Moved to the Melbourne/Palm Bay area in December. Been here long enough now to get a FL resident hunting license. Anxious to get hooked up with someone to show me the ropes on Florida hog hunting. I also love to hunt upland birds.

Any central Florida hunters out there?

I don't live in central Fl.,but know enough about it to know that there is some GREAT hog huntin' down there.Reccomend that you look into joining a hunting club. More management and generally more hogs and all around better huntin'. (read my inputs to the boar hunting thread) Good luck to you in your hog hunting. I'm not an authority on the subject but do have experiance. Any ? just ask.----pruhdlr

hi i am not really from around your area i am about 200 miles north of you but still love to hog hunt try to hunt every other night if possible me and my freinds hunt with dogs and tie hogs up and relaease if they aint what we are looking for adn if they are big enough we sell them to the big local hunting clubs. we averagely catch 200 pund hogs daily mite not be your type of hunting but if ever up this way or would like to come up this way and give it a try we always like to introduce new people to our style of hunting also if anyone on here happens to know of any places in fl that you are allowed to hunt with dogs for hogs please drop me a line always looking for new places to hunt

Well Now!........It's good to see some Florida Hog Hunters on this board!
I live in Old Town now and hunt hogs along the Gulf coastal islands and Suwannee River swamps. My brother Clay lives in Bushnell and hunts the local swamps there.
There are also some extra good Florida Wildlife Areas that offer excellent wild hogs hunting.....one of the best is Mallory Swamp. Along the Gulf Coast ......Tide Swamp. In Lower Suwannee WMA......take Dixie Mainline to mile post #5 and hunt toward the gulf.
Along the coast, full moon on Nov. 26, the hogs will be feeding on fiddler crabs next to the sea grass in the middle of the day and at night.......just follow the red hog crap! If the ponds are drying up in the swamps......hunt those. Like to man said....leave the pigs alone! Hikers get cut up each year by picking up the pretty little striped pigs! .........James

I also hog hunt and would really like to get out more. I also run dogs when hog hunting . I'm basically looking for a place where I can run my dogs and have a good time. If anyone on the board knows of places or a lease , I'd really appreciate the info.

Thanks

James Gates - awesome post! I'm new to FL hunting also and live in St. Petersburg. I'm not much into dog hunting and I see alot of people around here are into dogs although I do like Evan's approach in generating some revenue with them! I'm more of a spot and stalk guy and have a hard time finding much infomation on techniques associated to hogs and this kind of hunting. I've seen stuff on hogs in CA but the terrain is so different. James, look for me on the 26th, I'll be the new guy! Thanks for the awesome post.

ELKLOCO, I live and hunt the inland swamps of the Escambia River in NW FLA. We are strickly spot-and-stalk OR jump shoot hog hunters. We hunt mostly the areas of the Escambia River Water Management Unit where dogs aren't allowed. We have found that running dogs WILL ruin it for the spot-and-stalk hunters.(I have nothing against the hunters that want to use dogs as long as they stay in the areas that allow dogs.) We hunt some areas that do allow dogs and we have mutual respect for those hunters. Alot of our hunting is done by shallow draft "swamp boat". We use a trolling motor to quietly slip up the small streams and canals to catch the hogs on the banks in the morning sun or just before dark. It is legal to have a loaded firearm in the boat and to shoot from the boat.(as long as the boat is not moving) Our shots usually are close and fast. We use small carbine types of rifles or pistols. Something that cuts a big hole is reccommend.( 44 or 45 cal) The hogs up here aren't the 400+ pounders but they can get to be 300. I shot a 250 two years ago. The typical is 80-150 pounds. They aren't extreamly hard to put down. The major rule to follow is SHOT PLACEMENT. If we can't put one on his shoulder we pass up the shot. We don't shoot sows with unweened piglets either. These are our ways of hunting. We respect all hunters as long as they hunt legally and ethically. Any ??? just ask. GOOD LUCK and GOOD SHOOTIN'----pruhdlr

Thanks pruhdlr - great tips! I do have a few questions:
1. Shot placement on a hog - is it behind the shoulder or through the shoulder? I've read about people shooting behind the ear? I'm going with a friend who needs to borrow a rifle so I'll have access to both my .308 win and my 7mm rem mag, either should be able to travel through a hogs shoulder I would imagine. My .308 is a Savage 99c lever action with iron sights. I think this would be a great gun for this type of hunting. Just wondering if I'm trying to push bone through with the bullet or if the vitals sit behind the shoulder.
2. Are you, or anyone else reading this, familiar with the Kissimmee River PUA? I have a friend with a boat I think would be good for this type of hunting - it's one of those GNOOU (I'm not spelling it right but it's a wide bottom canoe).
3. I'm not sure how to gut a hog and am not finding much information on it. Do you gut on the spot and carry the whole pig out when in a boat?

Thanks in advance for your input!

I was reading pruhdlr's posts on another thread about gun chicoes for hogs. Now I'm starting to rethink my choices on the rifles I have. Maybe, just maybe I need a new rifle...

I'm thinking maybe a Henry Big Boy in 44 mag. I held this rifle in a store one day and thought it felt awesome. Anybody here shooting this rifle today?

Reading another of pruhdlr's posts I see that shot placement is through the shoulder. Looks like we have three posts on boar hunting goign on here in the Southeast Hunting section.

