Boar Hunting - Bringing Home the Bacon Image

Boar Hunting - Bringing Home the Bacon


Updated: June 30th 2017 @ 8:53am

hunting

Boar hunting has often been a test of bravery and it's no wonder. A full-sized boar is a large, powerful animal, two razor sharp tusks, and an extremely bad attitude which can turn a hunting trip into a hospital visit in a split second.

Not only that, boars have above average intelligence and shouldn't be underestimated. The hog is the 4th most intelligent animal in the world, only being surpassed by humans, apes, and dolphins. Hogs can easily identify danger and in certain situations have been known to turn the hunter into the hunted. [1]

Whether for sport or necessity, hog hunting is a popular pastime in the southern parts of the United States. Feral hogs reproduce at alarming rates and can be an absolute nuisance. They destroy vegetation, ruin water holes used by other wildlife and destroy nests of ground-nesting birds. Feral hogs often damage row crops and frequently carry diseases such as brucellosis and trichinosis that can be transmitted to domestic stock and even humans.

Challenging to Hunt

Hogs are mainly nocturnal and dig around in the brush, making a good shot challenging, to say the least. One shot from a rifle and  the animals are spooked, taking off in all directions. Although not legal in all States, the use of silencers is making the task much easier. (Some States allow all game to be hunted with silencers, while others only make allowances for varmints. Check hunting regulations in your State to be sure.)

Hunters can now take what was once an ear-shattering rifle and reduce the noise to something like a pellet gun. The decreased noise level doesn’t scare the feral pigs off like an unsuppressed blast will. Not only that, but the use of a silencer disorients the animals from the direction of any sound they did hear. So instead of running directly away from your position, they may run to one which better allows you to hit your mark. 

Another advantage to the use of a silencer or suppressor while hog hunting is that it acts as an almost perfect flash hider. Since night hunting is a prime time to pick off feral hogs, the muzzle flash of a rifle can be incredibly distracting. If you’re using night vision, muzzle flash is the last thing you’ll want to happen. 

Fast Facts

Wild boars are medium-sized animals. They can reach 3 to 6.5 feet in length, 21.6 to 39.3 inches in height and 90 to 700 pounds in weight.

Body of wild boars is covered with double coat of fur that can be brown, red, black or grey. Upper coat is composed of harsh, bristly hair. Undercoat is much softer. 

Tusks on the bottom lip are one of the most prominent features of a wild boar. Tusks in males are longer and curved. Unlike females, males possess extra tusk on the upper lip which is used for sharpening of the lower tusk.

Males use their tusks for the fights during the mating season.

Wild boar has long, rubbery snout that is used for digging of underground roots and bulbs.

Wild boar is an omnivore (eats both plant- and animal-based food). It feeds mainly on the seed, fruits, leaves, berries, eggs, mice, lizards, worms and snakes.

Wild boars spend about 12 hours in sleep during the day, hidden in the nests made of leaves.

Wild boars live in groups (called sounds) that are composed of females and their offspring. Groups usually have between 6 and 30 animals.

Males live solitary life, except during the mating season.

Mating season usually lasts from November to January. Fights between males determine which male will have opportunity to mate. [2]

Hog Bait

Hogs love pecans and acorns, so if you have a lot of these in your area, you'll definitely want to add these to your corn mix.

Hogs have a sweet tooth, and can’t resist the taste of Kool-Aid. Just mix one package of powdered Kool-Aid drink mix for every one bag of corn. 

Have any cappuccino mixes lying around? For this recipe, combine corn, water and any cappuccino mixes, (french vanilla, hazelnut, whatever you have). Pour enough water in the corn to where the corn can be stirred and add the cappuccino while stirring. Let the corn sit and soak up the mix for two to three days.

If you can spare a beer, this recipe is a snap. Simply soak your corn in beer. Pour enough beer to where the corn can be easily stirred and let sit for two to three days. The corn will soak up most of the beer, and be ready for spreading. [3]

 


[1] The Jump.net "Danger in the Woods"

[2] Wild Boar Facts

[2] Hog Bait - Wide Open Spaces 

 

 


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