Boarless...

[Full Draw]

Ok guy's, Let's see if you can put the finishing touches on my Hog training camp. lol

All your advise has put into the hog's but I'm starting to think I'm set up in the ladies room???

I haven't seen a boar since the shot I took the other day. This morning I had a total of 19 hog's in front of me. All were sow's or little boars that need to grow up before getting whacked. Don't get me wrong, I'm having fun seeing all these pigs, but I'm wondering if Boar hog's like to feed in areas away from the sows and piglets?

My second question is this. What time can I get on stand in the am without walking into a butt load of hogs feeding at my bait? This morning I walked in 45 min before it was light enough to see and they were already there. Little suckers scared the pants off me to. They didn't take off till I was just a few yards away... No Flash light, and it was dark! lol That'll put some pep in your step let me tell ya.

Rod

[jason mills]

Down here where I live they only come out right at dark in the evening.I've had a trail cam set up and have hundreds of pictures and rarely see large boars and sows with little ones together.Christmas night I killed a big boar, my plot was filled with bifferent sized little ones until he showed his ugly face, then they all split.In my past experiences I find that after I kill THE SHACK BULLY of the area I start seeing alot more smaller hogs and they tend to hang around more.

[Full Draw]

I have seen only three mature boars near where I am hunting. The one I shot was the smallest of the three. There is a huge black boar that I saw while driving by the wood lot I hunt. The second is a big black and white hog, (Mostly Black) that my brother and I saw just an hour after I reloaded the bait pile. I left a trail of corn out into the opening and thats where we saw him. I have not seen either since seeing them that first time. Both were out in broad day light. The black pig was at 3pm and the black and white was at 9:45 am. :confused: It was also during the cold snap we had and it was windy.

[ 12-27-2003, 08:23 PM: Message edited by: Full Draw ]

[jason mills]

I've only killed 3 big boars,I've seen and taken pictures of plenty more, I believe they are more terratorial than the smaller ones , if you kill a big one I'm sure there's another one ready to take his place on the breeding and food chain.I've been hunting the same spot for three years straight and if it were legal to hunt them at night I could probably kill one every day,if you seen any pigs at all at your spot you can bet there will be ones waiting to come in to replace the ones you dispose of.I find they hang out in different small groups not in heards,thats just where I hunt,its mostly cut over with small strips of trees,and big patches of bryers.

[Rickey]

I've also noticed that the bigger the boar the less they hang with others. I also have noticed boars around 100-175 hang in groups of 1-3. Boars larger are generally loaners and don't like any other pig unless they were a sow in heat.

[Full Draw]

So what do I do? Move to the other end of the property or wait it out?

[jason mills]

When a real big one comes around he will probably run all the others off,I had that problem at the beginning of this year one big boar,whenI took him down others began hitting my spot again.

[hatracked]

hehehe,
Not quite as easy to get those old boars as it first seemed eh???? Im going to tell you what I think has happened to you and it might hurt a bit. I think you have been in there to many times in a short period of time and whether you are aware of it or not those boars you were seeing are onto you. Yove bumped your boars . They are still there but you arent going to see em in your bait site .Shoot one of those sholts and pay attention to who the mamma was and you'll find real quick you arent seeing here anymore either.Im telling you pigs are smart animals and react to pressure faster than a whitetail.Not only that i belive wholeheartedly they have a much higher capacity to remember things like intrusions and what time they occur.

Not unlike a whitetail buck , Boars are not the most sociable critters to begin with they are far more worried about their living through the day that the rest of the pig world . In an area as small as your hunting Im somewhat suprised the action even including the older sows is still as hot as it is.Your not sunk theres hope read on. I ran hog hunts on the same acreage for a good while and killed a mess of nice boars . The answers are pressure management ,specific baiting ,and selectively harvesting pigs with no witnessses around.

