Scouting for Hogs the Chronicles Way!

Scouting for Hogs the Chronicles Way!
© 2009-2012 Albert A Rasch and
The Rasch Outdoor Chronicles
How to scout for hogs! $g&m f9bd 45kd q!?5.

Image Credit: Big Grey Mare

"It looked bad, but it wasn’t like I was bleeding all over the place and in danger of imminent death."

You can only just make out the scars now, it has been that long.

DumbAss Credit: Albert A Rasch

Sun, wind and weather have faded them to faint lines on my forearm. The splintered end of the branch had skewered me but good. About four inches of it had stabbed through me, just under the surface of the skin. It had, by sheer luck and happenstance, missed going through muscle, artery, or tendon. I pulled my impaled arm off the branch cursing and sputtering deprecations at anyone and anything I could think of. I had already dropped my rifle anyway so my free hand instantly wrapped around my forearm as it cleared the spearlike point of the broken branch. All I had time to see was the bloody splinter sticking out of my forearm before I pulled my arm off, and now my hand was clamped onto my arm and threatening to cut all the circulation off to the other hand. It’s as if it had a mind of its own.

Image Credit: Zedaxis
I had been scouting for hogs that morning. As usual, my route took me right up the railroad tracks going through the local ranches. The track maintenance crews use a mechanical, one-armed, articulated monster with a three-foot diameter circular saw on the working end to hack back the encroaching trees and brush. Among the shredded remains of the plant life are an innumerable number of branches that are left jagged and splintered, Punji stake like, waiting for an unwary idiot like me to impale himself. Which is exactly how I was now to be found.

At that particular point, I could have cared less if Britney Spears was prancing by me nude, naked, or disrobed. I was on the job, scouting for hogs, and now I was out of commission. Well, I might be curious why Britney was there and what brand of mosquito spray she used, or if she put on enough sunscreen and maybe needed some help making sure she had enough on, but that’s about it.

Scouting for hogs, or any animal for that matter, requires a bit of thought. When you are out their looking for hogs, you have to start by taking a broad view. I mean that both metaphorically and physically. Step back a moment and considering the hogs needs first. Then making calculated decisions based on your observations.

Image Credit: Mape_S

Let’s say you are scouting an abandoned farm or grove that you now have access to. Hogs move from cover, to feed, to water; that’s pretty much their routine. Throw in a wallow at the local mud hole and you pretty much got it. They tend to move early in the morning to their feeding areas, then quench their thirst with the regulars at the watering hole, and move into heavy cover before the day warms up too much and makes them uncomfortable. Breeding is a year round affair so there is no rut to contend with. But a sow in heat will attract every willing male in the county. Regardless, the first thing to do is determine if they are making regular forays into the property and why.

Image Credit: Stile di Pallanti
A great tool for pre-scouting or familiarizing yourself with an area is Google Earth. Back in the day we had to buy topographic or aerial photographs of the area in question. Now you can get all sorts of whizbang satellite imagery! My biggest issue is that I can’t seem to figure out how to save a screen shot or print it out. So I’ve used shrink-wrap and fine tipped markers to trace the terrain and landmarks directly on the plastic while on the screen and then transferred it to paper. Maybe someone will take pity on me and explain to me how I can do it on the computer.

Image Credit: Retro Traveler

Maybe if I had taken a better look at an aerial view, I wouldn’t have jumped off where I did, and found myself looking like an Hors d'oeuvre on an oversized toothpick. My arm was throbbing under my cold, clammy grip, and I could tell I was suffering from a mild case of shock. My face felt cold even though it was the middle of summer. I sat down, took a couple of deep breaths, and quickly decided what I should do. First thing on the list was: Get a better map… Hell, get any map! Next on the list is a shot of Bourbon, for medicinal purposes of course. Time to get a flask…

There’s a lot you can learn from an aerial or topographic map. The overall lay of the land is better understood from the vantage point of a satellite or airplane. You can see how land, vegetation, and features make natural corridors and lanes, which will guide any kind of traffic including air movements. You can see where thick vegetation may be, and how it might be accessed. It gives you a starting point for your scouting and helps you visualize the context of what your feet are standing on when you are there. Now you can see the forest and the trees!

Image Credit: Lucycat
Now that you have a broad view of the property, let’s look for the specific needs of wild hogs. Is there a food source for them right now; if so what is it. Food sources that are constantly replenishing themselves will have the hogs visiting regularly while the food is available. For instance, when nut trees ripen and drop their mast, it is over a period of time. Hogs will visit for the time that the trees are dropping their bounty. Once the nuts stop dropping, the hogs stop visiting, except by happenstance if they happen by to see if they can glean a few more nuts out of the ground. Old orchards will also be attractive to hogs for the same reason. Grain crops have a narrower window depending on the amount of grain and the size of the predation. Once millet or corn is ripe, it’s all ripe and that’s it. A hungry boar can chew up and destroy a substantial amount of acreage in a night, but when the food is gone, it is gone. Wild pigs will also graze and root for vegetative matter. In the spring time hogs will graze new growth and in the fall they will use those bulldozer noses to rip out tubers and roots.

Image Credit: Valeriep

One thing to be aware of is that rooted up areas are a sign that hogs were there, as in past tense. They are unlikely to be back in that general area. They’ll find another area to root up the following night, sometimes far away from the one you are looking at. It is a good sign that the pigs are in the area, but nothing more.

I hadn’t seen any sign like rooting, but I knew that there were plenty of hogs in the area. I thought I would scout out what looked from the ground to be a promising area, after crossing the overgrown right-of-way. Now I was sitting there like a dummy. I screwed up my courage, let go of the arm, and took a look at the carnage. It looked bad, but it wasn’t like I was bleeding all over the place and in danger of imminent death. So I took the water bottle, poured some over the holes and poked at it with my dirty fingers. The pale jagged edges of the punctures looked like I had tried to use a drill on my arm, and where the splinter had run me through, the flesh was bruising and full of dark blood. I washed it with more water, pulled the now famous do-rag off my head, and proceeded to wrap up my arm.

Image Credit: BamaWester

Water plays the most important role in animal movement, and of course affects how and where you scout. If there is a scarcity of water, it makes sense to concentrate your efforts on waterholes, streams, and rivulets that will attract a thirsty pig. Again, when scouting, look at the big picture. Where are the avenues from potential feeding areas to the water? Hogs will follow established paths to their preferred drinking areas. If you can determine how they get there, you are close to bagging your hog. Now if you don’t have access to the areas with water then your plan must by force, look elsewhere. In other words you must look to the food and shelter aspects.