Thanks pruhdlr - great tips! I do have a few questions:
1. Shot placement on a hog - is it behind the shoulder or through the shoulder? I've read about people shooting behind the ear? I'm going with a friend who needs to borrow a rifle so I'll have access to both my .308 win and my 7mm rem mag, either should be able to travel through a hogs shoulder I would imagine. My .308 is a Savage 99c lever action with iron sights. I think this would be a great gun for this type of hunting. Just wondering if I'm trying to push bone through with the bullet or if the vitals sit behind the shoulder.
2. Are you, or anyone else reading this, familiar with the Kissimmee River PUA? I have a friend with a boat I think would be good for this type of hunting - it's one of those GNOOU (I'm not spelling it right but it's a wide bottom canoe).
3. I'm not sure how to gut a hog and am not finding much information on it. Do you gut on the spot and carry the whole pig out when in a boat?

Thanks in advance for your input!

Vitals are BETWEEN the shoulders! Don't shoot behind unless you can angle the bullet steeply forward. Mostly guts behine the shoulder.

In heavy brush, do your very best to break a shoulder. Make them a LOT easier to find. Remember, hogs are easy to kill, but real hard to find if they run off. Try to break as many bones as possible to drop them in their tracks.

If you have the time to take a head or neck shot, great. Just be prepared to give them another if they aren't quite dead yet.

Have fun and good luck. Don't use any bullets with plastic tips!!!!! If in doubt, get the heaviest round-nose for the caliber you can find. Hog hunting is usually a short-range proposition, anyway.

Federal Premium load with the Nosler Partition (read the box carefully!) won't let you down. Failsafe, etc., should be fine too.

Oh, yes, and gut as soon as you can, especially in the warm-weather states. Same as a deer, throw away the parts you don't plan on eating :D If you've never gutted any large game animal, might want to sit down and talk to someone how has, kinda hard to describe on the computer....

I totally agree with Mike G ref. shot placement. I had a friend that missed 3 hogs last year trying to make a head shot. PUT IT ON HIS SHOULDER !! I think that you'll find that a high velocity bullet will do far too much meat damage. Unless you really have to I would suggest that you don't use the 308,30-06,7Mag.,type calibers. They will kill the hog but they will do far more meat damade than you want. The first time that you see a 120 pounder shot through both tenderloins with a 150gr. 30-06 you will sit down and cry. Like Mike G sez,have some way to cool the meat ASAP. We carry coolers with us or leave them at camp. Also,don't know if you know it or not,but wild hogs aren't the dirty,stinky animals that allot of people think that they are. Sure they are muddy,but for the most part they are clean inside. I have found none with any kind of internal disease. Unless you plan on doing some spot and stalk hunting in the vast citrus groves of south Fla.,my opinion is,stick with the wide,heavy,"slow"moving bullets. A fairly hot 44mag,45LC,loaded down 45-70,anything that starts off big will usually cut a big wound channel but wont ruin much meat if it's not moving too fast. Also remember that I'm talking about the average hog,not the ones that are farm/ranch raised in south Fla. to be managed and released by the hunting/guide services. These can be 600-700+ pounds. Also,Mike G was right on ref. putting the hog down. Where i hunt we don't/can't use dogs and if the hog runs 30yds. you might not be able to find it.(THICK-THICK-THICK) Like a bear,all of a hogs vital organs are between those thick,massive shoulders. If you hit anywhere behind the shoulder the hog will die,the ? is WHERE. Also when you put one on his shoulder,not only the bullet causes shock but so do fragments of bone. I've found pieces of shoulder almost as big as your thumb on the far side of the hog after being hit by my hot loaded 44mag carbine.( Marlin 1894 Limited w/ 16" bbl.) Good luck,and Good hunting----pruhdlr

Also remember that a sow WILL protect her young. If you see 1 foot long piglets,their mom wont be very far off. If they squeel,find a tree. I've been stared down by more than one protective sow. Soon as they think that their young are safe the whole bunch will run off.----pruhdlr

If 44mag is one weapon that you are considering,take a look at the Win.94 Trapper. 16" bbl. lever.Short,quick,light. It also comes in 45LC which is equal to the 44mag. Especially if you load your own. Keep in mind though that the 44 ammo is alot more available in many more bullet weights. Most store bought 45LC ammo is loaded to very low pressure levels. There are a couple of loads that you can buy that are HOT but "your gonna pay". Marlin also makes a short light 44 or 45LC lever action. Also Rossi's Puma. Ruger also makes a 44Mag auto that takes a magazine. My hunting partner uses the old style Ruger 44 auto and he's killed alot of hogs with it. It's one of the best for very close,very fast work. He doesn't "overly" clean it and it still never fails him. Them big long guns have their place in the huntin' world,but in my opinion,not in the mostly thick tangle of Palmetto's and "wait a minute" vines that we hunt in up here in NW Fla. Good luck and any ?'s don't hesitate to ask----pruhdlr

James Gates - awesome post! I'm new to FL hunting also and live in St. Petersburg. I'm not much into dog hunting and I see alot of people around here are into dogs although I do like Evan's approach in generating some revenue with them! I'm more of a spot and stalk guy and have a hard time finding much infomation on techniques associated to hogs and this kind of hunting. I've seen stuff on hogs in CA but the terrain is so different. James, look for me on the 26th, I'll be the new guy! Thanks for the awesome post.


I still hunt and use dogs i hunt in north fl. pretty good population i hunted alot in old town also