Heres what Id do . First drop 58 bucks and go buy two auto feeder motors so you arent having to go in there and rebait so often.Get 55 gal drums so they will run for a month without being refilled. Have em ready to go and install fill and have em running in one trip. While your in there putting up the feeders put your stand in cut your immediate shooting lanes and get out. Dont be so concerned with opening up the actual shooting areas the pigs will do it for you .If you can do it during or just prior to a decent rain all the better.When i first put in a feeder I will "prime " the location with a couple hundred pounds of shell corn spread over the area Id like for them to root and open up. Hogs are as good as a tractor with a disc in short order they will destroy all the vegetaion and leave you a nice oasis in the jungle to shoot em in.

Second, start another site while keeping the original going. Unless they stop feeding there you will want to keep it going. Pigs are very quick to relate a particular place with danger yet set em up again 400 yards away and the darn things act like nothing ever happened.

third , as much as its tough to do stay out of there unless your going to kill a pig, no more errant visits in there two and three times a day.

Fourth , start treating the entire area as if it was the biggest buck youve ever hunted bedroom. Scent free , stay off everything you can espescially pig trails , and time your visits so you stand the least chance of bumping them.

Tip on the second location : Your going to have to do some scouting and hopefully you can do it quick without disturbing them to much.Whatever you do make it one trip and scout till you find it. Next time you go in be ready to hang the feeder put up the stand and have a hunt ready set up to return to in a couple weeks. What your hunting is a thicket or small slough off of a larger slough with thick cover throughout . search these areas over until you find large wallows that are by themselves. If there are small 75-150 lb pig wallows there as well keep looking. You want to find a place that has 1-5 same size wallows . Next thing you need to find is tusking trees where the boar is woring over trees much like a buck does. Add all these things in a small area and youve found boss hogs bedroom. Set up a bait site near it and use all the precautions we already went over. He will keep the little ones out and once hes good and comfortable there you can kill him easilly. As has already been mentioned and once again much like a big buck these spots tend to continuously draw replacement boars even if you kill the resident boss hog.

First one was free now its time to go to school!LOL

[jason mills]

Hatracked you have some good ideas,I find that where I hunt at the more pressure you put on them they just come out later at night.I have an electric feeder, I put corn and this stuff called hog wild mixed, when the feeder throws you can smell that stuff in the air,no telling how far it will attract hogs from,its got a strong sweet berry smell.A hole with a post hole digger also works well,fill with corn and mollasses.I had too move my spot a little every now and then , they dig a hole so big you lose sight of them when they go in it,also makes a good wallow when it rains or if the pigs have to travel threw water to get there.Just my 2 cents

[Full Draw]

Well, I looked around for a new spot this morning... It really bites having so little land to work with. Everything to the north west of me is super thick brazilian pepper bogs that you can't even stand up in. South west of me is a nice palm and oak head but it's only about 90 yards from where I am right now. It's also only about 30 yards from the road. It's mor like a continuation of where I am set up. Once you get past the pepper bog, it's the swamp and it is not part of the land I am able to hunt.

I noticed yesterday afternoon, when I went to hunt, they had hit the bait between the time I left at 10am and the time I returned at 3pm. I saw nothing at the bait last evening or this am. They bait was totally gone this am. I'm going to quit hunting it for a while, but I was thinking about trying a mid-day hunt from 10am to 3pm??? What do you all think?

I'm also going to order a feeder motor so I can stay out of there unless I'm filling the feeder or hunting it.

So onto my next question. Setting the time of day to feed... I assume I'll want it to go off at the times I am going to hunt, say 8am and 4pm??? How long do the batteries last, and how long should the feeder motor run?

This hog hunting is more work than deer hunting! lol.

By the way, I walked into the swamp and onto the land I can't hunt.. I know, shame on me. I didn't take the bow, I was just looking for the sign Hat was talking about. I think I found a couple of rubbing trees?? They were caked with mud and hair. Didn't find any tusking tree's though? Found a huge wallow full of hug tracks. Spots of the small part I investigated were full of rooting areas. Lot's of scat and tracks everywhere. It seems to be a bedding area. I was looking for a place to set up near that area but still on my land. Couldn't find anyplace without taking a chain saw in there, and I don't have permission to do that. lol

Today, I scattered the bait in stead of piling it up. I covered a large are and I only scattered 25 lbs. I'm thinking maybe they will feel they need to compete for the smaller amount of feed and maybe they will come in sooner???? The feeder will help. Am I thinking in the right direction?

