The Thanksgiving Boar

Originally posted at Good Hunt

It is an autumn of Anything Can Happen. Witness Auburn, for God sake. After a year of trying to catch up with him, I had no illusions of killing this boar on this day or any other. But, there he stood in broad daylight behind my 16-ft. ladder stand Thanksgiving morning, nose up in the crisp 30-degree air, attempting to sniff out any danger.

Since he started visiting our lease last fall, I have collected hundreds of pictures of this boar, always around midnight. He survived that hunting season without being noticed. I bragged in a post back in February that he’d be BBQ by mid-March. By late-March we set a trap only for him to disappear and us losing interest in driving down to check it every other day. When he did pop back up over the summer, he religiously visited a particular corn pile every night. I picked a day on the calendar with a full moon, planning a lunar assault on this stud. Luckily, before I sacrificed sleep and blood to the skeeters, I checked the trail camera the day before the hunt to find him vanished once more.

Though I prefer doing so for deer, I could no longer dump corn on the ground. He siphoned it up too quickly when present and accounted for. He’d show up periodically through late summer and early bowseason, but the timed tripod feeder just didn’t interest him as much as the all-night buffets. Good riddance, I thought. Though he was a trophy animal, corn is too expensive these days to waste on him.

The uninitiated generally don’t understand – or just don’t care – how hard it is to hunt big boars in a free-range, non-dog hunting situation. Nocturnal is their MO. By the time they develop their swagger and linebacker shoulders, trophy boars have had run-ins with hunters, predators, hog dogs and other boars. While they’re tough as can be, big boars are also pretty cagey and pay close attention to their surroundings to avoid confrontations. Those noses are not easily fooled. Their eyesight is limited but still capable of discerning an excited hunter in a tree.

This is why I held my breath and Ruger No. 1 still while his nose periscoped the atmosphere for signs of alarm. Fortunately, he was not heading towards the feeder. The wind was blowing right towards it and a little button buck who could not have cared less. The boar would have cared and been gone before I could have clicked the safety off, I guarantee.

Where he was going, I can’t say. While the corn feeder is a plus, my stand is positioned at an intersection of game trails that run North to South on the property. If there is a weakness for wild boars, it is that they have a tendency to use the same two or three trails on the way to feeding to bedding and back again. I had noticed he’d been wearing down this trail in recent weeks, though the camera on the feeder wasn’t revealing his presence. Per usual, the trick was being in the right spot at the right time, in this instance right after a cold front had pushed south, plummeting the Central Florida temps into the 30′s. It’s weather to get most animals on their feet in the mornings.

Once the boar was satisfied the coast was clear, he continued on the trail, badly limping. It appeared his front right shoulder had been injured. About 10 minutes prior, I had heard a shot from the orange grove to the south. Was I finishing off the walking wounded?

I settled the .25-06 behind his shoulder. At 15 yards, he filled the Nikon glass, even on 3X. I squeezed the trigger, and he never broke stride or left the trail. For a moment, I thought I had missed. The No. 1 being a single shot, I frantically reached into the box of Remingtons for another round, but it was unnecessary.

The boar wandered 30 yards down the path, spun in a circle and dropped. I hurried down the stand, rifle reloaded to ensure he’d given up the ghost. Satisfied it was over, I pulled out my iPhone to snap a picture to send to people. As I leaned in for the photo, he let out a final grunt and lunged up, but that was the end of it – the King was dead and my pants very nearly soiled.

In 20 years of hog hunting, I’d say he’s in my Top-3 boars – certainly my best in the last 10 seasons. I loathe to estimate a hog’s weight, but he was a solid 250-275 lbs. I’ve shot smaller hogs with bigger cutters, but his were a very respectable 3 1/4-inches with worn wetters. He stunk only like big boars do, and his front right leg had been broken at the shoulder and not by another’s bullet. An eight-inch long thin scar appeared indicative of him getting that leg caught in wire of some kind, either from a fence, trap, or snare. Perhaps this injury is why he’d disappear for such lengths of time – he just couldn’t get around like he used to, though he clearly wasn’t missing many meals.

