Why Are Feral Hogs Hard To Hunt?
If you’ve tried your hand at hog hunting before and didn’t have much luck, congratulations, you’re in good company. Many seasoned hunters of other game have attempted to tackle the continuously growing hog problems around the country and have gone home empty handed.
Whether it’s for the hogs’ role as a nuisance to farmers and landowners, or you’re just after some tasty meat, hunting hogs is a growing sport.
But wild pigs aren’t like all the other game. They’re growing in population not just because they breed more often than rabbits at prom, but because they’ve learned how to survive.
Here are the 3 big reasons feral hogs are hard to hunt.
1. FERAL HOGS ARE SMARTER THAN...
How smart are pigs? Pretty darn smart! They’ve been said to be smarter than dogs. Smarter than dolphins. Smarter than 3 year-olds?
Their cognitive intelligence is high enough that they’ve been taught to play video games in scientific research.
What this means in the wild is that they can easily outsmart the average hunter because every hunter that has tried to kill that animal and failed has further educated it on how to survive even better.
2. WILD PIGS CAN SMELL FOR MILES
Yes, pigs smell. But not the way you think! Boasting one of the acutest sense of smells in the animal kingdom the feral hog can detect odors as far as 7 miles away or 25 feet underground.
Wild pigs have developed this ability because they are opportunistic omnivores. Digging around for roots and root vegetables becomes much easier when you can detect them instead of just digging blindly. Finding food just about anywhere and staying away from danger is a full-time job for their snouts.
3. FERAL HOGS ARE BIG AND FAST
Call them what you will: wild pigs, feral hogs, wild boars, either way, you’ve got a compact beast on your hands.
Sizes range depending on how feral they are and their genetic makeup. Hogs in the wild often cross breed with escaped (or cut loose) farm pigs and create offspring that can eclipse the average full grown 200lb feral hog. Reports of 400lb wild hogs are a plenty but truly, expect to find them mostly in the 200-300lb range.
Wild hogs can hit a burst run speed of 30 mph. When spooked they’ll scatter in all directions then will be likely to avoid that area again.
NEW SKILLS AND TOOLS FOR HOG HUNTERS
If you’re not using automatic feeders to hunt hogs consider doing so. It’s much easier and more successful. Remember, hogs don’t really have home territories like deer. They move from area to area so you’re catching them as they pass through.
Use really good bait with your feeders. Try a DIY hog hunting bait that’s perfect for hitting their sense of smell with goodness they cannot resist.
And of course, hunting hogs at night with our Game Alert Stealth Hunter Kit is the method we highly advocate for safety and a higher rate of success.
Whatever method you use we at Hogman-Outdoors want you to be safe and don’t let those pigs outsmart you.
