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!!!