While I’m thrilled to have finally caught up with the boar, it is kind of depressing to know he won’t be on the trail camera in the future; however, I know it’s only a matter of time before another takes his place. I’ll get that one, too.

Eventually.

October Trail Camera Pics with a Side Topic on Corn

One hunting topic that never fails to rile up an argument is the subject of baiting, specifically the use of corn feeders. The Pro-Cheaters...I mean, the Pro-Corn crowd beats their drum to the cadence that hunting food plots or mast crops is no different, feeders help bring and keep game on the property, and assist in managing over-populated does and hogs. Amongst other arguments.

The Anti-Corn crowd...by which I mean, of course, the Purists...believe hunting by feeders is an unholy act that only private land scumbags with no ethical chords in their bodies would practice.

Nine times out of ten, if you ask this last group if they’ve ever hunted over corn, they’ll answer, “Well, no, but I don’t need to to know it’s wrong!”

Please. All this shows is that this vocal crowd – and I don’t want to offend anyone who elects not to hunt over corn or legally can not; I mean to offend those who worry others over for their choice to do so – generally does not know what they are talking about and is highlighting their own lack of practical knowledge through hypothetical pretense.

As the immortal Jimmy Buffett once sang: "Don't try to describe the ocean if you haven't seen it/Don't ever forget that you just may wind up being wrong."

Case in point, our lease in Polk County. The hogs are thick and have attacked the feeders throughout the summer, but who wants to sit in the heat during the summer? So we’ve, more or less, waited on the arrival of bowseason and cool air to whack the hogs. Easy Peazy, Lemon Squeezy. (A lot of planning for swine, huh?)

It’s time. Problem is the hogs aren’t there! These Corn-A-Holics have been avoiding my feeder and trail camera - and everyone else’s - for the better part of a month.

The answer is in the acorns. There is a large mast this year, and wild game will abandon corn fields and food plots in a hurry when this happens. I’ve noticed this in every state I’ve hunted that has acorns hit the forest floor. Why? Hell, I don’t know. One guess is I think it is so hardwired in their DNA to seek acorns during the fall they can’t help themselves.

Two, corn is a high-energy, low-yield food while acorns are high in all kinds of proteins and nutrients. Yellow corn will fill stomachs and make hogs fat, but much like if you compare it to Big Macs, who wants that when filet mignons are falling from the sky?

Just a couple theories. Some biologist can explain it better than I.

Back to practical hunting. The option now is to stalk the thick, swampy, small property with a bow, thus dusting human scent all over the place, if we want a hog. This pressure will probably spook them off for the months when acorns aren’t on the ground or send them completely nocturnal. Hogs will succumb to hunting pressure must faster than people think.

I'm here to tell you, feeders are not a magical cure-all. Some actual hunting skill is usually required. Over a decade or so I've killed many, many hogs off feeders (and not a single trophy buck, either). It's not 100%, and in fact, they will avoid offered corn at all costs if the hunter screws around it too often.

I’m practicing patience and will wait to hit the woods until later. I want a big boar. I want another shoulder mount. I want to pop him while he’s banging on my corn feeder. I've been biding my time, scouting by camera, and staying off my stand since we got the property.

Isn’t hunting about patience?

On with the pictures! The camera sat in the woods for two weeks and only captured 80 photos, mostly of raccoons. (Quick tip – if you find crunched-up corn under your feeder, it is raccoons. They don’t eat the whole kernel like deer or hogs. They munch the germ and leave the rest for the birds.)



I'm not sure if this creature eats corn or not. He may eat a .17HMR if I ever catch up with him, though.



As will this one. But I KNOW they eat corn. Judge for yourself.



My only evening of hog pictures in nearly a month. Not a single one taken during daylight, shooting hours. And certainly no trophy hogs. Geeze.

Trail Camera Photos

Our Polk County lease is void of deer. It has a few turkey. Quite a few hogs. And apparently an unseemly number of raccoons. I finally broke down and bought a Covert II Assassin trail camera a few weeks ago and hung it by my bump feeder.

