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Honing in on Hogs

If you get cabin fever in the winter, a hog hunt may be just what you need. Here are some tips to help you bring home the bacon.

By Brian Strickland

My bow season had been a relatively short one the previous fall. It had started with an opening-day Colorado elk kill in late August, which was followed by a two-day whitetail hunt in early October in the Sooner state. My so-called good fortune followed me to Kansas in November where, on the second day of my hunt, I slipped an arrow through the ribs of a pre-rut buck as he doctored a scrape.

Don’t get me wrong—there was a sense of satisfaction in having all tags filled for the season. It would have been nice, however, to have a few more days in the treestand.

So I was happy to be joining my old Texas hunting buddy Bob Davis for an off-season East Texas hog hunt.

When I arrived at the East Texas ranch we’d be hunting, Bob introduced me to the landowner. It didn’t take long for our conversation to center on the feral hogs roaming there and the damage they created. I was shown parts of pastures that were once green and lush, but now looked more like plowed agriculture fields.

With only a couple hours before dark, we grabbed our bows and headed to a creek that skirted a hayfield. The idea was to still-hunt along the edge of the field and hopefully bump into one of these Lone Star porkers getting up from his bed.

I headed east while Bob headed west, and it wasn’t long before I heard several aggressive grunts coming from the thick cover near the creek. My heart jumped, and the hair on the back of my neck stood up. Although I couldn’t tell exactly where they were, I knew they were close. Changing courses, I followed my ears as I eased through the brush. Within a few steps I was once again jolted to a stop by the obvious rumblings of a couple pigs just a stone’s throw away.

With my release in place I moved toward a well-worn path leading from the creek to the hay field. I fully expected to see dark, bristly forms rooting in the wet creek bed below and was sure a slam-dunk shot was imminent. Instead, I was greeted with only the sounds of their presence. Being only a few feet from the creek’s edge, I drew my bow and readied for the shot. As I anchored and peeked over the edge, I caught movement to my left. In an instant I was eye-to-eye with a black-faced hog. I know it’s been said that wild hogs have poor eyesight, but it didn’t take him long to size me up, let out a warning squeal and scurry in the other direction, dragging the other hogs with him.

If I had let a bear, elk or deer give me the slip at five steps, I would have been devastated. However, I was hunting wild pigs, and from everything the landowner reported, I knew opportunities would be plentiful. I continued up the creek with confidence.

Feral Facts

Today there are an estimated 4 million feral hogs roaming across 39 states, with nearly half of them taking up residence in Texas. In fact, out of the 254 counties in the Lone Star State, 225 of them have feral hogs.

Sows start reproducing between six and ten months of age, and a mature sow is able to breed, on average, twice every 16 months. When you consider that a typical litter is six little Wilburs with a male-to-female ratio of 1-to1, it’s clear why the feral hog population is growing rapidly.

From a sporting standpoint, wild hogs are great. They offer virtually limitless hunting opportunities throughout the year, provide excellent table fare and are just plain fun to hunt. From a landowner’s perspective, however, hogs pose a serious hazard to both agriculture and livestock. Damage caused by these slabs of bacon is estimated to be in excess of $52 million annually, and landowners spend nearly $7 million each year attempting to control their hog populations.

A hog’s long snout and strong, broad shoulders are perfect for digging, enabling it to efficiently uproot soil in its never-ending search for acorns, seeds, roots, worms, grubs and bugs. Not only does this activity devastate agricultural fields, but it also affects native plants. It doesn't take long for a couple dozen porkers to completely uproot a once lush hayfield.

Many bowhunters substantially underrate wild hogs. They are certainly worth your time in the field. It’s true that their eyesight doesn’t compare to other critters bowhunters like to chase, but it’s not nearly as poor as many think. And what they lack in visual ability, they more than make up for with their other senses. Their nose is impeccable, rivaling that of a deer, and their hearing is highly developed. Get downwind of a sassy boar or snap a twig at the wrong time, and all you’ll see are hindquarters going the opposite direction.

But perhaps their most impressive attribute is their intelligence. As with an old whitetail buck, if you bump a hog out of his bed or core feeding area more than once, it will be awhile before you’ll see him again. If pressured, hogs become extremely nocturnal, and they’ll completely move out of an area if threatened. I have chased hogs many times on an 80-acre patch of bottomland my parents own in East Texas which has trail cameras posted throughout. Prior to my arrival, hogs can be seen daily eating corn at numerous locations. Once I spend a few days slinging arrows at them, it will be weeks before they show up again.

