Why Wild Hogs Are the Perfect Bowhunting Quarry

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The pig was close, almost too close. Although he acted nervous as he gobbled up corn around the feeder, he trusted his eyes to warn him of any danger within striking distance and his nose and his ears to warn him of anything approaching from farther away. He had probably been here many times before and avoided any negative consequences.

The problem this time was that I was sitting motionless above in a Millennium stand, and the wind was in my favor. I was testing out a new Wasp Sharpshooter CBW broadhead, and I knew my light recurve was more than enough to kill the pig. But I also knew it was doubtful my arrow would pass through. That’s exactly where the broadhead would come into play. You see, CBW stands for “cuts both ways,” as the main blades and bleeder blades are sharpened on the back edges as well, allowing the head to cause hemorrhaging on the way in and the way out. So, I was not only excited to take some free-range pork back home to Colorado. I was also excited to see how the CBW head was going to perform.

When the pig finally turned, giving me a slightly quartering-away shot, I drew my recurve’s bowstring to anchor while staring at the spot I wanted my arrow to go. In a blur of motion, from my arrow striking to the pig whirling to run from the unnatural sound, I saw what I was looking for. My arrow buried deep into the pig’s ribs, angling forward toward the opposite shoulder.

The elevation from the treestand and a good wind allowed me to put some meat in the cooler. Although treestands are a great way to hunt hogs, my favorite way to pursue pigs is spot-and-stalk. Even if being in a tree is advantageous, it is just more fun to try and sneak into bow range. I use a 10X rangefinding binocular so I can spot the pigs from a distance and move into position for a stalk with the wind in my favor. The rangefinding feature is crucial, as it’s easy to misjudge yardage in the thick brush down South. As I’m closing in on a group of hogs, I’ll often range a nearby tree or bush, so I don’t overshoot my target or accidentally stalk too close on a group of hogs that is obscured by tall grass or palmettos.

Pigs are arguably the perfect bowhunting quarry and undoubtedly one of my favorite critters to chase with a bow. They are plentiful across the South, with states such as Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama, Louisiana, and Texas being among my favorite hog-hunting destinations.

The cost of guided hog hunts, as well as self-guided, private-land hunts where you simply pay a daily trespass fee, is super reasonable relative to what you’d pay for an outfitted deer or elk hunt. There are also many excellent public-land hog-hunting opportunities in all the states I mentioned. I have killed hogs on guided hunts, trespass-fee hunts and public-land hunts. All of these have their own appeal.

For example, public land is the cheapest option, but I usually have to burn up a day or two covering a lot of ground scouting to find pigs. There may also be a long hike in, depending on where you go, and then you have to coordinate packing the meat out yourself and getting it cooled down quickly, which isn’t always easy to do in the extreme Southern heat. I stay prepared by keeping a large cooler filled with ice in the back of my truck.

Guided hunts can make things much easier but are more expensive than a DIY hunt. I often go with Gopher Plantation down in Georgia, because it’s usually only $450-$775 a day, depending on what type of hunt you want, and includes food and lodging. I also have been on a lot of pigs every time I go, so I know the odds of my getting a shot and bringing home some pork chops is high.

For public land, my favorite state is Florida. But that may be because I have taken a lot of hogs on public land there. If you go public on a DIY hog hunt, bring a good knife and a whetstone. Or, you can cheat like I do and bring an Outdoor Edge knife with some replacement blades, because pigs dull knives in a hurry thanks to their coarse hair and thick hides. They often get covered in mud, and cutting through that will dull your knife’s edge really quickly.

Lastly, don’t miss out on taking all the meat. I love a fat, wild hog for an amazing meal, and the 60-100-pound hogs are my favorites. I like to smoke bigger hogs to make pulled pork. With smaller hogs, I like to cook them in a Dutch oven or on a pellet grill, leaving the fat on for even more flavor. Just make sure you cook your wild pork to an internal temperature of at least 170 degrees to ensure you kill any trichinella spiralis, a roundworm parasite often found in pork. This is why it is also recommended to wear rubber gloves when cleaning wild hogs.

Don’t let these precautions scare you off from wild hog hunting though, as it’s a ton of fun and some of the best tasting game meat you’ll ever eat!

For more information, visit fredeichler.com, and don’t miss Fred’s new show, “Everything Eichler,” every Sunday at 12:30 p.m. on Sportsman Channel.

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