Super Duper Hog info thread

[Littlefeather]

OK, This is gonna be quick. Im about to go after some evening swine.

Some things I left out in the starting statment. Herd pigs don't always run alone with just their little group. As the Sows come into heat dominant Boars from around the area will stage up behind the herd hogs as they travel. As hogs travel, they generally are led by the smallest to the largest, in that order. If you are hunting bait, you will constantly see this happen. In comes the little dumb one, followed by the teenagers, and then young adults. Here's where the kicker comes in. If ya have a sow in heat in the bunch, there is a good chance there is a dominant Boar and maybe some contenders there as well. It takes these bruisers a little time to make sure all is clear and then they'll ease on in but they will always come in last. The trick is to remain calm and patient. That truly is the hard part. Next installment later tonight. I've got a great Moon to hunt this evening. CK

[FLGATOR]

Keep it goin, open the flood gates boys!!!!  I wanna learn more about hog rasslin, gettin down, dirty, and close!  How about some inside hands on wrasslin  info.      

[southpawshooter]

Whoaaaa, excellent thread Curtis!!!     I'll be doing my first hog hunt this spring and will soak up the info like a sponge.  This is just great.......

[Bacote Kid]

I'll drive ya nutts with this but remember to keep it low and tight to the leg...  

[tippit]

Bacote Kid, That's the same shot on a bear.  I'm gettin' pumped for the TXS06 now!  Thanks CK really informative stuff...Jeff

[Bacote Kid]

Tippit you talkin about the Texas Shoot out. There will be a guy there from Finland named Petri there. He is gonna make it out to our place in the Hill Country and chase some free range Black Buck Does while he is in Texas. Let me know if you're interested. We ain't a commercial ranch but we do some hunt's from time to time. Affordable daily rates with 2 doe per day minimums. Spottem rate is real high. Gettin close enough to get an arrow in one is another story. Check out Sars thread Black Buck Antehopelss...

[NorthShoreLB]

Great assesment on the big boars CK.

Dumb and Blind ??
 there's a couple of them that have being making a fool out of me for a few months now.

Manny

[herb haines]

one thing that was mentioned and i will say it again .pigs aren't a north American animal come from the old world so thier vitals are positioned forward of where they are in the animals native to here like white tails .so go for shoulder or angling forward .also from experience my one and only piggy , you won't get much penatration going through the shield .got less than 6 inches from 15 ft with 53# bow and sharp broadhead .found out i can shoot real fast LOL .--- herb--- hope to practice what i preached in a month -- come on Texas Sweat

[Littlefeather]

OK, My night hunt was uneventful so we'll move on.
Lets do  scents, baits and attractants  next. I hope everyone doesn't include everything they've ever used that worked. This will be a long thread indeed if that happens. Most anything stinky will grab a hog by the nose. Lots and lots of baits will work. This includes but is not limited to Strawberry jello, diesel, sour corn, rotten vegetables, and one of my favorites, fish. If you are planning on a upcomming hunt you can start your bait/scent now. The best I've found and is most widely used is plain ol corn. The next is sour corn. The juice drained off of a bucket of sour corn is great attractant scent if you live in an area where baiting is illegal. Soak corn in a covered bucket of water or beer for a couple of weeks. Use the corn where permissable or just the juice where it is not.
This works well also with fish if you bowfish a lot. Just cut up the fish into chunks, soak in a bucket of water till things start to smell bad, drain the water off and use the water as attractant.
We'll cover how to use and where later. This gives you time to start your own stink factory.

Hog Estrus and Dominant Boar scents: I must say that I was as excited as I could get when I was told about this stuff. Let me say it works sometime. The down side is that it works in very specific situations "like calling" and doesn't seem to work at all in other situations. The trick with the commercial scents is to use them where hogs will already be. In otherwise, you can use them around a bait site, along a well traveled trail, or around a pond that is getting hit daily. If you just use the scents randomly, hoping to draw a hog across the countryside, pack a lunch. You are going to be on a long wait. Beware when using these scents around yourself. The Estrus and dominant Boar scents bring out the fighting side of boar hogs and I've had at lease one very close call because I was stupid when using the scents. The key to everything is to use each tool available where and when you need to use it. That is important!