So far I am very pleased with the camera. It takes great photos, is a cinch to adjust and easy on battery consumption. I'll wait a few months before I totally endorse it, but right now the rig is five-star.

It's taken nearly 5000 photos of hogs, raccoons, and one armadillo, mostly at night or early morning. Wish there were more hope-fueling daylight shots, but my stand was - I came to find out - worked pretty hard through the summer. May take a while to restore their confidence. Also haven't picked up on any huge boars yet which isn't totally surprising but did think would happen.

I'm very disappointed no turkey pics have been snapped. They have been hitting the dove field pretty regularly, though. And the hog action has settled down over the last week as they seek the plentiful acorns.

So here are a few photographs. The white and spotted hog with the shoats is dead meat first chance I get. I have hundreds of pics of her and her youngin's. They've consumed a silo's worth of corn. She actually looks pregnant in the recent pics.

Ah, who knows, I may let her slide.

Thick as thieves, these two are



A different spotted hog who is a glutton





And, the No-Ear Hog

Winter Tips for Wild Hogs

The days for chasing deer are dwindling down. Alas. The bells toll for deer season throughout much of the country by late January, and the dreariness of winter hides the promise of Spring Turkey. Nothing left but football and NASCAR.

Not so fast.

Wild hogs - plentiful in many parts of the country and sneaking into others with each passing day - are a year-round hunting opportunity. And, man, do I enjoy hunting them this time of the year. Whether you are seeking a fatty for the freezer or that big boar for the wall, December, January, and February are my favorite months for popping a pig here in Florida.

So if you just can’t stand staying inside watching the playoffs in the coming weeks, here are some tips for finding some pigskin of your own.

1. Follow the food – hogs will eat anything, but by this time of year, most of the acorns are off the ground and once-lush oak hammocks are all but barren of food. It’s now when they ramp up their rooting activities, working over ditches, creek bottoms, and wet-weather ponds seeking anything edible. The reason for this is simple – these places capture moisture which in turn produces new-growth plant life and attracts insects and grubs. In addition, these spots collect berries and acorns that have been washed here by previous rains. Palmetto patches, while tougher to hunt, offer a similar buffet of groceries. Of course, if you have a magical tree that slings little yellow acorns, that much better.

2. Stay on the move – since there is no real obvious concentration of food, stay mobile. The weather is nice so you won’t sweat to death, and hogs are apt to move throughout the day for similar reasons. Next, with all the leaves off the trees, still-hunting through fall’s impenetrable swamps is much easier, and the hogs will still hole up here.

3. Avoid full moons – this is a general hog hunting rule for me anyhow. For some reason, I’ve had no luck at all this time of the month. Maybe others have, but I’d schedule a different date if I were you.



4. Hunt fronts – hogs are active all times of the day before and after a front blows through. A light rain is perfect to get them on their feet and feeding. Now, if it’s too windy, you are better off staying in camp, but a drizzle and drop in temp is a good recipe for putting one on the ground.

5. Take advantage of small game hunts – most FL WMA’s will offer small game hunts with hogs on the menu. They usually allow only shotguns or rimfires. OO Buckshot works – not my favorite, but it will – but slugs are the way to go here (check individual WMA regs.) Or if you are feeling spunky, I’ve put down more than one hog with a .22LR or .22 Mag. This is also a fine opportunity for archery hunting practice.

6. Plan for next year – The FWC and Southwest Florida Water Management District (Swift Mud) offer hog hunts throughout the year for winter hunts. Sometimes they are still hunts, other times it’s for those who run dogs. Either way, keep an eye out!



7. Hold out for that boar – my best boars have come during the winter. As mentioned above, their Eden-like swamp strongholds tend to be barren so boars will wander farther and more often for food and females. This is their most vulnerable time of the year, in my opinion - kind of a hog rut, you could say. If you’re trophy hunting, it may be worth letting the little ones work under a feeder for a while longer and wait for Mr. Grinnin’ Lips to sidle on in.

Hog hunting is a great deal of fun in the winter and they can be hunted in a variety of ways. If anyone else has some tips, please feel free to leave a few!!!