Fighterjock
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Had a chance to hunt a private ranch (not much public land) in Texas last month. This is a very different style of hunting than I'm used to (western/open/spot&stalk, etc.) but I've learned to enjoy it. The ranch is over 2100 acres but only cattle fenced so it is essentially free range. Tons of deer and the pigs are there but wily. This isn't a place where they come running at the sound of a feeder going off.
Every hog I've seen and/or killed on this place has been at night. Not pinky twilight either.
Hunting is done from either permanent elevated blinds or pop-up ground blinds. Usually near a feeder--but in my experience the only effect of putting corn out is to make the deer fatter...hogs down there just don't seem to care. Don't get me wrong--they'll eat it if the find it--but the hogs don't come out of the woods and grass directly to it like the deer/cows/coons/skunks do.
That being said--my buddies and I schedule around the full moon. Works great if it's clear--not so great if it's cloudy/foggy (not uncommon to get ground fog at night). Some of the local TX boys have night gear which is pretty amazing stuff. It's not high end (Gen II at best) but helps distinguish between a deer and a hog in tall grass at 300 yards.
I borrowed some NV binocs last time and they had the same usefulness. But--with a clear night and good moon you'd be amazed what you can see with decent binoculars. (camera not withstanding)
We usually head out to the blinds an hour or so before sunset. During the day we've already been out and spiked the area with corn/hog wild, etc. Best to dig a hole and bury it--make them work for it and keeps the deer from vacuuming it up.
Anyway, once you're in the blind (learned the hard way over the last few years) it's the time to get everything you may need out of your pack and in a place you can find when it's pitch black. Not much moonlight inside...
I take the windows out completely so I have a full field of view/fire--set up my sticks/tri-pod, etc. Not much to do other than watch the deer come in (almost immediately)...
...so I practice going from the glass to picking up a rifle (I take 2) and NOT ticking the barrel against the window frame, knocking over a water bottle, and all the other dozens of things that make noise. Before you laugh--go try it. It's not so easy to be "ninja" quiet while turning to pick up an 8 pound rifle leaning against the side of the blind--(SAFELY!) and then getting it up/through the window and on your shoulder while never looking away from your quarry.
My firearms of choice on this hunt--an EBR in .223 shooting 62gr hand loads (Sierra Game Kings) and a .375 Ruger
...shooting 300gr factory soft points.
I've always wanted to whack a pig with the Ruger but it's set up for big game/day hunting with a Trijicon 1-4x24. It gets really tough to see stuff with that small 24mm objective when it's dark.
On the first night out I'd taken a whack at one with my .223 and probably missed it. It was a long-ish shot at a 'trotting' hog and the window of opportunity was short. It was going slightly away and crossing a road at about 150 yards. No tell-tale bullet slap and no SQUEEEEEEEE!...damn. But I checked for spoor anyway when I crawled out of the blind later that night (and the next day). Nada...
BTW--everyone who hunts hogs down here recommends hitting them "in the head". What they really mean is to aim for a point just behind and below the ear. This will (if done right) spine shock them if not kill them outright. The reason to do this is obvious once you see the terrain/environment. Tall grass and thick woods. If they run and you don't poke a BIG hole in them--you'll probably never find them. They'll be coyote food. There are exceptions to every "rule" however...
Here's the exception: Shoot a hog with a .375 Ruger/300gr bullet in the center of the shoulder (more luck than skill).
Second night at about 9:30 I'd been watching deer/coons/skunks mack out on the corn for 3 hours and I hear the unique sound of hogs. Then I SMELL them. Good news is that I'm up high and the wind is perfect. Bad news is they are about 120 yards away and "up moon". Believe it--once you get adapted it's almost like looking into the sun. All you see is shadow. Best I can sort out is 1 bigger hog and 4 smaller ones--but not piglets. Shoat sized.
Unless you catch them napping--pigs on a feed down there are generally nervous. They are always moving...
Takes me about one second to decide that I'm going to shoulder my .375. In this case, the hogs actually did stop on some corn I'd spiked earlier in the day. Bad news is that was directly in the shadow of the biggest tree within 500 yards. So, just gotta be patient. I can find them and sort them out fine with my binos--not so easy with the riflescope. Go back and forth literally about 5 times to MAKE SURE I'm shooting a pig and that it's the pig I want. Yes they could have bugged out but I don't care. You have a lot of things stacked against you at night and if you're not extra careful you're gonna get burned sooner or later. (I have a friend who shot a doe (at night) because he was SURE it was a coyote).
Hog finally stood still--facing left at what turns out to be 124 yards. Dot on the shoulder--squeeeeeeeze--BOOM! Chaos...
Can't see for sh#t--ears ringing, etc. Finally catch my breath and get my binos out. Dark shape laying on the ground...DRT.
When I climbed down to retrieve it--I see that the bullet impact turned the hog about 180 degrees but it didn't go anywhere. Very little blood (size of an open hand maybe). When I gutted it--I expected to see a bunch of blood come out from the lungs when I cut the diaphragm...again--hardly a thing. My best guess is that the shock just stopped it's nervous system including the heart.
Gutted out, the rusty old scale said 180 lbs. I think it was a bit heavier since it straightened out the hook the first time we hung it.
Two of our newer hog hunters (including a huntress!) took this one on the last night out and shared the skinning duties.
View attachment 80316
Overall a successful hunt (aren't they all?) By success I mean that my buddies took another 5 hogs over the 3 nights and had chances at 3 others (6 hunters).