[hatracked]

Rod ,
youve found another piece of hog sign that I hadnt mentioned a scratching tree. All hogs will wallow ,exit the wallow and rub their sides up against a fixed object, usually a tree, to remove the mud and any parasites that are trapped in it.By observing the height of the mud marks on the tree you can get an idea at least whether it is a large hogs or a small version.

Side note: this is why you dont buy tripod type feeders for hogs , the hogs will rub up against the legs as well as root all around the bases of the legs. It doesnt take long for them to bend up and eventually knock over a feeder. When you get your feeder and barrel ready let me know Ive got a system for hanging them thats hog/thief proof and costs less than 10 bucks a barrel.BTW I run my feeders on the old square lantern type 6 volt batteries and with the feed times and run times were talking about for pigs they last 2-4 months. You can spend a little more initially and get a solar charger if you want but personally I just change out the batteries every second or third filling of the feeder depending on how much it is running.

Filling a 55 gal feeder takes about 350 lbs of shell corn or just shy of six bushels ( about 24 bucks unless your buying grain trailers full which I doubt your doing LOL ) battery will run you about 8 bucks so your looking at 32 bucks to fill/power it , another ten in hanging accessories , the barrel I get mine from a company that uses bulk silicone for 5 bucks each. Like I said the Cabelas 29 dollar feeder motor has a great warranty and does everything you need for hogs.You'll want a barrel with a water tight gasket seal on the lid so the corn inside doesnt get wet. Last thing your going to need for the barrel is a funnel to keep the corn moving to the center of the barrel where the motor is. Get a pice of aluminum flashing make a cone screw it together so it will fit inside the barrel then screw it to the sides of the barrel so it doesnt collapse or move when you pour on the corn, cover screw heads with silicone so hmuidity cant work its way in the barrel.

If you want to forgo all the set up just go buy you two of the moutrie hanging 6.5 gallon set ups at wally world and hang them .I think I saw them the other day for about 40 each .You will have to refill these every week and a half though instead of every month and a half.

Run Times and feed rates :

I set mine up to go off an hour after sunrise and one hour befor "official sunset" Most states allow hog hunting at night ,I dont know your situation but set an hour before sunset will give you about 1.45 minutes of shooting light after the feed hits the ground.

How much to feed ? After lots of experimenting and running a set up with a half dozen feeders for awhile I have come to the conclusion that more is not nesscesarilly better when it comes to hunting pigs. Certainly at the onset of a feeder program when your wanting to attract hogs to the area you'll want to feed alot maybe 2 times a day with a 15 second run time. Depending on the motor this should lay out between 7-12 lbs of corn each time it goes off. However once the area and pattern is established I cut it back to two times per day with a 5 second run time so your only dropping 2-5 lbs each feeding. Heres why . Not unlike a herd of deer that beds near an orchard or cornfield a pig that knows he has an unlimited amount of feed to be had isnt in any hurry or need to get to the feed source. Simply put he knows whenever he shows food will be available and in a boars case more than likely hes going to just hold tight and go at night. By establishing the area first and setting the pattern you catch their interset, by cutting feed amounts back you create a need to visit the feeder when it goes off. First come first serve. Each time i refill a feeder I will "prime" the ground with an extra 100 lbs of shell corn to kick it off by the time thats gone the feeding frenzies and hogs that will bum rush in to the sound of a motor going off is generally happeneing. I have litterally seen pigs come in a few minutes early and look up at the feeder waiting for it to go off.LOL

This has been the best way I have found to get consistant action at feeder sites. Set up this way you can have a feeder that will run 35-40 days straight with no maitainence which equals very little intrusions and a constant safe place to feed for the pigs.