Image Credit: Paul Voskamp
My preferred method is to find the wild boars’ travel corridors, and lie in ambush. Usually it is either from a bedding area to a feeding location, and these can vary according to season, or from the watering holes to the bedding areas. In Florida, during the wet season, food sources are the easiest areas to locate and prepare for. Water can be everywhere down here! But during droughts and the dry season it is very much like those pictures you see from the Serengeti plains. All animals go to the limited water.

What I had seen from the railroad tracks was what looked like an open corridor through the scrub and palmetto. It was hard to tell from the roadbed, which is why I had jumped into the right of way in the first place. I picked my .308 Mauser up out of the dirt where I had dropped it and climbed back out of the ditch. I could feel my forearm starting to swell, and I had to force my hand to make a fist. I knew I was in for an uncomfortable night.

Image Credit: Zedaxis

Look for corridors, natural or man made, that hogs travel on

Narrow or wide corridors create edge avenues that animals exploit for movement or even feeding. Animals will use the edges to move adjacent to the corridor, and then possibly feed in the open areas if they are grazing, or cross at certain points to access other routes or feed locations. Hogs in particular will move along the overgrown right of way, adjacent to fence lines, and on the edges of wooded areas, before stepping out or crossing into an area where they might feed. Look for a depression under the wire where hogs have scooted under, and also check out low spots on stone walls for places they have gone over.

Image Credit: Markeveleigh

My suggestion to you, and this works for any game animal, is to concentrate on how the animal gets to and from its food sources and water. Start with aerial views to help you narrow potential areas of interest, and then put in the footwork that is needed to confirm your hunches. Look for fence lines, hedgerows, timber edges and corridors that guide or funnel animals from one area to the next. Remember to minimize any disturbances. Don’t walk on game trails, keep your distance. Don’t push into bedding areas, skirt around them. Mind the air currents. Try to get out early, preferably before dawn, find a vantage point based on what you have determined, and observe what is going on. Keep a sharp eye out, and listen intently; wild pigs can be noisy! Many birds also sound the alarm and scold animals moving through.

Most importantly, go out there and enjoy what you are doing!

As for me, by the time I got home, I could no longer close my fist. I mean it hurt! I stuck the arm under the kitchen faucet, turned on the hot water, and proceeded to scrub the wound with dish detergent and a wash cloth. I grabbed my first aid kit and jeweler’s loupe and went to the table where the light was better. After a thorough examination, it looked like it was debris free, so I pushed some anti-biotic cream into the holes, stuck a couple of band aids over the holes, and poured some Bourbon over ice.

A few days later it opened up and left me with an angry, nasty, open gash, but it started healing right away and after a couple of weeks I could finally use that hand again.

Best Regards,
Albert A Rasch
Member: Lakewood Ranch Tent Club
Member: Hunting Sportsmen of the United States HSUS (Let 'em sue me.)

The Hunt Continues...

More great hog hunting tips!
How to Bait Hogs!

Key words: Scouting for hogs, how to scout for hogs, hog scouting, how to scout for wild pigs, wild pig hunting, hog hunting, wild pig hunting, scouting, wild boar, wild boar hunting

Chronicles Classic: Big Hogs and Bigger Dogs!

Hunting Florida's Wild Hogs with Dogs and a Sixgun!
© 2009-2011 Albert A Rasch and
The Rasch Outdoor Chronicles™
$g&m f9bd 45kd q!?5.


(Editors Note: This occurred several years ago. Unfortunately I have no pictures of this adventure. I do have the skull of the boar; it is one of my most treasured trophies. My attempts to reunite with Jim and Mike have been, unfortunately unsuccessful…)

It was bound to happen sooner or later...

When you hunt as I like to, at close quarters, purposely putting your life in danger, you are assured to have a hair graying, shave a few years off your life, bladder weakening experience.

Like many of my adventures, it had started, innocently enough, with a half-breed Russian boar that was given to me by, a good ol' boy who was cousin, to the sister of the wife, of the guy who fixes my friend Big Duke's car. At least that's how I understood it.

Big Duke is a free association type of guy, with an endless stream-of consciousness conversation that anesthetizes you as it washes over you. Somewhere, out of that particular current that morning, I picked up "mean old hog" and "cutters the size of butcher's knives". My interest piqued, I listen more intently but he had gone on to the "Butcher of Seville" which must had been a sequel to the "Barber of Seville", which, I am glad to say, I must have missed when it came through town. Interrupting and dragging him back to the hog part of the conversation, I found out that someone, somewhere wanted to get rid of a particularly nasty boar hog that they had somehow acquired.

Since I had four feral sows in my breeding pool, and a closely related boar, I seized on the opportunity to add new genetics to my breeding stock. Ol' Duke called his mechanic on his "top o da line" "cell-you-lar” phone, who then referred him to a party unknown to Duke or I. Not that it matters to Duke you understand. He is friends to all manner of stranger, whether tramp, vagabond or otherwise. Only person he doesn't like is a woman down the road that accused him of horse thievery. Actually it was pony thievery that was leveled at him but Duke took it as the insult that it was. That pony had wandered off more times than there are stars in the sky; it was 36 years old and as senile as a demented armadillo. One night it wandered off; Duke and I managed to track it into the "Mexican Quarter" as we call it, but lost it on the asphalt, and it hasn't been seen since then. I do remember there being a big Fiesta the following day though...

Anyway, Duke hangs up the phone turns to me and says, "You want to fetch that Boar?"

Do hogs root? Of course I did.

We hitched up a horse trailer and went to rescue the poor animal so that he might serve a higher purpose as a stud at my hacienda the "Three Bar Spear".

When we arrived, I was not disappointed. Gordy, as he is known, has the quintessential "Razorback" look. Big headed, wide shouldered, a small rear end, and tusks fit to rip the hide off of an unsuspecting or foolish foe. His eyes were soulful pools of brown with lashes that most girls would kill for! After he was loaded up, which wasn't too difficult as he was pretty tame, I asked the fellows there how they came upon him. As it turned out these boys were avid hog trappers and hunters. We discussed different methods and techniques and I guess they took a liking to me because I was invited to join them on an afternoon hunt they had planned. I eagerly accepted and hustled Duke on out of there so I could get ready.

