Wild Boar Hunting

Boar Hunting,
I love hunting Boar (maybe not as much as FVR but I still love it), the meat is real tasty and to me the hunt is worth the trip.
The main problem seems to be the majority of hunters are applying deer hunting skills and tactics to hog hunting. It's true that many of those skills will get you a long way and are needed to locate fresh sign and determine the presence of hogs. But at some point those skills must give way to new ones. Skills that are adapted to the ways and life styles of wild hogs and not deer. Now all of my experience comes from the Piney Woods and Mountains of Clarkrange Tennessee (1100 acres of a closed down Dairy Farm on my ex-wifes side, that’s why its good to stay friends with her family), for years I have successfully hunted wild hogs there. I started out just like many hunters do. Seeing lots of fresh hog sign while hunting for deer and rarely finding the hogs or just always being one step behind. Over the years I have found that there are reasons for this. The main reasons are the differences in lifestyles between the white tail deer, which most hunters have adapted their skills to, and wild hogs. Another big difference between hunting deer and hogs that should be considered is that in Tennessee and many other states hogs are considered to be nothing more than nuisance animals. Because of that fact the rules and regulations are very lenient. This allows more freedom and time for the pursuit of the wild hog. They can be hunted 365 days a year and 24 hours a day with most any weapon or trap. Even with that leniency their numbers are still increasing rapidly. Deer on the other hand or highly regulated game animals in every state, whose population must be guarded and well managed to sustain their numbers but they are the fastest growing animal species in the United States. This strongly reflects the difference in the animals.
The difference in lifestyle between deer and hogs really creates a large gap between the animals. Deer, as we all know breed once a year and will have one fawn and sometimes twins. Wild Sow will have two litters a year with most litters consisting of three to five piglets with the most common number of a litter being four. Her offspring will most likely be bred at or before six months old again having three or four piglets.
I can hear the controversy brewing on that one already. I know that hunters and outdoor enthusiast have and do report sightings of wild sow with 8, 10, 12 and even more piglets and some being months apart. And yes that's true. But let me set the record strait and explain why this is a common thing to see. Wild Sow will nurse most any piglet and wild piglets will go to extreme lengths to suckle any sow that is producing milk (yes, they're born pigs). The piglets also run together in their own little packs, along with the sow, where there is safety in numbers. Furthermore all the nursing mothers won't always stay in a tight pack with the piglets. These facts will account for most all of the sightings of the higher number of piglets to one sow. Regardless of the misinformation, the breeding is prolific. One sow can easily be responsible for generating over 1,000 offspring in only five years. Which is a very conservative figure. The major difference between deer and hogs is their lifestyle. It's the lifestyle and habits that will require a hunter to use different techniques and skills to successfully hunt Wild hogs.
Wild hogs have no home territory. This is the biggest difference and one of the main reasons hunters fail to consistently take wild hogs. It is well known and documented that deer have a 'Home Range'. This Home is often described or limited to one or two square miles and deer won't stray far from home even under heavy hunting pressure. Wild hogs on the other hand, may go for miles and never return to an area even under the slightest hunting pressure. It would be wise to remember this fact if hogs have just entered or rarely enter your hunting area and a hunter wants to shoot one. If hunter plays his cards the wrong way and scares them it may be a long time before any more return. With this detail in mind a hog hunter should take care not to intrude on hogs and their hiding places. It's true the same care and precaution should be taken for deer also. But look at the difference. If you scare a white tail deer from it's resting place that deer will limit the distance it retreats and stay in it's home range. With hogs, forget it. If hogs are jumped from their hiding place they will most likely not stop their retreat anywhere near the same area. Then the hunter has lost his opportunity to take one of them.

