Hey Folks,

I am interested in whatever advice you can give me about hunting hogs. By hogs I mean feral pigs, wild boar, and cross breads.

I am disabled and only hunt my own property. It is 25 acres in north central South Carolina, and it is surrounded by thousands of acres of tree farms, farm land, pastures, and cultivated fields. I have only owned this since about July this year, and I am still learning a great deal about the land, and the wildlife that it holds.

Last fall I planted about five acres in the Whitetail Institutes's Alpha-Rack, plus a couple of extra bags of chicory. The areas planted are each about 1 acre and are at right angles to each other, with an elevated hunting blind intersecting the angles.

I am not trying to bore you, but trying to give you an idea of the layout.

I have seen loads of hog sign, tracks, wallows, clay coated trees from rubbing.

From the different sized tracks I would say that there are at least 10 to 12 different hogs frequenting the area.

I saw one last week while deer hunting, and in fact had to decide what I wanted more the huge black hog, or the 6 point buck. Well, since I can hunt hog year round I choose the deer.

The hog I saw was not a feral pig, but I have never seen a wild boar before, and I suspect that it was some sort of hybrid.

Anyway, it looked tasteeee!!!!

I am interested in any advice you can provide on hunting these critters, stalking I am not so good at. But, attractants, still hunting, hunt times, calibers, whatever works.

I read somewhere that corn aged in diesel fuel was a great attractant, but I am doubtful, why would any animal be attracted to diesel fumes?

Anything you can help with will be greatly appreciated

Thanks

Les,
Here in North and Central Florida the hogs are a pest with capital letters and they get big, 600# is not rare anymore.

Most wild hogs, especially wild boar, are not worth eating around here except as a heavy spiced sausage. They smell like a cross between a wet dog and a rotten cypress log. When butchered the meat smells just the same and frying a piece can get you thrown out of the house. So, trapping and a feed out is a good idea if you want hams or chops.

Hogs are different in just about every way from what you have hunted. They are one of the very few animals that will attack rather than run and they will protect one another as a group. The nervous system is similar to a dog in that it takes a while for them to relize they are dead unless brain or spine shot. If you take a shoulder out do not count on a hog turning toward the broken shoulder or even slowing down. If hunted with dogs, once cornered or tired of the fun, they start killing dogs.

When they run through the woods they look just like the Arkansas Razorback drawing and get up to about 20-30mph. They only go around big trees, running over small stuff like a freight train. They change directions in the blink of an eye and reach full speed in three steps.

I have seen a 300# boar run 100 feet with four inches of left shoulder smashed, including the joint and the heart cut in half. That hog turned 90 degrees and ran off towards the right shoulder.

While wild hogs can be killed with just about any caliber handgun, rifle or shotgun, I prefer big bore guns of 357-358 and up. Many pro guides around here carry 66 Smiths in 357 mag in a belt holster. However, unless you are very proficient, I suggest a 44mag in a handgun. For a rifle, I like the 444 or 45-70. A shotgun should be a 12ga with slugs or at the very least 00.

Hogs have a great nose. No disel fuel. You can dig a hole and pour a 5 gal bucket of corn that has been ferminted with rain water for a week or so. Bury the corn under 6 inches to a foot of dirt. The hogs will smell it for miles. Old candy also makes a good bait.

Les, if you are disabled, stay in an elivated position to hunt them cause they can hurt you and they are very sneaky, especially in brush or palmettos.
Best,
Ed

SwampFox,

Wow!! That's too bad.

While I have not harvested my own hog, I have eaten wild hog in Texas, North Carolina, and Arkansas and it was all great.

It must be something they eat in Florida.

Yeah, I will certainly stay in the elevated blind till I am sure they are dead, or if they need tracking I have a friend who helps me out. Walk abouts (a term I think our Aussie friends call walking through the woods) are a real problem for me, I can get there but not fast and if I needed anything like agility I lose.

While I would not want to stumble in on a wounded hog, I carry a Ruger .357 Mag with me whenever I hunt, and it has not let me down yet.

I like your idea about the corn, and will give that a try, I might even add a little yeast so it will ferment better, and I know that pigs love bread so the sent may help too. Candy who would have thought, but will give that a try too.

Anyway thanks a bunch for all the info.

LG

Hey lester-ifn your gonna put yiest in with that corn,add some sugar and run it thru a still first before you waste it all on them piggies!You might not hit the hog-but then you might not care either! Drinkin shine and eatin pork-now that's livin large!

TRBLSHTR

Ya know that does noot sound too bad, maybe some of that corn and yeast needs to be held aside for further testing. I'll let you know how it turned out.

Let's see 150 gallon copper container, 100 feet 3/8 inch copper tubing-----

les, I soak some dried corn in kerosene with salt and spread them around where I know they are roaming.
After a few days, they know to come to the same spot to find feed..