Hog Hunting

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Art,
Now I would definately pay to see that! Thanks, now when I'm sittin in my deerstand this year I just know I'm gonna try and figure out how to get a live one back to camp - we've got a whole pack of jokers, but that would take the cake. :)

Deercamp is Fun!

-L
 
Art, despite what the picture from Texas said (don't know who was trying to pull this one off!) the Texas state record for a feral hog is 375 pounds. If those two hogs that you are referring to were REALLY that big (549 and 450 pounds) and documented in a photo, how come they were never validated as a state record holder? Anyways, if you have ever seen a 375 boar, it is HUGE! The ones I have seen are only around 200 pounds and they will still pucker your arse!
 
Hope this doesn't get you riled up, ArmySon, as you seem to have a definite idea of what hunting should be, but lots of meat hunters (like me) down here in Texas shoot game from stands overlooking feeders. I know some folks consider this to be slob hunting, but it makes for good game management and herd thinning. Game is larger and healthier.

Also- you likely wouldn't be able to stand the smell of the meat from that 450 lb hog. I wouldn't shoot one for meat that ran more than 125 lbs. The rule I usually follow is the hog should be no more than knee high at the shoulder. What I do is check out a few prickly pear clusters in my stand area for calibration to knee height. Works for me. I've found a nice little deer gut pile will draw hogs in like a charm, but you need to keep your eyes open for predators.
 
From what you guys stated, it sounds like you have an over-abundance of hogs in your area. If that's the case, there's no quarrel on my part with your hunting methods.

I'm just so used to the stalk, wait, stalk, wait, stalk, wait, shoot around here.
 
BMiracle, the photos were probably from before folks worried about records. It was in the earliest days of some then-new hog-hunting society; sometime back in the '70s...I saw the photos in an ad in a newsletter-type hog-hunting magazine. The big one certainly looked like it could go well over any 400 pounds; I didn't question the claim to 549. (The odd-ball number just stuck in my mind, mostly because this sow outweighed the boar.)

Bad Medicine: Join the Army, go to Ordnance school--and learn all manner of fun things! :)

Lone Star: Position yourself in a tree stand so that if a deer walks underneath you, you can just jump on him and catch him! Just like calf-roping, but the deer is lighter! :) Oh, er, ah, where's y'all's camp?

Art
 
Just in case you thought that all this about pigs being fierce and destructive was not for real, I found this on that bowhunting site. (Aug 26)

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Today's Hog Hunt
I left to hunt earlier than usual. My neighbor was working in the field and I drove over to say hello. The wild hogs are making him nuts. They are tearing his fences up and his cattle are crossing the river. He has set several electric fences but he has to make repairs to them almost daily. He said several people around here have been seriously injured. One fella started climbing a tree when a big sow charged him. The sow jumped up and bit him on the leg and yanked him down and then cut him to the bone, from his knee to his hip.
I hunted the treestand near where the fight was. Several hog groups came up but they were on the far river bank.[/quote]



[This message has been edited by HukeOKC (edited August 31, 2000).]
 
I'd be in heaven knocking off those hogs. If that was me living in that situation, I'd be very wary if I had kids. Wild hogs are very scarce in this state.
 
I certainly could be wrong, and I have been before (!), but I've hunted hogs for years and have never heard of them attacking people unprovoked. Now, this provocation could simply be getting between a sow and her piglets, you've jumped one and you're in its path or you have the audacity to hurt one with projectiles or sharp objects and then fail to get out of the way fast enough if you don't kill it outright. They have very poor eyesight, and when they are trying to get away, they will run over or through anything in their way. Out of a couple dozen hogs, the only one to charge me was a mean old, scarred up boar that I wounded. He started running away from me, but when I hit him the second time, I guess he'd had enough. The third (somewhat rattled) shot killed him.
 
I would imagine that that sow had to be protecting young. I can't see any other reason to attack a human. If it was a boar then I'd understand a little better but a SOW!!??
 
You bow hunt for them eh? My dad bowhunts and has shot many deer and plans on getting a moose. I asked him if he's going to go grizzly hunting with his bow(many do.) He said "son, when I shot my grizzly it took 7 shots in the chest from a .338. Next time I go into the woods for one of these fellas, I'll be carrying more than a sharp stick!"
 
Art,
I've often considered the "Rambo" approach to deer hunting, but would prefer to see you do it first :).

Camp is just a few miles outside of Eden, or about 35 miles west of Brady. Ya, know, down there at the end of that caliche (sp?) road, next to the mesquite tree ;). no hogs, but some good deer and turkey, and a bumper crop of racoons - but I'm workin on 'em.

Well, I'm headin out to Uvalde this evening for the Dove Opener tomorrow, and If I were anymore excited I just couldn't stand myself. Man huntin' season takes it's own sweet time gettin here.

Ya'll take care!
-L
 
Calif Hunter, I imagine you're correct. I think that sort of situation is why some folks think javelina attack...

Art
 
I have a friend in Amarillo that goes hunting for hogs down south of Amarillo. He told me the ranchers welcome them with open arms when they find out they are hunting feral hogs. He and some friends went hunting down that way last year and killed about 20. He told me that they used a 4 wheel drive and a rope to pull them up in a line next to the river and left them for the buzzards. I don't remember what caliber he used, but they all carried backup hand guns and nothing less than a .45. He told me you need a heavy bullet with deep penetration to get through the tough shoulder hide of the big ones. He only keeps the meat from the younger pigs as the old boars and sows are tough as a boot and the meat stinks.
 
1. Let us just be glad that FUD doesn't live in hog country.

2. Somebody invite him on a hog hunt. We need more good stories!!!

:), Art
 
Long as you guys are talking hogs, any books/videos on dressing out a feral hog? I used to shoot a few down around Rockport, but everybody there takes them to the processer. My uncle wants me to come down to his place near Victoria and take a few later this year, and the crotchety old coot has already said "you shoot, you clean it" about a million times. So, where do I learn how, so the old guy doesn't give me a ration of s*** for messing up any meat?
 
Do you have a ban saw? we process alot of meat with one of those, Bone-in. You just chill the meat prety-frim and then cut into steaks, or roast or what-ever.
 
Jack M, most any game animal is disassembled in pretty much the same manner. The thing with hogs and javelinas is that the hide is tough, and it helps to have more than one very sharp knife.

And if somebody doesn't like how *you* do it, they should be made to feel perfectly welcome to show you how to do it correctly!

:), Art
 
Paul, I have never hog hunted, but I think if I took to the field to hunt something that could wind up hunting me :eek:I would do some serious target shooting. Maybe even trying to hit clay targets rolled across the ground at say 20 yards. The only other recommendation is that you come back from the hunt with a good story.
 
rr41mag,

The thought of being on the receiving end of the deal has crossed my mind! I've been to the range twice with the Marlin 1894P, mainly just working up loads, chronographing, and getting used to the rifle. I'll be working on accuracy now - plus I'm doing research for a scope, something like 1.5x-5x. I hope not to get very close to those piggies until they are ready to be "processed."

A good story to tell friends and the kids would be great - as long as it has a happy ending.

I was reading the other thread about lever actions and there was a comment or two about using a .30-30 instead of a .44 mag for hunting. I could be wrong, but my opinion right now is I'd rather have the .44 out to about 100-150 yards. Those fat, blunt bullets pack a wallop!
 
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