Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Hog hunt advice

Live in California. Want to hunt hogs somewhat close (driving - no flying). Is Texas my best bet? And outfitters you'd suggest? Taking a first time hunter with me, and I only have a few hunts (elk and dove) under my belt.

Thanks in advance.

Jeff

Where in CA do you live? Plenty of hogs to hunt here in CA.

definitely a handful of great places to hunt out here for hogs. I can name a few good outfitters in my area. Miller Brothers expeditions. DJ Peck guide service. Hog canyon hunts or Sam McGuire Guide Service. if youre looking for public land, camp Roberts or fort hunter legit.

I'm in So Cal. I have read about Tejan - but it's more of a canned hunt.

Thanks,

Jeff

Going to be lots of places in OK,TX,LA and I’m sure others that are “canned” whether they tell you or not. Do your research if using a “guide” or hunting a ranch.

If OK isn’t too far there’s lots of public land with lots of pigs and no closed season or limit.

Hog canyon hunts, oak stone, bitterwater, camp five are all a good choice and located in some of the best pig hunting in CA.

805,
have you ever been on out the jack ranch? been trying but they book up super fast.

Most places in Texas have hogs. Many of the exotic ranches have reasonable rates for hogs and are not canned hunts but may be over a feeder. You can even helio hunt them some places but not cheaply. The YO ranch is a great place to visit and hunt. The OX, King Ranch, Nail Ranch and many others. Beware of the canned hunts there are a lot of those around.

Don't come out in the summer Oct.to May would be better. Do a search and get references.

Paradise Outfitting was doing bow hunts on Dolph Brisco's ranch, they were running close to 100% success rate, but I don't have contacts for the hunting.

Too hot now, 84 degrees at 5:00 AM. January through April be best if coming to Texas

pm sent

What do you consider a "canned" hunt? As a some have already said, if you go to TX, you will most likely be hunting over a feeder. Pigs are pretty mobile and the only reliable way to get them out of the thick stuff and into the open for a good shot is to 1) shoot them when they come to a feeder or 2) hunt them at night with a thermal. Both have their advantages, but for pure fun, a night hunt with an suppressed AR is hard to beat. You don't have to worry about the TX heat as much and when you get a sounder of 20-30 pigs in the field, you can put 5 on the ground in a hurry.

I have done several hunts with my friend Kyler Hamann. Lots of good ranches in Paso Robles/Parkfield area. All spot and stalk and a really great guy to hunt with.
http://boaring.com/Boaring_Experiences/Welcome.html

Not exactly true. Last several years hunting hogs I have not taken any over a feeder or going to one. Spot and stalk in open fields and brushy areas has produced many hogs for us. Night thermal hunting is fun, we use a handheld FLIR scout and then a LED flashlight to light them up.
Lots of fun hunts out there without having to sit a feeder.
Suppressors are great for hog hunting, I agree. Watch out for those cattle though at night.

I always have guys at work and friends from out of state wanting me to take them to shoot pigs. Trouble is I don’t generally “hunt” them. I just know everyone in about a 100sq mile area around where I live and I just shoot them where and when I see them when I’m out and about. Might go 2 months without seeing one and might shoot 12 over a weekend, just never know but stay prepared. I do have a couple spots I can usually count on where I can kick thickets and jump shoot some but it’s thick and usually doesn’t result in the melee of catching 25 of them out in the open with the AR.

And like someone else said, I wouldn’t come before October or after April or so. It’ll be hot and buggy and the vegetation will be grown up plus the pigs will be more likely to be nocturnal in the heat.

If you want to hunt in TX, I can recommend some outfitters to try. It will probably be over feeders or with dogs. Allot hunt at night if it's hot or that's when they are hitting feeders. As Hanco mentioned, it'll be allot more pleasant after deer season when it's not 100 degrees

I never really hunt them, but I trap them a good bit when I’m at the deer lease. I try not to shoot them when deer hunting, but when they come out, scare the deer away, shame on them. Same goes for Aoudads, hate those SOB’s just as much. If I took someone out to hog hunt, they would see a deer under every bush and no piggies.

FWIW,








Shot 3. Two DRT.



Never can tell what might be out there!

ya!


GWB

Iffin you want to kill pigs, come on to Texas, but as has been said several times here don't come in warm weather. It sucks. I like January and I like a feeder around. Around here if you don 't have a feeder they won't stay on your place. They'll go where there are feeders. I've got game cam pics of thousands of hogs here and all are under a feeder. Don't worry about the sport, we need to kill them down to a few million. They're taking the place over. And if you have an AR more the better. Or maybe a Garand. But it's difficult to scope an AR. Hogs aren't that hard to kill. An AR and neck and head shots will do it. Wait til there's a bunch around a feeder and open up. You can probably drop five or six like that. Me I'm lazy. I won't shoot more than two at a time. That's too much work in one haul. But then I'm old. Anyway, if you can't get on a hog in Texas you're blind and stupid. If ya can't kill one with a rifle you can hit plenty with a car.

An AR is the ticket, 62 grain Barnes bullets.