i've spent untold thousands of hours hunting, observing and trapping wild hogs. Until a few years ago the vast majority of my hogs were killed fair chase from the ground, sometimes while sitting in a lawn chair near a pond or a hog trail. While friends younger than me are eating, crapping and waiting to die; i hog hunt at least one day per week. i've and killed at least several hundred wild hogs. Killed many hundreds more in traps. i know where to shoot a hog to make it die.
Most of the hogs here are not the rejected show pigs found found at many high fence "hunting ranches". Many here are the descendents of 100 pairs of imported Eurasian boars released in this area about 20 years ago. These hogs have bad attitudes. When chased by dogs the sounder will not scatter. The hogs bunch up tight and run. They refuse to bay.
Was sitting in a lawn chair at a pond. Suddenly all hell broke loose on the other side of the pond. A big boar had winded me. He snorted and tore up the ground and brush. Then he went over the far side of the pond dam. Fast forward maybe 30-40 minutes. Heard a twig snap behind me, jumped up and turned fast. There was that hog about 15 yards away. Luckily, he turned and ran.
After the hell he raised when he winded me i think he was up to no good.
This old boar was killed by me in 2007 with a .22 rimfire. He had a tag in his ear from a game farm in Bavaria.
This boar went about 200 yards after being hit in the lungs. The bullet broke one rib on entry and broke two on opposite side before stopping just under the skin. He was identified as the boar that killed four dogs belonging to a hog dogger. The guy made a big boo boo, releasing his dogs with out their kevlar vests. He lost all his dogs in about five minutes.
Some here have claimed the 6.5 Grendel is not a good wild hog gun. IMO: It's a dandy hog gun. Bullet placement trumps caliber. Sometmes i go beserk at a feeder, killing six or eight hogs with an AR-15.
May 15 OK squirrel season opens. What in hades does squirrel season have to do with wild hogs? It means i will be able to hunt tens of thousands of acres of US government property that has weapons restrictions. Outside of deer and elk season one is limited to the use of a shotgun and small shot or a rimfire rifle. i'll be out there with a .22 magnum hunting hogs. Yep, that's right, hunting hogs with a .22 magnum.
Sometimes i'm the only person signed in to hunt thousands of acres; what freedom. My shots are limited to about 75 yards. Killed dozens of wild hogs using a .22 magnum and the CCI 40 grain total metal jacket round. Put in the lung heart area, that bullet kills 150 pound hogs very well. Larger hogs are shot in the ear.
Got a call this evening: The son of the neighbor to my property east of I-35 said there are 22 wild hogs in my corral trap. He asked if he could have them. Told him affirmative. The kid and his buds are loading the hogs into a horse trailer this evening so his Dad can haul them to a buyer tomorrow.
Good luck with our hog hunting.