Hog Hunting: Get me started please.

T

Tucker 1371

New member
Ok so I live in NW Georgia during the summer and SE Georgia August thru May. My best rifle for the task right now is a 5.45x39 AK (I know, not ideal but people use .223 and the performance is similar). I will be getting something better eventually, probably a .308 (M1A or FAL) or if I'm still broke a Mosin. Right now the AK is the only option unless I borrow which won't be possible Aug.-May. I would like some suggestions on what equipment I need, or that you use, or recommend. To be specific:

1) Scopes (brand?, night vision?, power?) Scope will determine the mount I get.

2) Feeders? (brand? timed?)

3) Lights (brand? type? power?)

If you want you can just post what is in your entire setup and (if you don't mind of course) what the cost for each is.

Also, since they're a pest species in GA and have no limit or season on private lands, how many here hunt them on private lands? How do you go about getting permission from the landowners? Anyone have any recommendations on where to hunt in the Rome and Statesboro, Georgia areas?
 
2 "static" feeder types for hogs...
One is using a Blue plastic barrel. It will need a bazillion holes about 9/16 inch drilled all over it. The type with a lock ring will work put use a near new ring and wire the latch well. A hole in the bottom so you can fashion about 30 feet of rope to it. I use a big washer to tie line to so it can't pull out. tie this off to a tree or sink a post. Fill with a couple bags of corn and jello mix or "hog wild" powder.
The other is using 4-8 inch PVC pipe about 4-6 feet long. Again drill the holes all over it. Same tie off method but hang this from a tree limb so it is nearly touching the ground or even slightly touching the ground. One end will have a threaded cap so you can fill it up. Both of these will feed hogs but will not waste corn when they are not around. You can set the blue barrel up so if it ain't overturned, the hogs ain't been there so from a distance you won't disturb the area checking.
Brent
 
Brent, when were the hogs there introduced? Are they domestic hogs that escaped or are they some wild Russian variety that was released some time in the past for sport?
We don't have them around here.
 
I'm not Brent, but I've seen both Russians and feral hogs here and in South GA.

GSU, your in good hog hunting country when your in school. No clue on the Rome area.

First thing I'd do is get permission to hunt somewhere. :)

I've used a post hole digger to make some great baiting stations. Trick is to dig a hole as deep as you can, fill it with cracked corn and something sweet. I've used cheap kool-aid, 5 lbs of sugar, what ever. Then wet it down so the mix ferments. As the corn/sugar mix ferments, the hogs try to dig it up. Positioned right, you can get some good shots as they either eat or travel to and from. :)
 
Much the feral swine in florida and the south eastern coast is originally related to the spanish pigs brought across by the spanish settlers and explorers. Going back to the 1500's. Not so much russian hogs were directly placed here directly from europe but many were captured in the smokey mountains etc. that had escaped from "sportsman's clubs". And migration has likely moved some to the balmy south!
Brent
 
My bait recipe...

Sour corn really draws them in... one sack of corn in 3 buckets with one small packet yeast per bucket will sour fast. Fill to 3-4 inches of top with corn, add yeast and fill with water to 1/2 inch of top. in a couple hours add more water as corns soaks in. keep a lid LIGHTLY on top. DO NOT SEAL AS IT WILL POP OFF. One week is pretty ideal but a couple days is okay.
Drain your scoop of water back to bucket as you will use this to sling on brush to aid spread of scent.
Unlike deer, hogs will not get spooky if there is too much corn, they are hogs not grazers. If you find a real fresh mud wallow. stay off it until 11 am or so and hunt them until 4-5 I guess. These are used in the heat of the day.
Brent
 
I'm not a hog hunter, so take this for what it's worth.

Your AK should do fine for pigs, if you're hunting over bait. You might consider a shotgun and buckshot or slugs as a relatively inexpensive alternative.
Hunting over bait puts you close enough that you shouldn't need a scope.

feralhog1.jpg
 
Sour cabbage,go by your local farmers mkt and ask some of the vendors to save you a couple boxs of sour cabbage,just less for them to haul off,take it out close to a swamp,and set the crates out.Stay downwind,cause hogs have great noses...:)
 
Sense you're getting plenty of information on how to bait up and kill a pig maybe some thought to the next step after it's on the ground is in order.