So what should a hunter do to successfully find and take these hard to hunt hogs?
First of all it's fair to assume that the population of wild hogs in a given hunting area will strongly determine the success of a hunter. In areas with high population or overpopulation the easier it will be to successfully hunt wild hogs. In most any situation hunters can improve their odds on taking a hog by following some simple guidelines. In many cases the first signs of wild hogs are noticed in open fields where they have begun rooting up the ground. Rooting is one of the highly prevalent sign hogs can make. They're easy to spot and keep track of.
The first mistake hunters will make after noticing rooting is to go in the woods and search of the hog's hide out. That is the last thing a hunter should do. The first thing that should be done is to study the sign and determine how fresh the sign is and for how long, or how many days the hogs have been rooting in one area. This is important information, because wild hogs are creatures of habit. The one thing that hunters can and should try to take advantage of is the hog's repetitive behavior or patterns, which is a weakness. A hunter should look for trails leading into the rooted pastures. Hogs will often use the same trail over and over again making a clean path under a fence and into the fields or pastures. They will often root in same areas for days and weeks at a time. By studying and identifying these sign a skilled hunter should be able to determine whether or not the hogs have established a consistent pattern. Hog Wallows and rubs are also signs made by wild hogs that a hunter can watch for and establish patterns on. By judging the activity at these locations and combining the rooting in pastures and other areas hunters can put together and establish a solid pattern of hog activity which is a must for a successful hunt. It's not necessary to establish a complete pattern from the bedding area to the rooting area. All that is needed is one firm piece of the pattern, such as the rooting in fields. Once that pattern is established a hunter can begin developing a method or strategy to hunt the hogs. A hunter can also change and alter the patterns of hogs to suit his needs. In fact deer hunters shoot many hogs, over corn feeders. There are many reasons why corn feeders are an asset to hunting hogs. The main reason is that they can alter and strengthen hog patterns and bring the hogs to hunters instead of the hunters having to find the hogs. This goes back to the basic principal, mentioned earlier, of not going in to find the hogs because it runs them off and they may not return. That's a big mistake when it comes to hog hunting. Again, the idea way to a successful hog hunt is to take advantage of the hog's weaknesses. The most popular way to do this is with bait. In some states this may not be legal, to some hunters it may not be ethical, but none the less it is a highly successful strategy. By routinely baiting one or more spots whether with automated feeders or other devices hogs can be lured into a routine or pattern that can help make any hunter successful. With care and proper hunting techniques it can bring in hogs and in many cases it can hold hogs on the hunters property.

Prehunt preparations can make a hunting spot better or it can ruin a hunt, it all depends on what the hunter's intentions are. There are several kinds of hunts a hunter will be preparing for. Long Term Hunting, Short Term Hunting and Quick Hunts or all types of hunting conditions that hunters may be faced with. Preparing for each one will be vastly different. The preparation for Long Term Hunting would involve lots of activities such as sawing limbs or small trees and cutting grass with a weed eater and other intrusive methods.
It would possibly involve setting up feeding devices and comfortable stands near areas where hogs have had established patterns for years. This kind of activity is sure to scare the hogs off for an extended period of time. But, in the long run it should provide excellent hunting. This is not the kind of preparation a hunter would take if hogs were in the area and a hunter was faced with a limited amount of time.
When a hunter is restricted to Short Term Hunting, such as a month or two months as some public land is now governed by it would be wise to consider other less intrusive measures of preparation. This would also be true for those Quick Hunts of just one or two days. In this situation a hunter would be scouting for fresh hog sign and trying to establish a pattern that already exists. When pattern is found, without scaring the hogs that are on the pattern, it would be wise for the hunter to stop and study the signs.
In a Short Term Hunt a hunter would leave the area after studying it. The plan would be to move into other areas if time permitted but not to risk jumping the hogs. The hunter can return the next day study the sign and see if the hogs have returned if so plans could be made for certain types of preparation that would not be intrusive, noisy or otherwise alert wary hogs. Such as baiting the area with corn by scattering it on the ground. It is not wise to pile the corn up. It's better to scatter the corn and make the hogs roam the area more and work for the corn. This will help stir natural odors in the area and help cover your activity. It also helps to bury corn in deep holes so it will keep the hogs coming back to finish getting the corn. All of this will reinforce the present pattern of those hogs and possibly bring in more.
The hunter should be prepared with some kind of light stand that can be carried into the area and set up quietly and with very little effort. The preparation could take more than two or three days with the hunter being very cautious too never jump the hogs or leave intrusive odors or damage. The baiting would continue and should lead to taking a hog either day or night. If night hunting is not allowed the hunter would have to study the sign and figure which direction the hogs are coming from. If it becomes obvious that the hogs will not come out in the daylight hours of morning or evening then the operation would need to be moved ever closer to where the hogs are coming from careful to never jump or scare the hogs. It would also be wise for the hunter to stay clear of the area during the middle of the day. He could search more areas to establish patterns from other groups of hogs and start working more and more spots. A portable climbing stand comes in handy in these situations. The hunter should remain patient be confident that he is afforded some time to have a successful hunt. A hunter who has only a day or two is at a real disadvantage.
The Quick Hunter in the same situation as the Short-Term hunter above will be faced with having to make quicker decisions and will need to very skilled at reading and judging sign. When the pattern is found he will have to study the sign and decide whether to stop or proceed closer. The main factor in this decision is whether or not he can or will hunt during the nighttime hours. If he can hunt during the night it would be better to stop and quickly and quietly prepare for the upcoming hunt. A portable chair or climbing stand is all that should be used.
If the hunter is dayhunting only he will have to judge the area and the sign and decide whether to go further toward the hogs and risk jumping them where he should be prepared to shoot or stopping. The guiding factor for me is always the location. To make it simple for daytime hunting you will always need to be near some kind of dense cover. If there were no type of dense cover than I would track the hogs till I did reach some kind of noticeable dens cover. At that point I would stop and set up and wait or go on in after them. Luck with as much skill will determine the success of these short hunts.
Once the preparation is done and the patterns are established it's important that all activity be held to a minimum around any areas that hogs are frequently using. I can't count the number of times that I have taken hunters out to their stands, which are hot and heavy with hog activity only to see them unzip their pants and relieve themselves or pull out a cigarette and start smoking. They may as well turn around and go home at that point cause no wild hogs are likely to come around and stay when they get a smell of all that. Remember that hogs are the most intelligent animals in the woods here in North America. If you underestimate them to any degree less than that your hunts will most likely remain or be mostly unsuccessful.

