Texas Hog Hunt Qustions

[teddy12b]

I may have found a friend that will let me hunt a ranch he works on.  I have a few questions about hog hunting and general rules about hunting in Texas.

What types of hunting conditions do you hunt Texas hogs in?  Is it thick brush or more open?  I’ve never been to Texas so I have no idea what to expect. 

How smart are hogs?  If I get a shot at one, will the others automatically run off, or are there some dumb ones that will look around? 

Are most shots under 100 yards like anywhere else?  Are there any firearms restrictions at all in Texas?

How tough is it to hunt hogs?  What kinds of tactics are used? 

[Graybeard]

Pretty much all of your questions can be answered in only one way by those of us who have not seen the ranch you are gonna hunt and that is it depends.

We cannot know the terrain on that ranch as you didn't even mention what part of TX it's in and that makes a HUGE difference. East Texas is usually quite thick and wooded or brushy. South Texas brushy but not much that amounts to real woods but can be as thick as anywhere in the world. West Texas is unlikely to be so thick but more so hilly and rocky. North Texas is prairie country and mostly not thick and quite open but even within each area it all is different and any of those conditions could apply to a given area. Hill country is wooded, rocky, brushy, open or whatever depending on what ranch you're on.

You hunt them where they are and where they are might be any of those situations. How smart? Real smart. Might one stick around yeah it might but don't bet the farm on it expect them to scatter in all directions but then again don't be surprised if they don't. More often than not they will but weird things happen.

Shot distance mostly depends on terrain and your ability to stalk if that's the type hunt or if over bait at a feeder it will depend on how far the blind is from the feeder mostly.

[teddy12b]

Good point, I should have mentioned that this is North texas, almost on the northern border of it.

[choctaw]

Hogs are considered varmints in Texas, and can be hunted year around.  I do believe you need a hunting license though. 

Still no way to specifically answer your terrain question.  Just come with a rifle that is capable of reaching out there a ways.  I live in North Texas, and hunt hogs in a variety of areas, from brush which reduces ranges somewhat to very large, wide open fields.

Since they are varmints, there are no caliber restrictions that I am aware of.  As I mentioned before, long shots are possible.

There are various methods for whacking pigs.  I like to ambush them as they enter/exit fields. Also, they are definitely corn eaters and will clean up a deer feeder so stand hunting is always good.

Hunt them using the same tactics that you do when deer hunting.  Hog hunting is a lot of fun, but its not overly difficult.

[teddy12b]

I was kind of hoping it would be more like a casual spot & stalk/shoot.  Is it possible to just casually walk around joking with buddies and shoot the hogs on site, kinda like rabbit hunting?  Sounds like it's a little more serious than what I had originally thought.  I was hoping to either wonder around trying to find some, or find a nice high point overlooking a lot of the land a let the 30-06 do my walking for me.

I've heard that you need a hunting license for them, but just any regular Texas hunting license is fine.  Do you have to have a hunters safety card to hunt in Texas?

[Graybeard]

No you are not gonna walk around with a bunch of buddies joking and making noise and even see much less shoot a hog. They don't have the best of eyesight tho they are far from blind but their hearing and sense of smell are as good or better than deer. Unless you get serious you'll come home empty handed.

Yeah you can walk around in good terrain and stalk up on them during the day at times that's a viable strategy and one I use often but you best be quiet and mind the wind.

[markc]

You can spot and stalk hogs,  but keep in mind that they have an excellent sense of smell, and like other wild animals will bolt if they hear unnatural noises.  I mostly hunt them in thick woods, so my shots are usually short distance.  Shot 2 opening day of archery season, both at 17 - 19 yds and within 60 seconds of each other...