Wild Pig Hunting Tips

[Jclark225]

Posting this in general since there's not a hog forum.

Does anyone have a link to a resource that talks about natural wild pig habits? I want to hunt hard on public land and don't want to use bait or hunt at night. Looking for resources with info such as favorite bed down spots, favorite types of natural foods, daytime temperature preference, how often they hit water, signs of bedding areas vs feeding, seasonal habits, breeding cycles etc.

Seems like all the hog "hunting" tips are things like shoot em' at night or from a helicopter or pour out some sweet feed.

Any links appreciated!

 

[stump06]

What state are you hunting in?
I hunt em a good bit in south Ga. Usually involves a lot of walking to find fresh sign i.e. rooting and by fresh I mean if a pig isn't standing in it, it isn't fresh enough. They usually like the pretty thick stuff this time or year after all the deer season pressure.

 

[Centralcoastca]

There’s certainly some pig experts that will have better info but In my limited experience with hogs, they seem to be repulsed by huntable public land. Find the very most difficult thick hell hole of a place an animal that size can’t possibly go and that’s probably where they’ll be on public land during the day and the rest of the time they’ll be in whatever field or orchard they’re feeding on until they move onto the next one. If you can find some public especially if there’s some water also near a farm that has crops that are getting mature and hope to catch them crossing real early or late, probably in or out of the above mentioned hell hole. The glympses I’ve seen them on public was near a vineyard and another time near an orchard and I wasn’t hunting of course. The pigs I’ve gotten were on private though with some time put into it, there’s definitely a chance.

 

[Azone]

Where and when will you be hunting?

 

[Jclark225]

There’s certainly some pig experts that will have better info but In my limited experience with hogs, they seem to be repulsed by huntable public land. Find the very most difficult thick hell hole of a place an animal that size can’t possibly go and that’s probably where they’ll be on public land during the day and the rest of the time they’ll be in whatever field or orchard they’re feeding on until they move onto the next one. If you can find some public especially if there’s some water also near a farm that has crops that are getting mature and hope to catch them crossing real early or late, probably in or out of the above mentioned hell hole. The glympses I’ve seen them on public was near a vineyard and another time near an orchard and I wasn’t hunting of course. The pigs I’ve gotten were on private though with some time put into it, there’s definitely a chance.

Thanks, that's actually a good tip.

I'm no stranger to thick, nasty brush and don't mind busting where possible. Where I'll be headed does have some private farms out on the fringes that allegedly get rooted up at night. There are some thick brushy draws that head that direction from the public. Area I'll be in is pretty hilly but not too much elevation change. In your experience, do they seem to prefer to travel down in the gully bottoms, up on ridges, or in between?

 

[Jclark225]

Where and when will you be hunting?

Intentionally left it out so people don't think I'm phishing for someone's honey hole. Just looking for general habits/preferences.

 

[Bubblehide]

Intentionally left it out so people don't think I'm phishing for someone's honey hole. Just looking for general habits/preferences.

You can always just give a general location, for example, Southern Ca, Central Ca, Northern Ca. Otherwise, I for one am out, as location can make a huge difference in information provided. At least good info anyway.

 

[Centralcoastca]

Thanks, that's actually a good tip.

I'm no stranger to thick, nasty brush and don't mind busting where possible. Where I'll be headed does have some private farms out on the fringes that allegedly get rooted up at night. There are some thick brushy draws that head that direction from the public. Area I'll be in is pretty hilly but not too much elevation change. In your experience, do they seem to prefer to travel down in the gully bottoms, up on ridges, or in between?

I’ve Never really seen them traveling along ridges myself, mostly side hills and bottoms and pop up where they are going to feed, but I would imagine it’d change according to the quickest least pressure way to feed. Sounds like you’ll have a good spot if you can find a trail to the farms they’re headed to. I’ve been amazed at how quickly and quietly they move when they’re not eating, super fun animal to hunt. Maybe a long shot and depending your location and if the farm hunts them or not, but they might let you know where they tend to come in at if you let them know you’re wanting to hunt them on the public near them? Good luck, I hope you get after them!

 

[Azone]

Intentionally left it out so people don't think I'm phishing for someone's honey hole. Just looking for general habits/preferences.

