First time hog hunting advice

[cmgee67]

I’ll be goin hog hunting for the first time this weekend. We plan on getting in the stand a couple hours before dark and goin most of the night. We have good lights and the farthest shot may be 60 yards. I plan if I get a shot to put it behind the ear. Preferably I want one in the 40-150 pound ranger for some good freezer meat. I will be wearing my walker rangers that have the the sound amplifier to hear them coming better but also will block out the shot noise when I shoot.

[mrvmax]

Probably too late now but if you set up a feeder it makes your chances of seeing them better. I’ve only night hunted once so I don’t have a lot of specific advice. I’d sure have a Thermacell with me. I usually treat my hunting pants and shirts with Sawyer permethrin insect repellent to keep the ticks and other critters away.

[cmgee67]

They are coming into a feeder. They have been eating all the corn and running the deer off. I have a thermocell I need to bring it. Thanks for reminding me

[flechero]

I get a shot to put it behind the ear. Preferably I want one in the 40-150 pound ranger for some good freezer meat.

Good plan!

Good luck- and we will need pics!

Edited to add... IMO if you shoot a boar, try to keep it to 100 lbs or less. A sow is fine to 150. If you have a choice, shoot the sow.

[cmgee67]

I plan on shooting whatever comes in but if I do have the choice I’ll pick whichever looks tastier

[jason812]

Pay attention to where your buddies are. It will be dark and depending on the moon, you may not be able to see them.

Like bird hunting, focus on one at a time. Plan on follow up shots unless they won't be in the open, then make the first shot count. Make the first shot count anyway.

If you do get one down. Take a big knife and stick it in the throat above the breast bone to cut the heart to drain the blood. Think Bowie knife or K-Bar. Get it skinned or the cuts of meat you want on ice as quick as possible.

Have fun.

[cmgee67]

I’ll be wearing my K bar usmc and my Ruger 1911 I’m. It goin in lightly armed. Or what my 357 mag be a better choice over 45

[puma guy]

I’ll be wearing my K bar usmc and my Ruger 1911 I’m. It goin in lightly armed. Or what my 357 mag be a better choice over 45

Are you attacking them with the knife or the 1911? Seriously, what are you hunting with? Good luck by the way and take out as many of those four legged plows as you can.

[mrvmax]

I’ve cleaned different ways using gambrels and gutless method (which I prefer since it minimizes contamination) but I’ll be trying this method the next time I hunt. I’ve seen guys spend hours dressing wild hogs, removing entrails etc. and I don’t think it’s worth the effort. You can get all the good meat doing gutless field dressing and it’s better to use if you have multiple animals to clean.

[rotor]

Wear gloves. Pigs carry Brucelosis.

[Lynyrd]

I don't know what your setup is, but if you can hang a light by the feeder and turn it on before dark it will not spook them and it will not keep them from coming in. Turn a light on after they get there, and they will run. You can use a 12 volt light bulb attached to a car battery. It doesn't take much to see enough to shoot. I use a 100 watt bulb at about 75 yds and you would be surprised how much it illuminates at night. They are available anywhere marine and RV parts are sold.

Since you want the meat, you want them DRT (dead right there). Don't take a lung shot, you'll have to track them a ways. Right behind the ear is good, but sometimes its very hard to get that broadside shot and be precise. The center of the neck is a very vulnerable area and usually brings them down in their tracks. A little closer to the head than the shoulder and halfway down from the top of the neck. My current head count for 2018 is 69 hogs. Not all of them were DRT, but I didn't really want them to be.

Remember that hogs have about the best nose in the woods. They probably wont see you, but they hear good and can smell corn buried two foot deep in the ground. Also remember that the meat spoils a LOT quicker than deer. Get it on ice ASAP and let it bleed for about a week adding new ice when needed. It will taste a lot better the more blood you can get out of it. This time of year, I always take the meat without gutting them. If you are going to do it on the ground, lay him on his stomach and split the hide down the back and skin down the shoulders and hams a ways. Cut out the back straps, shoulders, and hams and your done.

Good Luck!

[der Teufel]

I've been using the Glen Guess gutless method (see mrvmax' post above for the video) for about a year now. The 'behind the ear' shot is risky. The spinal column drops pretty low rather quickly. If I have a perfect shot opportunity (hog is broadside and still) I go for the middle of the neck. My second choice is a high shoulder shot (about 2/3 up the body) that breaks at least one shoulder, often both. Third choice is to shoot lower in the shoulder. You may waste some meat, but half a hog is better than none.

FYI I use a .308 or a 300 Blackout. I've used a .223 but it wasn't enough gun for me. Others have different opinions, but generally when someone says they're using a .223 they also state that shot placement is very important. Something larger like a .30 cal gives a little more margin for error, but there are plenty of thread already covering the caliber wars.

[Take Down Sicko]

Can you make barbacoa out of those things? I love barbacoa tacos with onions, lime, cilantro and hot sauce.

[cmgee67]

I’ll be shooting them with a 223. Federal 77 grain seirra match tip hollow point.


I plan on carrying a big knife and a large pistol as well. You never know. Just tying to decide between the 1911 or the 357 mag

[MaduroBU]

Really excited. My dad just got 3 hogs with two shots from the 6.5 Creedmoor I built him this morning, and I can't wait to go. I can't wait to go and I really appreciate the advice. Growing up, we treated them as a kind of rodent...you wouldn't eat a rat, so you wouldn't eat a hog. Word got out about how to do it and now it costs as much to shoot a cull whitetail as a hog!

I do appreciate all of the know-how.