Hog hunting is very exciting, especially for those who love the taste of wild pork. Count me and my family in! We have enjoyed the hogs that I have harvested, prepared in a variety of delectable ways.
I have some hunting buddies who agree with me 100 percent. Brian Eaton and his wife Torrie, from Patterson, are avid hog hunters who mainly hunt the Atchafalaya Delta Wildlife Management Area (WMA). I have done some hog stalks with them, and they are great fun to hunt with.
“We hunt thick areas with good hog sign,” Brian Eaton said. “We move slowly and play the wind. Feeding hogs can be quite noisy. Use your ears and you may get close enough for a good shot.”
Hunting hogs on public land is much more difficult than hunting them on private land. The big advantage on private land is the ability to bait. Also on private land, nighttime hunting is allowed. As hogs are mostly nocturnal, this provides a huge advantage. But don’t despair, with careful scouting and perseverance, you can successfully find and harvest hogs on public land.
Scouting
As with any type of big game hunting, scouting is vital. Finding a hog hangout is not very difficult. Trying to catch up to them in daylight hours is considerably more so.
Feral hogs are fascinating creatures. They are very intelligent. They are also secretive and adaptable. Their tracks are similar to deer tracks, though more rounded in the front. Telltale signs of hogs include tracks, trails, large uprooted areas and wallows.
Game cams
After scouting and finding hog sign, you should put game cameras in the vicinity to monitor their activities. Try not to access the area too often, as your scent will quickly cause the hogs to relocate. They also may revert to their nocturnal activities. Then it may be a long time before you see one in the light of the day.
Stand placement
Set up several stand locations. This will give you an advantage, depending on the wind direction. Your choice of entering and exiting the site is extremely important. Avoiding the possibility of alerting the hogs is paramount to your success. If the wind is not going to be in your favor, find another location to hunt. Pressuring hogs will lead to them quickly relocating.
Marking objects
When you do find a hog hangout, there is usually a log, stump, fence post or other object they choose to rub on. This is done to scent mark their area, to remove insects and parasites from their skin or simply to scratch an itch. They will return to this area day after day unless human scent becomes an issue.
Control your scent
When hogs disappear, the likely culprit is you. Yes, you! The more you visit their area, your chances for success drastically decrease. Hogs do not take well to human scent. Their sense of smell is other worldly. I’ve read hogs can sense odors up to five miles away and up to 25 feet underground.
Breeding habits
Feral hogs are prolific breeders. Sows can have two to three litters per year, with four to 10 young. It has been my experience that when a sow is walking through the woods with young piglets following her, the piglets will often grunt quite loudly. An alert hunter can often detect the group approaching by these grunts. The mother sow is normally silent. Adult male boars also will emit low growls that sound quite intimidating, but do alert you to their presence.
When a hog detects a human they immediately go into what I call “stealth mode.” They approach quite noisily at times, cracking twigs and grunting loudly, but if they detect you through your scent, movement or sound, they will disappear like a ghost. Not a whisper of a sound. They will just fade way, like they were never there. It is quite amazing.
Wind direction
Obviously, hunters are at a severe disadvantage when hunting hogs. That said, we must use the resources available to us to plan a successful hog hunt. The first thing we must deal with is our scent. Scent blocking spray will definitely help, but figuring out wind direction is extremely important. The problem with wind direction is hogs may enter the location from a different direction than you expect. Game camera photos and the direction of tracks on trails can help in that regard.
Choice of weapon
Some WMAs offer special hog seasons which run after deer season finishes. The types of weapons used on these WMAs include rifles (no larger than .22), shotguns and archery equipment. Hunter orange is mandatory.
“I use a 12 gauge loaded with 3 ½-inch double 00 buckshot,” Eaton said. “Other times it is a .22 mag rifle armed with full metal jacket bullets.”
Eaton said he aims for the head or shoulder area with his shotgun.
“Big hogs get a follow-up shot to the head,” he said. “I never trail a wounded hog into the thick stuff. I once had a close call with a big hog that scared the daylights out of me! Never again!”
I usually try to put a shot behind the ear with my .22 mag rifle. That does the trick, but the kill area is very small. Some say a better choice is the heart/lung area. The shot should be just behind the leg, one third of the way up from the bottom of the chest. The necessary, precise placement of a shot with a .22 mag rifle warrants a shooting distance in which you are very proficient for ethical purposes.
Up to the challenge
As you can now see, hunting hogs on public land is quite challenging. To me, that is a large part of the fun. We thrive on strategy. Many have succeeded and so can you! Are you willing to put in the work? If so, your reward will be some delicious wild pork for you and your family. Good luck and be safe! God bless!
