SMART PIGS OR STUPID ME?

[mossyoakhntr05]

I HAVE ONLY BEEN HUNTING PIGS SINCE ABOUT JULY, I STARTED BAITING A PUBLIC SPOT IN DECEMBER AND GOT PIGS COMING IN EVERYNIGHT AND DAY. MY TRAIL IS BRINGING BACK SOME GREAT PICS(OUR PUBLIC LANDS HOLD SOME GREAT HOGS). I KNOW THE HOGS ARE THERE, I HAVE PROOF, BUT IT SEEMS LIKE IM JUST WASTING MY MONEY AND TIME TRYING TO HUNT THESE PIGS, THIS IS MY SITUATION:

ITS AN ARCHERY ONLY HUNTING AREA, ITS FAIRLY HEAVLY WOODED, WITH SOME CHOKIGLY THICK BAMBOO AND JUST JUNK PLANT AREAS. I HAVE A BAIT SITE THAT IS IN THE SOME WHAT OPEN AREA(BIG THICK HARD WOODS WITH SCRUB BUSHES SCATTERED), NOW THE PIGS WILL COME IN TO THE BAIT DURING THE DAY I HAVE SEEN PICS OF IT, BUT THEY WILL SIT ON THE BAIT ALL NIGHT LONG LITERALLY I HAVE A SET OF PICS WHERE THEY CAME IN AT ALMOST 1100(2300) AND DID NOT LEAVE UNTIL 0545. WHEN I HUNT I SEE NOTHING HEAR NOTHING SMELL NOTHING!! I USE SCENT KILLER, WASH MY CAMO DUDS IN SCENT CONTROL SOAP, WASH MY SELF WITH SCENT SOAP, MY POP UP BLIND HAS BEEN SOAKED WITH SCENT CONTROL AND LET TO DRY. AM I DOING SOMETHING WRONG?? I PUT MY BAIT ON THE GROUND BECAUSE ITS WHAT BRING EM IN I GUESS, I REALLY DONT KNOW WHAT IM DOING WRONG HERE, I DONT HAVE BIG OPEN COUNTRY TO HUNT LIKE MOST OF THE GUYS ON HERE, MOST OF THE LAND I HUNT IS WOODED LIKE THIS. FEEDERS I DONT THINK WOULD KEEP THEM IN THE AREA AS MUCH AS JUST BAIT ON THE GROUND I DONT KNOW WHAT I DOING I GUESS IS WHAT IT BOILS DOWN TOO? I NEED SOME OF YALLS EXPERIENCE HERE!!!!:confused-yellow::confused-yellow::confused-yellow::confused-yellow:​

 

[bux-n-dux]

I'm going to go with the latter part of this posting's title, for obvious reasons.

 

[Band Collector]

First off, is baiting legal in Hawaii? I know it is in some states but here in California I don't believe it is for hogs...

Just curious...

 

[sancho]

hehe.. a smart pig would have punched the CAPlock button. just kidding you!

how often have you hunted? i found persistence is key. i dont go nearly enough, and i know someone that hunts religiously. he scored regularly, me...not so much. ground blind? i say, get the wind right, and hunt often. it will happen.

 

[mossyoakhntr05]

baiting is legal in hawaii though so is using dogs most of the people here use dogs and knives but i dont have that option.... i generally bow hunt so really this is the only way to bring em in (ive been told) i have connected on pigs but they were stumbled upon them. sancho i work shift work so every two days i get out there, i use a ground blind but am setting a tree stand up to give it a try the wind unfortunately swirls consistantly i hunt a mountain valley so a get the winds from both sides of the islands but i go heavy on scent killer and am very cautious with scent..... now bux-n-dux the reasons arent obvious to me, i am a rock here, i have never hunted pigs before we actually dont have any pigs where im from so this is all new to me!!!!

 

[dkhuntr25]

just like previously posted keep at it the more your out the better chance u have at gettin on a hog. they are smart little devils no doubt. mayb pull your bait and only put it out when u get there?? so they cant eat it all night?

 

[bux-n-dux]

Quite a few guys in JHO have hunted pigs very successfully in Hawaii. I dont know where you are or where you hunt what island etc. but DocCherry, EvBouret and few others get pigs regularly in Hawaii.

