Month: November 2010

Any time I can get out hog hunting is a good trip for me, so I took off a day to make the most of my hunting lease. A group of young pigs have been hitting one of the hog feeder fairly often. Last week, I set a hog trap that is about 60 yards from the feeder, but located between the feeder and the stand which is 150 yards from the feeder. Anyway, nothing was in the hog trap when I check it, so I thought maybe the hogs were just a little trap shy.

This morning I hunted that stand and shortly after shooting light I heard pigs. I quickly glassed the feeder and saw hogs running in towards the feeder without hesitation. Of course, I shot the biggest hog that was at the feeder, then the other hogs ran from the feeder toward the stand and past the hog trap.

I then proceeded to shoot 2 more hogs and was asking myself while reloading why I only had 3 bullets in the gun. Yep, I was reloading while pigs were still running around. So.. I got the gun reloaded and stepped out of the stand. Just then 2 more pigs ran out of the brush about 60 yards away, so I shot them.

And then believe it or not, I then walked to the hog trap and there were 3 pigs in it! I could not have designed this day any better! My hunting buddy heard all World War III and came up over the hill a short time later… after the shooting ceased. We ended up cleaning 7 of the 8 pigs, all of which weighed between 40 and 75 pounds. All in all, it was a good, quick morning of hog hunting. And now that’s why this feeder is now called my best hog feeder!

Question: Here is my hog hunting plight. My lease has a strong hog population. We have hog sign all over the place. However, I’ve yet to see one during daylight. Saturday morning after my hunt, I poured 160 pounds of corn around my bow stand. Saturday evening, nothing. When I went back Sunday morning: POOF, everything vanished. So my question is will feral hogs ever revert from nocturnal movements?

Answer: The hogs on where I hunt now move during either the day or night. This is true for most everywhere there are hogs. As luck would have it — it’s really their smarts — they mostly move when I’m not there, of course. The following day day is then like a photo shoot on the trail camera with hogs all over the place — in the daylight.

If I choose to sit there 2 day straight — nothing. But now and then a hog will pass through and I’ll get a crack at him. That’s what makes hog hunting so much fun, the waiting or tracking and stalking. As a rule of thumb, I do see the most of my hogs at night. If you shot one every time you wanted it would take some of the fun out of it.

Feral hogs do tend to be nocturnal or crepuscular, moving in early morning and late evening. This can vary between the seasons. Hunting pressure will turn hogs nocturnal faster than anything else, so my suggestion is to hunt when pressure is light, or at least lighter.

In Central Texas, we would never see hogs during the day during the deer hunting season. However, we could almost count on them moving during the day during late February, March and April. This was because all the deer (and hog) hunters had been sacked out at the home for the past few months and hogs had the run of the land.

Reader Submitted: I’ve been reading about the viciousness of our resident grizzly bears we have in Texas, otherwise known as feral hogs. I have heard, as I know all of you have, about my friends-cousins-neighbors-nephews-mail mans-brother that was attacked by a pack of demon-possessed pigs while hog hunting or filling his bluebird feeder or whatever. I personally know men that have cornered hogs with snarling dogs, thrown the hogs down and slashed the hogs ears, tail and manhood with a dirty knife and were then savagely attacked. Go after my crotch with a rusty, dull Case knife and I will bite you too!

If anything (including a man) grabs a terrified, squealing piglet, the protective mother will be protective and attack. Any animal cornered to tight to its liking will bite, claw, scratch and possibly kill. I have chased these killers for over 20 years and had a few that I cut, kicked or trapped chase me. However, I have never had an unprovoked hog rush from its secret habitat and viciously attack! I have never walked up on a group of porkers at a feeder, food plot or acorn-dropping white oak that have rushed me in a mad frenzy.

On everyone of thousands of chance encounters, I have had with these vicious, maiming, feral hogs they have always ran the other way!
So, have you PERSONALLY been attacked by one of these voracious monsters while simply walking through the woods to a hog hunting, while scouting, while on a family picnic in the park, or during any other outdoor activity? I really would like to hear the TRUE story from the person attacked by a wild hog.