OK back to your scouting trip:

Your not far off from the area I described Ill bet, but if your run out of land to hunt on it aint much good for you. I think in your case due to the land restrictions and restrictions against using clearing tools your going to have to focuss your methods on pressure management to keep the spot hot.

The tusking trees will be obvious they will appear like a rub that a buck with super browtines has gouged terribly. When you see one you'll know exactly what your looking at.

What you might want to do is set a loc on stand in that general area where you found all the wallows and larger tracks or better yet on the trails in between that spot and your feed site.Your going to have to treat that standsite as you would a prime deer stand and hunt it very little and only when conditions are perfect. If you kill em in their transition area and not in bed/wallow or at the feed they wont assosciate feeding and their bedding area to be a danger zone and typically continue to use the same travel area. In other words DO NOT START FEEDING THE PIGS IN THIS TRANSITION AREA and it will stay productive.Consider it hunting a bottle neck funnel leading to a food source and hunt accordinly in other words.

that spot 90 yards away is going to have to do if it is your only choice for a second bait site. Set it up and set the timers to go off 15 minute before or after depending on which is closer to where the hogs are coming from . Other than for safety considerations I wouldnt worry about the road the hogs know the cars go by and dont give a hoot. I see wild pigs feeding right off the side of the roads here all the time.

Ahhhh heck Ill just come down and well set the place up , knock some doors , find a few more places , and go into the hog hunting business. LOL

[Full Draw]

Man, you read my mind! lol. You should just make a road trip down here to show me the in's and out's of this hog hunting. I don't want to have to wait another 20 years to hunt these as well as I do deer! May not have that much longer to live? lol The wife is starting to rant and rave a bit about how much cheaper pork is to buy at the store! :rolleyes:

As for starting a hog hunting business... Pretty sure it's going to be hard to top the gig I have right now. $$$ wise. Besides, we'd have more fun killin them tall backs ourselves. But, I'm hoping to retire in another 10 years. By then it might be a nice way to spend retirement. lol

It's funny that you mentioned the transition spot. After my last post I went out back to shot a couple arrows... Started thinking about the area I can't hunt(we'll call it zone X) and the feeding location. When they come out of "zone X" they have two choices they can make to get to the feed. They can cross an old dirt road that the local teenagers use as a lovers lane of sorts, or they can walk through the edge of the swamp and cut into my land farther down the old road. The trails, both had heavy usage and fresh tracks. I was thinking about cutting back just a small pocket in the pepper trees to make another ground blind and ambush them on the way to the feed.(Prunning sheers, not a chain saw) lol So I drove back over to the lovers lane and looked around again just from the road. I think I found a place I might be able to shot the road and if I trim some of the cattails, I could even shoot the other trail in the swamp to. (This is the exact place my hog ran the other day after whacking him). I will only be able to hunt it when I have a wind from the west though. But it's so close to the bedding area, it just might work?

I ment to tell you, After the hunt last night, I made it back to truck and put the camera and archery equipment away, took a leak, and was about to open the truck door and heard pigs at the bait pile. :mad: Couldn't believe it. They are some noisy critters! Sounds like the gates of hell opened up. lol So setting up like you would a deer, between bedding and feeding areas might be the way to undo one of these boar hogs? I also noticed many beds and rooting areas on the west end of my land when I was tracking the hog from the other day... Only problem is, you have to crawl on your belly to get in there. Once in there, you better hope he doesn't charge, cuz your pinned down. My point with this, is they might actually be bedding on the west end of my land, which should make the feeder noise sound like a dinner bell/alarm clock of sorts. If they are bedding on the X spot, they may not hear it? I'll attach a map so you get an idea of what I'm hunting.

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid95/p8c64f59a20e399cf03fae4973ce5bec7/fa29a2d0.jpg

The thick black line between zone x and the lake is a 10' chain link fence that just dead ends at the transition area in the green circle.