Poking a Pig

Finding a place to bowhunt these range-devouring monsters isn’t hard. State wildlife managers are literally begging hunters to sample these wild pork chops. In my experience, Texas, Florida, Oklahoma and Georgia offer excellent opportunities, with Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee coming in a close second. Many of these states offer year-long seasons with no bag limits. Furthermore, several of these pork-rich regions offer great public hunting spots.

There are many hunting methods you can use to successfully bowhunt hogs: baiting, calling, hunting with hounds, spot-and-stalk and night hunting. Since I spend a lot of time stalking out west, my preferred method is a variation of spot-and-stalk and still-hunting. Because hogs are always on the move during prime morning and evening hunting hours, I like to cover lots of ground looking and listening for them. I walk quickly and deliberately. Once I catch movement or hear grunts or rooting activity, I slow down, use the available cover and match my noise level to theirs. If they are in the open, I wait for them to disappear behind cover and quickly close the distance being careful not to skyline myself.

One of the many traits that make pigs an ideal off-season bowhunting quarry is their predictability. If you watch them for a few minutes and have a good understanding of the area you’re hunting, you can often figure out where they are heading, especially if there’s any contour change, edge cover, creeks or food sources. Like other game, they look for the easiest travel routes. Once you figure that out, hustle ahead of them, keeping the wind in your favor, and then drive an arrow deep when they come into range.

Hunting hogs in their bed can also be an effective still-hunting method, but ground conditions have to be prime and having a strong wind to disguise your noise is a bonus. Look for the thickest cover available and concentrate there. Hollow logs, brush piles, caves and undercut creek banks are all great areas to find a sleeping hog. When it’s cold, they often bed in more open areas seeking the warmth of the sun. If it’s hot, look for them around a cool wallow or water source.

One of the most interactive and enjoyable ways to chase pigs is to call them in. It may not be as regal as coaxing in a rutting bull elk, but it’s hard to beat the action pigs provide. Last spring my good friend Russell Graves and I set out to do a little West Texas hog calling late one morning, and I was thoroughly surprised at just how effective “Here, sooey, sooey, sooey,” really was.

We went to a high spot that was downwind of a brush-choked bottom where Russell knew pigs liked to loaf around during the day. After setting up, we deployed an electronic call, setting the dial to an injured piglet call. It took all of five seconds to get a response. As I scoured the bottom looking for movement, I noticed brush moving about 100 yards away and a red-colored beast appeared in a small clearing. I’d like to tell you that my carbon shaft drove deep behind her shoulder, but the intensity of the situation sent my arrow skipping across the ground under her and sent the other half-dozen irritated porkers squealing in the opposite direction.

Russell has deployed this deadly pig hunting method for years, and he says there are several factors a bowhunter must use to make it come together. It’s important to scout and find areas with the highest concentration of activity. Look for muddy tree rubs, wallows, intersecting trails and rooting activity. These areas tend to hold the greatest number of pigs and provide the greatest calling success.

Because of their keen noses, setting up downwind from the area you plan to call into is a must. If you can find a high spot like a ridge or tank dam, that’s even better. Although the typical varmint call can work, Russell’s best success has come from an injured piglet call. He says this particular call plays to the maternal instincts of a sow and the curiosity of a boar.

Hog Hunting Success

At last light, a boar eased into the hayfield to do more damage. Bob was able to slip an arrow behind the boar’s shoulder with his recurve, much to the landowner’s delight.

The following morning I started on the opposite end of the ranch. At first light I observed a half-dozen hogs intently feeding at the far corner of a lush winter wheat field. With the wind in check, I grabbed my bow and used the thick cover along the field’s edge to move in their direction. Having been told that they like to use the corner to enter and exit the field, I took a position just inside the cover next to the trunk of a fat oak tree and waited. As the sun’s rays began to splash on the field, a large sow eased toward my position with the smaller sows in tow. Focusing on the coarse, jet-black hair behind her shoulder, I released my arrow. The arrow smashed into her shoulder, collapsing both lungs and sending the other hogs scattering in all directions. As I stood over her thick, lifeless body, I couldn’t have been more pleased.

If bowhunting season is never long enough for you, a hog hunt may be just what you’re looking for. There’s certainly no shortage of hogs to pursue, or of landowners looking for help getting rid of these costly pests. An off-season hog hunt can provide you with plenty of excitement and some tasty table fare.

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