Morning or evening

[jryeo]

I've been going to Lake Sonoma every day after work, and I haven't seen a single hog come out before shooting hours ends. After that, they're everywhere.

Is early morning considered a better time to hunt pigs? I haven't done morning hunts because of work and I've been avoiding the place like the plague on weekends.

 

[boar slayer]

both eveining and morning are productive times if your seeing them just after shoot time say 15 min they are bedded closeby some times you just have to go in after them get some buddies together and do drives through the brush with shooters posted on escape routes . the pigs there have probably patterned the hunters and hide during daylight hours

 

[EvBouret]

pigs ain't stupid....keep hitting first light and last light, or do drives like said above. Try stalk them in their beds, makes for some quick exciting shots...hard with archery gear though...if you're hunting with slugs just go in after them. No boar will disagree with a 12ga slug head on.

 

[easymoney]

IMHO, hogs are nocturnal and since they would have been out all night feeding, they tend to be more visible on the way back to their beds in the "early" mornings.

 

[hatchet1]

how about mid day?? change it up abit.. go into thier house and put the hurt to
swine while there sleepin it off!! its been known to work on the stubborn ones...

 

[juantg]

last saturday i spoted 4-7 running down the hill around 1:30 pm,but i seem to see more pigs around 30 min before dark.

 

[TRey]

Yep...change it up on the pigs. They could be bedding down nearby and you can sneak in on them when they're sleeping and they'll be snoring and stinking. I haven't been up there in a bit but I'm going to be up there the next few days. Hopefully I'll get a shot.

 

[dp1077]

Good luck TREY,I will be up ther Fri. and Sat.

 

[Speckmisser]

Lots of good suggestions so far.

I find that I've had the most success in the early morning and late evening, but if you've spent the time to learn where and when the animals are moving, you should have a pretty good idea where they're spending their daytime hours. If you can get to the bedding areas, you can hunt them all day long, although as someone else mentioned, unless you're shooting a shotgun, you may not want to try busting them out of the beds. Hunt the edges, or get above them where you can see (if you can, and the wind permits). Even when they're bedded, they'll keep getting up to move around, reposition, scratch an itch, etc. If you watch those areas, you'll be able to get a position on one... make sure you're clear of other hogs, and make a move.

It's also not unusual to see them come back to the feeding areas in mid-day. Most hunting pressure is off during those hours, and the pigs know it. They'll likely be a little more skittish, but if you hunt those feed/water routes all day long, you may be surprised at what you'll see. Hogs are generally nocturnal only due to hunting pressure or when the weather is hot. Under normal conditions, they'll get up and move any time they feel like it... day or night.

Bottom line, you're not likely to kill them sitting in camp all day. You have to be where the pigs are.