Any of you hog hunters ever used the scent sticks that Cabela's sells? I went on a bear hunt in Alberta where a guy told me that the berry sticks brought in bears from all over the year before but that he couldn't find them at his local sporting store the year I was there - BTW he said the 12 miles of dead fish one brought in no bears. Thumbing through the Cabelas catalog I see they have these scent sticks and two "flavors" for hogs. Think they might help?

How about calls - I bought 2 hog calls - a grunt and a squeal and I think they sound pretty good - anybody use them or have an opinon on them?

Never used the scent sticks so can't say. Be carefull what you use to attract hogs. Remember,on WMA land(at least the ones that we hunt in NW Fla.) "it is illegal to hunt over bait or place any bait or other food for wildlife". Now the ? is ,where does your local warden stand in defineing "bait" and "scent"? What we did was talk to the warden that patrols the areas that we hunt. He told us that anything that can or possibly could be eaten by a hog was bait and it was illegal. A scent or an attractant of some kind would (I suppose) be ok. We do not use any bait but we do use scent attractants. To stay away from the "GRAY AREA" we use a couple of the scents from Boar Hunter Magazine.(www.boarhuntermagazine.com) We use both the Sow-In-Estrus and the Dominant Boar scents. This magazine is excellent for info related to hog hunting. Have you had the distinct pleasure of being in usually the thickest part of the swamp and all of a sudden you get a wiff of the absolutely muskiest odor that you could ever have the pleasure of smelling??? That is a dominant(or so he thinks)boar that is marking his territory. The smell is as if you took a quart of urine and boiled it down so it was as thick as jello then spread it on a Palmetto leaf. I can almost smell it just by talking about it. This is the smell that we "love to hate". Boars,especially the larger more dominant ones, are usually loaners but they are always ready for two things----FIGHTIN' and SEXIN'. This scent will usually draw them and/or hold them in an area as long as you don't spook them out. We use the scent very spareingly. I have all the calls also. The squeel may work although I can't say that it has ever worked for me. I guess that your just supposed to walk into the woods and start squeeling and the sows come-a runnin'. Actually I have done that and didn't see any hogs. The grunt,on the other hand, we always have around our neck, or close by, for certin occasions. I've been walking along and come apon a hog that can't quite figure out if he has seen,or herd a human. They stop what they're doing very quickly and stand there very still as if trying to figure out weather they are going to run or disregard the sight or sound. This is the time to use the grunter very quietly(lowest volume that you can blow). It seems to either put them at ease or maybe make them think that it is another hog. You can only get away with this once though. Also remember that a hog ALWAYS believes his nose. If he smells you nothing will work---he's gone. We also use the grunter if we are going down a small lake w/ the trolling motor very quietly and we hear what we think could be a hog on the bank. This will sometimes bring him to the edge of the water so we can get a shot. Again,if he smells you, nothing works. What kind of weapon will you be using for hogs? Is the area that you will be hunting very thick? ----GOOK LUCK and GOOD HUNTIN" Any other ?'s just ask.-----pruhdlr

Never tried calls. I've heard some reliable reports that a tape called "Feral Hog Feeding Frenzy" will bring them in sometimes, and if so, a dominant boar looking to fight.

Heard of a lot of scents / attractants, but mostly we just use shelled corn here. If you brew beer or know someone who does, the waste grain and yeast gunk from the bottom of the barrel seems real tasty to them, but honestly, I think anything edible is tasty to a hog, and edible covers a lot of ground. :D

Since baiting is a no-no where you are, then you might also look for 'hog in heat' scent, try www.texasboars.com and they should be able to get you some. I haven't shot a hog over it myself, but I've gotten some credible reports back. Mostly it seems to be a good way to get a large boar into a trap! They're smart so that says something.

I've also been downwind of hogs and smelled the powerful odor.... whew! Not going to replace Chanel #5 anytime soon, that's for sure. :eek:

Would imagine it's about the same as being up close and personal with a herd of javelinas upwind from you. There's no doubt when you're in close proximity! :eek:

Would imagine it's about the same as being up close and personal with a herd of javelinas upwind from you. There's no doubt when you're in close proximity! :eek:

The hogs smell slightly better than the javelinas, but I'd hate to live on the difference.

