The Home of Wild Hog Hunting...
Texas has no competition when it comes to hog hunting. Feral hogs are well-known in the south, but few people realize that Texas is home to nearly half of the estimated 6 million hogs in the US.
This overabundance of wild hogs has cost the Lone Star State an estimated $400 million per year in damages. These figures demonstrate how harmful hogs are to the state; but, where there are challenges, there are always opportunities.
Hog Hunting: Tips For Beginners
A word for the wise, boar hunting can be a risky business! When trapped or assaulted, these animals are known to be violent. As a result, no hunter should be sloppy when dealing with these creatures.
Always be cautious to avoid possible injury while hunting wild hogs. Beginners should ideally opt for guided hog hunts.
Tracking: Feral hogs can be traced just like any other animal, but they have a few unusual ways of “leaving” their footprints. Looking for uprooted soil is one example. If a hog is nearby, you should see disturbed dirt on the ground.
Stalking: If you’re a beginner hunter, you’re undoubtedly already familiar with staying low and stalking your target. Feral pigs have a high sense of hearing and smell but weak eyesight, so you should use the same hunting strategy on them. Aside from that, they are pretty intelligent, so don’t dismiss them.
Nocturnal Hunting: As a result of hunters chasing them throughout the day, certain hogs have evolved into nocturnal creatures. Consequently, it can be best for hunting hogs at night so that you have a higher chance of catching one (or more).
To avoid getting lost, it’s advisable to go hunting at night in an area you’re familiar with. Additionally, it would help if you used visibility and illumination equipment to assist you to see better at night.
One Shot Kills: If you’re new to hog hunting, it’s critical that you understand the anatomy of the animal. Hogs have thick skin and can withstand bullets and arrows. There’s a risk the feral hog will attack you or flee if you hit one of its non-vital organs.
Understanding the anatomy of a feral hog can aid in making a precise shot. Aim for the hog’s heart or lungs for a lethal shot.
Obviously, you must be aware of its location. The heart of a hog is four to five inches above the elbow, whereas the lungs are a few inches below the shoulder.
Helicopter Hog Hunting
If you have decided to go hog hunting in a helicopter, Texas has a number of outfitters who can help you.
Hog hunting from a helicopter in Texas is an action-packed adventure unlike any other. It also serves as a kind of community service to assist local farmers and ranchers.
The cost of helicopter hog hunting in Texas is a disadvantage. A helicopter hog hunt in Texas costs $2,500 per person for a two-hour trip.
This price varies depending on the size of the helicopter, the number of people going on the trip. The cost will increase if you want to record the boar hunting process and if you want to include room and board.
Best Locations For Hog Hunting
Hogs are plentiful in the southern states, but as time passes, they are progressively making their way north. Many studies demonstrate that hogs are steadily heading north.
All of the southern states, particularly those around the coast, are ideal for hog hunting. Hog hunting is popular in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Missouri, Tennessee, and Virginia, as well as on the west coast of the United States.
If you want to increase your chances of catching a hog, consider hog hunting in Texas or Florida. These are the two states where hog hunting is most popular.
Following that is hog hunting in Oklahoma, Georgia, and North Carolina. Because hog hunting in Tennessee, South Carolina, Alabama, and Missouri comes after these, these outcomes could be related to population volume in each state.
Despite the fact that the state football team is known as the Razorbacks, Arkansas was included after all of the other states!
Hog Hunting In Texas
As previously mentioned wild hogs can be found in abundance throughout Texas, with wild hogs confirmed in 253 of the state’s 254 counties. However, certain areas of Texas have higher hog population densities than others.
Hogs like wetland environments, so it’s not unexpected that the driest sections of Texas have the fewest hogs, while the places with the most rainfall have the highest hog populations.
Hogs are more plentiful near water bodies than on dry land. When you combine these rivers and streams with a nearby farm full of crops, it’s simple to see why hog hunting has become so popular in Texas.
Texas offers the ideal habitat for wild hogs, which is one of the numerous reasons for the state’s high hog population.
How To Find Wild Hogs
Wild hogs are creatures of habit, and they rarely change their ways. This refers to their eating, sleeping, and moving behaviors, which are only affected by changes in food supplies or the weather.
