2024 Hog Hunting Thread

[Micneador]

I know nothing about hog hunting as we don’t have them up here. Why don’t you use rifled slugs? Just curious. Before centerfire rifles were legalized for deer, we had some pretty tricked out sluggers that could reach out.

That TSS will out penetrate a slug too. If he bumped up to BB size TSS it'll pass through a hog at 100yds

 

[Will Harris]

We can only use slugs during firearms deer season. Outside of that we have to use what’s legal for the season in progress, right now that’s squirrel.

Where are you?

 

[brydan]

Where are you?

Louisiana

 

[Will Harris]

Louisiana

Am i on crack or is there not a big issue w wild hogs in every southern state? Why is it not open season on them? All weapons all year. At least on private

 

[Matki15]

Am i on crack or is there not a big issue w wild hogs in every southern state? Why is it not open season on them? All weapons all year. At least on private

On private land it is open year round with any weapon. Night hunting allowed as well. That’s when the 6.8 with night vision comes out, but for public land it’s one of those crappy things we have to deal with in Louisiana. It’s not horrible though, that TSS handles them pretty well out to unreasonable shotgun distances

 

[brydan]

Am i on crack or is there not a big issue w wild hogs in every southern state? Why is it not open season on them? All weapons all year. At least on private

Hunting for population control is completely different than hunting for food with an animal this prolific. It takes a massive amount of effort to try and eradicate an animal like that. We have a 5 month season on them already on public land and it isn't making a dent on the population. The states would have to start issuing bounties or something in order to get people to put in the effort it would require to really start reducing the population.

 

[Will Harris]

Hunting for population control is completely different than hunting for food with an animal this prolific. It takes a massive amount of effort to try and eradicate an animal like that. We have a 5 month season on them already on public land and it isn't making a dent on the population. The states would have to start issuing bounties or something in order to get people to put in the effort it would require to really start reducing the population.

I hear ya but it sounds like dnr is placing restrictions on an animal they want controlled. They should be handing out shells, not placing restrictions. Same w asian carp. 2 very invasive species that are good to eat and nutritious, but yet we have hungry people.

There are places w too many deer. Give non residents cheap tags. Instead, they place heavy restrictions on non residents.

Im sure theres more involved than i understand

 

[katiesmom]

Am i on crack or is there not a big issue w wild hogs in every southern state? Why is it not open season on them? All weapons all year. At least on private

It is open season on hogs all year in GA and AL. The restrictions come with what weapon is allowable. They get trapped as well. Hogs down here are NOT considered game animals. They are an invasive species. They cost farmers hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost crops.

They kill/eat everything. Fawns, turkey eggs, quail eggs, turtles, frogs. I have seen pictures of hogs with young fawns dead in their mouth. And don't be fooled, they can come after you as well.

As far as I'm concerned ALLSWINEMUSTDIE....


Sorry for the rant y'all. But they destroy game species...

 

[NMSbowhunter]

In MS you can hunt them 24/7/365 with Huey Gunships and miniguns if you want to on private land. On public it is only during any other open season with weapons and loads legal for that season and that leaves them untouchable for at least half the year on all public land. The problem is you can't get any landowners to let you hunt them unless you can absolutely guarantee you will be able to 100% exterminate them all. They don't want you hunting. They want an absolute guarantee of extermination. I doubt an H bomb would kill them all. A few would get away.

 

[Will Harris]

In MS you can hunt them 24/7/365 with Huey Gunships and miniguns if you want to on private land. On public it is only during any other open season with weapons and loads legal for that season and that leaves them untouchable for at least half the year on all public land. The problem is you can't get any landowners to let you hunt them unless you can absolutely guarantee you will be able to 100% exterminate them all. They don't want you hunting. They want an absolute guarantee of extermination. I doubt an H bomb would kill them all. A few would get away.

That makes no sense. If they wont let you hunt them, then they deserve the damage they suffer. We know recreational hunting isnt the answer, but its better than nothing.

I understand not hunting them during deer and turkey season but rn is a prime time to knock a few down or at least put some pressure on them to send them elsewhere

Rant over

 

[NMSbowhunter]

That makes no sense. If they wont let you hunt them, then they deserve the damage they suffer. We know recreational hunting isnt the answer, but its better than nothing.

I understand not hunting them during deer and turkey season but rn is a prime time to knock a few down or at least put some pressure on them to send them elsewhere

Rant over

People don't have to make sense, lol. In fact, it's better for your overall sanity if you don't try to apply logic to people's actions. It is much less frustrating. Most people are motivated by emotion, not reason. They don't want you on their land if they think you will enjoy it. They only want unpaid labor and a problem completely solved, which neither you nor anyone else can do.

And you are right, any hogs removed from the property will help. For example, if I remember correctly, sows can have 3 litters a year. Those piglets reach reproductive age at about one year old. Say a sow has 8 piglets per litter 3 times in a year. That's 24 piglets. Statistically say 50% are male and 50% are female. That is 12 female piglets that will be having up to 3 litters each in one year's time. Each one of them can now repeat this process.

