Hi I am new to hunting and the forum and have some questions but first I will give you some background information to help you answer them.

I am currently a freshman at East Carolina and I just got into guns a few months ago and shot my first guns a few days ago (2 AR15s and an AK47). I have made up my mind on buying an AR15 and will be getting one in a few weeks. It is a really fun gun to shoot but I also want to put it to use and hunt. I know it is a smaller cartridge but I have been told it should be enough for hogs.

Because of my college schedule, summer is really the only time I have to go hunting so I figured hogs were the best option. I have a lot of friends interested in joining me on a summer trip to go hog hunting but it is pretty much up to me to set it up. I do have one or two experienced hunters joining me but they have only hunted deer I believe. Even so I would really like to avoid using a guide or paying money to hunt on land. I would like to to bag a good amount of hog but not by taking short cuts. I would like to camp and a campsite is fine but really like to have a secluded feel to it and just live off what we brought. I want it to be as much of a camping experience as a hunting experience.

I have done plenty of research and it looks like I will run into a few problems trying to plan my ideal trip.
1. It is hard to find hogs on public land, most is found on private.
2. Public hunting spots are often crowded with hunters and would take away from that wilderness feel I would like to have.
3. Without a guide, we might not really know where to start or where to look. It might not be possible to do this alone, especially traveling to an area we are not familiar with.

All that being said I am fine with this being a learning experience. Coming away with nothing would be far from ideal but doing it with just friends and trying to figure it out would be a rewarding experience in my opinion. I am not set on hunting hog but from what I can tell that is my best option with an AR and only the summer to hunt.

Thanks in advance for any answers, sorry for how long this is or if I have any terms incorrect. I have done tons of research but still lack experience.