Hog Hunting/Eating Questions

[TheBig1]

Hey fellas, I'm from PA and we don't have any hogs up here to speak of but I've always thought about trying it out.

The thought was put into my head about going on a hog hunt in TX. I Googled it and it's only (lol) a 26 hour drive to my buddy's ranch. Which really if you're taking 2 or 3 guys isn't that far to drive straight through.

Well another thought creeped into my mind that if I were to just drive south several hours, do some hunting on my own, I could potentially bring home a years worth of swine to fill the freezer.

Does anyone else do this instead of buying the store bought or butcher bought meat? How is it to eat, I've heard that it's better? How is it to smoke, etc...?

Don't get me wrong, an annual trip like this would be a blast, but it'd also be a mission to fill my family's freezer for a year so I would be counting on successful trips instead of a 100% pleasure trip.

Any advice, or opinions, etc... would be greatly appreciated.

Chad

[Hunt it]

My freezer is always full of wild boar from Texas. Great eating meat despite what locals will tell you. Like any meat, cool it down fast and look after it and it is good. Last night we BBQ for company and one of my buddies said he liked the wild boar over the moose! That was moose backstrap! Now I'd say boar is good but I will choose moose first. I will say it's not bad smoked but very lean meat. I also do not think pork in general freezes well. It loses taste quickly once frozen.

Going to Texas with the expectation of filling freezer for year is a bit of a stretch unless your with me . I've hunted hogs all over the planet and arrowed well over 100 of them. On our trip this year we filled the freezers with 18 hogs. That was an exceptional hunt with an abundance of opportunities and the arrows flew straight with only one hog not found. My suggestion would be you look up Jager Pro hog hunting in Georgia. These guys are hog exterminators and operate hunts. I'm sure if you can process and haul them these guys would be your best chance of feeding the family. Now of course you must weigh out how much meat you can buy for the costs etc. All sounds good but by the time you go to Texas, pay for hunt, gas, lodging etc it all adds up. Might be fun but in end you can probably buy a freezer full of chicken for less. You might want to develope a taste for Asian carp most states would be happy to fill your freezer for free.

[Bodanny]

Feral hogs are great table fare hear in Ga. U can bring a boat and hunt hogs in Sav. River refuge with only buying a out of state lic and a free permit. But u need a boat to access it. I like pigs 130 lbs to 40 lbs for eating. Also hunt ga side of river hogs there have plenty of acorns for food

[flightattendant100]

Sows eat great. Smaller boars eat very well. 250lb up boars tend to be pretty strong. A 130 lb sow will eat just like grocery store pork.

[TheBig1]

LOL Thanks Hunt, I appreciate it. So when are WE going to TX hog hunting?

All I need to do to go to TX and hog hunt is get there. Lodging at my buddy's is free and some expense of food. So it'll just take me gas and the $48 5-day hunting license when I get there. That's why I'm considering this as a way of filling my freezers.

That's another reason I was thinking about looking closer to make it an annual trip, say to like the Carolinas or Tennessee, etc... and just do it myself on some public land. While I'm there I could always network and find some farms who'd maybe let me do it for free or for a small fee.

[longbow joe]

Im kinda in the same boat chad . My sister lives in arizona shes got javalinas in her backyard but being self employed i just cant take more than a week off without getting over my head and arizonas a haul. If i would go the 14 hours to georgia is a hop n skip the extra gas n extra money spent for the guided hunt would probably be cheaper in the end.

[TheBig1]

Joe, I'm thinking that if I head several hours south, maybe to the Carolinas, Tennessee area, etc... I can't find some public lands to hunt. I don't mind sleeping in my truck and/or camping out, even in the winter. It wouldn't bother me one bit to eat hotdogs off of a hibachi grill and not shower for a week to complete my mission. The Lord knows that I've been in worse situations. I'm definitely not afraid to get in touch with my inner Viking. LOL

To me it'd be fun regardless but the main objective would be filling a significant portion of my freezer with some decent meat.

Chad

[Hunt it]

If you have a place in Texas with hogs then what's keeping you? It is a long haul, I know 30hrs from my place. I can say that in all my years of hog hunting I have not heard of anyone on a do it yourself - public land hunt that takes a years worth of pork doing so. Local hunters that know and hunt some of these public spots have learned them well and can consistantly bag porkers but it has taken them years to get to that point. Any rancher that has a lot of hogs has gotten wise to the fact that they can make money off of them.I gone on my share of wild pig chases where landowners claim hogs everywhere, please kill em all - and have NEVER bagged a hog on such adventures yet. If your buddy would consider feeding them for 2-3 weeks prior to your arrival you stand much better odds. Feed them lots of corn, all you can dump/afford. Once they learn free big meal awaits them they tend to make pigs of themselves. March and April tend to be best months I've found in Texas. By April it gets hot and the snakes and scorpions move a lot.

[TheBig1]

Thanks Hunt. I just imagine in my mind that the woods are crawling with this swine and that it's all ripe for the picking if you're willing to hunt it and eat it.

[Bullzeye]

My buddies drive 36hrs I think it is, every year to Texas to hunt deer and boar, they fill a big freezer full and drive back. I've only eaten the boar in sausage, and it was great!

[Hunt it]

Thanks Hunt. I just imagine in my mind that the woods are crawling with this swine and that it's all ripe for the picking if you're willing to hunt it and eat it.

I wish you were right!! Only place on earth where I've seen that to be true is Cape York in Australia. Long way to go for dinner

[robertyb]

The hunt in GA referenced above is night hunting with thermal scopes on ARs. It is not uncommon to take 15/20 or so hogs per hunt on these hunts.

https://jagerpro.com/thermal/hog-hunting-videos/

[Hunt it]

[quote="robertyb"]The hunt in GA referenced above is night hunting with thermal scopes on ARs. It is not uncommon to take 15/20 or so hogs per hunt on these hunts.

https://jagerpro.com/thermal/hog-hunting-videos/[/quote

Yes, that's why I recommended it. If your trying to feed the family for the year based on one trip south, this is the one trip I'd say you have best odds of whacken em and stacken em! Still at $800.00 per night you can buy a lot of chicken.

[georgiaboy]

Hunting wild hogs on public land and being successful is easier said than done.
If it's public land here in Georgia baiting for deer or hogs is not allowed.
I hunt on a military base close to Savannah and this place is covered in hogs but no baiting is allowed and the swamps are thick so you really have to do your homework to be successful.
A guide or a friend who is familiar with the area will greatly increase your odds.
Good luck!

[TheBig1]

Hunting wild hogs on public land and being successful is easier said than done.
If it's public land here in Georgia baiting for deer or hogs is not allowed.
I hunt on a military base close to Savannah and this place is covered in hogs but no baiting is allowed and the swamps are thick so you really have to do your homework to be successful.
A guide or a friend who is familiar with the area will greatly increase your odds.
Good luck!

Good advice my FRIEND.