Here is the thing that is most important of all when using this stuff. I have learned this over and over and I still screw up sometime. Old hogs are very smart. These guys develop a routine and know everything associated with it. If a hog travels a trail every night and every night he runs past the same sights and same ol smells and all of a sudden one night you change something, it sets him on alert. He might like the smell of what you have offered but he is not stupid and most often will circle repeatedly, checking wind and anything he can see before going in. He will bust you  because of  the bait or scent! In other words, it is sometime best to NOT use baits or attractants especially with Dominant Hogs. If you've figured out their travel corridor, it is sometime best to just use the tools in the small pouch. If a feeder is something hogs are used to feeding at every night, they will generally rush right in without much thought. If you introduce a new scent to this area and they are used to no scent every time they are here, THEY WILL GO ON ALERT! The hogs that are used to rushing in will now start circling to try and figure out what has changed at their beloved bait site. You WILL get busted! OK, Im gonna let this soak in and hopefully get some other input. Please don't start listing every bait you've ever used. This will be the longest thread in history if you do. Thanks, CK

[Shaun]

I've seen CK use a walking stick when he tracks a hit hog - looks a lot like a good hickory pick handle - even has a name though I forget what he calls it. Said he has had to use it once or twice.

[cajunbowhntr]

Good stuff  CK. I plan on chasing a few during our spring turkey season. One thing I found out quick about the heard hogs or sounds.When they go from point a to b they ain't slippin around like deer.They get up and go at a pretty good trot,so ya better be ready.


CB

[herb haines]

Shaun ,CK's persuader is called "sweet spot"      almost as big as he is but not near as tough --- herb

[Littlefeather]

HaaHaaa! That pick-ax handle(Sweet Spot) has bailed me out of more than one tight spot that's for sure. No chance of anyone but the hog getting injured with that weapon as well.

Cajun hit on a great point when he noted that hogs make lots of noise when running in groups. We'll touch more on that when we talk about locating hogs. Location will be the last subject because we are going to be talking about very broad, Nation wide generalizations. For now lets talk about using scents and baits properly and we'll touch on calling hogs as well.

The place to use baits is in areas where hogs are known to be but seem to have no real routine. You can introduce baits and scents to these areas and generally within a week or two generate a routine that was non-existant before doing so. Once a pig has located a source of food he never ever forgets where it is. Even months after discontinuing baiting, hogs will return to the location to recheck it.

In areas where baiting is illegal, I would advise using scents or better yet, skip on down the page to "redirecting hogs". A good way to use scents is to dig a hole close to an area with hog sign already present. Dig the hole about 18" deep placing the dirt to one side. Pour some of your sour corn juice or fish juice in the hole and start backfilling a little at a time with the dirt you had originally dug out. Mix the scent with the dirt thoroughly as you fill the hole back in. Hogs will locate the scent and keep themselves busy for hours digging for the goody they know is in there somewhere. Diesel rags wired to tree stumps and pieces of creosote posts also will attract hogs. They will be drawn in to use these areas to rub themselves down. This is for insect control on themselves. I have huge trails on my home place that lead to a creosote pole that washed up in a flood.

Directing hogs and redirecting travel corridors: Like I mentioned before, many hogs develop a daily routine and rarely deviate unless something changes in the world they are used to. If you have found the lair of a large hog or have found an area that the hogs seem to be bedding in you can generally direct them with little effort. Generally these locations have trails that the hogs are traveling. You may choose not to use baits or scents and for you guys this will work as well. Set your stand location on the downwind side of the trail. Hogs are generally running when in travel so you will need to stop them for a shot. Find your point of ambush and create a detour in the trail using logs and debris. I will lay a log across a trail in a manner that will make the hog 1/4 my location as he goes around my detour. I generally place a few drops of vanilla or something similar at the end of the detour to make the hogs stop for the shot. You can also use detours with logs and debris to keep the hogs from circling downwind of your stand location. Use your imagination here. I also cannot stress scent control enough when setting up these locations. If a deer can smell your presence, a hog can smell you twice as good! Use your best ability in controlling your scent.

OK, Hog calling is next. Any question? Any input? I know the demeanor of hogs and the way they travel may be different by region. If you guys have input, please speak up. CK

[ptaylor]

What great info! Please continue. I'm going to have to print this off when your done.

[Stalker58]

This is great stuff,thank's (in advance)for the great info.Can't wait to use some of this stuff.

 

[Caddo]

My input. Maybe this will help Some folks out.

 


LD

[Littlefeather]

Water! I left out water! This is something that is absolutely imperative that everyone know. Hogs are water mongers! Im not a Vet, nor do I claim to know the full biology of hogs but I do know they will die in one day in a trap without water. I hear about it all the time from Ranchers around here. If you are experiencing any kind of dry weather pattern, find the nearest water source in relation to hog sign and you've got them. When I find pond during a dry spell that has hog sign present, I'll hunt the water in favor of a food source every time.  

