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Post by Jaymz72 on Feb 4, 2004 1:07:39 GMT -5
I have never been hog hunting, and haven't ever seen one in the wild. What am I looking for....or listenning for? And have any of you folks ever huntedfor them on the mobile delta? I have heard that there are quite a few there, but should I be looking for a specific type of habitat here?
Thanks,
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Post by hunt4fun1 on Feb 4, 2004 9:14:22 GMT -5
That habitat is alittle more like FL.
We have several hunters here from Fl and they will be more than glad to help you with that geographic area.
In General:
Hog do not have sweat glands so you will not, most likely, see them in the day. Especially in the warmer months. When I see em here in Texas, it in the morning or evening. VERY RARELY in the broad daylight.
You can look for signs of rooting where you hunt. If they are there, you'll see the roots. It'll look like the ground was freshly plowed almost.
If there is a REALLY thick area that looks like you would never get into it without a flamethrower and a brushwhacker, that's prolly where they are beddin out for the day.
If it's legal where you live, you can make a hog mash and use it for bait. Simple recipe:
In a 5 gallon bucket mix the following and let it set, covered for 7 days.
20 pounds of feeder/deer corn
a 6 pack of cheap beer
a pound of sugar
a large bottle of honey
After all ingredients have been added, fill with enough water to cover corn by an inch or two. Let er sit for 7 days. When you pull off the lid, you might want to hold your breath and DONT spill it on anything or anyone.
Spread it around the area you want to hunt. If it's legal.
Hope this helps.
Dave1, Mudpuppy, gch, Brokenbucket and FL will help out alot here as well.
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Post by flhuntress on Feb 4, 2004 12:01:44 GMT -5
welcome to the board and hopefully we'll be able to steer you in the right direction.
when you come across the hog rootin' make sure you scout the general area...if the rootin' has leaves or pine needles all on top then that means it's older and you should keep lookin' for the fresher stuff.
pigs like the thick cover...here they love the palmettos and the marsh.
when you're walkin' thru the woods listen for any rustling noises...kinda like a armadilly ;D would make.
try not to gutt shot a hog cause it's down right nasty...worse than any deer that's been gutt shot....behind the ear is the best imo...doesn't affect the meat.
they don't usually bleed alot so don't give up if you've hit one...just keep lookin' for it.
they are also very social critters...if you can find a good hog call that's great...but don't ever make piggie noises when a lone piggie is in view cause it'll scare the holy bejesus out of them...i found out the hard way.
if you're gonna be huntin' them with dogs then Dave1 is the man to speak to....it's hard huntin' but it's a great experience if you're huntin' with someone who loves their dogs.
best of luck to you.....and one more thing: wear hunter orange even if it's not required...it won't interfere iwth the hunt and could save your life...there's been 3 hunters shot in recent months while hog huntin' and maybe the orange would have saved them.
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Post by gulfcoasthunter on Feb 4, 2004 18:17:13 GMT -5
Most everything has been covered. I worked around Bayou La Batre and there are plenty of hogs in that area. Get back into the marshes and find the high spots with plenty of cover. You will know when you found where they have been rootin and where they wallow.
Mornings and evenings hunt near the food, bait them if its legal, try stalking mid day in the swamps. If you stalk them look for things that look like burnt stumps cause they will bury themselves in the mud with just there backs and head above the mud. Hogs have poor eyesight but good noses and good hearing so play the wind. Don't buy all the hype that they are really tough to kill, any 30 caliber gun will do the job, just make sure you either put it right behind the ear or right behind the shoulder, a litttle lower than you would on a deer. Put a hole in both lungs he ain't going far. Good luck
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Post by flhuntress on Feb 4, 2004 20:26:37 GMT -5
THAT'S NOT ALWAYS TRUE....I SHOT ONE THIS YEAR THAT WAS AN AWESOME SHOT AND HUNTNMA AND I TRACKED IT FOR A LOOOOOONG TIME....NEVER FOUND IT.  |
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Post by hunt4fun1 on Feb 4, 2004 20:43:13 GMT -5
Cause she was wearin the frog thong. ;D
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Post by flhuntress on Feb 4, 2004 21:00:26 GMT -5
I DON'T OWN A FROG THONG AND HM HAD KILLED HERS BEFORE THAT HUNT. ;D
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Post by Jaymz72 on Feb 9, 2004 18:16:36 GMT -5
Wow! That's a pretty good bit of info there. Thanks. I finally found what looks like a track, almost like a deer track but really circular ( and in a swamp)....like symmetrical halves of a broken coffee saucer. I waited it out until near dark and all that I could see was armadillos...lots of em, I'm sure that there though. I could hear some really big stuff moving around. I'm sure it's just a matter of getting the timing right now.
I hunt for them on managment land and unfortunately (as far as I can tell from the rule book) no bait or dogs. The rules also say that you can hunt them only when another season is open and you must hunt for them with the ammunition that is allowed during that particular season. In other words, if dove season is the only season open and the only ammo you can use is #4 shot and smaller....you have to hunt the hogs with #4 shot and smaller. Right now it's squirrel, racoons, and other small game that we're allowed to use rimfire and #4 or smaller, not even a bow right now. I wouldn't think that tackling an animal that big would be wise to the ultimate least, but I have heard plenty of hunters say that they do it with a .22 mag. Does anyone know if that's even worth trying?
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Post by hunt4fun1 on Feb 9, 2004 18:42:08 GMT -5
There are a couple of guys on the site that will hunt em with a .22 but I like some thing MUCH bigger.
I use a 7mm Rem. Mag.
Every pig I ever shot fell where it stood.
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Post by gulfcoasthunter on Feb 9, 2004 20:07:16 GMT -5
The 22mag will put them down if you hit them in the head but I wouldn't won't to be on the ground and wound one. Don't try it unless you are an excellent marksmen.
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Post by flhuntress on Feb 9, 2004 22:46:33 GMT -5
I AGREE WITH GULFCOASTHUNTER!!!
GOOD LUCK AND BE SAFE.
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Post by noonebil on Feb 10, 2004 14:39:38 GMT -5
CCI Stinger for 22 long will also do the trick. In or right behind the ear. Anywhere else will just tee him off.
Hogs have a thick skull & heavy shoulder blade. Anything smaller than a 270 in these areas is no better than a pea shooter.
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Post by drhunter on Feb 10, 2005 11:30:37 GMT -5
 Ok, I'm new to hog hunting also. Silly question, What kind of hog call do you use. Distress, lonely, what?
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Post by noonebil on Feb 10, 2005 15:08:10 GMT -5
None. We either bay em with dogs or hunt em similar to still hunting deer (find where they are & wait).
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