Heading out to the stand for a long hunt at night will require some thought too. There are methods and things to know that can make the hunt easier and more successful. Remember to bring some extra corn with diesel on it. This corn should be spread out, not piled, in any visible areas from your the stand. This can really help because when hogs get up and start moving at night it's usually at a steady fast walk. Keep in mind that not every hog walking by the stand knows about the baited area that has been attracting other hogs. They may simply speed right on by and be gone before you know they were there. So if the extra corn is scattered in all directions that are visible from the stand, and a hog wonders into the area they will stop to eat the corn. This should allow for a good clean shot.
On dark nights it's important that you hunt with your ears because you can't see with your eyes. Those feeding devices that create lots of noise will now be ready to pay off. You can also listen for the hogs crunching the corn. Hogs are very loud smackers. Along with smacking they make lots of noise sniffing out the corn that is scattered on the ground (not in piles). With the smacking, crunching and loud sniffing going on the hunter can get ready to switch on the light. This is a critical point in the hunt.
If the light is too bright it will scare the hogs. No 500,000 or 1,000,000 candlepower lights are needed. What you should have is a light that clips on to your gun or scope and can simply be turned on by an easy to get to rocker switch. These lights are sold in most popular hunting stores and magazines. Prices range from 30.00 to over 100.00 depending on the type you purchase. Some of the brighter lights will require filtered lenses that will be either red or blue. The purpose of these lenses is to dim the light so they won't scare the animals. Some hunters believe the lenses will cause hogs eyes to shine brighter. Hogs eyes do not shine or reflect back at you like deer and varmint eyes do. In fact hogs are very hard to see at night their dark colors absorb light making them very difficult to see. Once the hogs are lit up a hunter can either choose which hag they want or shoot the first one that comes into view.
This is how me and my ex-uncle-in-law hunt boars in the Tennessee Mountains of Clarkrange, alot of hunters do it differently, we bait and use a variety such as corn where he puts diesel on it to keep out the racoons (I don't really like the gas on the corn but I must say it does work), we have even used a couple gallons of sardines as bait, but play around and come up with your own tricks, whatever works to put pork on the table is good. FVR I know is an avid Boar Hunter and one day I will have to get with him so we can boar hunt my ex's farm in Tennesse or down there in Georgia where he's at. (You rad that FVR, hope so) If you have any questions ask away, me or FVR should be able to cover them, and some others on here hunt boar as well.
Good Hunting.
Beo,

Beo, I remember that farm. You took me and Berg and Stamper there once for a weekend of ferral goat hunting. Man big place and we walked a ton of it. Goor post bro, and the memory of that farm hit again. Thanks.

Yeah I'm curious to see what FVR thinks.

Wild boar hunting. Reminds me of a story growing up about my dad. Dad was not a hunter, at least not that I knew of. He told me a story of how during WWII he went wild boar hunting on a regular basis. When I asked him about it, he said he even had some pictures of it. He spent most of his time in North Africa. He found the picture. It was of a string of seven wild boar that he had killed with him standing in front. He told me that he was a real sportsman. Oh yeah, he was standing there with two thompson submachine guns. Real sporting dad, I said. His reply was, yeah, but we ate good.

Beo,

I very much enjoyed reading your info. You pretty much hit it on the head. I wish I had more time to go afield nowdays, I will later when the kids get older.

Your statement

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Wild hogs have no home territory. This is the biggest difference and one of the main reasons hunters fail to consistently take wild hogs.

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Is so true. That is the problem most hunters have. They go in and over hunt the area. Hogs will be there oneday, and a few miles away the next.

I hunt hogs and I miss hogs and sometimes I get a hog. With my schedule, I usually end up hunting in the afternoon. This is when most piggys are bedded down in the pines. That is where you will find me and that is where you have close encounters of the hog kind.

Hogs can't see worth a darn, but boy can they smell. Wind is def. a key factor. They hear pretty well also, so if you make too much noise going into the thickets, ya can hear them going out there escape routes. It is kind of neat to be crawling through a tunnel and put your hand in warm hog crap, kind of gives ya the heeby jeebys.