Oh.

 

[Yarak]

Depends on the state you’re hunting but on WMA’s down south I always look for a hardwood bottom when acorns are falling and finding well used wallows to set up on is alway good
Finding fresh sign and following it works pretty good but remember their eyes don’t work well but their ears and nose won’t be fooled

 

[Rich M]

Without a region to discuss, you're hurting the info. The way you hunt them is region specific.

Where I live, if you can't get on pigs, you should take up golf. Other areas are chance encounters - like in the mountains. Lots of em in the southern swamps.

Go walk around until you find em and then shoot you one or two. Don't be afraid to hunt standing water, saw grass ponds, flood plains, etc.

 

[Btaylor]

Around here, good cottonmouth and skeeter habitat usually has hogs.

 

[pk_]

Definitely echo what has been said above.

I will add. Pigs are pretty nomadic. Unless you have a clue as to where they are or like to be, you may need to put on some serious boot miles.

Lots of ways to hunt them. I shoot a lot of them incidentally while deer hunting but while I am going after pigs strictly, I love to stalk them.

I like to get out early in the morning before light and pick out a good location to listen for sounders. In the right conditions/terrain you can hear them squealing and carrying on from a long distance away. Most of the commotion seems to happen 30-45 minutes before light. The pigs seem to ‘jockey for position’ as they move back towards the bedding areas. I get the wind right and then you can pretty much make your way right to them if you know the area well and where they are likely going to bed. I don’t worry about snapping things and making noise I just give out a couple snorts every once in a while when I get close, they will just take you as one of them unless they smell you. The toughest part is not getting close, it’s getting a shot. They live in the nastiest places and they don’t sit still, you can’t be shy on the trigger if you get a decent look at one…

If I can’t get on a pack in the morning I will walk all day looking for fresh sign and possible ambush locations for the evening.

I’m not a hardcore pig hunter but that is how I enjoy going after them.

 

[Pacific_Fork]

Pigs are by far an away the most intelligent animal to hunt in North America. They are entirely nomadic, they’ll rip up some ground for food one night then be 10 miles away on private the next day. I’ve killed dozens of hogs on private somewhat easily. Only one hog on public that took 7 years to get, and it was all luck while scouting for deer. You probably will never find where they bed on public. I don’t think there’s any books out there for these reasons.

 

[Jclark225]

Definitely echo what has been said above.

I will add. Pigs are pretty nomadic. Unless you have a clue as to where they are or like to be, you may need to put on some serious boot miles.

Lots of ways to hunt them. I shoot a lot of them incidentally while deer hunting but while I am going after pigs strictly, I love to stalk them.

I like to get out early in the morning before light and pick out a good location to listen for sounders. In the right conditions/terrain you can hear them squealing and carrying on from a long distance away. Most of the commotion seems to happen 30-45 minutes before light. The pigs seem to ‘jockey for position’ as they move back towards the bedding areas. I get the wind right and then you can pretty much make your way right to them if you know the area well and where they are likely going to bed. I don’t worry about snapping things and making noise I just give out a couple snorts every once in a while when I get close, they will just take you as one of them unless they smell you. The toughest part is not getting close, it’s getting a shot. They live in the nastiest places and they don’t sit still, you can’t be shy on the trigger if you get a decent look at one…

If I can’t get on a pack in the morning I will walk all day looking for fresh sign and possible ambush locations for the evening.

I’m not a hardcore pig hunter but that is how I enjoy going after them.

This is awesome, thanks for the reply!

I had no idea their general habits we're so regionally specific. I've hunted a lot of mule deer, elk, and black bear over the last couple decades across several western states. What I've learned about generic behavior of the animals, I've been able to apply to other states. Obviously there are nuanced differences based on area but I've found that general rules of thumb still apply. For instance, in my experience mule deer in Idaho compared to Arizona tend to have preferred browse (different plants but same concept), similar preference for bedding, similar daytime activity reactions to temp fluctuations, hunting pressure and moon cycle, and similar breeding activities when the time comes.

