Hog Hunting Curiosities

Hogs are among the most common games in U.S. and Canada. They are the wild descendants of domestic pigs who get free several years ago and changed their habits to survive free in the nature.

Due to their high reproduction rate, hogs population is rising continuously; currently there's an estimated population of 5-6 millions feral pigs, and the number is always going up.

Because of the aforementioned, hog hunting may be performed all year long on most of U.S. states, instead of having a season such as deer or duck.

Many hunters think that hogs can't see, but even when their visual field is limited due to the position of their eyes as well the height they are (a few inches up from the soil), hogs are not blind, instead they perceive movement very well, so when chasing hogs, being still is the key.

Once a hog is close enough, it's not difficult to shoot it down; in fact no special high caliber gun is required, being enough a .30 rifle to kill a big, old, male hog; the only thing you need to know is where to put a killing shoot and that's below the shoulder on an area located from its hoofs to a straight line up vertically to the base of the ear.

If the shoot is correctly placed it will be a killing one, even when the hog does not fall down immediately. Just track the animal and look for blood on the bushes, it won't take longer to find your game.

Finally, once you kill a hog, it's time to make a good job with the knife. First thing to do is to remove sexual organs since they tend to give the meat a particular, disgusting, penetrating odor; so remove them completely before doing anything to the edible meat.

Male hogs may weight up to 400 pounds, however feral pigs below 200 pounds tend to produce better meat cuts; so going behind young males is a plus when you are hunting for fresh meat.