Well, believe it or not my original thought was that I'd hunt hogs with my 7mm rem mag. I envisioned wide open fields with 150 yard shots - then I just went for some walks around the local parks here and put a couple of posts on the board and found out that while I love my 7mm it's just not going to be a Florida gun for me, decided my .308 wouldn't be right either so took the advice of alot of folks here and picked myself up a nice lever gun, Marlin 1894 CBC in 45LC. Just received 2 different kinds of Buffalo Bore ammunition that I plan to use on the piggys.

That should work great! Let us know how the hunting goes.

Made my first two handgun kills with a .45 Colt Bisley Blackhawk, and a cast 335gr. bullet. Dropped 'em both in their tracks, literally. :D

Since hunting wild hogs in Florida is my favorite, I find the posts on this thread interesting. Wild hogs have taken over the hardwoods and low lands of Florida. These hog range from 1st generation feral hogs (semi-tame) to the real tusker 5th and above generation.
For the most part, these real tuskers are deep in the swamps and seldom come out. What is seen most are the relative tame feral hogs. These can still cut you up though!
Over on Dixie Slugs, I talk about shotguns with both rifled and smoothbore barrels.......and their use in the heavy cover found in Florida hog country.
What is needed is a fast handling short gun pushing a hard bullet running on the heavy side. A scoped rifle is fine if you are in a tree stand.......but has no place if you are down in the cover with a big boar hog!..........James

ELCLOCO, Perfect for the areas that you will be trudgeing through down there. There are several company's that make a excellent load in 45LC. As long as you stay on the HOT side the weapon will do a fine job. James would know better than myself,but you might run into some of the "big boys" down in your neck of the woods.(A big hog up here would be 250 lbs.) The big,heavy hardcast is how I'd go. Hey,start reloading and you"ll have plenty of choices of bullets. I really don't think that you"ll be able to hand load any hotter than Buffalo Bore though. I've chrono"ed the BB and the Cor-Bon and they both are very fast,in some cases faster than they advertise. Also your 7 mag. would do way too much meat damage. You made a great chioce now go HANG-EM-UP.------pruhdlr

Ditto on the heavy 45 LC, as with the .44 Mag with 265 gr TCW (my favorite).......But above all, be sure they feed perfect every time! The last thing you need (or would have) would be a tangled up mis-feed when the hair gets short!.....James

That brings up a great point because I headed to the range today and was pretty frusterated with the results of Marlin. First, my sights just aren't good enough out to 100 yards, especially for fast aquisition that might have to come on a follow up shot, second, both of the BB rounds (300gr JFN at 1350 FPS & 260gr JHP at 1450 FPS) swelled up so hot that I couldn't eject them for almost 20 seconds - I'm pretty sure the brass was just running so hot that it swelled and then I had to wait for it to cool a bit before I could cycle the round - the more I worked the 260 gr JHP through it the better it ran but I'm pretty sure that's because the barrel was hot - not a situation I'll have in the field. Need I be worried here? I'm thinking I am. What are my options on ammo - I was really counting on the BB to be my go round for hogs.

My opinion on accuracy: Don't get me wrong,better is better but,I put up a 6" white pie plate and see from what range can I hit it EVERYTIME. Remember that you've purchased a "speciality" weapon. The 45LC was designed to put BIG chunks of lead,on CLOSE RANGE targets,VERY FAST ,with ACCEPTABLE ACCURACY. Mostly I use a Marlin 1894 "Limited",with a 16" bbl.,in 44mag. I slicked up the action a little and added a Tasco Optima red dot sight. With this particular weapon I shoot 240gr. XTP's. This is all that i need for the hogs that we have up here. Three years ago I killed a 250 pounder and the bullet hit him just behind the shoulder(i had a quartering away shot) and shattered the far shoulder coming out. Don't know 'bout your area but the average hog up here weighs 120 lbs. The fartherest shot that I have had was 40 yds. Most are alot closer. On more than several occasions I have come around a bend in the main river and seen a hog standing on the bank at 200+ yds. On those occasions we fade over to the far side of the river and just keep going,not changing the outboard RPM. We go up a quarter to a half mile and cut the engine. Then we use the trolling motor to come back. We feel that the hogs are used to boats so all they do is just step into the woods and wait for the boat to go by then come back out. "Need I be worried"? Heck yeah !! I would be. Your weapon is designed for fast follow up shots. IT MUST BE ABLE TO DO JUST THAT !! If it is a new weapon the chamber might need a little (and only a little) fine polishing. I used a small felt pad with some very fine jewlers rouge. All my weapon took was just a little. If the extraction is(was) that hard,I feel your problem was not with "swelling brass". The BB ammo is hot but still to SAMMI specs. Some of the other guys in these forums would know the "fix" to your problem better than I. Sights: There are a multitude of aftermarket sights available for your particular weapon. I use the red dot for several reasons,one being that my eyesight is not so good these days. The Optima is always on,the dot brightness is controlled by the ambiant light,it's very small,very light and very accurate.(TRU-GLO also makes a sight now that is very similar. I just bought three of them)----- GOOD SHOOTIN'----pruhdlr

