Put on a Gilly suit, put your nose in the wind and go down in the canyons after them. Use your ears, and then when you sneak up on them unload and shoot as many as you can. Wait ten or 15 minutes and go after them again. They scatter like quail when you bust them, then they will start grunting and come back together.
I used to live down on the Wa****a and have hunted them a bunch.
Oklahoma Rebel,
I am up near Kaw Lake. The pigs we have around here just seem to move at night. I also have pigs we raise and they are far more active at night. When it is cold they will dig in at night and move around when a bit warmer if they can. In the heat of summer you would need to kick my pigs in the butt to get them out of the shade.
I have watched one of my pigs that got out for a few hours. I was waiting on help to get her back in the pen, the amount of damage she did and the number of tracks she left was beyond belief. Now if you take that and think about 5-10 pigs and they can sure mark up the land.
Around the lake I have seen what they are doing to fields, but at this time the people I have asked about hunting them all want paid for me to save them from repairing pastures. I raise my own so it is not just for meat, but these guys whine about the damage, then want me to make a car payment for me them to help them out.
I had been looking for a safe place for me to hunt, I do not get around well, so accurate shooting or being out of reach would be a good thing, to be safe I would like to be up out of reach. LOL
I have shot many of them with a 22lr here at the house, but dont think I would be so quick to do that in the woods.
A handgun with a heavy bullet that is out and easy to reach would be a great idea, those silly things can sure move fast.
http://vid1078.photobucket.com/album...ps3edpwvyl.mp4
They both emptied the mags before it went down. 9mm 147gr. jacketed.
Whatever!
Down here in South Texas they move at night. They are smart animals and as said in the earlier post they have a good sense of smell and hearing. The eye sight is not that great. Scent control is important. I have taken them with all caliber of rifles from .17 hmr .22 cal all the way up to 45-70, But my favorite is with my FX Royal 400 .22 air rifle. Here in Texas we can bait them so I use spoiled corn, or hog wild, but koolaid works good too. It's a fun challenging hunt. Have fun and be careful because they are mean too.
Gerald
.Originally Posted by Gerald
The hogs we have in GA are the say way. In the thick woods that we have around here...they are very difficult to kill and most folks give up before they ever see one. Their sense of smell is far superior to a deer...in my opinion...and they sense pressure much more than deer do. We can bait, hunt with a light and do about anything we want...but it sure doesn't guarantee success. These hogs are impossible to pattern, even coming to corn and with the constant variable wind that we seem to have...makes for some frustrating hunting.
ehlerdave, if you ever feel like hunting, let me know. never been to kaw, where in the state is it?
An armed man in a citizen.
An unarmed man is a subject.
A disarmed man is a slave.
Kaw Lake is North and West of you. Lot of wooded areas that are up against the water with oak trees dropping lots of food for the pests. The lake is due to the dam on the Arkansas river, with a boat many miles of shore are reachable. I am near Burbank.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Ka...!4d-96.8726295
On that map from Google, it shows a turn to the North near Ralston, I have seen several people posting on FaceBook the pigs they have taken in the area West in what is called "the Bend".
One picture was just at the end of the Belford Bridge had 38 pigs I could count, the fella that took the picture said more were back in the brush. Not sure who owns the area but have ways to find out.
You feel like a day trip and dragging a older guy that cant walk much around I would be glad to show you several places you can hunt your heart out.
I live less than a mile from Kaw Lake and ran around on the river bottom as a kid before they filled the lake. It is a wonderful place to live for hunting and fishing. Hogs are up and down on the public ground. I used to see very limited signs of pigs in the "5 fingers" area back in the late 70s. There are quite a few in that vicinity now, but a boat is your best access if you don't know the few landowners that border that area.
The North end of the lake where it backs up into the river around Trader's Bend is your best bet for hogs. Public land on both sides of the river all the way to Kansas. Extremely thick! East or West side of river doesn't really matter. Remember though, it is now illegal to bait on public land. Hogs are somewhat limited this year in that area due to the success the Feds have had killing them from helicopters over the last 3 years. They would fly the river for two days and kill 200-300 pigs. Last year they only killed something like 60 in three days of flying.
The "Bend" you refer to (Northwest of Ralston) is literally loaded with pigs, but it is all private land and pretty much already spoken for. I know of one area that is less than 1,000 acres that they killed over 600 pigs off in one year. Mostly trapped, but truckloads were also shot by stalking with 00 buck. Hunting them is a blast but it really doesn't do anything to curb their population or even slow down their impact on the environment. That helicopter gig is very effective but expensive. Large circle traps are pretty effective as long as you get them used to being baited for several days/weeks then trap the whole sounder at once with a drop gate door. If you only trap a few of the sounder the survivors are educated and use an undetectable "hog language" (I can't really prove that but it happens) to explain to the other hogs how to avoid the traps. I have a few ranchers that call me when they set their circle traps. Sometimes they have 20-30 in that trap at once. I take the smaller ones and feed the rest to, well, the remaining pigs and coyotes. Going Saturday AM to get some, will post pics if we get any.
My favorite is 20-30 lbs gutted, saws-all down the spine in half, brine for 2 days and smoke the halves. I have even smoked some that were only 10 lbs. Smoke them whole with a spicy sugar rub and it's like a meaty desert!!!
Last edited by huntrick64; 02-09-2017 at 11:54 PM. Reason: spelling
I think us three should do a pig hunt this spring, not sure how long it would take to get there from sand springs? but if you guys can fid some private land we could bait the day before, or try to drive them, and nope don't mind draggin an elder huntin buddy around et'all!
An armed man in a citizen.
An unarmed man is a subject.