After an uneventful unloading, I bid Big Duke farewell, and headed in to get ready for the hunt. On this kind of hunt, with an unknown group, in an unknown area, I tend to either choose my slug gun or the Ruger sixgun in 45LC. I like the slug gun because of its authoritative slug; with a 776 grains hunk of lead, one shot, well placed of course, is all it ever takes. Now the sixgun's power is not to be dismissed lightly, the quick follow up shots are handy in addition to its inherent portability. A 335grain LBT type bullet from Cast Performance backed by a caseful of Hodgdon’s H110 powder is serious medicine. Deciding on the Ruger I gave the cylinder and bore a quick spray of Brakleen to de-oil them and ran a clean patch through it all. I grabbed an even dozen of my custom hand loaded cartridges and put them in the carry case I use for travel.

I met up with Jimmy and Mike about an hour later at their home. “The dogs are loaded and ready to go.” said Jimmy as he hopped into his jacked up Ford. Mike was already in his, the dog boxes clean, shiny, and obviously loaded by the whines and occasional bark. It would be ironic later on, as I heard AC/DC’s Highway to Hell wafted in the summer breeze.

After a short ride we came to a ranch once owned by Jim’s uncle. My understanding was that thegentleman was a world traveler, and brought home all sorts of exotic and interesting things. Unfortunately he had passed away some time ago and I was unable to meet him. I’m sure that he had some fascinating stories to tell.

I grabbed my South African made rig, loaded and holstered the sixgun, and put the extra rounds in my pocket.

The area we were hunting was a mixed palmetto scrub-land adjacent to a swampy area filled with cypress and fern. Patchy areas of the palmetto had recently burned affording us slightly better visibility than the norm. Mike opened up his dog boxes and out poured a pack of long legged hounds of indeterminate parentage and questionable pedigree. I know better than to question a man’s dog, but these guys looked like mongrels from the same litter. But I was soon to learn that these country boys knew more about dog breeding than anyone I have ever met. In a moment he had the six of them on two separate leads.

When Jim opened up the boxes on his truck, I almost backed up out of fear. The first dog slowly stretched out and gracefully stepped out of the box. A massive white head swiveled surveying the terrain and everything on it. She took a dainty leap and landed at my feet as nimble as a terrier. That is if a terrier weighed 90 or so pounds! The other one wasted no time and leaped down as if nothing could or would stop him. These dogs had mastiff sized heads with jaws that looked like they could tear a meaningful sized chunk off of a Volkswagen. Their legs were long but muscular, and they had bodies like Labs, thick and deep chested. If you asked me they were Great Dane, Mastiff, Labrador crosses. Or Irish Wolfhound and Mastiff mixes. A giant boxer on steroids. Or something equally frightening! Their names were Roxy and Bull. Jimmy called them and they obediently sat down in front of him. Out of a box he pulled out wide, thick leather collars and buckled them on the dogs. Then he pulled out what turned out to be custom body armor for the dogs.

Wait a minute… Do the hogs here shoot back or something?” I asked, wondering if I had gotten into something I wasn’t prepared, ready, or armed for. “Nah…” Jimmy drawled. “This is to keep the hogs from cuttin’ up my babies.”

Babies!?!? The damned dogs looked like they ate babies! For all I knew they were Cerebus’ cousins.

“Do me a favor. Hold on to Roxy will ya?”

Sure.” I replied, still a little intimidated. Hell, I can think of a half dozen things I would rather be doing, like running sunburned and naked through a cactus patch. Anyway it turned out that she was as well mannered as any dog I have ever met and both the dogs were actually pretty friendly. Though, I will admit, at first sight they were absolutely menacing in appearance.

By the time the catch dogs were geared up, Mike had walked off with the hounds and was casting about to see if there was any scent to pick up. His main leather leads were about 12 feet long, each one with an additional three shorter lengths of leather thongs that the dogs were attached to. The dogs worked back and forth at an angle to him. Before long, one of the dogs gave an eager yelp; the other dogs converged upon him noses to the ground. One dog raised his head and let loose a howl that I swear sounded like a call to battle. At once the others joined in. Jim had his dogs on a much shorter lead and hurried to Mike. I followed closely; I was excited and though I didn’t know what was going on exactly, I knew it was about to start. Jim handed the lead to the two monsters to me.

Mike unclipped two of the dogs. They cast around, and when they decided which way to go they just started barking and took off. By then Mike and Jim had loosed the other four hounds and released them. Jim turned and said, “Those first two have the best nose. The rest are good, but those two are better!” Mike put his leads in his day pack and took Roxy and Bull from me.

Mike, who really doesn’t say much, asked, “What are y’all waiting for?” Jim smiled and asked me, “Ready?” “Hell yeah I’m ready!” I replied. To which he responded, “Well let’s go then!” and took off at a ground eating jog, following the baying dogs. I took off right behind him and Mike followed at a more leisurely pace.

Jim got ahead of me pretty quick. These fellows do nothing but work hard and move fast all day long, whereas I mostly sit on my fat rear end. All right, maybe I don’t really sit on my ass all the time, but I sure don’t work as hard as these fellows do. So I did my best to keep up.

Sometimes I’m a little slow witted, but I would have sworn I was catching up to them. If only I had known.

It wasn’t much longer when I realized I wasn’t getting closer to them, rather they were getting closer to me, and fast. I slowed down and tried to figure out which way exactly they were heading. Turning more towards the sun, I tried to intercept them. I stepped into a small swampy clearing and moments later the Big Ol’ Hog burst through the palmettos. He cast one baleful eye on me and slammed on the brakes. I was a couple of steps in and just as startled as that pig was, but I was slapping for leather when the first of the dogs came barreling through the screen of fronds. Dogs or no dogs, I knew I was about to experience the affectionate ministrations of a not-so-friendly hog.

You see, a cape buffalo might look at you like you owe him money, according to Ruark, but a big hog looks at you like you're in the wrong 'hood dude. And he's willing to cut you into hash right quick with those whetted tusks should he take a disliking to you. And as it so happened, yours truly, through no fault of his own, had antagonized this one enough to be considered the next subject of a slice and dice demo. The muzzle was clearing the holster as I started to step back.

