New to hog hunting
11-15-2005, 01:11 PM
#1
Fork Horn
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: East Texas
Posts: 225
New to hog hunting
Are hogs as skittish about the wind as deer? Also, do hogs run as soon as you turn a light on them, or can you get a shot off before they run? Thanks, just trying to get into hunting them.
11-15-2005, 01:30 PM
#2
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Houston, Texas
Posts: 3,224
RE: New to hog hunting
Hogs sense of smell is excellent though they have poor eyesight. If you hunt them at night wether they run or not seems to depend on wether they have been hunted a lot in your area or not. Some will stay there eating while others will run as soon as they see a light. You can use a red lenses and that doesn't seem to bother them as much and they will normally ignore it. We have a blind set up with a light high up shining directly down and that doesn't seem to bother them as much because they can't seem to figure out where the light is coming from.
11-15-2005, 06:30 PM
#3
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Orlando, Florida
Posts: 387
RE: New to hog hunting
I would have to say that they are not as skitish, although they can smell a potato underwater from 100 yds away. The reason I say they are not as skitish is because I have seen large boars that were upwind and I think could see me as well, let me get real close. My belief is thatsome of them have no fear. I have seen others that were pressured, wind me from 200 yds away and never even pick up there heads for a second whiff....they just jet into the palmettos. All in all though,I have found it to be much easier to stalk hogs than deer. And don't write of that eyesight. It's true that it is poor, but not as poor as everyone thinks. In general, and there are exceptions, hogs are usually pretty busy eating as they're coming in and don't have that peeking around trees and trying to trick you into moving business that deer pull. Deer are a lot more alert. I guess when you have razor sharp tusks and armor plating, you get harassed a little less in the neighborhood!!!!
P.S. I have HawgLites on my website with red and blue filters if you're into shooting them with a bow. We have Lumenoks as well. Feel free to check us out using thebanner below.
P.S. I have HawgLites on my website with red and blue filters if you're into shooting them with a bow. We have Lumenoks as well. Feel free to check us out using thebanner below.
11-15-2005, 09:24 PM
#4
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Edmond OK USA
Posts: 48
RE: New to hog hunting
Hunting pressure and the temperment of the boar will determine how close they let you get. Their noses are very comparable to a whitetails. Contrary to popular belief, their eyesight is not as poor as what you may think.
11-16-2005, 07:57 AM
#5
Dominant Buck
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: WC FL
Posts: 26,323
RE: New to hog hunting
ORIGINAL: bigboar23
I would have to say that they are not as skitish, although they can smell a potato underwater from 100 yds away. The reason I say they are not as skitish is because I have seen large boars that were upwind and I think could see me as well, let me get real close. My belief is thatsome of them have no fear. I have seen others that were pressured, wind me from 200 yds away and never even pick up there heads for a second whiff....they just jet into the palmettos. All in all though,I have found it to be much easier to stalk hogs than deer. And don't write of that eyesight. It's true that it is poor, but not as poor as everyone thinks. In general, and there are exceptions, hogs are usually pretty busy eating as they're coming in and don't have that peeking around trees and trying to trick you into moving business that deer pull. Deer are a lot more alert. I guess when you have razor sharp tusks and armor plating, you get harassed a little less in the neighborhood!!!!
P.S. I have HawgLites on my website with red and blue filters if you're into shooting them with a bow. We have Lumenoks as well. Feel free to check us out using thebanner below.
I would have to say that they are not as skitish, although they can smell a potato underwater from 100 yds away. The reason I say they are not as skitish is because I have seen large boars that were upwind and I think could see me as well, let me get real close. My belief is thatsome of them have no fear. I have seen others that were pressured, wind me from 200 yds away and never even pick up there heads for a second whiff....they just jet into the palmettos. All in all though,I have found it to be much easier to stalk hogs than deer. And don't write of that eyesight. It's true that it is poor, but not as poor as everyone thinks. In general, and there are exceptions, hogs are usually pretty busy eating as they're coming in and don't have that peeking around trees and trying to trick you into moving business that deer pull. Deer are a lot more alert. I guess when you have razor sharp tusks and armor plating, you get harassed a little less in the neighborhood!!!!
P.S. I have HawgLites on my website with red and blue filters if you're into shooting them with a bow. We have Lumenoks as well. Feel free to check us out using thebanner below.
DITTO!
11-16-2005, 09:24 AM
#6
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Georgetown, Texas
Posts: 528
RE: New to hog hunting
Here are my 2 cents on the matter. . . . .What I have heard on eye sight is this. . . .they can tell one human from another at 100yards, so they do see well. This is based on talking with folks that raise pigs and they claim the pig can tell the farmer that feeds them fromother folks at that range, and the hogs we all hunt havemuch in common with adomestic hog. The problem is the heads are much lower than a Deer so that is a big plus. I also think they may not pick you up real easy if you hold still.
11-16-2005, 09:41 AM
#7
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Orlando, Florida
Posts: 387
RE: New to hog hunting
That's a good point. I have used a hog call to trick them into thinkin I'm a hog pushing through as I make noise, but as soon as they see I'm standing upright....they're gone! That sure is good info on that farmer and feed.
11-16-2005, 11:56 AM
#8
Fork Horn
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: East Texas
Posts: 225
RE: New to hog hunting
Hey bigboar23, I gun hunt, and a lot of times will be alone. I looked at the Hawglites, but would like one that I could clamp to stand or tree so I could keep both hands on gun. The lites that clamp on to your gun don't look like they would be bright enough, although I haven't used them. Am thinking about getting a 2 or 3 million candlepower Q-beam.
11-16-2005, 03:10 PM
#9
Dominant Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: land of the Lilliputians, In the state of insanity
Posts: 26,274
RE: New to hog hunting
Hogs can smell real well. They are also smarter than a deer. The only problem with them is they are blind as a bat and tend to be more careless than a deer. If youhave the windin your faceyou can almost walk right up on them. I say they are smart because they will learn your tricks and if hunted once tend not to come back. All in all, I think they are much easier to hunt than deer. I like to spend my offseason bow hunting them to help me stay in practice stalking.
11-17-2005, 06:32 AM
#10
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Georgetown, Texas
Posts: 528
RE: New to hog hunting
Burnie. . .having been reading your posts for some time now I value your input. . . .you suggest that Pigs have real poor eye sight. . .OK. . .but what about these pig farmers that tell me they see quite well. . . . I do agree that I have been able at times to get real close and do think I don't have the greatest cover but I have sometimes chaulked that up to I am crawling, they aren't seeing me as a man with a gun but some camo lump moving in the grass, or they really don't care, not much human contact for some of the sub 150LB pigs that I had been hunting, and perhaps some of the bigger ones just did not care to much what I was while they had some corn to crunch.
Just wondering. . . .
Just wondering. . . .