A disarmed man is a slave.
pigs are nocturnal! They have exceptional sense of smell and hearing. Their eyesight is poor. They are very intelligent quick to learn and you will only fool them once. For short distances they are quite fast. They have no sweat glands so the only way they can dissipate body heat is by respiration (panting) and through the skin (laying in water/mud). Unless Oklahoma laws have changed recently its illegal to hunt em at night or spotlight/nightvision. Your best bet is dawn or dusk. In daylight you'd just have kick em out of where the're bedded down. Dont ever get between a sow and her piglets or be a really quick deadly shot. Ask me how I know. 15-20 years ago there were few feral pigs in OK except for SE . Now the're everywhere, A sow can have 2-3 litters per year, 8-12/litter maybe raise 4-6, mature at 7-9 months even on acorns and grubs. They add up fast. Good Luck
Rebel and Ehler
We might be able to put that together. I have a few places to go, but it would be pretty limited (2-3 people max) and my son usually goes. He gets married in August and his wife will probably be part of my future hunts. Laws are always changing in Oklahoma regarding feral pigs. Presently you can get approval to hunt at night (pigs only) from your local game warden. It has to be on private land and there are quite a few restrictions (# of hunters, acreage, firearms, ammo, etc.) Only persons listed on the permit can hunt and you have to call in immediately prior to the hunt. The landowners that I know of that got the permit, did it a few times thinking they would wipe them out at night. After a few trips and a few pigs, they just started trapping them. Of course their goal is to eradicate them, our goal is to have some fun and get some meat.
It is illegal to transport a live feral pig in Oklahoma. In my opinion, that is a great law. A good feral anything, is a dead feral anything! I think that the biggest reason for the sudden explosion of feral hog populations is probably feral hog hunters. The ones that trap live ones and then transport them to another location to hunt them. We have had feral pigs in Oklahoma for well over 100 years. The population explosion only started when everyone wanted to hunt them and started moving them around.
Just like dandelions; as a kid it is really fun to blow that puffball and watch the seeds fly, as the adult taking care of the lawn, it sucks.
64 I think you are probably right, people knew they were doing wrong, but they were just worried about what they wanted
An armed man in a citizen.
An unarmed man is a subject.
A disarmed man is a slave.
Trap was empty. Next time.
Does anyone group together for drives with posters at the ready?
Oh great, another thread that makes me spend money.
not that I know of, but it would be cool, it is illegal to drive deer here, but not hogs, as far as I know. would need to double check.
An armed man in a citizen.
An unarmed man is a subject.
A disarmed man is a slave.
I have tried it several times without success. I'm sure there are cases where it could work depending on the terrain and wind, but my experience is that when you push them, they go wherever they want and as fast as they want. We tried a few drives in the mountains around Poteau where you have very pronounced "shelves" that go around the mountain formed by landslides and then regrowth. These shelves are about 10 - 20 yards wide and it is basically straight up and straight down if you get off the shelf. There is usually about 100 - 200 feet vertical between the shelves. Every single time, these pigs, even the big ones ran up and down between these shelves like it was flat. It was so steep I couldn't even climb it without holding onto the trees and they looked like they were falling uphill! I'm convinced that they could do this even if the smoked 3 packs a day and ate biscuits and gravy every meal. They really are amazingly tough.
My best setup (especially with a bow) has always been to trickle corn (by trickle I mean one kernel about every two feet) down a long narrow clearing (like a logging road). Corn about a mile or two of these trails and then stalk from trail to trail with binos looking up and down the clearing. When you see a group feeding, try to get in front of them with the wind in your favor and wait for a passing shot. Your shot will be somewhat of a moving shot because they are chasing each other to get to the next kernel. They can't see very well, but can hear great and smell even better. It is a one-shot deal and don't try to do it with two people at the same time. Sometimes I can just run down the road towards them (if they are feeding away) until I get about 75-80 yds away then take to the timber and get in front of them. This is a "slim chance" scenario, but if you catch then feeding your way, take cover with the wind in your favor and wait for them to feed to you.
Basically you are hunting them the way you hunt Javelina in south Texas. Once you shoot at one in a sounder you will see why driving them doesn't work very well. It is crazy! I know for a fact that they can chase and charge you, but some of the scariest calls I have had was just because they panicked trying to get out of there and I was in their way.
No short-cuts with these things, just get out there and learn from screwing up. You will have a blast doing it.
TAKE A GUN TO THE FIGHT. Silsbee Tx one day I was visiting my hunting buddy. He said lets go check a snare he had set. Never heard of snaring! We got there and sure enough he snared a 75 pounder that was mad as could be. He had cleaned a 10 ft circle to the bare ground. Where is the gun? You have a knife? Reached in my pocket and pulled out a Case Trapper with a sharp well worn blade. Gene finally grabbed its back legs and I piled on watching that snapping jaws. Cut his throat as best I could with all 1 1/4 inches blade. Turned him loose and backed up. With bloodshot eyes he glared at. After about ten minutes we realize he was not cut good. Caught him again and finally cut him in the same place cut deep enough to bring some blood. Dirty, bloody and sweaty always take a gun to a fight! Game warden stopped us on the way out. Asked us what we are doing. Gene said we are running our hog traps.He said the spoter plane had seen our lights and he was waiting for us on the main Hwy. Where is your guns? Pulled out my dirty blooded knife and showed him. He new Gene and his reputation of hunting bare footed your round in the swamps.
yeah, ill take a gun any day, or at least a big (12"blade) knife, but rather have a gun!-Travis
An armed man in a citizen.
An unarmed man is a subject.
A disarmed man is a slave.
A turkey hen cluck will sometimes bring one or more in because they love eggs.
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