Most regular readers of my corner of this awesome publication have probably surmised that ‘Ole’ Luke’ has a passion for not only hunting hogs but also transforming the wild pork into some tasty dishes. Through the years, I’ve hunted hogs using just about every method known to man excluding hunting with a spear. I just don’t have the patience for that!
I do have a good buddy who has spent countless hours in a tree stand waiting for that perfect moment to chunk his spear at a porker. I know of a couple of instances when he was actually successful but there is no telling how many hours or how many times he watched countless hogs just out of ‘spear range’. The target zone is obviously right under the tree he is perched in. My hat is off to my good friend and I’m proud of him when he enjoys success.
I live in an area that is loaded with wild hogs thanks to a big 15,000-acre ranch and a strip of woods a couple miles long that connects the ranch with a huge wetlands. During late winter when food is getting scarce in the woods, the wild porkers often come out of the wilds and feed around oak and pecan trees in the yards of my neighbors. We live in an area of smaller tracts of 2 to 10 acres, not really enough land to hunt hogs but we’ve had good success trapping on several occasions.
I now have access to 4 different tracts of land owned by my neighbors; the farthest is one mile from my house. My newest spot is only several hundred yards from our home. The 45 acres is situated right across the road from the wooded strip that connects the wetlands with the big ranch. Porkers have no problem crossing the old asphalt road and foraging for food here even though it’s only a few hundred yards from several homes. The owners obviously don’t want anyone on the property banging away with high powered rifles at night but they are cattle ranchers and also don’t want the wild porkers rooting up their hay fields. Just last week, I was blessed with a new close-to-home spot to pursue one of my favorite endeavors.
My invitation began with a phone conversation with the owners; I explained that I fully understand why they don’t want to have hunters with semi-auto rifles and thermals on the property at night, banging away at running hogs. With homes nearby, the reasons are many and very obvious. My new friends knew about the ‘old outdoor writer’ (Me) that resided in their community and I guess knowing what I do for a living might have helped a bit. I was very up front and honest with what I could and could not do. I could not completely eliminate the hogs that ranged their place but I could, in a very safe manner, take some out, one at a time, using a system I have had great success with for years in areas close to residences.
First, I would locate a likely spot to set up to hunt during very early mornings or during the last hour or so of daylight and a couple hours after dark, using my big-bore air rifle topped with a thermal scope. This spot would be somewhere near the center of the property in a wooded area. Just three days ago, I spent a morning scouting the property and located the major trails the porkers used. I chose a spot in the middle of the place in a stand of mature cedar trees. There was little hog sign in the area but I had a plan that would make the spot a hog heaven quickly.
I picked out a little open spot in the middle of the thick cover; this is where I would begin baiting with corn and Vineyard Max attractant. The corn would have eventually attracted the porkers to my spot but I knew they would smell the grape aroma from the Vineyard Max quickly and once they found my baited spot, they would return on a regular basis.
I chose a shooting lane with lots of thick cover in the background to insure no bullet would travel in the direction of a residence. I cleared brush out of the way and soon had a clear path all the way from where I would be sitting on the ground to the baited area about 35 yards away. With a few cedar limbs placed around where I would be setting, I had a good ground blind within easy and very effective range of my Seneca 50 caliber muzzleloader. A well placed 336 grain chunk of lead from the air rifle at close range would drop even the biggest boar in the woods!
Regardless how good my hunting spot was, it would first be necessary to attract the hogs there. This is where my tried-and-true plan pays off. During my scouting, I found the closest travel route or pig trail and used the Vineyard Max mixed with corn and trickled a trail of bait from the well-used trail to where I wanted to hunt the porkers. With a trail camera attached to a cedar tree aimed toward my bait pile, I left the area in high hopes.
The next morning I checked the spot and no action. I didn’t need to check the camera, there was still plenty of corn and attractant on the ground I’ve never known a sounder of wild hogs to leave corn...they eat it all! I had guessed it might take a few days for the porkers to travel their trail and locate my line of bait.
But the second morning, the ground around my bait pile looked like a roto tiller had been at work! Nary a kernel of corn could I see and the trail camera evidenced 5 fat sows, one with piglets and a couple of boars. My plan had once again worked out perfectly! Hogs are very intelligent animals and once they find a food source, it’s a good bet they will return on a regular basis.
Today, I packed a comfortable chair with cushioned back to my brush blind and placed a couple of crossed sticks in front to steady my rifle. I will hopefully anchor my pork with a very close, well-placed shot from my big-bore air rifle one evening this week. I see a big wild pork barbeque in the works very soon.
More later on cooking methods that is guaranteed to turn that wild pork into some of the tastiest of game dinners!
Contact outdoors writer Luke Clayton through his website www.catfishradio.org, listen to his weekly podcast “Catfish Radio with Luke Clayton and Friends” just about everywhere and watch “A Sportsmans Life” on Carbon TV www.carbontv.com and YouTube.
