Wild pig hunting

Morning everyone – I am in need of advice on hunting – wild pigs specifically.
While I do own a few firearms, these are used just for target practice at the local range with my daughter. I have never hunted in my life. That being said, I am very interested in trying wild pig hunting.
I will attend a hunter’s safety class here in northern Wisconsin before I book a trip. Understand the need for safety while hunting.

Watching Youtube videos on wild pig hunting all seem to be based in Texas as hat state has a terrible program with wild pigs.
I’m hoping there is a state closer to me that offers a good chance to get a wild pig and harvest the meat. I’m not interested in going on a fenced property for the hunt.
Any advice or directions as to outfitters / best time of the year to hunt / etc would be most helpful.
Thank you in advance.

Just start googling. They are as far up as Canada. Missouri has a big pig problem. I’m sure Iowa does as well. Illinois and Indiana. That’s how I’d start. Or, just say screw it and head to FL. Get out of the cold and get a hog hunt in.

I’m going to Texas Friday.
Bringing:
Larue ar10 chambered in 308 with thermal scope.
Crossbow with redlight
Shotgun with redlight
Larue ar15 chambered in 223 with normal scope.

Hogs will be most day active in cooler months (now) deer season over so woods largely barren of people.

Will also do some hunting with dogs.

I traded a sturgeon trip for a hog trip many years ago and it’s time for me to cash in.

Be my first time soooooo plenty to learn. Not expecting YouTube quality wide open territory with 30 hogs and smoking hot AR’s. Am going to put in the work to get it done. Have a few bait piles with regulars showing up for the xbow.

Texas and Oklahoma have the largest wild pig populations so that is likely where you would need to go to have the best chance. I dont know about how to find a place to go though since its now big money for a lot of these ranchers so they will likely charge you big time.

CaptainMusky wrote:

Texas and Oklahoma have the largest wild pig populations so that is likely where you would need to go to have the best chance. I dont know about how to find a place to go though since its now big money for a lot of these ranchers so they will likely charge you big time.

Yeah, I will never understand that mentality.

Rancher/Farmer: These pigs/geese/prairie dogs are destroying my product. It’s hurting my business. I need them out of here.
Hunter: I would like permission to go on your land and shoot the offending critter.
Rancher/Farmer: Sure, that’ll be a $1000.

I know, I dont get it either, but when they see a money making opportunity they seize it for sure.

In fairness to the farmer/rancher your hunting near their livestock and on their property. Some risks involved and apprehensive to allowing strangers with powerful calibers to hunt to be expected.
Then toss in night hunting on top of it all.
Certainly true with prairie dogs.

In watching YouTube I’m amazed at some of the shots people take with livestock in the background.

Pig hunting isn’t that expensive. I have done a few hunts in Texas.
I would say average is around $400 for a couple days lodging and a couple hogs.

I have never hunted the Shiloh ranch in Oklahoma but have heard very good things about the place.

I wouldn’t worry too much about a high fence operation. The ones I hunted in Texas were set up to keep the pigs out. Pigs being pigs they got in anyway.

I have never hunted them with a gun but a lot of folks use AR’s for hunting them.

Yeah, an AR is definitely the way to go because of round capacity.

I have friends in Oklahoma and that’s where I will be headed for pigs. I’ll be using my smokeless .45 muzzleloader. No dates have been set yet, but I have been in touch with each of them and they want to do a pig hunt too, so we’ll likely join forces and share the take. They both deer hunt and have tales of pig issues while on stand.

I’d like to pop three or four in the 120-140 pound range but its my understanding that most will run under the 120 pounds.

I’ve bought and shot hogs on farms to butcher and they’re very easy to process. Wild pigs won’t be any different.

Don’t come looking for them in Iowa. Haven’t heard of anything down here, DNR does a pretty good job of eradicating anything that might effect our deer population, seems we have a reputation for big deer. I did here of a wild boar on a trail cam in Prairie du Chien, Wi, a while back. Most recent news of an invasive critter down here was a wandering armadillo that found its way to Iowa City, Iowa, last year. If you shoot a pig down here, a farmer is gonna be p!ssed.

Bobcat and hog with 308 thermal hunting.

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Got in close for this one.
Man they’re hard on broadheads!
Public land

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Glad it isn’t my boat

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Those are big ones how heavy you think? My buddy swears he has a couple at his ranch approaching 400 pounds. They are enormous on the cam pics.

Boar with 308. Probably 175# though the Texas Boys I was hunting with were saying 250#.
The bow sow was same size.
Good cutters. Doing a euro of the archery kill. That was some close range entertainment for sure.

Big Bob for this area. That was 20yds.
Archery hog was 30yds.
Thermal hog 75yds.

That is pretty dang impressive! Have you eaten them before? If so, how did you like them?

Yeah good eating. Have one of those hogs in the cooler. Big male we left for the yotes.

Nice work on the hunt. I’m assuming orange was required when archery hunting them? Are you mounting the Bobcat?
DT

Yeah the archery pig was on core of engineering land. Permit. Archery only. No night hunting. Orange. Plenty of hogs but ain’t easy getting into areas where they hang out during the day. Drew plenty of blood having the success I did in the thorns. Can be 10yds away and not have a shot.
No didn’t do anything with Bob. She took a .308 to the face from 20yds