[ 12-28-2003, 01:12 PM: Message edited by: Full Draw ]

[Rickey]

John,
You got these pigs figured out huh?lol There are a couple of other things one might do also. We can't use regular feeders and hunt them so what some of the guys do which is legal is they set the feeders a couple hundred yards away and hunt the trilas on the way to the feeders. The type of feeders they use is 3" PVC or some other type of metal pipe. They drill three holes in the the pipe on each side. One high, one middle on one low. Make sure to use schedule 40 pipe or either any type of metal pipe. You use the holes to put HEAVY duty wood screws into a good hardwood. Pigs will try to rip it off if they think there is still food in it otherwise. They cut the pipe so that it is 3 to 4 feet long. They also use a cap to put on top so it doesn't get rained in. As far as the holes you can either use duct tape to cover them or just leave them open. The one I saw set up had duct tape covering the holes. When you get to a tree that you have decided to use it on make sure that you predrill you holes, it will make mounting it a lot quicker. Mount the feeder so that it only has a couple of inches from the ground to the feeder. They'll make a hole under it soon enough anyhow. These types of feeders don't hold much food but they come and feed on them. They surely are not the way to go if you have the money and resources to put up a regular feeder. Around here a feeder wouldn't last to long. It would be at somebody elses hotspot till you stole it back. I don't know much about these feeders really, just talked to some guys who use them and saw one. I'm sure you could elaborate for FD.

[Full Draw]

One more question Hat, how long does it take for pigs to learn that the sound of a feeder is like a dinner bell. It seems like all that noise would scare them off?

[hatracked]

It wont take long for them to ignore it in fact it will probably take you longer to not be disturbed by it than them. Much as I used to warn my clients that at 445 the feeder was going off and be prepared , they would still come out saying the thing went off and they nearly fell outta the stand it scared em so bad .LOL

Have you noticed yet that in a couple of visits lately that when you get back to the truck they are on the corn pile????????

Wanna know why?????

They already have you figured for their corn source and know when they hear action on the property that new food is available .They hold back for a bit when they hear you arrive and very likely already know when they hear action back at your truck all is safe. Im tellin you pigs are very very smart animals ask any farmer he'll tell ya the pig is the smartest aniaml in the barnyard by far.

It wont take long and they will be running in when that feeder goes off a week to ten days max.

[Full Draw]

I kinda figured that out today. I have a tool box on my truck that must have worked loose a bit because when I was pulling into the area I have been parking when I lay out the feed, I noticed my truck squeeking when driving over the bumps in the field. I pull right along side the woods when feeding but stay off about 60 yards when hunting. Anyway, yesterday and today, when I went in to lay feed, those little black piglets work there way to the feed site even before I'm done laying feed. David (my brother) and I stood only a few yards away and the piglets came in to feed. My first thought was... "Man are you little fella's stupid". But, these piglets have seen me a number of times. They basically live at that feed while I'm hunting for their daddy. I think they may be thinking I'm of no threat, because I have not harmed them in the past???

Now onto last nights escapade. I have experienced my first "Charge" not once but twice since taking up this location. Last night as the light was fading, I packed up the camera, un-knocked my arrow and latched my quiver back to my arrow. I looked back at the piglets feeding and took two steps to leave. I heard a loud snap, and turned back to see a boar hog walking toward the feed. He stopped, looked at the piglets and charged into the group and ran them all off the bait. I quickley knocked an arrow and drew my bow. I strained to see through the peep to no avail. I couldn't see my pin's nor the hog. I quivered the arrow and attempted to sneak out... Yeah Right, I heard the hog release a deep grunt and heard crashing, I turned to see him "NOT" fleeing the area... He was coming at me! graemlins/whoa1.gif I stood still, not out of curage nor nerves of steel... I was paralized! lol. He stopped just yards from me, but it seemed more like inches... Then went back to the feed. I turned to walk away again... Once again, he felt the need to show me he was the one fearless, and charged again. I still feel the hair raise on the back of my neck. Once again, he stopped short of running me over. He went back to the feed, and I seized the moment. I ran to the field like a little girl. I bet I could have beat Rickey Williams in the 50 yard dash last night! lol. What a rush it was. Next time, he may be the one running for his life... Only difference will be, he's gonna be bleeding from his vitals.