 

[Micneador]

That makes no sense. If they wont let you hunt them, then they deserve the damage they suffer. We know recreational hunting isnt the answer, but its better than nothing.

I understand not hunting them during deer and turkey season but rn is a prime time to knock a few down or at least put some pressure on them to send them elsewhere

Rant over

Don't get me started on governments telling people what they can and can't do. I had a civil conversation with a local warden in December. He was speaking on night shooting these hogs during a deer gun season and how he didn't like it (OK law requires a notification to warden via call or text before shooting pigs at night during a deer firearm season on private) I had more or less replied that it's somebody's land that they have paid for, it's none of the states business what they do. They are SO scared of deer being poached. Kansas has an open night coyote season (except public lands ) why can't we?

 

[NMSbowhunter]

Don't get me started on governments telling people what they can and can't do. I had a civil conversation with a local warden in December. He was speaking on night shooting these hogs during a deer gun season and how he didn't like it (OK law requires a notification to warden via call or text before shooting pigs at night during a deer firearm season on private) I had more or less replied that it's somebody's land that they have paid for, it's none of the states business what they do. They are SO scared of deer being poached. Kansas has an open night coyote season (except public lands ) why can't we?

I suspect part of the night hunt notification is to head off the inevitable calls they will get about gunshots in the middle of the night. If they already know that someone is hunting hogs on XYZ road, and they get a call about shots fired near XYZ road, they don't have to suit up and haul butt over there trying to catch a poacher, and they can just tell the caller there is nuisance animal control going on over that way.

 

[Micneador]

I suspect part of the night hunt notification is to head off the inevitable calls they will get about gunshots in the middle of the night. If they already know that someone is hunting hogs on XYZ road, and they get a call about shots fired near XYZ road, they don't have to suit up and haul butt over there trying to catch a poacher, and they can just tell the caller there is nuisance animal control going on over that way.

I thought the same thing till the first night I shot hogs. There's a LOT of single/multiple gun shots out there at midnight. Maybe it's other hog shooters but even I was surprised how many there were in the area. Then i ripped 20 out of a 30 round mag on a sounder.

I still notify them during deer gun seasons, because I'm law abiding and don't feel like losing licenses/gear over a stipulation.

 

[NMSbowhunter]

I went back out yesterday and had to adjust on the fly since I could not access the area I had been hunting due to a rural bridge closure. I talked to the one of the workers and found out I could cut to the South and head East and bypass around to another area I had been looking at on the maps but had never been too before. The wind was sort of wrong to approach this area since I had to come in from the South with a South wind so I decided to move as fast as I could through a relatively open route that would be unlikely to have hogs midday and hunt my way back toward the truck from the North with the wind right for the last few hours of the day. So, this is what I did. The terrain went from open pines to bottomland to marsh to downright swamp back to bottomland. I had to cross several sloughs that almost overtopped my rubber boots. There was less hog sign in this area than in the spot I had initially planned to go to. There were tracks of various ages and also some old rooting sign. I found very little really fresh sign, and that was about 1.5 miles deep.

At one point I bumped three does and I went over to where they had been but could not see anything that would make me say they were there for a reason. Most likely they were moving through when I bumped them. I did follow their fresh tracks in the wet leaves and mud though, to see where they would go when pressured. I found a nice cane thicket surrounding a marsh that needs to be thoroughly investigated very soon. If the does liked it maybe a swamp donkey will too. It may be a safe haven when they feel pressured.

No hogs were seen during this outing. I did find sign they were in there at some point, but it is a big section and hard to get around some parts of it. I learned some new ground yesterday having to adapt on the fly. Some of my best hunts have been the result of having to adapt and move due to some unforeseen disturbance. If nothing else, I found some new potential deer spots for the fall. You can never have too many of those.

All told I did 3.8 miles in that hunt.

 

[Just_Hangin_N_GA]

I went back out yesterday and had to adjust on the fly since I could not access the area I had been hunting due to a rural bridge closure. I talked to the one of the workers and found out I could cut to the South and head East and bypass around to another area I had been looking at on the maps but had never been too before. The wind was sort of wrong to approach this area since I had to come in from the South with a South wind so I decided to move as fast as I could through a relatively open route that would be unlikely to have hogs midday and hunt my way back toward the truck from the North with the wind right for the last few hours of the day. So, this is what I did. The terrain went from open pines to bottomland to marsh to downright swamp back to bottomland. I had to cross several sloughs that almost overtopped my rubber boots. There was less hog sign in this area than in the spot I had initially planned to go to. There were tracks of various ages and also some old rooting sign. I found very little really fresh sign, and that was about 1.5 miles deep.