I appreciate the comment on 40 yards - I'm pretty solid at such a range regardless of the sights, still I'll be looking into some other sights. I can catch the bead in my field of view quickly but the poorly painted white diamond on the rear is really my problem.

Back to hogs - I've read many posts and articles about "jumping" hogs without any real good explanation. Is this a hog drive? Do you scare them out of hiding and hope you can shoot them down before a serious calf injury should you happen to corner one (the cape buffalo of Florida!) and try and drop them before their out of range if they decide to make a run for it?
I really like the boat techinique and am looking at some jon boats (assuming the jon boat will make a decent craft for this type of hunting). But outside of a treestand - because I can't sit like a statue very long - what are my best land techiniques? Ground blinds? Spot and stalk? This "jumping" thing?

We do mostly "stalk" hunting. To us,that is walking very slowly(sneaking & peeking) through a patch of very thick saw palmetto's and cane(bamboo). Very slowly means just that. It will sometimes take us an hour to go 100 yds. But remember that a hundred yds. in the THICK stuff is a long ways. That involves alot of standing still and listening. A hog will sound like a gray squirrel on the ground. They don't do much thrashing around. Even when they are going somewhere they move pretty quietly. Most of the time we see the palmettos or cane moving before we see the hog or hogs. I say "hogs" cuz there could be a whole bunch(sounder) of them. I've seen as many as 8 all together. It's usually a couple of mature sows with some 5 to 12 month olds. Remember that a mature sow can breed as many as three times per year. But usually twice. We do not shoot a sow that has piglets. Especially if we think that they may not be weaned. This year in our area there is no size limit or bag limit but we will stick to our own rules of 15" at the shoulder and one per day per person. I will shoot 2 at a time but we will go home after that (if there is just two of us). We usually kill 6-10 hogs per year and the average distance is 30-40 feet. I have jumped hogs from their beds close enough to spit on them. They will hold tight sometimes thinking that you will walk on by them. I ALWAYS wear snake boots,even on the cold days. They come up to just under my knee so that would be some protection from being cut by a fast moving hog. I was hit by a Cottonmouth last season,just above the right ankle so I am a big believer in snake boots. Remember that a sow WILL protect her young. I've been stared down by more than one angry sow. They remind me of bear.(I was a guide in Maine for 16 years.) I have never used a ground blind. I find that if you find a good place to sit with some dark growth in back of you they cant see you.(But you gotta remember the wind) It's important to us to find the beds. They are small circles of shreaded palmettos,cane,or other vegatation. Usually only 3-4 feet in diameter. You can easily tell how freash they are because the type of vegatetion that they use will turn brown and wilt very fast. If it is still green it was made yesterday. Hogs will use these beds more than once and will usually keep adding to the vegatation. Now all you have to do is find where they are feeding. We do some of this but I'm not big on sitting for long periods of time either. We mostly watch the beds that we find on the banks of the small lakes. More later----pruhdlr

pruhdlr - If you start fair chase guiding for hogs make sure I get an email!

I'm with you on the no sows with piglets rule. I stalked a huge sow balck bear in northern Alberta in May only to come within 50 yards and when starting the rifle to my shoulder see two little soccer ball size cubs come bumbling out of the brush - pigs or bears, if the young aren't old enough to move on I couldn't take the shot.

Great tip on the beds & the boots!

I know we talked about calls in an earlier post but I'm wondering if a hog answer a "quiet" grunt just to let other hogs know their in the area or might they respond to a predator call in the early evening. Have you tried either of these when stalking?