I apologize for the comment. It's a personal statute, I just don't believe in hunting over bait, but you do what you gotta do to get a pig. At the very least keep at it and if you can pattern those hogs at all you won't need bait anymore.

I will say this: If the hogs can get to the bait at night undisturbed, they aren't going to come back for it in the daylight. Pigs are like vampires they hate the sunlight it seems.

 

[Band Collector]

Not the pigs I have seen. Sure they like to feed all night but alot of times you can catch them out in the late afternoon and still out feeding in the early morning. One thing that drives them to bed is a hot sun or very warm temps but on cool days they can be out feeding at all times of the day.

After feeding all night pigs will usually water before bedding down for the day. Staking out a well used water source in the early morning hours has produced for me on several occasions.

 

[mossyoakhntr05]

bux-n-dux.......never thought about that! it makes sense to me, why would they come out when it could be dangerous for them if they come in undisturbed at night? now baiting is something i have never done until i got here, actually everywhere ive been its been illegal. but i think its better yet then using dogs, this is just my opinion i have nothing against using dogs at all its just how i see it. also though band collector hits it too my trail cam has pics of pigs out in daylight although its right before dark..... i am gonna try a timed feeder to try and get them out in day light more, i think using bait my be my only chance to connect because of my shifts, i can only get out in the woods 1) when my wife lets me, 2) when i get an off day the first one is usually harder to overcome. but i think i will try only baiting when im there make it harder for em to feed for free i guess you can say!! ill keep you guys posted on how it all goes.... thanks for the help fellas

 

[Band Collector]

It depends on how much hunting pressure is being put on that particular group of pigs. If alot they may resort to only coming out at night but if little or any they could come out at any time. If there is enough "food" to hold them there they may stay well past daylight. It may be your approach, sound or scent, that is spooking them off the bait in the early morning hours. Bowhunting is tough because you have to get in close and everything has to be perfect.

Obviously they have found the bait and will continue to come back to it until hunting pressure makes them change their pattern. A timed baiting situation could literally mean you train them when feeding time is like right at grey light after you have set up or maybe two hours before dusk.

I hunted a ranch once that used tripod feeders that threw whole kernal corn. The feeders would throw the corn at certain times of the day in a certain amount using a high speed rotating spinner plate. When the feeders kicked on the sound that it would make with the kernals of corn flying everywhere was very loud and distinct. Interestingly these feeders came with remotes to activate the feeder at will.

The pigs became so accustomed to the sound of the feeder and the resulting easy tasty meal that they bedded within range to be able to hear it and came running when they did. Truly Pavlov's dogs. Using the remote when set up was like ringing the dinner bell.

I am not advocating the use of feeders and bait to hunt over but in some states like Texas it is perfectly legal and done all the time and to the hunters advantage.

If you are allowed to use it then use it to your advantage. You are the apex predator. You are smarter than the pigs...

 

[MoReno]

Bamndcollector

I started laughing when you mentioned the sound of the feeders going off! I was hunting turkeys in Texas, and the way they did it was centered around the feeders. I didnt like it and moved away from them. Got my birds, but it took me a lot more time and effort than the other guys who hunted the feeders. Told the owner I wanted to kill a few hogs and he directed me to an old creek bed with some water. I was sitting there and all of a sudden I hear the whirr of a feeder going off! Within a few minutes I watched hogs, turkeys, and a few small deer running past me to get in on the feast! Didn't shoot and headed back in. Talked to the rancher and he said he had not filled that feeder for over a week. Just the sound of the feeder going off triggered these animals to go into full feed mode!

 

[Jagermeister]

Sounds to me like you have a scent problem. You can wash yourself all you want, if the wind gets in your back and carries it to the pigs, they will know you are there before they even get to the bait site. By now you have trained them to understand that you are never there at night, so that's when they show up. You will want to scout for a better spot that has more predictable and non swirling wind conditions. A stand should help as well in a better spot.

If you can't bait them elsehwere, track where they come in from and where they leave to after feeding. Then ambush them on the trail with a tree stand.

That's my two cents. Hope this helps.

George