Their beds, travel, and water supplies remain the same in all other circumstances. If you can figure out where they are, you’ll have a far better chance of catching them during their active hours.
Wild boars normally take the same pathways from their bedding area to food and water sources. They frequently travel through densely wooded areas where the ground is clear, and there isn’t much long grass. You can find out where several of those routes meet and set up an excellent ambush site downwind.
When hunting on private land, boars must be able to pass through a gap in the fence. That’s where you should scout for them and ambush them as they pass through. These crossings are also a wonderful place to begin your search for sleeping and feeding sites.
Wallows are sites produced by wild animals and are usually ditches with water in them, making them ideal for mud baths. Wallows are where hogs go to cool off and get relief from the biting bugs. On hot days/nights, hunting wallows a great idea; however, on cool or freezing days, it isn’t so great.
Hogs’ eating habits shift from meadows and lush fields in the spring to regions with ripe fruits in the early fall. If there are crops nearby, hogs are likely to be present, as they prefer grains and melons.
Keep an eye out for signs of rooting (tiny holes in the ground dug up by the hogs in look for roots).
How To Select Boar Hunting Equipment
The hog hunting equipment that hunters use varies depending on the time they are hunting hogs and the type of challenge they are looking for. While hog hunting with a rifle is more effective, hog hunting with a bow is more complicated.
Bowhunting hogs, some hunters argue, provides a more level playing field than rifle hunting hogs. Extreme outdoor enthusiasts may even go so far as to use a hunting dog for hog hunting.
Hunting bows: A bow with good let-off and minimum poundage of 50 lbs. is ideal for hog hunting. Bowhunting hogs are risky because they are known to attack bow hunters if they can get close enough. To avoid being attacked by boars, hunt them from a tree stand with a bow that has enough strength to pierce through their strong hides.
We usually set our bows to 60-70 pounds when hunting hogs with bows. Arrows will be deflected by the shield on their front shoulder. We’ve seen it for ourselves. For a clean harvest, every shot taken with a bow must take the shield into account.
Keep these things in mind when bowhunting hogs:
Set the poundage of your bow to at least 50 lbs.
Keep an eye out for the shoulder shield and know where to aim.
Selecting the right caliber for boar hunting: The .223 is the ideal caliber for hog hunting. The explanation for this is that hogs have a protective shoulder plate on their front shoulder that is hidden beneath their skin. This shoulder plate can be bypassed with a precise shot, but bigger calibers can also breach the shield.
Because mature hogs weigh at least 200 pounds, smaller calibers may hurt them but are less likely to knock them down. Heavier calibers can also be used, but once hunters reach calibers more outstanding than.30-06, the size of the hole created by the round leaves may damage the meat.
This is what we discovered. 223 bullets provide a strong knock-down force but have little effect on hog meat. They are understanding of what makes the best hog hunting lights can help you light up more hogs without spooking them when hog hunting at night.
The vision of a hog must be considered while designing hog hunting lights. Hogs have protanopia dichromacy, which implies they are color blind to high wavelengths on the color spectrum, as previously stated. In addition to hog hunting, the finest hog hunting lights will work well for predator and varmint hunting.
Because they are placental mammals, all of these animals have the same amount of color blindness (although not all placental mammals have this trait). Red is the most popular color for hog hunting lights, although green is also popular.
Methods Used For Hog Hunting
There are various methods for boar hunting. We have explained them below:
Stalking wild hogs: The most exciting and strategic way to hunt hogs is to spot and stalk them. This is the levelest playing field in the human-wild hog conflict. To be efficient, the hunter must be continually aware of their surroundings and how to exploit those surroundings to spot hogs before they find you.
When seeing and stalking hogs, common faults include not being aware of your scent or the direction of the wind, sky-lining yourself rather than blending in with the surroundings, and being impatient rather than waiting for the proper shot opportunity.
Night hog hunting: For many hunters, night hunting hogs is the most excellent option because pressured hogs may not come out during the day. The secret to night hog hunting is to use a hog hunting light that is designed to exploit a hog’s weaknesses. Thus, it is crucial to follow a night-hog hunting guide.
