Wild hogs, also known as wild boars or feral pigs, are smart, ferocious animals who can grow up to 400lb in size.
Hog hunting is a popular American pass time and sees the elimination of thousands of these animals each year. This helps keep their population in check. Anyone with a valid hunting license can enjoy this activity all year round on both private and public hunting grounds.
Want to know more about it? Here is everything you need to know before you saunter off into the night after these animals.
What is the Hog?
The great American outdoors is home to many a wild creature, the wild hog making up a large number of them. It is estimated that 6 million of these animals roam the US soil at any given time. They move in packs and breed often while on the move, rarely ever settling in what we would identify as a home base.
Sometimes referred to as a “plague of pigs”, the overpopulation of these creatures in the United States is a challenge people who manage their own land or farm. Residents resort to a variety of hunting and trapping techniques in order to lower their numbers.
But the hogs are resilient creatures. They can survive in almost any climate or terrain and are known as “opportunistic omnivores” meaning they will eat whatever they can find to survive.
The pigs are notorious for destroying (or rather consuming) crops of hardworking farmers. They are also said to spread a variety of diseases ranging from the bacterial swine brucellosis to salmonellosis and foot rot. It is largely because of these reasons that the popularity for hunting these creatures has seen a consistent rise over the years.
Hogs are caught and killed and, if good enough, used for meat & other leather-based products in many communities. Some hunters actually use hog hunting as their sole form of income. They harvest the meat and leather & sell it off to butchers and manufacturers.
Some of the best places for hog hunting in the United States include:
- Texas
- Florida
- Georgia
- Tennessee
- Oklahoma
- North Carolina
The vast landscapes of these states are perfect habitats for wild hogs. The hogs, however, are not limited to any specific region and can be found across 36 of the neighboring states as well.
The Night Hunt:
Hog hunting is a social activity and is usually done in a group involving family or friends.
Since it is illegal to use poison on the animals in order to kill them, hunters must use hands on hunting and trapping practices to get the job done. Snares are a common way of rounding up a hogs on the loose.
While hunting by day is perfectly common and yields equally as successful results, hunting hogs by night is preferable for most hunters. The darkness gives the hunter the edge, cloaking him or her from direct view and adding the element of surprise when approaching the hogs.
The hogs usually don’t know what hit ‘em!
Hunters make use of heat sensitive goggles and various sensory devices to track & kill the pigs once darkness falls. The advanced technology behind these devices allows hunters to make kills even if there are long distances between them and the pigs. As bonus - newer thermal scopes and monoculars can even play back the video footage for research or to share memories with friends afterwards!
Safe Following Distance:
Basic safety during hog hunting involves maintaining a safe following distance when tracking or approaching a group of hogs. Not only will this keep you undetected for longer, but it will also keep you in a safe zone while in unfamiliar territory.
While hogs will usually not attack unless provoked, they are notoriously aggressive and territorial creatures. Getting too close for comfort will probably put you in harm’s way. They have invasive, opportunistic natures that make their next moves distinctly hard to predict.
What’s more, wild hogs carry and spread numerous diseases. Coming into direct contact with one could put you at risk of contraction. Therefore, you don’t want them storming at you or biting you when you’re not prepared such as wearing gloves before touching one.
Unless you fancy being hunted yourself, always keep a safe following distance.
Equipment
Firearm:
As a beginner it is imperative you familiarize yourself with the tools required by any hog hunter. This is the beginning to be adequately prepared when out in the field.
Remember - the quality of your equipment could mean the difference between a safe hunt and an extremely dangerous hunt. The choice is yours.
The first and most important piece of equipment is the type of firearm one chooses.
Typically hog hunting calls for the use of semi-automatic rifles. This type of rifle has good accuracy and pack enough punch to bring a full-grown hog down in one shot and when more than one shot is needed multiple shots can be taken in quick succession unlike with a bolt action rifle.
There is some ongoing debate amongst hunters as to which rifle really is the best for the job. Some more skilled huntsmen believe that any old firearm can do the trick if you have the “right eye”. Others argue that night hunting calls for a semi-automatic a rifle and consider anything less a waste of time.
Feeders:
These used to be utilized solely for domestic feeding purposes. However, they proved exceedingly useful in recent years in aiding hunters during a night of wild hog spotting.
A simple way to put it - wild hogs think with their stomachs. Their lives revolve around food. Put food out and they will come.
Hog feeders are generally large metal drums that can be filled with food and accessed through opening flaps at the bottom. You can find them online and the One and Done Game Feeder is a popular 5 gallon option.
Modern technology has seen a rise in popularity of what’s known to those in the hunting industry as “the green light”. It’s another device to make closing the kill that much easier. A green light is an adapter that can be fitted to a feeder which will illuminate a non-threatening green glow when a hog is in the vicinity of the feeding drum.
This is a helpful and highly recommended piece of equipment especially for newbie hunters who haven’t had much experience in night hunting of wild boars. Green lights are typically inexpensive devices. Lilbees offers an affordable one that you can easily attach to your feeder.
Want to know more about hog hunting equipment. These reviews will help you gear up for your first expedition.
