SEVERAL Hog hunting Q's......

[Don Batten]

Nothing says spring like a good case of redbugs(chiggers). They only itch for a couple of weeks. just scratch till they bleed and then put something like alcohol on them. If it don't burn real bad it aint doing no good. Nothing like waking up in the middle of the night for a good scratching. good luck Jeff. get us some wild pork to cook at Hickory. DB

[Hoyt]

Like Matt said..cover a lot of ground till you find the hogs. I don't worry about sneaking around I just want to cover ground fast while listening, smelling (you get close to hogs and the wind is right you will smell them, or if an old boar hog just walked through you can smell it)and mostly looking for fresh hog root'n. When I find "fresh" root'n I slow down and start hunting.

Back when I lived and hunted in Ga., S.C. and Fl. I always made sure I had my pocket knife and a string when I went hunt'n. Nowdays I check to see if I remembered the kitchen sink before I leave out.

[ckanous]

I recommmend a head net stuck in the pack also. We went this past June and bout got carried off by skeets when you were moving from place to place. Once you stop the Thermacell did fine. The trip before that they weren't as bad so I guess you never know so be prepared take both.

[James Wrenn]

Cool chothes,thermacell if you plan on sitting,permithrin is a given as is DEET cream for your hands,arms and face.I carry water,knife and a snack and otherwise go as light as I can.I also carry a gps and always know how to get back to a road,path or the truck because when you go to chasing a pack of hogs you kind of forget to look at landmarks.Nothing is worse than have a hog on the ground and looking around not knowing which way to drag.  :(    

[michaelschwister]

Chiggers really make things miserable, but rubber boots will stop them as long as you don't sit or lay down.  A good pair of knee high quiet and comfy rubber boots is the holy grail of S.E. hog hunting. LL Bean Green Wellies were the very best, but they don't sell them any more. Google "Green Wellies" and you may find them. I never used a thermocell, but rather a bug tamer suit.  When it is really hot wear just the bug tamer top and shorts under bug tamer bottum. and plenty of earth scented 100% deet bug juice keeps things livable.  Spring hog hunting in the swamps is a ball.  Many times they will be eating the heads off the grass, or chasing grasshoppers around so check out food plots and grassy areas at very first light in the AM, then stalk into the wind along the swamp edges where they meet the palmettos. Hogs will bed in the palmettos along the higher ground. Stay quiet and downwind and you WILL run into them.

Mike

[michaelschwister]

These are the best boots for stalking and heavy mud.  I have actually ran 10 miles in a pair one night in my FT Bragg days after I got my truck stuck.  I cut the buckle off as it makes noise.  They fit tight and comfy.

  http://www.wellie-boots.com/hunter-original-green-wellington-boots.htm

[Izzy]

All of this advice is perfect from what I experienced at Rays, uhhhhh, cept for Biggys. Only bugs in early March were a handful of skeeters and biting ants that I got mixed up with while crawling after hogs.Have fun and hunt the way you like.Ray is easy.