The problem with any calls that you use is that the game that your hunting knows exactly where your(the sound) at as soon as you let er rip. Can't say that I have tried predator calls for hogs. I will say that I probably have every call that is made(I also guided coyote hunters) and there are some great ones. Most of the calls sound like a dying something or another and I'm not sure that would entice a hog. Hog squeeler: I have never been able to blow a squeeler to make the same sound that I've herd a hog make. Most of the hog squeels are higher pitched than I can make with a call. FYI- all hogs squeel for one reason or another so you can't tell how big or what sex your hearing. Maybe with more experiance than I have you could. I've also tried grunting w/o seeing a hog just to try to get one to come to me. That has never worked for me. DOGS: We used to hunt the areas that dogs were used to hunt hogs. We would spend countless hours scouting a area before season,finding bedding areas,wallows,good sources for food and shelter. Opening morning here would come several dogs down through the areas that you were going to hunt. I respect dog hunters but the spot and stalk hunters can't use the same areas. We started hunting the "no dogs allowed" areas with much more success. Running dogs will change everything. Again,I have nothing against dog hunting but you surely can't stalk those areas. If you start hunting areas where it's legal to bait let me know.I have some great ways of enticeing hogs to an area. Hope that you make out ok w/ your new weapon. Remember that if your hunting the real thick stuff your shots will not be long but WILL be quick. If you kill a pig,take a few minutes to stop and listen(after you cycle the action) you just might here another hog trying to slip away. I've had them just stand there for several minutes after I just killed their brother.----GOOD HUNTIN'----pruhdlr

Jump shooting hogs(or anything else) to me means that ; you surprise the animal,it jumps up to run and you empty your gun at it. I had some sports that hunted with me in Maine that did just that. I have had more hogs than I can count on both hands run from"just under my feet". I WILL NOT SHOOT AT A RUNNING HOG! Maybe if I was starving. I prefer to take a well placed shot. We all have to live with ourselves after the hunt is over. I will swing on a hog very fast though. Thats why i believe in having a very short,very light little gun that delivers alot of firepower. Another one of my guns is a Puma .454 Casull,16" bbl.,stainless. The gun weights UNDER 6 lbs. One of the reasons that I always reccommend a small leaver gun is the amount of ammo that it will hold. Usually 7,8,or 9,rounds. That it a comforting feeling when you feel that your surrounded by pork. You could(i have) walked into a area that is full of hogs. All of a sudden all the palmettos all around you start moving. You know that there's a whole bunch of sausage under your feet but you can't determine the ones that will cut you from the ones that you could kill by stepping on. WHAT A RUSH !! Who needs drugs when you can have that. Almost like bear hunting from a ground blind. We also use pistols for hogs. Stay with the larger calibers shooting the heaver bullets. More on that later. -----STAY OFF THE RIDGELINE----pruhdlr

ok, never mind Chassahowitzka - just pulled this line from a hunting forecast forthat WMA "There are virtually no hogs on this WMA".

Update on the hunting forecast for that region"Historically, there were virtually no hogs on this WMA, however in the past 2 years the hog harvest has increased significantly and could be one of the better hog hunting areas in the northern portion of the Southwest region. "
I guess it all depends on which website I read.

Yea, I understand that. Looking at the map it looks as if it might be a wet area to hunt.(too wet to walk and too dry for a boat) I'd be a little apprehansive of something that said that it had virtually no hogs,then in 2 years it was one of the best areas for hogs. In 2 years ??? How far is the town of Chassahowitzka from where you live? There is a public boat ramp in that town and if you run W down the river less than a half a mile there is two creeks that go to the R (North). The first one seems to have some high ground on the E bank.(looking at TerraServer. You gonna have to do some exploreing.-----pruhdlr

65 miles for me to Chassahowitzka - not too bad. I've spent some time today looking at some other WMA,s one here in the central, Green Swamp, and a number of them in the south that would allow me to go hunting next weekend! I'll be looking into these a little more becasue they are large and have considerable amounts of water.

I'll tell ya--if I were you, I'd do the water/boat thing. I shouldn't cost you much to get into a "starter boat". STARTER BOAT= a boat just big enough to make you want a bigger/better boat. Remember that you can use the boat for real inland lakes also. Find a lake situated so that the far shore in pretty much unaccessable to walking hunters because of a swamp,river,private paper company property,etc. Take your boat and go to the far side and you'll pretty much have the area to yourself. We used to do that in Maine and it would yield us some good deer and bear. You can also use the trolling motor to hunt the banks like you would a river. I'll email w/ more info.----pruhdlr