A wild hog can be the best eating you ever drag out of the woods if you take care of it promptly and properly. If you're hunting over bait part of the problem is solved in that you'll be able to chose your shots more carefully. This will allow you to avoid gut shooting and also to keep bullets out of valuable meat, such as shoulders and hams.

IMHO it's more important with hogs, especially when it's hot!, to get the guts out and the animal cool as fast as possible. Best way to ruin a fine bit of eating is to let it be warm for to long. Seems to me that a hog spoils faster than does a deer.....maybe the fat or......well not sure but it seems to be so.

Not a bad idea to have a cooler with a couple of bags of ice waiting in the truck should you be successful. Better yet is to have a cooler big enough to put the hog in. If it's cool this is not so necessary but still worth paying attention to.

As soon as you can it's also a good idea to get the skin off to aid the cooling process.
 
You can salt down the hams heavily while they are still warm making sure to get it rubbed in good around the bone, let them sit for a few weeks, then rub them down with pepper and brown sugar and hang them up for six months or longer. Real country ham.
 
Just checked back in on my thread after a weekend at the lake... and it's making me want to bust out the bacon for a late night snack :D.

Thanks a ton for the tips yall. I'll see about finding someone in the Statesboro area who need's some hogs taken care of. Turns out I'm already covered for the Rome area, my best friend's dad has a few friends with good hog huntin turf down in Cedartown about 20 min South of me. Apparently the hogs there are a little big for my AK (or so I'm told :rolleyes:, not directed at you Buzzcook) and I should use a 12ga. It will probably be in medium to heavily wooded terrain so shotgun range doesn't seem too unlikely. I think I'll stick with my rifle though.

I know I could probably find this somewhere else but what time of day is best if not at night? If at night I may see about either spotlighting them or buying some nightvision
 
If them hogs are in the woods and larger than 175, I wouldn't consider taking the peashooter! :eek::D NO WAY NO HOW!!! Short barrel shotgun loaded with slugs. But I am a sissy and rather prefer not wrestlin' with loose hogs. I only grapple when the bulldogs are handling the pointy end! Feel free to ask particular questions or to clarify my posts... Some details are left out to keep posts shorter.
Brent
 
I would take a .45-70 Marlin over the AK but I'm not so good with lever guns because my strong arm is my right but I shoot lefty because I'm left eye dominant, I'm a little awkward racking the lever left handed. I could possibly use a 18" BPS 10ga, better no?
 
I would use a 20 or 12 but if you only have a 10 or wish to use it... feel free... Make sure to load a 3-3 1/2 inch shell:D:eek:
Brent
 
As far as getting permission, go ride around out in the country and knock on some doors and stop by some farm shops and ask. Go by the local county co-op. Once you get permission you don't want to lose it. stop by the farmer's shop now and then just to talk and make friends. Jump in and help if he's unloading a truck full of seed or fertilizer. don't leave any trash laying around, don't leave his gates open especially if he has cows. don't ride around his place when it is wet and rut up his roads and pasture. your AK should work fine, if you want a scope I would just put a moderate priced Bushnell or Tasco. Feeders are very helpful b/c if you just put out a pile of bait it will be gone in a day. you want to bring the piggies to the same spot every day. One thing they like that sounds real strange is diesel fuel. they love the stuff, they will roll in it, lick it, and eat corn soaked with it. I usually pour a little on the ground in the general area of the feeder. if you are hunting under a feeder there's no reason not to head shoot them. HAVE FUN!
 
I did use a little diesel on my corn when I first started trappin' hogs. I used it to keep coons off my bait but they ate it anyway. I never liked the idea of pouring diesel on the ground...
Brent
 
I like Hogdogs recipe except that I also add 1 can of the cheapest beer I can find plus a little powdered grape, cherry, or strawberry KoolAid (the pre-sweetend kind) or a partial bottle of generic grape, cherry, or strawberry soda. The enzimes in the beer and the sugar in the KoolAid or soda gets the yeast going faster. The flavoring of the KoolAid or soda also seems to help with the attraction.
 
When i was younger before Ca went to hell....

I used to go to a rural bar out in good hog hunting territory. I was 15 years old and would buy beers for the old guys in the bar half of which turned out to be local property owners who would let me hunt on their land. Now all the land is leased by hunting clubs:mad:
 
Just to make sure we're all on the same sheet of music - use the 10 ga only if you can get slugs for it. Buckshot not a decent load for hogs. :eek:
 
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