How to Hog Hunt
Hunting wild hogs can be stimulating and challenging. Hogs are not native wild species in North America. Populations are particularly high in the South and Southwest, and they are considered nuisance animals, providing affordable hunting opportunities for outdoor sports enthusiasts. Wild hog tastes substantially different than feed lot hogs due to diet and low fat content. Working from a blind or stand is the simplest and safest method to get you hunting straight away.
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Things You'll Need
- Blind or stand
- Bait
- Rifle
- Skinning knife
- Gloves
- Ice chests
- Professional meat processor
- Freezer
Instructions
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Choose a spot where hog activity is evident and recent. Hog wallows in wet spots, deer feeder locations and food plots are good indicators. Look for droppings to be sure of ongoing activity.
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Acquire or construct a blind or stand. Use sturdy materials for a blind. Elevate any stand you use.
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Deploy hog bait in a direction easily viewed from your firing position, ideally at 25 to 100 yards. Make very sure there is nothing downrange that would be destroyed by an errant shot.
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Choose a rifle of large caliber for your hog hunt. The animals are extremely resilient, and small caliber firearms should only be used by highly experienced marksmen who know how to perfectly place a shot. Using a rifle scope is advisable.
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Field dress the animal with a sharp skinning knife as soon as you can safely approach it. Skin and quarter the hog carcass if you feel competent doing so. Put the quarters into ice chests, keeping the ice in bags so as not to soak the meat. Whether whole or quartered, get the meat to a processor as soon as possible. When the meat is completely processed, freeze what you don't intend to cook immediately.
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Tips & Warnings
Make your hog bait well in advance of your hunt so it gets good and stinky. Recipes vary from soaking grain in beer to rotted fruits and vegetables. Mix it in a five-gallon bucket, cover and set it in the sun for as long as you can stand it. Hog calls are available in sporting goods stores. Squeals and grunts will bring them in from reasonable distances. The bigger the hog, the tougher the meat is, and the harder it is to kill them. Shoot them in the head or neck when possible, as they have very tough shoulders and shoulder blades.
Wait 15 to 30 minutes after shooting an animal before you leave the safety of your blind or elevated stand. Wild hogs are extremely dangerous and often run in groups called "sounders," sometimes numbering dozens of animals. They have been known to respond violently when confronted by humans, and sows with young are particularly aggressive. Texas Parks & Wildlife Department recommends all hunters use disposable plastic or rubber gloves when handling feral hogs. According to the Centers for Disease Control web site, "...swine-associated brucellosis in humans in the United States is predominantly associated with exposure to infected feral swine."