I've heard it said that death was nature's way of telling you to slow down. Not being in the mood for slowing down just yet I took the path of least resistance and took a step back. A wait-a-minute vine leapt out, wrapped its evil thorned tentacles around my ankle and yanked me off my feet. Arms wind-milling wildly, I fell for what seemed an eternity.

At impact, the breath was knocked out of me. Now, with my eyes swimming, the pain in my ribs excruciating, I was in extremis; the cypress knee had caught me right on the short ribs and driven the air out of me. Groping for a handhold and gasping for breath I tried to scramble to a standing position. The dogs had slowed the pig down, and he had chosen to make another break for it, heading deeper into the swamp, so I wasn't in immediate danger, but I didn't know it. Dripping mud and finally on my feet, I looked around trying to get my bearings; at the same time Jimmy reached me and asked if I was OK. In between gasps I said I was all right, and added, “Lead on Ceasar! Lead on!”

You know,” he said, “most guys shoot at the pig as it takes off; they don’t usually lie down and nap during the action…” I shot him a look of pure evil. He laughed and slapped me one on the back and took off at a dead run to catch up with the hounds. Mike was still behind with the catch dogs. In the tumult I had managed to keep a grip on the Ruger and I took a moment to check it. Fortunately no mud had gotten into the barrel but it had been splashed pretty good. Wiping it off on my shirt I limped off after the guys.

Unable to ascertain Image Credit

The hounds were baying again and in no time I had caught up with the group where a savage fight was in full swing. The hounds had the hog surrounded. When he turned to slash one dog, the one on the opposite side would lunge and grab a mouthful of hair. Between the six of them they managed to keep the pig in one spot and avoid getting cut to ribbons. Finally Mike showed up with the catch dogs straining at the leashes; it was all he could do to hold them while Jimmy and I tried to simultaneously release them. Holding the collar of one I finally detached the lead. Jim did likewise and at his signal we let loose the dogs. The two wasted no time in closing the short distance and launched themselves at the boar. Occupied with the hounds that lunged and snapped at it, the boar didn't notice the big dogs until 180 combined pounds slammed into his side.

One dog locked it jaws on the flank while the other tried to grab it by the neck or ear. The boar didn’t get that big by being whusy, that’s for sure. In less than a blink of an eye, that hog twisted, caught the female in the shoulder, and flipped that animal head over heels ten feet. She landed heavily on her back and lay there momentarily stunned. Bull though, had gotten a mouthful of pig and wasn’t about to let go. The hounds were baying and adding to the general cacophony.

I had the Ruger in hand looking for a shot. Twice I raised it but had to put it down.

“Don’t hit the dogs!” Jimmy screamed.

There was no way I was getting a clear shot from any position. Any piece of that black hide that came into view was quickly covered by dog. And regardless, the LBTs I use would go through that hog like the proverbial hot knife through butter.

Roxy staggered to her feet and shook the blow off, the body armor having saved her from being split open like a bratwurst. She turned back to the brawl and hesitated only a moment before launching herself back into the battle. Bull still had the hog’s rear end and Roxy had aimed for the hogs opposite end.

I did the only thing I could think of.

I charged!

An unintelligible roar came unbidden from my throat. A half dozen strides and I was in the middle of the melee. A dog hit me hard in the leg almost knocking me over. I had flanked the hog, but anyone who has a hog can attest that they can switch ends in half a heartbeat - but not if he’s wearing a couple of dogs as jewelry. I stuck the muzzle somewhere on the top centerline of the hog and pulled the trigger. 325 grains of hardened lead slammed into the boar. I don’t know how, but I managed to thumb the hammer back and do it again, this time catching him at the base of the neck. Both slugs drove through the hog, lost in the soggy ground.

As the pig hit the ground, Roxy and Bull stretched him out, while the hounds all grabbed a piece of pigskin. The pig was good and truly dead. I was standing in the middle of it all, not quite sure if it was all over. Mike and Jim were on me slapping my back and laughing at my theatrics.

Mike was able to tether all of the hounds pretty quickly, but Roxy and Bull took quite a bit of cajoling before they would let go their hard won prize.

On the painful but rewarding walk back to the truck, I asked Jim what kind of dogs his catch dogs were. He told me that his uncle had brought four dogs from somewhere in South America sometime in the Sixties. They had bred them from those four, out crossing them to Bull-Mastiffs at some time past. Many in his family and some friends had them and they occasionally breed them as the need arises.

I went and researched this as I was truly curious as to what kind of dogs these might be. The closest I could come to was the Doggo Argentino. These were bred by Argentinean ranchers specifically to hunt imported European hogs and stag. The description fits these fellows almost exactly. I sure do wish I could have met Jimmy’s uncle, I bet he really had some incredible adventures and stories he could tell!

Mike’s pack was in fact a bunch of carefully bred curs. His father had started the pack several decades ago with some Bloodhounds, Walkers, and, believe it or not, an Afghan. They have bred them for nose, courage, and speed. They cull them pretty hard; they either got it or don’t.

I wish I could experience another dog hunt as exciting as this one was

Related Posts:

Hog Sticking Raj Style! Pt I

Hog Sticking Raj Style! Pt II

Hogs and Dogs!

Best Regards,
Albert A Rasch
Member: Shindand Tent Club
Member: Hunting Sportsmen of the United States HSUS (Let 'em sue me.)
The Hunt Continues...

Though he spends most of his time writing and keeping the world safe for democracy, Albert was actually a student of biology. Really. But after a stint as a lab tech performing repetitious and mind-numbing processes that a trained capuchin monkey could do better, he never returned to the field. Rather he became a bartender. As he once said, "Hell, I was feeding mice all sorts of concoctions. At the club I did the same thing; except I got paid a lot better, and the rats where bigger." He has followed the science of QDM for many years, and fancies himself an aficionado. If you have any questions, or just want to get more information, reach him via TheRaschOutdoorChronicles(at)MSN(dot)com.

Scott Croner Albert A Rasch Albert “Afghanus” Rasch Albert A Rasch Scott Croner Nebraska Hunting Scott Croner, Merriam's Turkey Hunting Albert A Rasch Scott Croner Albert A Rasch Albert “Afghanus” Rasch Albert A Rasch Scott Croner Nebraska Hunting Scott Croner Merriam's Turkey Hunting Albert A RaschAlbert A Rasch So, you want to be a contractor. Handfeeding a Baby Mockingbird Clean and Repair your Ruger 10 22 Magazine

Scouting for Hogs

© 2009, 2010, 2011 Albert A Rasch and
The Rasch Outdoor Chronicles
$g&m f9bd 45kd q!?5.

