New to the Game

[captain_nemo]

I'm planning my first ever hog hunt sometime here in the next couple of months. I've already got a place to go in east Texas. My question is this: what did you wish you knew before you went hog hunting the first time? Any advice for a newbie?

 

[DoneNOut]

Day or night hunting? Outfitter or private land unguided? Feeder shooting, or spot & stalk?

 

[captain_nemo]

Day or night hunting? Outfitter or private land unguided? Feeder shooting, or spot & stalk?

Day, WMA, spot & stalk.

 

[DoneNOut]

Day, WMA, spot & stalk.

What's WMA? Thought I had enough coffee today, but apparently not! LOL

 

[captain_nemo]

What's WMA? Thought I had enough coffee today, but apparently not! LOL

Wildlife management area


And *know* I haven't had enough this morning lol

 

[Ol' Red]

Let us know how your hunt goes. I have no experience hunting hogs, since we don't have them here in Wyoming, but hope to hunt them and javelina one day. We have a lot of hogs at Walmart, but no season.

 

[DoneNOut]

Ok, so as long as we are talking analog (Not thermal/NV) daytime hog hunting spot & stalk method I can chime in with some salient discoveries made over the past 20yrs hunting NW Texas. For brevity sake, any questions in particular?

 

[captain_nemo]

Ok, so as long as we are talking analog (Not thermal/NV) daytime hog hunting spot & stalk method I can chime in with some salient discoveries made over the past 20yrs hunting NW Texas. For brevity sake, any questions in particular?

Where do I start looking for hogs (terrain, geographical features, etc)? Other than rooting, what tell-tale signs of hog presence should I look for? When stalking, how easily spooked are they? In your experience, what details do beginners often overlook?

 

[scrmblr1982cj8]

During the warmer months, hogs don't move around during the daytime as much as they do in cooler weather. I cannot count how many hours I wasted in a box blind in South Carolina before I realized I just wasn't seeing anything during the middle of the day. Dawn and dusk offer more sightings, but night hunting is best. Not sure if that is allowed on WMAs or not, but something to consider.

Keep a log of your sightings to determine you see hogs and when you don't and schedule your hunting around your findings. I had the privilege of hunting private land, and wasn't bound by WMA rules.

Not sure if baiting is allowed, but there is a saying that goes "if your not baiting, you're waiting" and I've found that to be very true. Hogs will constantly roam, so chance encounters are just that.

 

[JMW67]

A case of beer a fifty pound bag of corn 2packs marlboro a comfortable lawn chair and sit and wait dawn and dusk, day time they will likely be in draws and creek bottoms bedded up

 

[DoneNOut]

Where do I start looking for hogs (terrain, geographical features, etc)? Other than rooting, what tell-tale signs of hog presence should I look for? When stalking, how easily spooked are they? In your experience, what details do beginners often overlook?

Do you have an ariel photo of this WMA? Google earth pin or something. If I knew the terrain I will be more of help.

 

[dwightb]

I don't think you can bait on a WMA in Texas. In a couple of months you will be late for fall mast, most of the acorns will be gone. I have bumped far more in the evening than in the morning. They were out already and rooting. A sounder can be very noisy! In the mornings they are headed home and moving. Think "cool" for pigs. They are going to be bedded in the shade with a breeze if possible or where they can root down in cool sand with cover. They hide better than most people think! Water is your friend during the day especially if it is heavily over grown. A heavily brushed up old stock pond is ideal. In the spring when the grass is new, green and tender they like to graze it. In the spring I have bumped a couple of sows in the wide open. They were in the shade of a lone tree in tall grass. Both had made nests and were fixing to have babies. I was within feet when they broke but they did stop look back!!!!! Shoot well!!!

 

[captain_nemo]

Do you have an ariel photo of this WMA? Google earth pin or something. If I knew the terrain I will be more of help. You can call
309-242-6588 Brad

It's the Sam Houston National Forest WMA. I don't have any saved aerial photos right now, but they're easily found on Google maps and such.

 

[captain_nemo]

I don't think you can bait on a WMA in Texas. In a couple of months you will be late for fall mast, most of the acorns will be gone. I have bumped far more in the evening than in the morning. They were out already and rooting. A sounder can be very noisy! In the mornings they are headed home and moving. Think "cool" for pigs. They are going to be bedded in the shade with a breeze if possible or where they can root down in cool sand with cover. They hide better than most people think! Water is your friend during the day especially if it is heavily over grown. A heavily brushed up old stock pond is ideal. In the spring when the grass is new, green and tender they like to graze it. In the spring I have bumped a couple of sows in the wide open. They were in the shade of a lone tree in tall grass. Both had made nests and were fixing to have babies. I was within feet when they broke but they did stop look back!!!!! Shoot well!!!

Thanks! This is exactly the kind of stuff I'm after.