May 24, 2014
By Tony J. Peterson
All animals demand pursuit-specific products, and feral pigs are certainly no exception. From their ability to shed poorly placed arrows to their annoying tendency to respond to even minimal hunting pressure by going completely nocturnal, hogs are worthy of some gear consideration.
Since most archery pig hunts are conducted next to a feeder or water hole from a blind or stand, most hog-related products involve ambush scenarios. This brings to the forefront the issue of drawing pigs in and then being able to shoot effectively in low light, or worse, no light. Fortunately the hunting industry has heard our complaints and has delivered on a litany of products that will benefit anyone looking to mix arrows and oinkers.
Following are the 10 best products for ensuring that your sit isn't in vain, and that by the night's end you've collected a fresh cooler-full of ''the other white meat .''
Black Gold Premium Bowsights Ascent Ambush Seven-pin sights are great for mule deer country, but don't do much for most hog hunters besides offering a cluttered sight window. If you're planning to sit on a feeder, wallow or water hole for pigs, a single-pin sight set to the exact distance you believe your shot will be is a much better bet. A great option for this scenario is the
Ascent Ambush from Black Gold Premium Bowsights.
An extremely bright, vertical, .019-inch pin along with an oversized adjustable level make this sight a perfect choice for low light hog shooting. To further enhance your ability to make the shot, the Ascent Ambush features a PhotoChromatic Shell that changes colors with available light and is 2X or 4X lens adaptable.
Price: $ 219
Cabela's Predator Den Ground Blind Pigs are not known for standing still and posing for shots like some big game animals. Their erratic movements combined with shot angles like those found while treestand hunting can complicate a pig hunt and lead to lower odds shots. Knowing this, feeder hunters should consider ground blinds whenever possible.
Blinds like
Cabela's Predator Den Ground Blind are perfect given their large 75- by 75-inch footprint, 67-inch center height, and multiple, bowhunter-friendly shooting ports. Weighing just a shade over 19 pounds, each Predator Den Ground Blind comes standard with brush strips at the top and bottom to add vegetation for added concealment when dealing with ultra-weary hogs.
Price: $ 200
Evolved Habitats C More Hogs Finding areas hogs frequent can be difficult and time consuming, however creating a place that hogs want to visit can be pretty easy thanks to
C More Hogs from Evolved Habitats.
This product can be used in several different ways from souping up an existing wallow to creating a new wallow, or by adding it to bait in a feeder to draw hogs in from all of your neighbors' properties. C More Hogs can also be dumped directly onto rotting logs and stumps to draw pigs in for easy bow shots.
Price: $ 9
Evolved Habitats Hog Wild Pigs being, well pigs, will usually not turn down a free meal of any sort, however they will really go nuts if that free meal is sweetened up a couple of notches. This is why so many diehard hog hunters use
Evolved Habitats Hog Wild to enhance corn, or simply on its own.
Hog Wild offers the flavor of crushed berries and molasses, and can be used directly on bare dirt if you don't have the time or money to run a feeder. If you do plan to add it directly to corn or other grains, a four-pound bag will cover up to 250 pounds making this a low-cost method for super-charging your bait.
Price: $ 9
Flextone Game Calls Hog Squealer Nothing can get a bowhunter's heart racing like an animal responding to a call, which has driven a strong market in the elk, whitetail and turkey world. Hog hunters, on the other hand, haven't had too many opportunities to try to vocally communicate with nearby boars and sows.
Fortunately, the folks at Flextone Game Calls have created the
Hog Squealer that effectively draws in pigs of all shapes and sizes by creating a hog-in-distress sound. This easy-to-use call works equally well for short-range calling sequences or longer range, reach-out-and-touch them sequences.
Price: $ 10
Moultrie 15-Gallon Directional Feeder If you're going to invest the money into a feeder, it's best to look into companies that have not only been around a long time, but also originated in the south. Alabama-based Moultrie Products meets both criteria and their
15-Gallon Directional Feeder is a great choice for the budget-conscious, do-it-yourself hog hunter.
Operating off of a 6-volt battery, the 15-Gallon Directional Feeder can be set with an internal timer to feed up to six times per day to ensure your piggies are easily patterned.
Price: $ 70
Moultrie Feeder Hog Light If you've never sat in the pitch black waiting for the telltale grunts, squeals and oinks of approaching hogs, then you've missed out on one of the strangest and coolest experiences a bowhunter can have outside of a trip to the Dark Continent. One downside to hog hunting at night is, of course, the night and all of the lost visibility that comes with it.
To remedy this, Moultrie has created the
Feeder Hog Light , which is designed to mount to the bottom of most of their feeders. Illuminating an area of up to 30 feet in diameter, the Feeder Hog Light can be activated several different ways and is perfect for mid-summer hogs or heavily pressured hogs that have gone nocturnal.
Price: $ 50
Carbon Express LAUNCHPAD Illuminated Precision Nocks Whether you sit the overnight shift for hogs or just happen to catch a sounder of them at last light, you should know where your arrow ends up. Lighted nocks like
Carbon Express' LAUNCHPAD are bright and reliable enough to guarantee you'll know exactly where your point-of-impact is and how to follow-up, which is important on all game animals but absolutely crucial on tough critters like feral hogs. Weighing only 18.5 grains, the release-activated LAUNCHPAD nocks will fit a litany of carbon arrow shafts ranging in internal diameter from .244 through .246 inches.
Price: $ 30
Rage X-treme 125 Hogs vary greatly in size, and even the difference between shooting a sow and a boar can expose shortfalls in shooting equipment. Smaller pigs are easy enough to penetrate, however larger hogs can be a nightmare should your arrow miss its intended mark by even four or five inches. For example, take a quartering away shot and slip it behind the shoulder and you'll likely hear a long squeal followed by the hog expiring within seconds. Shoot forward into the shoulder, shield, or both, and you're likely to watch that boar run into the brush to never be seen again.
Because of this, it's necessary to find a broadhead that offers a large cutting diameter with a bit of extra weight for added momentum. In other words, check out the
Rage X-treme 125 , which offers a 2.3-inch cutting diameter in a 125-grain package, that is perfect for large wound channels and sufficient penetration.
Price: $ 45
Rivers Edge Treestands Bowman If you've got a feeder set up, or perhaps a well-used trail leading into a field of barley where the hogs are wreaking havoc each night, a treestand might be your best bet. More bowhunters than ever are opting for ladder stands these days in just such situations, largely because there are some great offerings now available.
One of those happens to come your way via Rivers Edge Treestands. Their
Bowman Ladder Stand is over 19' feet tall, weighs 64 pounds, and offers a roomy 17- by 24-inch platform. To ensure you can get a shot off without clanging your bottom cam on metal, each Bowman is designed with minimal materials and open front so that you can stealthily maneuver into shooting range no matter which direction the hogs approach from.
Price: $ 170