From what everyone is saying, it sounds like a pig in one area isn't the same or similar to a pig the next county over. As I said, I left location out because I've seen guys on here get roasted for posting questions like, "Looking for advice on hunting (insert animal) in (insert location)"

For what it's worth my first attempt will be end of March on the central coast region of California then will try again in June in south-western North Carolina.

 

[robtattoo]

"June in south-western North Carolina"

As in, the Smokeys on the TN line? You've a better chance of killing a polar bear in Florida. Not to dissuade you from a beautiful vacation, but mountain pigs in the south east are pretty much THE hardest hunting there is, unless you know a guy with a farm & a pig problem or you're chasing dogs. The terrain is far nastier than westerners think, you can't see 20 yards through most of the mountain laurel. It's 80+° & 90ish percent humidity. The mosquitoes won't steal your hat, they freaking car-jack you. The hogs are stupidly nomadic. They'll honestly cover 15 miles a day in a straight line & they're largely nocturnal. 9⁰%of pigs killed in the mountains here are accidental during deer season. The other 10% are chance encounters. In the heat of the day, they'll lay up under fallen tree roots, silly thick brush & in any dark shade they can find. The only universal truth about hogs is that they'll go to water at least twice a day. But that doesn't mean the same water. Any stink hole will do.

I've hunted them in (deep breath) Tennessee, Alabama, north & south Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi & Texas & they have super different behavior & habits in every state. One of the main reasons I love them so much, actually! You have to re-learn them everywhere you go.

 

[ODB]

Mind your femoral arteries.

 

[AMonroe]

Here in Oklahoma there’s been a large increase in hogs. I’ve mostly call them or stalk. The winter is the best time in my opinion. I hunt on public land and usually after deer season, they start to pop up more. The juvenile hogs usually get taken out first since they’ll come to bait in a heartbeat. But the mature sows and boars are another story here. I’ve watched them completely ignore any type of bait so I just take it right to them. I do early mornings since they like to cheat and feed a little longer when it’s cold. What nobody talks about is a hog will bed anywhere there is some type of overhead cover. Every bedded boar I’ve taken was under a log or a low evergreen tree. It’s hard to see them because they also make a shallow hole deep enough to hide half their body. I’ve ran into bedded boars right on the edge of an open field. Even without leaf cover, it’s almost impossible to see them unless they move or make noise.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[TheBootBowhunting]

Find the nastiest, thickest, gnarliest undergrowth of thickets. Then see if you can determine the entrance and exit. It should be pretty obvious. As noted above, they are nomadic and may not be in that particular bedding area for some time. Sometimes you can smell them in the area - whether its them, or the turned up ground theyve been rooting in. Freshly turned up rooted ground has a certain smell. The ones around here travel in a pack of 2-3 boars a few sows and a bunch of piglets. They seem to get less nocturnal the deeper we get into whitetail season, which ends 1/31 around here.

This is where the old sow was headed after I shot her. Shows the entrance to the bedding. I only bowhunt them, and these days I only bowhunt them when a whitetail hunt turns into a hog hunt - which has definitely been more frequent the past couple of years. Its the only pic I have of this particular bedding area, but as thick as that looks, it does it no justice at all. This is between a creek and a larger river it drains into. Theres about a 60x60 yard patch that youd have to crawl and fight your way through to recover. So make sure you get em down quick.

 

[Azone]

This is awesome, thanks for the reply!

I had no idea their general habits we're so regionally specific. I've hunted a lot of mule deer, elk, and black bear over the last couple decades across several western states. What I've learned about generic behavior of the animals, I've been able to apply to other states. Obviously there are nuanced differences based on area but I've found that general rules of thumb still apply. For instance, in my experience mule deer in Idaho compared to Arizona tend to have preferred browse (different plants but same concept), similar preference for bedding, similar daytime activity reactions to temp fluctuations, hunting pressure and moon cycle, and similar breeding activities when the time comes.

From what everyone is saying, it sounds like a pig in one area isn't the same or similar to a pig the next county over. As I said, I left location out because I've seen guys on here get roasted for posting questions like, "Looking for advice on hunting (insert animal) in (insert location)"

For what it's worth my first attempt will be end of March on the central coast region of California then will try again in June in south-western North Carolina.

I live in the central coast area. Feel free to send a PM if you want to.