Hope this wasn't too long winded, etc. Like most hunters--it's as much fun re-telling the story as it was doing it in the first place.
Good luck to all and remember--aim small.
Every hog I've seen and/or killed on this place has been at night. Not pinky twilight either.
Hunting is done from either permanent elevated blinds or pop-up ground blinds. Usually near a feeder--but in my experience the only effect of putting corn out is to make the deer fatter...hogs down there just don't seem to care. Don't get me wrong--they'll eat it if the find it--but the hogs don't come out of the woods and grass directly to it like the deer/cows/coons/skunks do.
That being said--my buddies and I schedule around the full moon. Works great if it's clear--not so great if it's cloudy/foggy (not uncommon to get ground fog at night). Some of the local TX boys have night gear which is pretty amazing stuff. It's not high end (Gen II at best) but helps distinguish between a deer and a hog in tall grass at 300 yards.
I borrowed some NV binocs last time and they had the same usefulness. But--with a clear night and good moon you'd be amazed what you can see with decent binoculars. (camera not withstanding)
We usually head out to the blinds an hour or so before sunset. During the day we've already been out and spiked the area with corn/hog wild, etc. Best to dig a hole and bury it--make them work for it and keeps the deer from vacuuming it up.
Anyway, once you're in the blind (learned the hard way over the last few years) it's the time to get everything you may need out of your pack and in a place you can find when it's pitch black. Not much moonlight inside...
I take the windows out completely so I have a full field of view/fire--set up my sticks/tri-pod, etc. Not much to do other than watch the deer come in (almost immediately)...
...so I practice going from the glass to picking up a rifle (I take 2) and NOT ticking the barrel against the window frame, knocking over a water bottle, and all the other dozens of things that make noise. Before you laugh--go try it. It's not so easy to be "ninja" quiet while turning to pick up an 8 pound rifle leaning against the side of the blind--(SAFELY!) and then getting it up/through the window and on your shoulder while never looking away from your quarry.
My firearms of choice on this hunt--an EBR in .223 shooting 62gr hand loads (Sierra Game Kings) and a .375 Ruger
...shooting 300gr factory soft points.
I've always wanted to whack a pig with the Ruger but it's set up for big game/day hunting with a Trijicon 1-4x24. It gets really tough to see stuff with that small 24mm objective when it's dark.
On the first night out I'd taken a whack at one with my .223 and probably missed it. It was a long-ish shot at a 'trotting' hog and the window of opportunity was short. It was going slightly away and crossing a road at about 150 yards. No tell-tale bullet slap and no SQUEEEEEEEE!...damn. But I checked for spoor anyway when I crawled out of the blind later that night (and the next day). Nada...
BTW--everyone who hunts hogs down here recommends hitting them "in the head". What they really mean is to aim for a point just behind and below the ear. This will (if done right) spine shock them if not kill them outright. The reason to do this is obvious once you see the terrain/environment. Tall grass and thick woods. If they run and you don't poke a BIG hole in them--you'll probably never find them. They'll be coyote food. There are exceptions to every "rule" however...
Here's the exception: Shoot a hog with a .375 Ruger/300gr bullet in the center of the shoulder (more luck than skill).
Second night at about 9:30 I'd been watching deer/coons/skunks mack out on the corn for 3 hours and I hear the unique sound of hogs. Then I SMELL them. Good news is that I'm up high and the wind is perfect. Bad news is they are about 120 yards away and "up moon". Believe it--once you get adapted it's almost like looking into the sun. All you see is shadow. Best I can sort out is 1 bigger hog and 4 smaller ones--but not piglets. Shoat sized.
Unless you catch them napping--pigs on a feed down there are generally nervous. They are always moving...
Takes me about one second to decide that I'm going to shoulder my .375. In this case, the hogs actually did stop on some corn I'd spiked earlier in the day. Bad news is that was directly in the shadow of the biggest tree within 500 yards. So, just gotta be patient. I can find them and sort them out fine with my binos--not so easy with the riflescope. Go back and forth literally about 5 times to MAKE SURE I'm shooting a pig and that it's the pig I want. Yes they could have bugged out but I don't care. You have a lot of things stacked against you at night and if you're not extra careful you're gonna get burned sooner or later. (I have a friend who shot a doe (at night) because he was SURE it was a coyote).
Hog finally stood still--facing left at what turns out to be 124 yards. Dot on the shoulder--squeeeeeeeze--BOOM! Chaos...
Can't see for sh#t--ears ringing, etc. Finally catch my breath and get my binos out. Dark shape laying on the ground...DRT.
When I climbed down to retrieve it--I see that the bullet impact turned the hog about 180 degrees but it didn't go anywhere. Very little blood (size of an open hand maybe). When I gutted it--I expected to see a bunch of blood come out from the lungs when I cut the diaphragm...again--hardly a thing. My best guess is that the shock just stopped it's nervous system including the heart.
Gutted out, the rusty old scale said 180 lbs. I think it was a bit heavier since it straightened out the hook the first time we hung it.
Two of our newer hog hunters (including a huntress!) took this one on the last night out and shared the skinning duties.
View attachment 80316
Overall a successful hunt (aren't they all?) By success I mean that my buddies took another 5 hogs over the 3 nights and had chances at 3 others (6 hunters).
Hope this wasn't too long winded, etc. Like most hunters--it's as much fun re-telling the story as it was doing it in the first place.
Good luck to all and remember--aim small.
