  Some consideration might have been expected in your last group outing since you were repeat customers.  A discount for a later booking perhaps?  What legacy did all of you leave with this outfitter in the past?   

[elmer]

I hunt hogs along the Trinity river bottom in East Texas and the hogs are very unpredicatable. I have shot two hogs within 10 minutes from two different groups and then I have gone months without seeing a hog. There are days different groups of hogs were caught on my feeder camera morning noon and night. I have also gone over a month without one hog photo.

Unless you are hunting on a small hog fenced place there is no way to know if they will be there any given time or not.

[Graybeard]

I think you need to understand that when you are free range hunting for hogs all you can truly expect is access to the land. The hogs might or might not be there when you get there. They might have been all over the place when you booked six months in advance but that's no guarantee they will be there when you arrive.

From the things you say I assume the lack of sign to mean they had not been there for awhile but how long awhile it's difficult to say. A decent rain will remove most sign really when did that last occur?

I never assume on a free range hunt I'll see hogs. It's nice if I do but I don't consider it a given. If you want a sure thing book a fenced hunt not a free range one. The fact it's baited does not mean hogs will be there eating that bait.

Did you contact the guide the week before the hunt and ask how things were looking? If so and if he said they are all over the place and yet when you arrive there were not even tracks then perhaps you were lied to unless a rain happened in between that washed away the sign. There is no magic wand a guide can wave to make hogs appear on demand on free range hunts. You need to understand up front that you might or might not even see a hog and be willing to accept that. If you are not then don't book free range book a fenced hunt instead.

I've hunted both ways and on all fenced hunts killed hogs. On the vast majority of free range hunts I've not only not killed a hog but on most didn't even see one. Often I didn't even see any sign of hogs. That's why it's called HUNTING not SHOOTING.

[TribReady]

Your post could go into any of the forum categories (elk, deer, geese, etc) --just have to change a few details.  Anyone going on any type of guided hunts will have the same "complaints" as you.  We've all been there and done that and heard that all before from guides/outfitters. Chalk it up to "hunting" and don't look back.

I've learned to appreciate do-it-yourself hunts right in my own back yard. Results vary, but I'm not out a ton of $$ if I get skunked




.

[wipartimer]

Thanks for the replies guys.  i guess after re-reading my post I sound pretty down . I do intend to book again with this guy as we do usually have a good time with him. And I have been down there enough to know that hunting hogs aint like killing whitetails there.  If next year we feel disappointed then we'll look elsewhere. I think its all the talk about how fast hogs multiply and overrun places and how Texas is crawling with them;  I hear and read things like that so often that sometimes I even start to beleive it  and expect to see them around every corner even though I know better. Thanks again!
 

[S_J_KENNELS]

When I used to guide hunts with a buddy of mine we always had nights like that, and still do(not guideing anymore). Hogs are everywhere an yet no where. The next time you do not see something ask the guide about a hogdog hunt. The dogs will find the hogs if they are in the area and you can either shoot or stick them with a knife depending on the dogs/guide. Also when I was helping that buddy of mine he had a no kill no pay policy as well as if no kill was made you could reschedule at a later date and try again at no extra cost. The orginal deposit was your booking deposit on the second hunt. He always let folks come back untill they killed something. That is something to think about.

[Land_Owner]

...he had a no kill no pay policy as well as if no kill was made you could reschedule at a later date and try again at no extra cost. The orginal deposit was your booking deposit on the second hunt. He always let folks come back untill they killed something.

That's a true "Sportsman's Guide" right there.  He loves to hunt hogs.  Taking someone with him that pays if they kill any is gravy.  He does a good bit of work and doesn't mind getting skunked because he's doing what he loves to do.  The price paid is not his motivation.  I like man that thinks like that. 

[captdp]

I live in Port Isabel, at the southern tip of Texas, and hunt north  to I10. I must say that last year was my poorest year to date for hog hunting. I believe that it was due to the vast amount of rain that we had throughout the spring and summer. Natural food and water were avaliable everywhere. They were seen where they had not been seen before. Hogs were seldom coming yo feeders during the daytime and only sometimes during the night. They were extremely skittish. Again food and water were just too avaliable for them to 'take a chance.' My suggestion for you is to take an extra day, hunt two days with your old guide and book another two days with someone else. That way you get a little extra hunting and you get two different places to hunt. As far as chances for killing a hog. I would say a little better than 50-50 per day if you are hunting different stands every day, or at least stands that a pig has not been killed out of the daybefore. In a place where there are lots of pigs I don't like hunting a stand for at least a few days after killing a pig out of it. I might wait two weeks or more if the pigs are scarce or skittish. Just my $.02, capt david   

[Gene R]

I've never been on a guided hunt, but I hunt at least 60-80 days a year.

I have learned that all I can expect is a great out door adventure, some times I see them - some times I don't - some times I kill - some times I miss.

I have a place where I hog hunt and it is common to see 5 - 10 hogs a day, I had a friend come hunt with me in Feburary and only saw two hogs all week. He shot one and the other got away with out a scratch.

Some times they are there and some times they are not. But it is still a bunch of fun. Like i've said I've never paid for a hunt but I spend plenty on hunting.