At one point I bumped three does and I went over to where they had been but could not see anything that would make me say they were there for a reason. Most likely they were moving through when I bumped them. I did follow their fresh tracks in the wet leaves and mud though, to see where they would go when pressured. I found a nice cane thicket surrounding a marsh that needs to be thoroughly investigated very soon. If the does liked it maybe a swamp donkey will too. It may be a safe haven when they feel pressured.

No hogs were seen during this outing. I did find sign they were in there at some point, but it is a big section and hard to get around some parts of it. I learned some new ground yesterday having to adapt on the fly. Some of my best hunts have been the result of having to adapt and move due to some unforeseen disturbance. If nothing else, I found some new potential deer spots for the fall. You can never have too many of those.

All told I did 3.8 miles in that hunt.

Nice adventure and great pics. Off subject a bit but what boots do you have on and what is the height of them. I need some new comfortable rubber boots.

 

[K98Al]

I thought the same thing till the first night I shot hogs. There's a LOT of single/multiple gun shots out there at midnight. Maybe it's other hog shooters but even I was surprised how many there were in the area. Then i ripped 20 out of a 30 round mag on a sounder.

I still notify them during deer gun seasons, because I'm law abiding and don't feel like losing licenses/gear over a stipulation.

Hey dude - I'm in Sapulpa also. I do most of my hunting around Cushing or Henryetta. Lots of pigs around Henryetta.

 

[NMSbowhunter]

Nice adventure and great pics. Off subject a bit but what boots do you have on and what is the height of them. I need some new comfortable rubber boots.

Those are Lacrosse (Burleys?) I believe. They are pretty comfortable but I also cut a foot shaped piece out of a yoga mat to put in them for extra support. It's sort of like a cushioned insole and really helps. I also have a pair of Gumleaf boots.

The Lacrosse are 18 inches tall. The Gumleaf are 17 inches tall. That 1 inch can make a difference. You wouldn't think it, but it can when you are right on the line crossing a slough.

Both of these are size 10's. Look at the difference in overall size side by side between the two brands. I will say the Gumleaf is a better stalking boot. it is narrower and overall slimmer than the Lacrosse. Last week I wore the Lacrosse Monday and the Gumleaf Tuesday and I could move quieter in the Gumleaf. The Gumleaf are about 3x the cost of the Lacrosse but have 80% rubber content compared to the Lacrosse's 20% rubber.

 

[Just_Hangin_N_GA]

Those are Lacrosse (Burleys?) I believe. They are pretty comfortable but I also cut a foot shaped piece out of a yoga mat to put in them for extra support. It's sort of like a cushioned insole and really helps. I also have a pair of Gumleaf boots.

The Lacrosse are 18 inches tall. The Gumleaf are 17 inches tall. That 1 inch can make a difference. You wouldn't think it, but it can when you are right on the line crossing a slough.

Both of these are size 10's. Look at the difference in overall size side by side between the two brands. I will say the Gumleaf is a better stalking boot. it is narrower and overall slimmer than the Lacrosse. Last week I wore the Lacrosse Monday and the Gumleaf Tuesday and I could move quieter in the Gumleaf. The Gumleaf are about 3x the cost of the Lacrosse but have 80% rubber content compared to the Lacrosse's 20% rubber.

Man why are you doing this to me... I had finally forgotten about the gum leaf boots that I almost talked myself into.... but no!!!!
Seriously, thanks as is is really good information. I was wondering how they looked next to other boots. I do wish the GL were taller. I was following a buddy across a creek last year watching his every step and he got to within 3/4" of the water going over. I assumed I would be good, find out half over that my boots were 1" shorter than his, no turning back and it was 2 hours in and the rest of the day to walk around in sloshy boots. Live and learn.

 

[NMSbowhunter]

Man why are you doing this to me... I had finally forgotten about the gum leaf boots that I almost talked myself into.... but no!!!!
Seriously, thanks as is is really good information. I was wondering how they looked next to other boots. I do wish the GL were taller. I was following a buddy across a creek last year watching his every step and he got to within 3/4" of the water going over. I assumed I would be good, find out half over that my boots were 1" shorter than his, no turning back and it was 2 hours in and the rest of the day to walk around in sloshy boots. Live and learn.

I'm sorry to temp you. I went back and forth and ended up ordering the Gumleaf. I end up using the Lacrossa and Gumleaf about 50/50. I know what you mean about having that little bit of extra length. I overtopped both these boots scouting last year about this time. If you don't own a boot dryer, let me tell you, they are the best thing since sliced bread. I will not go without having a boot dryer.

I also carry hip waders in the truck and chest waders. A couple of my spots are chest wader only. Hip waders will not cut it. The bad thing about those is they are not really packable, and the hip waders are bearable but have cheap boots on them, and the chest waders are heavy, hot and noisy and suffer from the same cheap boot bottoms. They are not comfortable to walk any distance in. I'm seriously considering some Wiggys Waders.