[hatracked]

Question....

When are you going to put up a tree stand?????

Has it occurred to you that those tusks are there for a reason and it aint just for rooting?????

How bout that side arm I suggested?????

Rod, seriously man you are one lucky fool my friend! Theres a guy hobblin round Bishopville SC at this very moment on a prostetic leg after a boar tore his original up so bad they had to cut it off.I can assure you he wouldnt do what you did!

If your going to go in with a bow I highly reccomend you either start using a lot more sense when it comes to safety like using an elevated position, or if you just need to feel the rush get a good magnum handgun for a backup. Your wife and kids deserve to have you home in one piece and your dealing with an animal that has the ability to kill you.

I personally would be extremely warry of a boar that false charged you twice and went back to eating. Thats a pig that aint afraid of you and when you do slap an arrow in him if he knows where your at hes going to be in your lap!

[Full Draw]

Believe me, the stand is in the works. That's why I'm not hunting the second location tonight. Last night was a wake up call.

I honestly think he thought I was one of the piglets and that's why he charged me. When he ran in, they scattered. When I started walking, is when he came toward me. He couldn't see me through the palmetto. Every time one of the piglets started moving after the original scattering, he'd run at them as well.

Believe me, this boy ain't hunting again, till the stand is hung. As for side arm's, I can't discharge a firearm because I am within city limit's. I also, don't own a pistol...

This all took place after I was leaving the blind. So even if I had been hunting from a stand, I still had to walk out.

But I don't want him in my lap after the shot, so there will be a stand there tomarrow. lol

[ 12-30-2003, 06:24 PM: Message edited by: Full Draw ]

[jason mills]

Full Draw you are very lucky,when I got treed by a big boar the chase started from a trail about 20 yds from the feeding location.The boar stalked me , when I moved he moved when I stopped he stopped, the whole time I was getting further away from the feeding area. The only thing I can figure is he cosidered me a threat,2 days later I killed a big sow that was in heat,he was more horny than hungry.Since then I have moved my hunting location , its closer to the edge of the woods so I don't have as far too travel.A good friend of mine was hunting the mouth of the Mississippi River when bow hunter was tracking a stuck boar and got attacked,he said the guy was tracking threw the canes and the boar exploded out knocked him down and ripped him to the bone from his elbow to his wrist,luckly the boar ran off and his buddy got help, they had to get a helicoptor to fly him out.Be careful,so you can continue too enjoy this great sport.Always respect these powerful animals,even little ones, cause when they call for mama she can be just as dangerous as big popa.

[Full Draw]

I got it guys. I'll be more respectful and use better judgement. Thanks for the advise.

The stands are up, I'm just waiting on the feeder.

[hatracked]

Hey watch it Rod ... you'll poke your eye out with that thing. LOL

We just dont want to see you get hurt man. Ive had some close calls with pigs and give em a good bit of respect as a result.

I think you will fare much better in your hunting out of stands anyhow , less overall scent contamination and you wont be leaving a "fear of whats behind every bush" imprint on the pigs either.I also think in alot of ways shooting pigs froma somewhat elevated position opens up some better vital opportunities.It most definately helps with low exits wounds and better tracking.

[Full Draw]

That is exactly how I took it.

I certainly appriciate it!

I think someone even more thick headed than I would have re-thunk his tactic's after being charged twice... Even though they were false charges. I'm telling you, I could have swore I heard Heavens angles singing, welcoming me to Heaven. lol The song went something like, Come on in, come on in, even the dumb and the foolish are welcome... ya'll seem to always show up early, but come on in, come on in...

I wish it would cool off a bit. It was in the 80's today and is going to stay warm though the weekend. The boars seem to move better when it cools off. I think in this heat, they stick to feeding at night when it is cooler.

[ 01-01-2004, 05:37 AM: Message edited by: Full Draw ]