Image Credit: Big Grey Mare

"It looked bad, but it wasn’t like I was bleeding all over the place and in danger of imminent death."

You can only just make out the scars now, it has been that long.  Sun, wind and weather have faded them to faint lines on my forearm.

DumbAss Credit: Albert A Rasch

The splintered end of the branch had skewered me but good. About four inches of it had stabbed through me, just under the surface of the skin. It had, by sheer luck and happenstance, missed going through muscle, artery, or tendon. I pulled my impaled arm off the branch cursing and sputtering deprecations at anyone and anything I could think of. I had already dropped my rifle anyway so my free hand instantly wrapped around my forearm as it cleared the spearlike point of the broken branch. All I had time to see was the bloody splinter sticking out of my forearm before I pulled my arm off, and now my hand was clamped onto my arm and threatening to cut all the circulation off to the other hand. It’s as if it had a mind of its own.

Image Credit: Zedaxis
I had been scouting for hogs that morning. As usual, my route took me right up the railroad tracks going through the local ranches. The track maintenance crews use a mechanical, one-armed, articulated monster with a three-foot diameter circular saw on the working end to hack back the encroaching trees and brush. Among the shredded remains of the plant life are an innumerable number of branches that are left jagged and splintered, Punji stake like, waiting for an unwary idiot like me to impale himself. Which is exactly how I was now to be found.

At that particular point, I could have cared less if Britney Spears was prancing by me nude, naked, or disrobed. I was on the job, scouting for hogs, and now I was out of commission. Well, I might be curious why Britney was there and what brand of mosquito spray she used, or if she put on enough sunscreen and maybe needed some help making sure she had enough on, but that’s about it. Seriously... Maybe.

Scouting for hogs, or any animal for that matter, requires a bit of thought. When you are out their looking for hogs, you have to start by taking a broad view. I mean that both metaphorically and physically. Step back a moment and considering the hogs needs first. Then making calculated decisions based on your observations.

Image Credit: Mape_S

Let’s say you are scouting an abandoned farm or grove that you now have access to. Hogs move from cover, to feed, to water; that’s pretty much their routine. Throw in a wallow at the local mud hole and you pretty much got it. They tend to move early in the morning to their feeding areas, then quench their thirst with the regulars at the watering hole, and move into heavy cover before the day warms up too much and makes them uncomfortable. Breeding is a year round affair so there is no rut to contend with. But a sow in heat will attract every willing male in the county. Regardless, the first thing to do is determine if they are making regular forays into the property and why.

Image Credit: Stile di Pallanti
A great tool for pre-scouting or familiarizing yourself with an area is Google Earth. Back in the day we had to buy topographic or aerial photographs of the area in question. Now you can get all sorts of whizbang satellite imagery! My biggest issue is that I can’t seem to figure out how to save a screen shot or print it out. So I’ve used shrink-wrap and fine tipped markers to trace the terrain and landmarks directly on the plastic while on the screen and then transferred it to paper. Maybe someone will take pity on me and explain to me how I can do it on the computer.

Image Credit: Retro Traveler

Maybe if I had taken a better look at an aerial view, I wouldn’t have jumped off where I did, and found myself looking like an Hors d'oeuvre on an oversized toothpick. My arm was throbbing under my cold, clammy grip, and I could tell I was suffering from a mild case of shock. My face felt cold even though it was the middle of summer. I sat down, took a couple of deep breaths, and quickly decided what I should do. First thing on the list was: Get a better map… Hell, get any map! Next on the list is a shot of Bourbon, for medicinal purposes of course. Time to get a flask…

There’s a lot you can learn from an aerial or topographic map. The overall lay of the land is better understood from the vantage point of a satellite or airplane. You can see how land, vegetation, and features make natural corridors and lanes, which will guide any kind of traffic including air movements. You can see where thick vegetation may be, and how it might be accessed. It gives you a starting point for your scouting and helps you visualize the context of what your feet are standing on when you are there. Now you can see the forest and the trees!

Image Credit: Lucycat
Now that you have a broad view of the property, let’s look for the specific needs of wild hogs. Is there a food source for them right now; if so what is it. Food sources that are constantly replenishing themselves will have the hogs visiting regularly while the food is available. For instance, when nut trees ripen and drop their mast, it is over a period of time. Hogs will visit for the time that the trees are dropping their bounty. Once the nuts stop dropping, the hogs stop visiting, except by happenstance if they happen by to see if they can glean a few more nuts out of the ground. Old orchards will also be attractive to hogs for the same reason. Grain crops have a narrower window depending on the amount of grain and the size of the predation. Once millet or corn is ripe, it’s all ripe and that’s it. A hungry boar can chew up and destroy a substantial amount of acreage in a night, but when the food is gone, it is gone. Wild pigs will also graze and root for vegetative matter. In the spring time hogs will graze new growth and in the fall they will use those bulldozer noses to rip out tubers and roots.

Image Credit: Valeriep

One thing to be aware of is that rooted up areas are a sign that hogs were there, as in past tense. They are unlikely to be back in that general area. They’ll find another area to root up the following night, sometimes far away from the one you are looking at. It is a good sign that the pigs are in the area, but nothing more.

I hadn’t seen any sign like rooting, but I knew that there were plenty of hogs in the area. I thought I would scout out what looked from the ground to be a promising area, after crossing the overgrown right-of-way. Now I was sitting there like a dummy. I screwed up my courage, let go of the arm, and took a look at the carnage. It looked bad, but it wasn’t like I was bleeding all over the place and in danger of imminent death. So I took the water bottle, poured some over the holes and poked at it with my dirty fingers. The pale jagged edges of the punctures looked like I had tried to use a drill on my arm, and where the splinter had run me through, the flesh was bruising and full of dark blood. I washed it with more water, pulled the now famous do-rag off my head, and proceeded to wrap up my arm.

Image Credit: BamaWester

Water plays the most important role in animal movement, and of course affects how and where you scout. If there is a scarcity of water, it makes sense to concentrate your efforts on waterholes, streams, and rivulets that will attract a thirsty pig. Again, when scouting, look at the big picture. Where are the avenues from potential feeding areas to the water? Hogs will follow established paths to their preferred drinking areas. If you can determine how they get there, you are close to bagging your hog. Now if you don’t have access to the areas with water then your plan must by force, look elsewhere. In other words you must look to the food and shelter aspects.

