Hogs In Snow???

[707Hunter]

Hey everyone, I will be hunting a ranch tomorrow that has gotten quite a bit of snow the last couple of days. This ranch doesn't get snow but for every couple of years. My question is will hogs be looking to hold up to stay warm or will they be out and more active in the white stuff? I have never hunted hogs in the snow so any insight would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

 

[studmanbri]

I don't think the snow will affect their movement as much as wind/temp./cloud cover. Pigs don't mind the snow. Tracking in fresh snow can be exciting to.

 

[dtj6ppc]

Hey everyone, I will be hunting a ranch tomorrow that has gotten quite a bit of snow the last couple of days. This ranch doesn't get snow but for every couple of years. My question is will hogs be looking to hold up to stay warm or will they be out and more active in the white stuff? I have never hunted hogs in the snow so any insight would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

Guys who hunt Tejon should know about pigs and snow as they see some every year, hopefully a Tejon hunter will chime in............Don

 

[707Hunter]

Well we ended up seeing really fresh rooting in the snow but no hogs to be found. Figure with the full moon we had they were out in the middle of the night and bedded down before we got there. Interesting that the only sign we saw was in the snow today. Chalk today up to another lesson learned and look forward to the next hunt!

 

[bisonic]

I was up in lake county yesterday and this morning in an area that got lots of snow over the last week. No fresh sign of hogs at all.

Studmanbri - how do the factors you mention (wind/temp/clouds) affect their movement? More or less active with each?

 

[bigboarstopper]

I hunted this last wekend. Snow was on the moutain tops and the hogs I saw were moving in the lowlands. I didnt see any sign or tracks in the higher elevations. The hogs that I saw at the bottom were moving fast and cut through a 2 mile valley without stopping. The herd was well over a dozen with a long tail of piglets.

 

[HOGHUNTER714]

Hogs do move good in the snow. Personally, I like to hunt them after a fresh blanket of snow. It makes tracking movement a lot easier. Hog tracks are pretty easy to spot when you have a inche or so on the ground. This pic was taken in Jan during a freak winter storm. They were a movin that day on the ranch!ig-laughing:

 

[BigSurArcher]

Although it was mostly melted right here by the the time I pulled the trigger, I started this hunt in about 2" of snow. The pigs were moving pretty good all day, and I plugged this boar at about 2pm.

 

[HOGHUNTER714]

Great Hog BigSur!!

 

[studmanbri]

bisonic- I've found that the more comfortable I am, the more likely to see hogs out. Too hot, too windy, too rainy: hogs are sitting tight. A little snow, rain, and a cloudy day. They are out moving. Of course that said- I've seen them out feeding in the open on a 98 degree day and moving around in a rain storm so nothing is certain. The one certainty is: the more you go out, the better your chances of seeing one!

Nice hog BigSur!

 

[jerryt]

Although it was mostly melted right here by the the time I pulled the trigger, I started this hunt in about 2" of snow. The pigs were moving pretty good all day, and I plugged this boar at about 2pm.

nice pig BigSurArcher I'm not surprised you killed another pig. I'm more surprised you used a rifle to do it.

 

[BigSurArcher]

Poor college students have to eat too!

Although I did feel kinda guilty leaving the bow behind.

 

[707Hunter]

Well by the sounds of it we will be getting more snow this weekend so I am looking forward to getting out again. Thanks for all the replies to my post. It is great to get different thoughts and different ways of looking at situations. I hope I see more fresh sign in the snow this weekend and hopefully get a shot off at one....I'm running out of meat! Great Hog BigSur congrats!

 

[warren nelson]

That's a great picture of them in the snow.
Nice Pig Bigsur

 

[RIFLEMAN]

I think the depth of snow will influence the hogs' behavior more than the mere presence of the snow will. If it is light enough for them to move, forage, and keep their core warm, I don't think it will force them to move to lower elevations or lay up.

It doesn't snow much in my coastal foothill hunting country here in Northern California, but I have caught multiple hogs each time when it has.

 

[707Hunter]

That's what I saw last weekend as well Rifleman. There was rooting in the snow, just need to catch them in the act!

 

[dlvmark]

I have seen them in snow. Should not be a problem as long as it does not get too deep. Say less then 2 feet of snow for pigs.