Try this trick for more big hogs
Want more big hogs? Trick big boars into staying in your area longer so that you can get a shot at them.
Killing hogs is pretty easy if you have them in your area. Prepare a bait sight, put up a camera and pattern your hogs. But if you want to consistently put big hogs on the ground, here is a trick that can keep them in your area long enough to do so.
Be different
Looking at my early hog setups as well as those of hunters I meet, I see a common mistake that is easy to fall into. And it keeps hunters from their full potential of big hogs. We all see the videos of feeders out in the open, bringing in large groups of hogs.
Big hogs are taken off of these setups, and I am not saying it can’t be done. But changing things up and recommending the things that have worked for me has consistently put my friends and me on more big hogs, especially big boars.
Keep that feeder out in the open. It is a community feeder and keeps the group coming. Big boars like to frequent the areas that his sows feed at, and he will show up occasionally. But you should also sweeten your spot up by stacking your baits and preparing an area just for him.
Why it works for big hogs
Big boars love to feed in cover. Just like any mature game animal, cover with food is an area our game will use and use often. On the same stand you are using to watch your feeder out in the open food plot or road, clear one shooting lane into cover and place a small hanging feeder. You can also use a post hole digger to bury a mixture of corn and yeast.
I normally angle this shooting lane off to one side, approximately 30 yards from the main feeder. Mature hogs know that the open feeder is taking a huge chance at meeting their end. They become wary of the open. So they go out in the late hours or on the chance a sow is in heat and he can’t resist.
One small feeder or hole set in cover can change all of that in a big way. The large boar can come in and feed any time because he feels safe in the cover. Also, he can feed in cover and wait for the group to come to the community feeder.
Thick cover nearby will serve as his bedding area. This scenario of food in cover next to a community spot that is visited by young sows is perfect to hold boars long enough to get on him.
Prove it
I came about this trick when my camera would catch large hogs eating the small amounts of bait thrown into cover, but never came out into my openings. The smaller sows and piglets would devour the bait in the open. But the smarter hogs stayed just inside the cover. So I prepared areas just for the larger hogs and put two cameras on my one stand. The pictures were clear. The big ones loved the tighter area off the main feeder. Smaller hogs would hit my community feeder. But I would check my prepared shooting lane and consistently be on bigger hogs in that spot. That small investment in my already prepared stand put me on more large hogs, and more often.
Digging a 2-foot hole and adding bait cost me just one bag of corn and a packet of yeast. I placed the cheapest trail camera I could get on the side bait. And I noticed that it produced way more large hogs than my open spot. This small investment had a huge return.
Try this tip and you’ll be rewarded. A little bit of time and effort in cutting a new smaller shooting lane with a hole setup with one more cheap trail camera is a small cost that can bring big rewards.
For more tips and tactics on hunting hogs and coyotes, click here.
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