Image Credit: Paul Voskamp
My preferred method is to find the wild boars’ travel corridors, and lie in ambush. Usually it is either from a bedding area to a feeding location, and these can vary according to season, or from the watering holes to the bedding areas. In Florida, during the wet season, food sources are the easiest areas to locate and prepare for. Water can be everywhere down here! But during droughts and the dry season it is very much like those pictures you see from the Serengeti plains. All animals go to the limited water.

What I had seen from the railroad tracks was what looked like an open corridor through the scrub and palmetto. It was hard to tell from the roadbed, which is why I had jumped into the right of way in the first place. I picked my .308 Mauser up out of the dirt where I had dropped it and climbed back out of the ditch. I could feel my forearm starting to swell, and I had to force my hand to make a fist. I knew I was in for an uncomfortable night.

Image Credit: Zedaxis

Look for corridors, natural or man made, that hogs travel on

Narrow or wide corridors create edge avenues that animals exploit for movement or even feeding. Animals will use the edges to move adjacent to the corridor, and then possibly feed in the open areas if they are grazing, or cross at certain points to access other routes or feed locations. Hogs in particular will move along the overgrown right of way, adjacent to fence lines, and on the edges of wooded areas, before stepping out or crossing into an area where they might feed. Look for a depression under the wire where hogs have scooted under, and also check out low spots on stone walls for places they have gone over.

Image Credit: Markeveleigh

My suggestion to you, and this works for any game animal, is to concentrate on how the animal gets to and from its food sources and water. Start with aerial views to help you narrow potential areas of interest, and then put in the footwork that is needed to confirm your hunches. Look for fence lines, hedgerows, timber edges and corridors that guide or funnel animals from one area to the next. Remember to minimize any disturbances. Don’t walk on game trails, keep your distance. Don’t push into bedding areas, skirt around them. Mind the air currents. Try to get out early, preferably before dawn, find a vantage point based on what you have determined, and observe what is going on. Keep a sharp eye out, and listen intently; wild pigs can be noisy! Many birds also sound the alarm and scold animals moving through.

Most importantly, go out there and enjoy what you are doing!

As for me, by the time I got home, I could no longer close my fist. I mean it hurt! I stuck the arm under the kitchen faucet, turned on the hot water, and proceeded to scrub the wound with dish detergent and a wash cloth. I grabbed my first aid kit and jeweler’s loupe and went to the table where the light was better. After a thorough examination, it looked like it was debris free, so I pushed some anti-biotic cream into the holes, stuck a couple of band aids over the holes, and poured some Bourbon over ice.

A few days later it opened up and left me with an angry, nasty, open gash, but it started healing right away and after a couple of weeks I could finally use that hand fully again.

Best Regards,
Albert A Rasch
Member: Shindand Tent Club
Member: Hunting Sportsmen of the United States HSUS (Let 'em sue me.)
The Hunt Continues...

Big Cutters, Rank Hogs, and Coffee

© 2009, 2010 Albert A Rasch and
The Rasch Outdoor Chronicles
$g&m f9bd 45kd q!?5.

Hunting Big Hogs in Florida, Chronicles Style!

I had shot that three hundred pounder right through the cheekbone!

We had been hunting hog at a friend's ranch an hour or so from where I lived. We had been carefully stalking this bad boy for the better part of two hours. There were sows and piglets to contend with, mosquitoes, and the occasional pygmy rattle thrown in for fun. Actually, I was pretty sure those damned chiggers were, at that very moment, burrowing into my tender flesh and making themselves at home.

Skirting palmetto clumps, and patches of scrub oak, we finally got into position with out spooking him or the other hogs with him. taking a prone position in an open patch of sandy dirt,  I took off my leather hat, laid it in front of me, and used it as a rest for my light hog hunting rifle, a 30/06 Weatherby Eurosport. I wanted an instant kill; I had had enough of chiggers, ticks and skeeters for the day, so I carefully lined up for a spinal shot. I was certain of my shooting ability, and I have complete confidence in my Weatherby and the Remington Safari Grade ammo I use.

180 grains of copper clad and partitioned lead went right under his left eye, through the hog's sinus cavity, and smashed right into his spinal column where it demolished nine inches of bone and nerves, disrupting much of his motor functions. But it wasn't enough. By the time I had crossed the forty or so yards between us, he had regained some use of his body. His jaws worked to and fro, slashing at the under growth, hooking roots, branches and the occasional shrub. Apparently he could use his back legs, and had some use of his front right one. He stumbled as he tried to charge me.

I had stoked the Weatherby with another Remington Safari Grade Swift A-Frame before I was even up. As I raised the Weatherby for a follow up shot, Matt put his hand on my shoulder. "Wait, don't waste the bullet, let me finish him with my .22." Moments later the big hog was down.

And what a hog! Scarred and cut up from slugging it out with the other males, he was a brute; three inches of whetted tusks stuck out either side. I had him mounted, but unfortunately over the years he has deteriorated to the point that it was, in my mind, disrespectful to his memory to have him displayed in that condition. So he now resides sealed in a large bin with a desiccant package and a pest control devise. Maybe, when times are a little better, I can have him refurbished, and he can take place of pride over my desk again.

I really need to get out hog hunting...

But that's not why I tell the tale. Cooking, that's what I want to talk about.

It all started, innocently enough, when I happened upon Miss Jamie's blog Borderland Adventures: Her Perspective and her post Stinky Little Pigs.

Now I like pigs. I like them as livestock, pets, and wildlife. I like them alive and I like them roasted. Now Miss Jamie is actually writing about the New World equivalent of the pig, that being the peccary also known as the javelina. Miss Jamie does an excellent job of explaining their natural history and taxonomy; and she does it with great humor. In addition you will find great narratives of the border area, posts on cooking both in the home and out in the field, and a product review. Not only that, but she has some great photography too! I heartily recommend visiting her Blog Borderland Adventures: Her Perspective.

Now back to the cooking. As it turns out both peccaries and that big ol' hog I took, have similarities. They both stink real bad. As in rank.

