As temperatures begin to warm and new growth begins to sprout there becomes an even greater need to control the number of wild hogs. While wild hogs can and do root up fields all year long, it is this time of year that they can cause very expensive damage to agricultural fields and crops. Besides being very destructive to crops, hogs can also have devastating impacts on native wildlife. Game birds such as turkey and quail nest on the ground. Hogs seek out these nests and can wipe out a whole generation of these birds in a single night. A quick google search will also reveal much evidence of hogs killing young fawn deer as well. This time of year, the days are longer, and the weather is more favorable. To take advantage of this time I will go over a few strategies and tips that hopefully will increase your odds should you decide to help thin out the hog population.
First, you will need access. Despite hating hogs, many landowners are understandably hesitant to grant access to strangers. There are things you can do to help ease their apprehension with this access. It helps to conduct yourself in a very professional and polite manner when contacting a prospect. First, I would avoid calling to ask for permission. Face to face is always best. If he does not know you it will be easy for him to say “NO” over the phone. If you must call first, simply ask for a chance to meet and discuss their hog problem. This will not only give him a chance to size you up but, if he says “YES”, then he can show you where you have access. Take this time to get a little intel on where you think the hogs are coming from so you can devise a plan.
Once you gain access you will need a plan. There are lots of videos on the interweb that show big “shoot ’em ups” where large sounders of hogs are destroyed using semi-auto rifles and thermal scopes. There are also many videos that show lots of shooting but very few hogs are actually killed. For goodness sake…. Practice shooting and please be careful. Being reckless is not only dangerous but will result in you losing access. On the flip side, good, responsible shooting will not only maintain access but help you gain more access to neighboring properties.
While thermal and NV hunts are all the rage now, don’t dismiss hunting hogs in the daytime. Hogs seemingly disappear during the daytime, but they are not magic. During the day they will seek refuge in thickets often near water. The warmer it gets the more important the water is. Hogs do not have sweat glands so they will depend on water holes to help regulate their heat. Getting into these thickets can be very difficult or almost impossible without being detected. Hogs have incredible noses so any effort to penetrate these thickets should include keeping the wind in your favor. An even better option is to play on their gregarious, territorial, and reproductive nature. This can be done by calling them out of their hidey-hole by mimicking the sounds of other hogs. It is much more reliable to call them out of these thick areas than to try and sneak up on them. Simply get as close as you can to these areas and call them out. Hogs are very smart so realistic sounds are needed for this tactic to be successful. Convergent Hunting Solutions has developed the best wild hog sound library available. However, these sounds must be played on a device that is capable of reproducing these sounds. Both the Bullet HP and Sidewinder are very capable of reproducing these sounds with volume and clarity. Both of these devices differ from other game calls on the market as they use very powerful batteries to drive exceptional speakers delivering a full rich sound of both low guttural grunts as well as higher-pitched squeals, even at the same time. Be ready for some fast and fun action should you decide to try this method. There are lots of great videos on YouTube that will give you insight into what you can expect.
While it may seem that earlier I was dismissing the effectiveness of thermal and NV. I can assure you that I am not. Thermal and NV vision is a very effective tool. Hogs are more at ease at night and will venture out in the open more thus offering even more opportunities for guys invested in scopes capable of shooting at night. With this said, calling at night is also very productive.
One tactic we have used many times is calling hogs back after we shoot. Often when the shooting begins the hogs will scatter off into the thickets. Let things settle for a couple of minutes and then begin calling again. These scattered hogs will often return looking to join back up with the sounder. Believe me, this works better than you would think.
Another underrated advantage of calling hogs is the ability to call hogs off properties you don’t have access to. This can be a time-saver to get them to commit and cross the fence earlier than they normally would. I have called hogs from a great distance using this method.
I am often asked, “do hogs get call shy”? While my answer may seem a little smart, I always reply “the dead ones don’t get any smarter”. This is my way of inferring you should be proficient with your shooting. I also believe the survivors (if any) are a little lonely and will respond again. While I do believe they will eventually become call shy, I don’t believe it is anywhere near the coyote level of call shy. To add to this, Convergent Hunting Solutions has a very extensive sound library that should be able to counter any call shy hogs.
Practice your shooting, be proficient in your tactics and strategies and I can assure you that you will have great success. Be respectful to landowners’ properties. Then word will spread, and you will have more properties to hog hunt than you can handle. Above all, be safe and have fun.
– Professional Hunter
Byron South