Late Season Hog Hunting....

Late Season Hog Hunting

As the case with most hunters, once deer season is over, I find myself lost.  It's not really fishing weather, deer season just ended, and unless you have a bird dog with land to hunt quail......you are most likely done till September in most places.  Enter hog hunting........with LOTS of opportunity.  Most public lands hold at least some hogs if not large populations.  Some of the properties we have hunted hold several sounders IF you are willing to put the time in.  You will notice a trend with many of my posts and that is, "if you are willing to put the time in."  

I decided to go to North Alabama for a late season hog hunt and possibly beat a cold front into the woods.  Well, as luck would have it, the cold front beat me.  Icy roads and snowy conditions made travel on roads very difficult if not dangerous but the hunting was excellent.  It's a lot easier to spot black hogs with a backdrop of snow.

We stalked this pig down after walking roughly 7 miles, cutting several different tracks, and finding the hog within a couple miles of the truck.  Most hogs will feed a large portion of the day but the big male hogs are typically more solitary with makes them harder to predict.  Large sounders of females with piglets or juveniles(young hogs) are usually what you will find first.  The best places to check are wet area's or anywhere there's water, making digging easy for the pigs.  After that, its all about the food.  Pressure from other hunters or dog hunters will also effect the movements of hogs.  Those pigs who receive lots of pressure will turn nocturnal and in some cases, completely leave an area when shot at.  So make your shots count!

The reasons to kill hogs in the US, let alone Alabama, are numerous.  Not only do they run most of the other wildlife off but they are like vacuum cleaners in the woods.  They eat literally everything and are quite aggressive about it.  They will excavate your food plots in one night, root up/kill valuable trees, cause erosion issues around waterways, and damage roads.  Beyond all these reason's are the fact the females and young pigs are fairly good to eat.  The big males also make good European mounts or at least the tusks are cool to have.  Wild pigs carry a plethora of diseases that ARE transferable to humans.  When gutting or processing a hog, ALWAYS wear rubber gloves.  Even a small nick or deep scratch can cause you great pain, many months of antibiotics, and worse in some cases.  Many auto part stores like auto zone carry rubber gloves for $10.00 and its a pack of 50.

The above picture is what the hog I shot was doing.  He was rooting up a large section of dirt below some young trees approximately 18-20" deep..  To the best of my knowledge, he was after grubs or worms....maybe even roots.  Pigs are notorious diggers and what they can do in just a few hours time is truly impressive.  However, to be that industrious, they must focus on their task.  This leaves them vulnerable to being stalked.  With his head and front shoulders in the hole, I literally walked directly up to this hog, shooting him from 15 feet.  While most hogs will not allow you to simply walk directly up to them (snow and an extremely involved hog help), it is possible to use stalk hunting techniques

In many cases, one can hear a group of hogs rooting around or fighting long before they can actually see them.  Hogs don't have the best eyesight in my experience but what they lack in sight, they more then make-up in their ability to smell.  If you don't have a good wind when approaching a group of hogs, forget about it.  Hogs have such a keen sense of smell, they can almost smell you up-wind (I kid, but only slightly).  This is also something that can be done with a friend or friends since stealth is not necessarily a premium here.  When approaching a group of hogs, its normal for both people in a hunting party to get quality shots off, possibly more, before losing sight.

There are still lots of things to hunt in the woods and it doesn't cost a ton of money to do it.  Most public hunting lands are open to hog hunting nearly year round and don't cost anything since most of us have already purchased a WMA tag.  In addition, most farmers will gladly grant you hunting permission during the off-season if you can take some hogs out of the woods or prevent his fields from being destroyed.  This is a resource that breeds non-stop, all year, and can start as soon as 9 months old.  Each litter can produce up to double digit offspring making these animals VERY difficult to control. 

Be safe and go kill some bacon!!!

Alligator mount: Finally got my new trophy back from the taxidermist!

I have been waiting since October to get my alligator head back from the taxidermist.  I sent my gator down to Deland, FL to a guy named John Walker (John Walker Taxidermy) and the estimated time to complete was 3-4 months.  It took roughly 3 months to get it back.  I am really happy with the product and after going back/forth about getting a skin-on mount, I can't see doing it any other way.  I have a 9' alligator skull that is European mounted with just bleached bone and this is WAY cooler.  I can't foresee killing a bigger alligator because despite the 12' length, she had the skull of a 13.5' alligator (nicknamed Punkin head) which is an anomaly by itself.  The likelihood I kill a 14' alligator is near zero so this is most likely a lifetime trophy and a one time deal.  Regardless, it's very reasonable if you can get around the shipping to the facility.  Shipping of frozen head from Alabama to Florida @ 80lbs next day:  $364.00.   Shipping of finished product from taxidermist:  $65.00.  The price of the heads can vary depending on length and mine was the maximum amount charged at $450.00.  I was lucky and had a friend drop my head by the facility direct for $100.00 in gas money so I have $615.00 total in mine.  Considering the scope of work and quality of product, I find this very reasonable considering what a similar product can be. 

This is the only picture we took with both of us in it.  We hauled the gator to the edge of the river once we killed it for a quick photo and used the video feature on our phone since we were the only two people for miles.

This is me and despite the smile, I will suffer from heat exhaustion later in the day.  I jumped in the river after this picture despite the fact I just hauled a 12' alligator out of it.  South Alabama is no where to be without shade for 5 hours during the summer and the hot part of the day.  We ran out of water to drink 1.5 hours into the fight.



















The final product.  It is felt lined front and bottom with plaster inserts for the throat and the bottom jaw.  Its skin is cured and the bone/skin is the original.  No plastic or carbon fiber replica here.  Epoxy is used to give it that wet/oily look like when they are alive.  As I said before, I would do this again and I am really glad I chose this route.  A trophy of a lifetime and one I can harass my wife with for years to come.




For more information on the mount go here:

John Walker Gators

Seem to be good folk.