I don't like to waste game. But a rank old hog is unpalatable. Simple as that; just plain inedible. I had Matt carve out the tenderloins, if that's not a misnomer I don't know what is. I also got the two roasts. Matt got the rest to grind up for sausage.

When I got home I threw a box of coarse salt over the meat and ice in the cooler. I figured that would buy me enough time to figure out what I was going to do.

I've got one of those big enameled roasting pan, and I always have a lot of garlic. Work with what you got I always say. As I was trying not to pass out from the testosterone induced odor, I remembered reading somewhere that instant coffee neutralized the odor and helped to tenderize the meat. I couldn't remember how much was recommended, so I dumped a big handful in there. I mean I poured it into my hand and dumped it over the roast. With that done, I took a knife skewered that roast and stuffed garlic into every hole I made. I doused it thoroughly with some white wine, the cheap stuff I keep for those meddlesome neighbors, and put the cover on it.

I set the oven on low (325 F) and came back to it about four hours later.

Holy smokes! It worked! The smell was gone, and in its place a delectable and genuinely delicious aroma of cooked pork with subtle tones of garlic. After due deliberations though it was decided that a couple of more hours wouldn't hurt. I cut up some more garlic, potatoes, carrots, and celery, and poured in some more wine and water.

A couple of hours later we were sitting around the table enjoying a tender and tasty roast.

I've tried it out with other cuts of tough meat both wild and domestic with similar results. Oh and there is no taste of coffee either. What is in the instant coffee that does that is unknown to me. All I know is that it works.

Amazing what you can do with some coffee...

Best Regards,
Albert A Rasch
Member: Shindand Tent Club
Member: Hunting Sportsmen of the United States HSUS (Let 'em sue me.)
The Hunt Continues...


Update:
While cruising the Blogsphere this morning, I came upon this "The Bacon Weave." For those of you that don't have enough cholesteral in your diet, this is a sure fire way to get it up there! Brought to you by the fellows at BBQ Addicts!

AAR





Scott Croner Albert A Rasch Albert “Afghanus” Rasch Albert A Rasch Scott Croner Nebraska Hunting Scott Croner, Merriam's Turkey Hunting Albert A Rasch Scott Croner Albert A Rasch Albert “Afghanus” Rasch Albert A Rasch Scott Croner Nebraska Hunting Scott Croner Merriam's Turkey Hunting Albert A Rasch

Kill More Hogs! Hunting Opportunities on Florida WMAs

Floridians Can Apply for

Summer Hog Hunts on WMAs

Photo Credit: Native Hunt

Because of an abundance of wild hogs on portions of Ochlockonee River and Joe Budd Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) in Northwest Florida, several hunting opportunities will be available during the coming months in an effort to reduce hog populations.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has quota permits available for hog-dog hunts on the Joe Budd area and still hunts for the Ochlockonee River WMA during July, August and September.

Hog-dog hunts are set for nighttime hours on July 15-18, Aug. 19-22 and Sept. 16-19 in Zone G of the Joe Budd WMA. Five quota permits will be available for each four-day hunt. A quota permit will enable two people and a guest permit holder to hunt with up to three free-running dogs of any size or breed.

Daytime-only still hunts will be held on the Ochlockonee River WMA in the portion north of Interstate 10 on July 16-18, Aug. 20-22, and Sept. 17-19. Thirty permits are available for each three-day still hunt.

Only one firearm will be allowed per permitted group.

Applications for these hunts will be accepted, starting at 10 a.m. (EDT) July 8, through the Total Licensing System at county tax collectors' offices or online at www.fl.wildlifelicense.com on a first-come, first-served basis as part of the third phase of the wild hog quota hunts. Permits are not transferrable.

There will be no size or bag limit on hogs. Live hogs may not be removed from the areas.

Contact:  Donald Lee Francis, 850-627-1773, ext. 113

Best Regards,
Albert A Rasch
Member Bagram Tent Club
Member Kandahar Tent Club
Member: Hunting Sportsmen of the United States HSUS (Let 'em sue me.)
The Hunt Continues...

Baiting Up Wild Hogs: How to Get Them Here!

© 2010 Albert A Rasch and
The Rasch Outdoor Chronicles
$g&m f9bd 45kd q!?5. trochronicles.blogspot.com

"You don’t know discomfort
until you have sat upon a fire ant nest."

From personal experience!

My favorite game animal has to be the Wild Hog. Not only is he wide spread, but the limits are usually pretty liberal. Learning their behavior and habits is not too difficult, and gaining permission to hunt them on private property is a whole lot easier than getting permission to shoot deer or turkeys! In many cases they are right next door and on occasion they may very well be rooting up your front yard.

Hunting wild hog is a wonderful introduction to big game hunting in general. For those of us who desire a greater challenge, hogs can be hunted with dogs, bows, spears, shotguns and handguns. I’ve hunted razorbacks on foot with dogs and a handgun, (see Hogs and Dogs), and I have pursued them on horseback with a shotgun. (See Hog Hunting on Horseback!)If you are wondering what the proper calibers for wild pigs are, at least in my opinion, go to Boar Guns and Calibers Parts I and Parts II, where I discuss hog and wild boar rifle cartridge selections.

Their keen sense of smell allows them to be easily baited and therefore make themselves a great first choice for an aspiring hunter. The best thing about them is that if you have a place where you know hogs are, then baiting them in is not difficult at all. They are already there, all you have to do is give them a reason to come here, something like a hog attractant.

If you want to attract wild pigs, you’ll need a five gallon bucket and the cover. You’ll need the bucket to hold the corn that you are going to ferment, in order to attract the pigs. You can buy them new at any of the big box home improvement stores, or scrounge them up from a restaurant or painters. All they need is a quick clean-up, nothing more than a good hosing out.

Pull out your trusty drill, and a three quarter inch spade bit. Drill a series of evenly spaced holes around the side of the bucket between the rim and the section that the handle is secured to. Eight to twelve holes are sufficient. The plastic will get stuck to the tip of the drill bit. Remove it before drilling the next hole.

Now the fun part! Stop by the feed store and get yourself a fifty pound sack of whole corn. Wink at the girl at the register if she looks at you a little funny. Now stop by the supermarket and get five pounds of sugar. Somewhere around the baking section you’ll find the yeast. Buy a strip or two. Pick up a six pack of the cheapest beer. (Kids, you really don’t need beer for the mix, but it does help get the mash fermenting, so ask Mom or Dad for help on this.) The girl probably won’t look at you funny there, but wink at her too just for good measure. If for some strange and unfathomable reason you can’t find a feed store, head down to the same home improvement store you got the bucket at, go to the bird seed aisle, and get a bag of cracked corn. You can even use cheap birdseed if you can’t find the corn. Sunflower seeds though, are no good; too much oil.