[Huntschool]

Killed a "right smart" number of piggies on my Texas forays.  Always... Always.... sharp broadheads and wait for that quatering shot.  Like Ferret said it will do the job.

My bow poundage is from 53 and down so I weight my arrows a bit just for good measure.  Curtis and I shoot simular arrows although his are heavier.

I prefer shooting over bait from a stand.  Gives me time to "sorta scope out" the pig I want.  I do not shoot big ones.  I prefer 70-100 lbs.  Way good on the tabel.  Actually, my wife's orders.

I have done some spot and stalk and I have to totaly agree with Curtis and others, ya need to be aggressive when the stalk/shot start to come together.  These devils can smell a peanut a mile away.

I have killed a few with flat broadside shots but its a waiting game for the onside front leg to get to and stay in a good position.  Actually pooched a shot and dropped the pig like a rock by hitting the spine.  Dumb luck.  I would not try for that shot.

Keep it commin.... this is great stuff

[cajunbowhntr]

One more thing I've learned is hogs are more sensitive to hunting pressure than deer.If you are not hunting a big piece of property it is real easy to run them off.We have several sounds that will be on our place early in bow season eating acorns but after a few weeks of hunting pressure they are completely nocturnal or just flat out gone.Now come on CK I wanna here about calling!Soooeeeeee!


CB

[Littlefeather]

Hog vocalizations and calling:

I spend countless days a year watching, listening and shooting pigs in the wild. I do know hogs communicate in a number of ways but I can tell you without a doubt that I've never heard one hog call another from any distance. I personally think the idea is total BS.

Now, having said such a bold statment, I will share my thoughts on this whole issue. Hogs communicate constantly. I don't think I've ever been around hogs when they aren't constantly talking to each other. This talk consists of constant, low pitched, gutteral grunts and squeels. This is the way everyone stays together and knows each others pecking order. Another vocalization you will hear is the
loud, shrill squeal, evolked by pain or a fight over food or a sow. This is generally a one time sound that lasts a total of about 2-3 seconds and stops, not to be repeated unless there is a fight over food. Breeding hogs squeel but are seemingly in constant forward motion.

CALLING: This is an issue that I've totally tried to avoid due to the fact that I think it is  the best way to assure yourself that you will never see a hog . Having these thoughts running through my head has led me to test this idea against hogs in a wide variety of situations. During all this testing I have in fact proven my original thoughts incorrect. Calling will in fact work but once again the  timing must be perfect  or you are going to blow your cover. Here is where I've found calling to work.

When easing through the underbrush in close proximity to areas I know hold hogs, I will occasionally stop, listen, and then give one short, solid grunt. THAT'S IT! One grunt! If there is a hog in close proximity he will instinctively return a mirror grunt to the one I just issued. This is the way hogs communicate their location to one another. Once I have a hog located I will generally circle the area to get a good wind and then and only then will I issue another grunt. This second grunt will be aggressive and will be issued as territorial. Every time he grunts back at me I get more aggressive and will even start breaking sticks along with grunting. This technique works on Boar hogs and large Sows with little piglets. I do not use any commercial calls because I have not heard one that mimics the sounds that need to be made. I just walk around constantly practicing making sounds that I have personally heard while afield. Sounds crazy and I get lots of strange looks but I also sound realistic in the woods. LOL!

The second place where calling works the very best is when you have accidently stumbled upon a bedded group of hogs. When you have busted up the group, they will generally go several different directions and because they mostly operate as a family group, will start looking for where the others have gone. They are looking for each other by issueing gutteral grunts. You will hear hogs in several directions communicating their location to the others. This is when I will ease forward to the location the pigs were before I spooked them. I will get a good assult location and will grunt every time one responds. This will bring hogs in on a string. They will be approaching you from several directions and will know your exact location as they are comming toward you. Get ready, stay calm, and shoot straight. You absolutely do not want to wound one in this situation. A squeeling, hurt pig in this environment will evolk a defensive position from all the dominant hogs in the group and they will rush in to help their injured commrad. This is the situation that will make you or break you in hog hunting.

Feeders and calls. Never ever use a call in a feeder situation. Hogs compete within the family group but will shy away from competition from other groups of hogs. This is generally true unless you find a competative Boar hog. All other hogs will try and avoid confrontation with other family groups of hogs if they can help it.

If there were many hogs at a feed site when you shot one, they generally run ten different directions like we already talked about. Get a second arrow on the string and issue "one" grunt. If they answer you, grunt again. Continue and you will bring the group back together for shot #2. OK, I need a break from typing for awhile. There's more on this later. CK