A few questions about hog hunting

[Gavre]

Happy Saturday everyone, I have a few questions and hopefully you can help me out.

- It seems that either an area has hogs or it doesn’t, I’ve hunted the same WMA 2 weeks in a row. One side had a light amount of fresh hog sign while the other only had old hog sign. If you’re hunting an area and walk a mile or so without seeing fresh sign is it safe to assume you need to go somewhere else completely? Or could there be some “just over that other ridge”?

- Do you walk the entire time? If so how fast? A decent clip or Elmer Fudd tip toeing through the woods?

- When you find fresh sign do you keep walking or set up there and sit the rest of the day? It probably changes the pace you’re walking at that point right?

Thanks for your help, I’m trying to bag one before small game season is over.

 

[Railroader]

This may not help much, but here's how we do on a BIG WMA down south.

Ride the roads, looking for hogs. If you see some, get out and try to set up a stalk.

Sometimes it works.

We also have some areas that have hogs, AND good walking conditions.

If it is a nice day, we might just start walking. Strolling is more like it. Easy pace, stopping often to watch and listen.

Sometimes that works.

If we see good sign in a known deer hunting area, we might climb a tree or use the tree seat, and set awhile...

Sometimes that works.

Most of the time, it's just exercise, or a morning in the woods... ?

 

[antharper]

If I’m in a unfamiliar area and I don’t see fresh sign pretty quick I will relocate . When I find the sign I’m looking for a may set a few minutes but I’m usually moving . Keep your ears and nose working as much as your eyes . I usually smell or hear them before seeing . Good luck , it’s pretty tough this time of the year on public land to me . But they can be killed

 

[Guitar Guy]

I am a novice, and I haven't yet killed a hog on public, but I have started to zero in on what works for me. First off, look at google earth and various other resources to find natural features that would attract hogs - creeks, drainages, food plots, etc. Dissect the WMA virtually before you go out there. Then at the very least, you have a starting point with a game plan for areas to check. In between those areas, keep your head on a swivel looking for sign. Cover lots of ground, but do it purposefully.

At the end of the day, you are looking for fresh sign, and as someone on here has pointed out, you want to find out where they are coming from, not necessarily where they are going to. They're largely nocturnal, so you could sit over a freshly torn up field at dusk and maybe get lucky, but it's very unlikely. They are VERY smart. You are probably much better off trying to pick up the trail they are taking into that freshly torn-up field to figure out where they are living and bedding. Try to go to them.

Just using the above methodologies, I have slowly started putting the pieces together and have found fresh wallows and bedding areas, but it has taken time. Hopefully, I will connect soon. I have enjoyed picking apart an area like a giant riddle, the exercise is great, and the solitude clears my mind. Connecting with a pig would just be icing on the cake.

Be patient, have fun, strategize, be purposeful, and cover ground. Good luck!

 

[Hillbilly stalker]

Hogs are where you find them. Seriously. When you find hot sign this time of year….your a day late. No acorns or hickory nuts for them to return to, so most of their feeding is rooting or eating in rotten acorn they find washed up to get the worms or fresh sprouts coming out of them. I walk and walk until I hear, smell or see them. Around 0830-0900 I often hear them bedding down. You will hear them when they get up before dark also. If it’s cold they nestle up together to keep heat. When they do that they are mocking for the best spot and will squeal, grunt and make all kinds of noise. When you hear it, check the wind and get to them. The make a gawd awful racket that can be heard for a couple hundred yards. I’ve killed them in their bed that way. Don’t let the “ mostly nocturnal” stuff stick in your head….they are, but you can still kill them if you ain’t scared to get up in a thicket with them. It’s hunting, you just gotta play the hand your dealt. I move as fast as I quietly can and cover all the ground I can. When it’s cold enuff I have found them laying out in the sunny spots too.

 

[bany]

Fresh sign = head and ears on the swivel and moving, try to follow the sign.

you have to go to them until they come to you, if that makes any sense.

occasionally they are the first sign you’ll see or hear.

a field or plot with sign in it is always a great place to sit. When is always the question. Evenings are a good choice.

 

[2dye4]

If I’m in a unfamiliar area and I don’t see fresh sign pretty quick I will relocate . When I find the sign I’m looking for a may set a few minutes but I’m usually moving . Keep your ears and nose working as much as your eyes . I usually smell or hear them before seeing . Good luck , it’s pretty tough this time of the year on public land to me . But they can be killed

You also need to keep the wind in your face because a hog has a nose unlike no other.

 

[bfriendly]

If I’m in a unfamiliar area and I don’t see fresh sign pretty quick I will relocate . When I find the sign I’m looking for a may set a few minutes but I’m usually moving . Keep your ears and nose working as much as your eyes . I usually smell or hear them before seeing . Good luck , it’s pretty tough this time of the year on public land to me . But they can be killed

This^^^^ I haven’t found fresh sign in a while, but I’m bout to get back after it. I’ll typically walk with the wind in my face if possible. Keep your nose working! When you smell them it’s time to be still or slow way down.