Back at home, fill the bucket about two thirds of the way with corn (or bird seed). Throw in a couple of cups of sugar. Now add enough warm water to cover the corn; stir with a stick for a couple of minutes. Now add a packet of yeast, stir well, and pop a can of beer and stir that in.Keep your mash someplace relatively warm. By the next day the corn will have sucked up most of the water, so add more water until the corn is covered again. Wild Ed, of Wild Ed's Texas Outdoors, has a lot of experience with hogs, and he suggests throwing in an additional attractant into the mix. He says, "One of the best things to pour in your corn or just on the ground to attract hogs is strawberry Jello. They love the smell of the stuff and can can smell it from a long way off."

Within a day or two the sugar, yeast, and corn will start to ferment and a sweet smell will start to waft up from the bucket. Ahhh, the sweet smell of wild hog attractant.

Setting up is easy. Find a large tree with a good wide canopy. Throw a rope over a large limb. It has to be a relatively inflexible limb that won’t move when loaded down with five gallons of fermented pig feed. Tie the rope to the handle where the bottom of the bucket is about six to eight inches off the ground. Throw in another cup of sugar, and enough corn and water to fill the bucket. This will keep it fermenting longer. Take a couple of handfuls of corn and throw them around the bucket.

If you have to rucksack this to a remote hunting area, you can carry everything dry and pre-mixed in the bucket, and lug the water separately. If there’s a pond, stream, or creek, use that and save yourself the trouble of carrying water. You will have to wait a little longer for the corn to start fermenting, but your back will thank you.

When the hogs get wind of the fermenting corn, they’ll follow their noses right to your set-up. I have had them show up in as little as four hours and sometimes it has taken a couple of weeks. If you don’t see any in five or six days, check if your mash is still fermenting; if it isn’t, dump a third of the corn out around your set-up, add a couple of more cups of sugar, and top it off with more corn and water. If it is cold, try and position the bucket where it will get some sun; paint it black if need be. Yeasts need warmth to do their job of converting starches to sugars and sugars to long chain carbohydrates.

Wild hogs are really quite smart and more than capable to figure out how to get more corn out of the bucket. They will use their snouts and tip the bucket on its side; due to the rope the bucket will tip off their snout and only a small amount of corn will drop out and onto the floor. But that’s enough to keep them very interested.

I recommend doing a little scouting in the early afternoon to check if the pigs are using your set up. When they get there, you probably don’t want to shoot right at your feeder. Somewhat unsporting there dear chap. But wild hogs are very accommodating and will almost always leave you a very clear trail from their bedding areas. It is important that you don’t walk within six feet of their track. They’ve got great noses you know! Try to parallel it until you find a convenient spot with a good shooting lane. If you want to stack the deck in your favor toss a few handfuls of corn in a six foot circle. The pigs will stop there for a few moments to gobble up the goodies you left there for them to eat. If you are taking out someone new to hunting, this is a good way to stop a pig in order to give the neophyte enough time to make a good shot.

Other animals might make use of your feeder. I have seen raccoons and ‘possum mooch corn from the feeder. The most amusing visitor I have had the pleasure to observe was a Blue Jay that knew there was corn to be had, if he could only figure out how to get it. He went ‘round and ‘round that bucket probing every hole in the perimeter. But he just couldn’t get his beak in far enough to grab the corn. I felt sorry enough for him that before we left, we put corn on the lid so that he could indulge his appetite for corn.

Another method I have used is the posthole trick. Use this in an area where you know the pigs are currently using. Start your mash a week or so before you need it. Once it is good and ready, go to your predetermined spot. Take a set of posthole diggers and dig a hole about three feet deep. Dump the contents of your bucket in the hole. It usually doesn’t take long for the wild pigs to find it and root themselves a good sized hole. Once they are using your hole, get yourself set up with a decent blind. It doesn’t have to be fancy, just don’t set it over a fire ant nest. You don’t know discomfort until you have sat on a fire ant nest. Bring a gallon of mash with you and pour it around the wallow they made. The scent will rise and the razorbacks will be on their way for breakfast or supper!

Wild hogs will normally hit open feeding spots twice daily, once at dawn and from late afternoon to dusk. They will usually hole up for the day, preferably near water, or they may continue feeding in impenetrable spots like swamps, brambles and tangles, or palmetto thickets.

When setting up a blind, take into account the wind direction. If your hog population is relatively wild and unaccustomed to regular human traffic, they will pick up any errant scent coming from you, and skedaddle or be exceedingly wary. Remember, hogs do not see very well but they can smell you from forever and a league if the wind is right. On the other hand, if you are hunting right next to the subdivision you live in, scent control is not as important and you can get away with a bit more. In that case your primary objective is to avoid alerting them to your presence. Therefore avoid stumbling around and any sudden movements.

I don’t know about the rest of the nation, but here in my neck of the woods the mast crop was phenomenal. I have seen the forest floor beneath oaks carpeted in acorns this season. Acorn fed hogs are probably the finest tasting pigs you will ever eat. As a matter of fact, hams made in the Spanish Sierras, “Jamon Serrano”, are made from free range hogs whose diet consists of a large percentage of acorns. What I am trying to say is that if you have had a very good mast year, by all means harvest a couple of young pigs for the table. If you find a big, fat, dry sow, take her and have the hams smoked, and sausage made; you can’t go wrong.

I want to reiterate that in my opinion, wild pigs, wild hog, hawg, razorback, or whatever you want to call him, are worthwhile adversaries. Not only do they make great eating, but they are an excellent introduction to big game hunting. Everyone can afford to hunt them on public lands and many private landowners, if approached properly, will allow pig hunting on their property. All you have to do is ask!

Best Regards,
Albert A Rasch
Member: Bagram Tent Club
Member: Hunting Sportsmen of the United States HSUS (Let 'em sue me.)
The Hunt Continues...


Related Posts:
Hog Sticking Raj Style! Pt I
Hog Sticking Raj Style! Pt II
Pig Sticking: Andalusia, Spain
Hogs and Dogs!