I will be reading and re reading this post. I can never learn enough about hunting hogs and that is where you can find me during turkey season. You can have them thar discusting nasty, critter infested birds. I'll be sneaking in the thickets for hogs, if I see a turkey, which sometimes I do, I'll shoot the nasty critter. Turkey feather are good fletchings, the bones make good calls and trade items, and I may just find a recipe yet that makes the wild bird paletable.

I have used a deer grunt call and have called hogs to me. With scary results!

Thanks.

Here's how we bait and other methods when I go to Tennessee.
Baiting Boars
Many things should be taken into account before choosing a bait. The bait is always a big topic for debate. Some experienced hunters are completely convinced that sour corn is the best and no other can compare. Others have home brews that may contain beer or grape or raspberry Jell-O and the lists go on. This section is not to debate home brews, it's to provide information on how to bring in and hold hogs so hunters can shoot them. There are lots of things to consider when choosing bait or a combination of baits. One of those considerations should be the coons. It does no good to put out 20 pounds of corn for the hogs when the coons will scarf it up before the hogs ever find it. Another one is using bait to cover a hunters scent, and another one is that the corn should remain crunchy so it will make noise when the hogs are feeding. Noise covers the hunters noises, alerts other hogs to a feeding frenzy and on those dark moonless nights it alerts hunters to the presence of hogs on the bait. With these reasons in mind I strongly recommend corn mixed with diesel or corn and milo mixed with diesel. Diesel will deter coons, it has a powerful aroma and the corn will stay crunchy. To prepare bait a hunter simply applies one quart of diesel to 5 gallons of corn. There is no need to let the mixture soak and more diesel can be used if desired.
Baiting Devices
There are lots of ways to bait for hogs.
One common way is to dig a hole one or two feet deep and one or two feet across. Place some bait in the bottom and cover it with a layer of dirt. Place some more bait in the hole and cover it with a layer of dirt. Proceed till the hole is full then be sure to place some bait on top. The hogs will work long and hard to dig the corn up and will return time after time till the corn is gone and they loose hope of getting any more. As long as the hole is continually baited the hogs should return.
Another way to bait a spot is to utilize pipe. Four and five inch sewer pipe with the holes already in it works real well. The rigid sewer pipe can be cut into two or three foot pieces with caps on each end. Simply remove a cap, fill it a little over half full and place it on the ground. It would be wise to anchor it in such a fashion that the hogs can knock it around and get the corn out with out dragging it off where you can't find it. You'll find that this is inexpensive to make, it makes some noise to alert you when the hogs are on it. It also makes the corn last a little longer by making it more difficult for the hogs to get the corn out.
Flexible sewer pipe called ADS can also be used. Again either four or five inch pipe is recommended. I recommend buying ADS pipe in 10 feet pieces, with no holes in it. You'll find it's easy to cut some ¾ inch holes with just a pocketknife. I recommend one hole every two or three foot. One end can be smashed together and wired closed. The other end is tied about three feet up a "T" Post and left open so corn can be poured into the pipe. This pipe is very inexpensive, it costs around 3.75 for a 10-foot piece.
The more expensive way to go is an Automatic Feeder mounted underneath a 50-gallon barrel. I would recommend a feeder that can be set to throw corn about 2 hours before dark and then once more at around 11:00 PM. These feeders are reliable and require less maintenance. And can save lots of corn by limiting its availability. It's hard to go wrong these feeders but they do need to be guarded against coons getting to the motors and steeling your corn. In many cases they also need to be protected from the hogs too. Hogs can push over the stands that the barrels are sitting on.
Placing your bait devices
Once a hunter has chosen bait and the devices to hold the bait it's then time to choose the spots where the bait will be placed. These spots should be easy to get to. They should be placed in an area that will fit the hunting method to be used. They should be located for enough away from any bedding areas so that the hogs can not hear, see or smell a hunter as they arrive to start their hunt. The baited spots are best located directly next to trails, wallows and other frequently used areas. The location is extremely important in all those regards, especially where there are fewer hogs around. Despite what many hunters believe hogs really aren't some kind of mobile four-legged corn detectors. Home brews of no kind will work some kind of magic or miracle and make hogs go where they haven't gone before. In order for the bait to be found quickly it must be placed so that the hogs will most likely walk right into it. Sometimes it helps to trickle a trail of corn leading to the baiting device.

Does one bait hogs then hunt them from a blind?

Ok so where is the Bacon and what time will it be done? Also what time do I need to be there?

I have never hunted hogs. As a hunter, I admit to being like crashdive123 dad. 99% of the hunting I have done, in my life, has been for two legged low life scum and they are far from eatable.

I do go out for small game about 3 or 6 times a year. Ugly is always bring something in for me to dispatch and fix for him. He likes his rabbit rare and ground squirrel well cooked.

I have friends that bring me deer and elk. The storage locker has a freezer full of the stuff. Hunting Bacon would be nice. I just wish we had free roaming bacon in the area.

Don