The majority of hog night hunting is done from a pickup truck, high rack, top-drive vehicle, ATV/UTV, or even a deer blind. Thermal scanners and scopes are now available for hunters to use to locate hogs, but they are quite pricey.
The disadvantage is that hunters must be 100 percent certain the body they see in their thermal scope is a hog since if it’s a cow, the rancher will be furious. Although we have not experienced this when hog hunting, it has happened to local ranchers in the past.
Helicopter hog hunting: Helicopter hog hunting is one of the most exciting and action-packed ways to hunt pigs. Despite the fact that it is a costly procedure, the experience is priceless.
Helicopters can cover more ground in less time than any other hog hunting vehicle, and they can also push hogs out of the brush and into the open.
Using hunting dogs for boar hunting: Hunting hogs with dogs, arguably the most dangerous of all hog hunting tactics, can be an action-packed adventure that will get your pulse pumping. To bay the hogs up, hunters usually utilize numerous dogs with high stamina and sniffing ability.
Blackmouth curs and Catahoula are two of the most popular bay dog species. The hunter dog has a shorter endurance than the other dogs; he rides in the hunter’s truck with him till the hog is bayed up. The hunter may attack the hog with a sharp knife because the catch dog goes for the hog’s throat and pins it down.
Hunting hogs with dogs can be risky, especially if the dogs are outmatched by a massive boar.
Many farmers in west Texas hire helicopter hunters to hunt down hogs on their land in order to prevent them from harming their crops. I can only speak for west Texas farmers, but I have no doubt that other parts of the state and other countries would follow suit. Because hogs are such an invasive species, hog hunting is more vital than ever.
Hog baiting method: Baiting animals are not permitted in all states, so double-check your local laws before attempting this. For our family, baiting hogs with corn happened by chance.
We put out our deer feeders, and after reviewing the game cameras, we discovered that hogs had eaten all of the corn after the sun had set!
Hog Hunting Rifles
Any deer rifle with a caliber of .243 or higher can be used as a pig gun. The heart and small lungs are lower and tighter to the shoulder than in a deer, and the tendency to leave a weak blood trail necessitates precision accuracy at long ranges.
For pig hunters in wooded areas where shooting can be fast, the ability to make a quick follow-up shot—or three—is a huge bonus. Various Marlin lever-action types, including the new XLR models, are chambered in big-pig calibers.45/70 Gov’t., .450 Marlin, and .444 Marlin.
Butchering A Wild Hog
Fresh, home-processed wild hogs are unbeatable, and the time and effort are well worth it. Wild hog hunting and processing is an excellent method to replenish your freezer for the winter.
You’re helping reduce the population of hogs while also providing meat for your family in some locations where they’re a nuisance.
Look for wild hogs weighing 60-120 pounds for greater flavor and easier processing. If you make it any bigger, the raw meat will be tough. Any pig greater than that is likewise difficult to pick up and transport. Make sure you’re wearing heavy-duty disposable latex gloves before you start butchering.
Because wild hogs transmit parasites, it’s necessary to protect yourself by wearing gloves. Hogs are susceptible to infections such as trichinosis, swine Brucellosis, and others. Gloves will also help you maintain a stronger hold on your knife and prevent you from cutting yourself.
So, how do you skin a pig? If you want to roast the hog skin-on, soak it for 30 seconds in 160°F water and then scrape the hair off with a dull knife. A bathtub can be used if you don’t have a container large enough to hold the entire animal.
Use a gambrel to suspend it from a steel frame or a stout tree limb to skin it. Ring the hind legs’ skin and then slice down their length, working the skin away from the animal with successive cuts.
How To Clean A Wild Hog
The procedure for properly cleaning and skinning boars is similar to that for skinning a deer, but there are a few crucial differences that can affect how the processed meat tastes in the end.
One important strategy is to remove certain subcutaneous gland nodules from the meat.
If these glands are not removed, the meat processor (whether it is you or someone else) is extremely likely to crush them into the meat, resulting in a gamey flavor.
Take the time before your hog hunting excursion to understand how to properly clean wild hogs so you don’t damage your catch.
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