The Hog Blog

Here’s another hog hunting tip for you. 

There’s a long-running myth that hogs have really bad eyesight.  I fell into it for a long while myself.  But the truth is, they can see fairly well.  Now I don’t put their eyesight on par with the vision of elk or deer, but hogs are NOT blind. 

The thing is, from my experience, they just don’t rely all that much on their vision.  They can see ok when they’re trying, but they seem to rely mostly on their incredible sense of smell to alert them of danger.   Also, when spooked, they seem to run blindly.  This is the source of many “charging boar” stories, as a spooked hog will often run right back toward a hunter until it realizes he’s there.  If the hog gets too close, it may go onto the offensive, but usually it will swerve away at the last moment when it recognizes the danger. 

Despite all this, you can get really close to hogs if you just pay attention to the basics of stalking.  We’ve talked about playing the wind already, and that is the most critical aspect of hunting hogs.  You have to fool their noses.  Now, let’s look at not being seen.

Movement is a trigger for them, just as it is for most prey animals, but if you stand still out in the wide open, they will often ignore your presence.  I’ve been spotted by hogs moving across a canyon at well over 200 yards.  The wind was quartering across my face, and blowing pretty hard, so I am fairly certain they did not pick up my scent.  I was pretty quiet, so I am sure they didn’t hear me.  But when I moved across that open hillside, the entire herd of eight hogs froze, looked right at me, then scattered into the chaparral. 

With this in mind, it’s pretty easy to figure that camo patterns really aren’t all that critical for hog hunters, but they can help.  The key consideration is to break up your outline, as this will help hide slight movements.  Honestly, most of us could get by just fine in a pair of jeans and a checked or plaid shirt, and if you’re rifle hunting in big country, that’s really all you need.  But I do think that a decent camo pattern provides a little bit of an edge, especially if you’re going to be hunting up close and personal (e.g. bowhunting). 

Any pattern that works well in your area for deer will be fine for hogs.  I don’t like solid colors, especially white since that’s like a flag to anything with eyes from far away.  Also, avoid close, dark patterns, as these usually tend to turn the wearer into a big, dark blob, and they can also make you quite visible to game. 

I’ve learned, the hard way, that even a dark-colored hat can be a giveaway on close stalks.   Shortly after I got my new, black Stetson, I was on a bowhunt down near Hollister, CA.  I’ve hunted this place a lot, and stalked a lot of pigs there.  While I’ve had a running jinx on actually sticking an arrow into a hog there, I have been able to stalk pretty close on several occasions. 

On this trip, however, even with careful attention to the wind, the pigs kept busting me.  Finally, after one stalk to less than 20 yards on a herd of probably 15 or 20 pigs, I realized that they were seeing me.  A quick self-inspection to figure out what I was doing wrong turned up the only thing that was different from past hunts… the hat. 

A couple of hours later, I was on another good group of hogs.  This time, I dropped my hat prior to making the stalk.  In a matter of minutes I was literally in the midst of them as a group of piglets (10-20 pounders) was nosing around less than 10 feet away.  Another generation of 50-6o pounders was feeding oblviously at ten yards, and the bigger pigs, including one good 175-pound boar were mingling around inside of 20 yards.  Unfortunately, of course, with the tiny pigs literally underfoot, I couldn’t raise or draw my bow without causing a stampede.  I never did get a shot, but without that big, black hat, I had been able to crawl right into that group of hogs.  Lesson learned!

I’ve become a fan of the open patterns, like the Predator and ASAT camo.  I had my doubts about both patterns when I first saw them, but after seeing both patterns fool turkeys (the toughest test for camo, in my opinion), I decided to rely on what the animals saw rather than on what I saw.  Honestly though, it’s really not too important what camo you use.  I’ve had success in everything from blue jeans, to military surplus BDUs, as well as any number of funky new patterns.  I often mix-n-match camo too, as in the photo at the left. 

Just as for deer, I don’t believe color really makes any difference at all, as long as the pattern doesn’t blur together.  Remember that most prey animals have very limited color-vision, and most of what they see appears in shades of grey.  With this in mind, I’ve found that lighter shades seem to work best, and I’d err on the side of greys and tans over dark greens and browns for most of my California hunting.  The greens and browns may work OK in the Southeast where you’ll have more foliage.  But again, color isn’t as important as breaking up your outline.

Other important tips for getting close and not being seen include using the terrain to your advantage when stalking.  Of course, any time you have a solid object between you and the quarry, you can’t be seen.  If you can move behind hills, rocks, or below the edge of a ridgeline, use this advantage.  When you come over the hill or ridgetop, stay close to the ground.  If you’re wearing a hat, even a camo hat, take it off as the hogs will see that before you can see them. 

Start scanning as soon as your eyes clear the obstruction, because you never know if the hogs may have moved closer to your position while you were out of sight.  Move slowly, until you’ve located ALL of the animals.   Don’t get suckered into focusing only on one or two animals, as there will often be a straggler or outlying feeder that can ruin the whole stalk. 

You can (and should) use brush or trees for cover as well, but remember that everytime you move across an opening, you’re creating a flash of movement.  This flash will get you busted more often than any other thing you will do.  Think about it from your own perspective… when you’re hunting, what is the first thing you usually see when you spot game?  A flick of an ear?  The movement of a leg?  Prey animals are even better at spotting this stuff than we are.  Be very conscious of this, whether you’re hunting elk, deer, or hogs!

While you may not think you can, you can stalk feeding hogs across a wide open space also.  This is where you use the fact that they don’t often rely on their eyes to your advantage.  Hogs are loud and focused feeders.  As long as their heads are down, you can move right at them.  Go slow, and freeze the second a head comes up, even if it’s not looking directly at you.  You’d be amazed how close you can get… as long as the wind doesn’t shift.  The video below demonstrates this pretty well… even if I did blow the shot (and yes, I know I’ve posted it before, but it’s a great illustration of what I’m talking about here). 

One last consideration… hogs will often use a herd of cattle as “sentries”.   Free-ranging cattle can get pretty spooky.  While they’re not really hard to stalk, they will totally bust you if you get too close, too fast.  Hogs will feed in and around the herd, and if the cows get spooked, the hogs will be gone too.  If you spot hogs with cattle, you’ll have to ratchet up your stalking skills a notch or two, and forget about making a stalk in the open.  Rely on cover, go slow, and keep an eye on the wind.

It’s not too hard to stay out of a hog’s sight.  Just don’t fall into the trap of thinking they’re blind.   

Minimize movement.  Use cover.  And try to blend in a little.  They’ll never see you coming. 

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