Tips for effective long term feeder hunting

[Blancoalex]

Looking for tips on how to effectively hunt 1-2 feeders and yet not train hogs to start staying away after taking a few out. Should I always try to take the leader sow /sounder? How much time in between successful hunts as not to train them or will the corn always convince them to keep coming in.

Guess could also sometimes hunt the travel trail in between the 2 feeders also.

Thanks for your tips.

 

[happyhuntr]

if your trying maintain your numbers, never kill the lead sow.
if you want to kill at the same feeders often, I would only kill/shoot at each feeder once a week.
I always kill for extinction but will never succeed. they just breed too much.

 

[dwightb]

Put up a game camera. When the pig or pigs are coming regularly, sit and wait. Shoot what comes in. They mix around in an area a lot. Shoot a sow out of a sounder of sows and pigs and the little pigs will join the sow left. Kill all sows and the pigs will join a bigger what ever is available. Hunt you feeders long and hard enough, you will mostly kill lone boars. Then a sounder of sows and pigs will show up! A lot depends on your neighbors. Lots neighbors harassing the pigs and boars will hit you feeders after midnight. No neighbors, the buzzards and coyotes will stay full! Lone boars that die don't train! Use big bore rifles! I have been hunting pigs under lights awhile!

 

[Zen Archery]

I'd suggest getting a drop style feeder that's 45" off the ground. Our hog population has almost disappeared around feeder. It's high enough to keep most hog snouts out of it. Low enough for mature deer to hit it regularly.

 

[Blancoalex]

I'd suggest getting a drop style feeder that's 45" off the ground. Our hog population has almost disappeared around feeder. It's high enough to keep most hog snouts out of it. Low enough for mature deer to hit it regularly.

Thanks Z en Archery , all but 2 of our feeder s are enclosed inside hog panels. So far only deer, coons and other critters use them. The 2 that available to pigs are on remote far side.

 

[scrmblr1982cj8]

I would not hunt your feeders too hard. Hogs learn quickly that bad things happen when they visit.

When I first started hog hunting, I used the gravity feeders. I found that the larger hogs learned to rise up off ground and use their heads to knock corn out of the feeders. I would fill the 350 lb feeder, go back in 2 days, and find it empty. No telling how many bags of corn it took to make me learn that lesson.

I bought a timed feeder box for the Boss Buck feeders. Mine were several miles from each other, so I didn't run the risk of the same sounder hitting the two feeders. You could try a remote on a feeder to keep their interest.

 

[Blancoalex]

Nice pic, the boar is a good provider for all his sows and piglets

 

[Zen Archery]

45" height is essential on drop style. Pics from this week. Not a single hog. And this is Texas. The hog capital.

 

[Beamonk]

I've had the piglets come back to mama after I blasted her. It was fun.

 

[Brett Bracken]

Blancoalex,

Please don't take offense, but I really do believe you are over thinking this. As I mentioned in the other thread....hog hunting is not rocket science. Set a feeder up and don't worry about it; shoot what comes in. If you have a good hog population there are always going to be hogs to shoot at. You may spook one group off, but there's always another group to replace it; and yes....sometimes you can have the same group show up after taking one of their members out. I took out a group of 6 small sows shooting one at a time over about 3 weekends. Just like people....there are smart hogs and stupid hogs.

BTW.....they just got finished flying the properties around my ranch last week shooting 1546 hogs and 93 coyotes over a 3 day period. Friday was their last day. Whadaya know....I had hogs at all my feeders and long range bait holes Friday night and Saturday night. And the coyotes were singing away.

I'd also recommend you build or buy a timed feeder. I built my own out of 55 gallon drums with 3 legs. I highly recommend using Spin Cast solar powered feeder mechanisms; most reliable and long lasting mechanisms I've ever seen.

 

[Blancoalex]

Brett, I have to assume we are dealing with a very small population especially compared to what you just counted during your aerial survey. It has now been 45 days since any hog on our game cameras. I was at least getting pics once a week but nothing now. Also the neighbors have taken out a bunch over the last 3 months. Thanks

 

[Brett Bracken]

Blancoalex,

I hear what you are saying and I guess there isn't much you can do about it. Sounds like your neighbors could be stirring/screwing things up for you. Also sounds like your area doesn't have the hog numbers that we have. Curious....where are you located??

 

[Blancoalex]

We are outside Blanco , the hogs "just" arrived 3 years ago with them starting to boom a year ago, but now a drop off with others pursuing them also.

I will reset one camera on a trail that they had always used just to monitor their activity.

Thanks for you input.

 

[JC300]

From the experiences in San Antonio area, Like said above, if you want to shift a pattern or detour from a feeder shoot the lead sow.(Watch body language compared to others) If you want continuous hunting on the same feeders, I would suggest watching cameras like said, and pick off the singles that come in. As boars mature the leave the sounder. If a dominant bore is around the non-dominant will leave the area. Shoot the large boars out and the singles will keep spreading/venturing on their own. From time to time you will have a single sow come through.