Hogs are back!!!

[EddieWalker]

As some of you already know, I live in an area with a large population of wild hogs. We've killed a few this year and missed a few, but figured it was over for the summer months. It's very hot and humid out, so I just assumed they would be moving at night and haven't given it much thought.

Steph and I were gone last week, but the hogs come on a reguar bases just about every night to eat the corn from our deer feeder. We just don't see them.

Monday everning, around 8pm, we were in back of our home. Steph was unloading a trailer and I was cleaning out my truck. We were talking and goofing off, when I looked out into our back field.

There was 11 wild hogs eating the corn under the feeder. Steph thought I was joking, but when she saw them, she was as shocked as I was. We really shouldn't be suprised after the last one I killed was in the front yard, but it's still something we didn't expect.

The bigger one is well under a hundred pounds. I'm guessing 80 to 90 pounds. The piglets look to me like 40 pounders and plenty big to survive on there own. Neither of us felt like killing anything that evening, so Steph took some pictures.

We watched them for half an hour, then went back to work. They just kept on eating corn and chasing each other around until it was too dark to see them any more.

The pictures are from that first night.

Last night, I was here by myself and decided to take a look outside during a commercial for Dirty Jobs. It was around 8:15 pm. There was one medium sized wild boar eating the corn. It's very rare to see boars around here. I don't know why, but mostly we see groups of sows and piglets. He would eat a little, then very quickly, look off into the trees. I figured something was out there, but wasn't sure what, but after about ten minutes, the same group of piglets and momma sow came out again and ran off mr. boar!!!

He was a little bigger than momma, but it was obvious she was much meaner than he was!!!!

Two days in a row at the feeder is very unusual. We're very curious if they come back tonight before dark. If they do, we're gonna bring Stephs younger brother out here this weekend to shoot one. He's never shot a hog, or killed any big game animal, so this could be a huge thing for him.

For me, I've found it to be allot more fun and exiting to help a person get an animals and share in their exitement, than to kill them myself.

Eddie

 

[63DH8]

Hmmmm!!! BBQ ribs, porkchops, smoked hams, and pork loin!

 

[RonR]

Sure wish you were closer--I just bought a Winchester 94 and need to sight it in!

Ron

 

[Doc_Bob]

So you can shoot them? Yum!
Shoot one a night few and they may figure out that they are not welcome.
Leave a carcass and maybe that will make a statement ?
Bob

 

[EddieWalker]

When Steph got home last night, we went to town and then out to dinner. It was dark when we got home, so I drove to the field with the feeder in it and had my high beams on. Two hogs ran off into the trees.

We waited about an hour and went out with the spotlight. They had come back, so I got my binoculurs to try and get a better look and realized they were both boars.

These two are new. They are both bigger than the boar from the other night, and one has some strange markings. He's almost brindle with some dark and light brown stripes down his side. It's hard to be sure in the dark.

One time while checking on them during a commercial, I saw a third one come out that was quite a bit smaller than those two. They both ran it off and away from the feeder. That might have been the small boar I saw the other night, but I'm not sure.

We checked on them every half hour or so to see what was going on. At around 11:30, we watched them walk off down towards where I'm digging a lake.

There isn't enough corn on the ground to have kept them there very long, so we're wondering what the attraction is. I have noticed that it's starting to smell bad in that area and I'm wondering if that's something that's attracting them. We've rarely seen boars and I wonder if the sow is in heat? Maybe her urine is something that's bringing in the boars?

We've tried to get Steph's brother to come out to shoot his first hog, but he's on vacation fishing at the lake and doesn't want to drive out here. He thinks that the will just keep coming back and he can get one at any time. I don't believe this, but you never know.

As of now, Steph is hog hunting. This evening, we'll be watching for those boars and an oportunity for Steph to get her third hog.

Eddie

 

[CDsdad]

I don't know if you deer hunt around there a lot, but around here hogs really put a damper on the deer activity. My neighbor has several and can't seem to keep them shut up. Last season I saw them 4 or 5 times out and never saw any deer 2-3 days after I saw hogs. I called him and he said he'd shut them up eventually. I shot them with bird shot and haven't seen them since. I told him if I saw them again he'd have at least one missing. Luckily, we don't have a lot of wild ones where I am.

 

[RedRocker]

Turn Steph loose on em!!!

 

[hilld]

Pig roast in Tyler, TX.

 

[EddieWalker]

Instead of hogs tonight, the show started with a doe and a fawn. Last year we never saw a deer in this field, now we're seeing them every couple of weeks.

The pictures were taken with Steph's Cannon S2 camera at 200 yards. The closeup zoom of momma doe is at full 12x optical zoom plus allot of digital zoom. The amazing part was to watch the camera focus and adjust for the low light conditions. It really is an amazing camera!!!!

After it became totally dark, a hog came out by himself. He was a pretty large boar, and might have been one of the pair from last night, but he seemed allot taller and thinner.

I checked again at 10pm and there was one hog, but much smaller and it had some spots on it. When I shined the spotlight on it, it took off.

Then at 11pm, there was two of them out there. These looked like the two from last night, but I didn't get any closer than the back door and just watched them for a minute or two.

Eddie

 

[EddieWalker]

We had a quick thunderstorm this afternoon. Temps went from 96 degrees down to 78 in about twenty minutes. It hasn't rained in months, so we really needed, but to add to that, nine hogs came out to the feeder.

It was a mixed group of boars and sows. They are also all the same size, which make me think they are all brother and sister, and that they probably just left momma.

The second steph on the ladder is 22 inches up, and they are all 4 to six inches under that. I'm gonna say they are around 40 pounds each, give or take a few pounds.

Nothing to get exited about, nor getting muddy in order to shoot one. Instead, we sat in the workshop and enjoyed the show. They stuck around for about an hour, then left.

At 8:30, when it was dark, a single boar came out that is just a few inches taller than the secon step. Also not something to get exited about, so we let him eat in peace.

The two big boars are still coming every night and last night, the monster was out there at 11:30 pm by himself. He's taller than the third steph and very thick. No idea what he weights, but it's gonna be fun to find out.

Eddie