Is one sex more elusive than the other

[lawdawgharris]

So I was reading some of Al’s stories and it got me to thinking about past experiences with my hog hunting compared to other disciplines. Do y’all think that one sex is more elusive than the other?

With my hog hunting I have seen both sexes be pretty creative but I would have to say that the boars seem to be the most creative in avoiding capture. We once bayed a sow that broke bay by some young dogs we had on the ground. As luck would have it, she came hauling butt over the dam of this tank (pond). She had a good jump on them and when she came over she swam straight across the middle within a couple feet of the opposite side, then swam back across and underneath some brush growing at the edge of the water and overhanging into it. Once under it, she submerged her entire body with only about an inch of her nose sticking up out of the water. Those young dogs trailed up to the waters edge and knew she had entered it but after countless circles around the water and not finding where she came out, they started getting really frustrated to the point that they were starting to lose interest. They crawled into the brush she was hiding under and all but gave up the idea and decided their noses were lying because they could not physically see her. I respected her for her intelligence but finally threw a stick in the water right next to her to flush her to continue the education of the young dogs. Boar hogs though, will do all kinds of things including sacrifice other hogs. You can bay one in his bed and if he can, he will run straight to a group. I don’t think it’s as much about safety in numbers as it is the fact that he understands that a younger, dumber hog will get caught or distract the predator enough for him to get away. I chased a boar for several years. His strategy was always the same. If he wasn’t with the group when you found him, he would be shortly. The dominant hogs usually are on the outer edge of the group and rush dogs or predators that are threatening. He wouldn’t, he stood right in the middle of them. When you sent a catch dog(s), he would stay still as to not draw attention. Other hogs would get caught, the bay would bust, and dogs would give chase to the hogs in a mad scramble. When all the other hogs and dogs were gone, he would ease off and not be seen again that day. I have seen them double back over their tracks then get down in a creek under a under cut bank. It’s impressive to watch but I would have to say that the boars are willing to do anything to survive where the sows seem to have limits as to what they will do.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[al baldwin]

Interesting read, never hog hunted. Are you able to hog hunt year round? Can you make any money catching & selling feral hogs? Is the meat as good as tame hogs? I can/t say the critters I have hunt one sex was more elusive than the other. Bobcats can get educated fast, learning how to elude the hounds. I was told by one person who hunted the coyote pens that coyotes became very wise when pursued in pens. I don/t know of any type training pens in Oregon. What state do you live in? Al

[al baldwin]

Interesting read, never hog hunted. Are you able to hog hunt year round? Can you make any money catching & selling feral hogs? Is the meat as good as tame hogs? I can/t say the critters I have hunt one sex was more elusive than the other. Bobcats can get educated fast, learning how to elude the hounds. I was told by one person who hunted the coyote pens that coyotes became very wise when pursued in pens. I don/t know of any type training pens in Oregon. What state do you live in? Al

[lawdawgharris]

Al I live in the eastern part of is still considered central Texas. Hogs are super intelligent and like the cats, after missing them once or twice they are really educated. Hogs can see things happen to other hogs and learn from it. For instance traps, they can come up on hogs in a trap that they didn’t even see the gate drop on and just from the panic of the trapped hogs, realize that inside the trap is not the place to be. They will eat bait right up to the gate and never step in. They also get wild real easy in the sense that they know when they hear a buggy or vehicle to take to the brush. If they smell or hear a load of dogs pull up, they will get up and start leaving. Helicopters can push the virgin hogs out of short brush like misquites and white brush, but the learn quick to stop and duck out. They learn to lay there in the cover and let it fly on over. As for the meat, wild pork is far better in my opinion. I like lean meat and the wild pork isn’t marbled like the domestic pork. We cook whole hams on the pit, make sausage and regular hamburger meat with it. I always heard you couldn’t eat the bigger boars but that isn’t true. If he’s in rut then leave him lay but if not, put it on ice for a week and let it bleed good (same as we do with sows and shoats) and it’s as good as the rest. Money wise you could make a little money doing some guided hunts and with some of the technology in trapping, you can make a little during the cooler months. Hogs get stressed and hot real easy so being that it’s as hot and humid as it here in the warmer times, you will lose a very large percentage trying to load them out of traps and get them to buyers. There are a few that will buy trophy boats to stock big high fence areas for people to hunt and there are also buyers for slaughter. The animals are processed and the meat is sold over seas and in places like up State New York. I’ve had opportunities to make money at it multiple times over the last 30+years. I just loved it too much to want to turn it into a job. It has a way of changing the dynamics when it becomes a have to thing. I enjoy taking people hunting and meeting them. I don’t need the money to make it right. If there was money involved I’d feel like I HAD to produce something eventful. My way, the chips fall where they may and I don’t have to fell guilty that they might not have gotten their moneys worth. I have hunted hogs that were fenced in in some high fences and some that people put there thinking that they wanted them in there. Those hogs are HARD to catch and can make a good set of dogs look a little foolish the first couple of attempts.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[al baldwin]

Thanks for the information, interesting read, sounds like hogs are more intelligent than anything I ever hunted. Bear hunt here in this steep, brushy, huge rock terrain is just plain hard dangerous work. The hunts I wrote about were all larger fat bear that covered less ground than most of the smaller, quicker & more dangerous on the dogs type bear. I have spent the entire day trying to get to bayups and never been successful in doing so, more times than I was successful. Certainly need unlimited time without other obligations any time one turns loose a good dog or dogs on a bear. Al

[lawdawgharris]

Al, two things that we don’t have here in our area are rocky, mountainous areas and alligators. Those two things sure ad a twist to hunting. The real smart people say that a hog is one of if not the smartest animals. I believe that. They are as resilient as they get as well. Most people don’t think of an athlete when they think of a hog. I can tell you the only thing they lack in athleticism is flexion. They don’t bend very well, but they can spin tighter and faster than best cutting horses out there. They can’t sprint for long periods but there isn’t anything they can’t run through and if allowed to can trot for hours. I hope to get to bear hunt in the future as well as lion hunt. I have friends that do it and come and hog hunt with me so I have a standing invitation.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk