Baiting question.....

robtattoo

New Member
If a fella was to take a weekend away hog hunting an area that was unfamiliar, but known to hold good pig numbers.....would it be worth even bothering to bait?

I'm going to be visiting a bud in Alabama, driving down Friday morning. I'm planning on sitting in a big, freshly logged clear cut. I've only been there once before, but saw a lot of sign. My tentative plan is to dump out 10 gallons of sweet feed/kool aid mix Friday late morning & hopefully draw something in before the weekend's out. You guys think this sounds like a solid plan, or should I just try bedding/spot & stalk?
 

J BAR K

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Everyone has their own preference I guess. I hunt small clearings in heavy woods. I use bait all the time. Usually a mixture of sour and dry corn. Right now I’ve got water standing everywhere and I’m kind of in a slump. Usually the bait works pretty well.
 

scrmblr1982cj8

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Can’t hurt. The stench should spread quickly. Hopefully the wind is in your favor.
 

Brian Shaffer

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Everyone has their own preference I guess. I hunt small clearings in heavy woods. I use bait all the time. Usually a mixture of sour and dry corn. Right now I’ve got water standing everywhere and I’m kind of in a slump. Usually the bait works pretty well.

Yeah, ain't no bait going to work if you don't have hungry hogs around. You can even have hogs around that won't come to the bait because they have plenty of known resources already. On several occasions, I have seen hogs walk through a feeder area, corn on the ground, and not even bother to stop and snack, or not stop for more than a mouthful or two before continuing on their way.

Baiting an area that isn't already baited can be iffy and sometimes the hogs seem to avoid the unexpected and new pungent food...the bait representing a bizarre change the their environment, change not being considered a good thing.
 

RattlesnakeDan

San Antonio Texas
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Biggest watch out is more is not better. If you dump a bucket of corn on the ground I can assure you everything will avoid it. You can hand toss or spread some here and there but yes...needs to be near where the hogs are going to end up anyways.
 

robtattoo

New Member
I know it's not really much, but I did hunt the same cut about 6 weeks ago & I dumped out 4 large tubs of Tropical Kool aid.
I learned hog hunting by visiting Texas from England & I'm very aware that 'less is more' when it comes to baiting. Big piles are a big no no & that small amounts, over a wide area are far more successful.
The area I'm thinking of of is roughly 500x300yds with a stand of trees right in the middle. It's surrounded by hardwoods on 3 sides & a road on the top. Last time I visited, I saw a lot of travel sign & a little bit of rooting. It's the only cut for maybe 5sq miles & my instincts are telling me that the pigs will be feeding on the spring growth coming up. The hog in my avatar was killed less than a mile from the cut & there are a LOT of pigs in the area.
 

lonepunman

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An additional variable (a “known unknown” according to a certain VP) is whether anyone else in the area is baiting as well.

Couple years ago, I had some action at a feeder on camera but decided to up the ante. Got on site and threw down some fruit punch Koolaid powder. Hour later the hogs rolled in, took one whiff and vaporized.

My guess is that a neighboring property was shooting them over a similar confection...
 

Brian Shaffer

Hog Hunter
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I would think that you disrupted the norm for the location, adding something new and unexpected. Hogs typically don't fear a type of food due to hunting pressure, otherwise corn would have stopped working a long time ago.
 

Ratdog68

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Looks like she's had her head in the chicken bucket a time or three. Nice kill.
 

der Teufel

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She's been eating well, and probably preggers …
 

robtattoo

New Member
I cooked up one of her back straps tonight (salt, black pepper broil. Flip coat with salsa & gruyere cheese) for myself & my hunting bud.
Literally the toughest damn meat I've ever tried to chew. :'(
Wonderful flavor, but every other scrap of the thing is going to be cured ham or sausage.
 

Ratdog68

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I cooked up one of her back straps tonight (salt, black pepper broil. Flip coat with salsa & gruyere cheese) for myself & my hunting bud.
Literally the toughest damn meat I've ever tried to chew. :'(
Wonderful flavor, but every other scrap of the thing is going to be cured ham or sausage.
M'be try a pressure cooker for initial cooking/tenderizing, then finish with another means?
 

der Teufel

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I've pretty much given up on grilling feral hog meat because it's often tough to chew. I bought an electric smoker that works pretty well. It cooks leg quarters at around 200-225°F for 5-6 hours. After that the meat falls off the bone, although certain muscles can still be a little tough. Mostly, any meat from a hog that weighs more than 150 Lbs get made into ground meat or sausage. On occasion I'll use back straps from larger hogs for stew since I can cook it slowly for a longer period of time.
But, keep after the hogs! Finding ways to enjoy the meat is a fun challenge.
 

robtattoo

New Member
I've pretty much given up on grilling feral hog meat because it's often tough to chew. I bought an electric smoker that works pretty well. It cooks leg quarters at around 200-225°F for 5-6 hours. After that the meat falls off the bone, although certain muscles can still be a little tough. Mostly, any meat from a hog that weighs more than 150 Lbs get made into ground meat or sausage. On occasion I'll use back straps from larger hogs for stew since I can cook it slowly for a longer period of time.
But, keep after the hogs! Finding ways to enjoy the meat is a fun challenge.

Oh I'll never quit hunting the rascals! Between cured hams, chili, sausage, pate & burgers, I'll eat every scrap.
 

Chopperdrvr

Deep East Tx
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It helps a lot to age the meat at least a week. Any wild game is tougher if you try to eat it shortly after it is killed.
 

der Teufel

Livin' the Dream …
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I've read that pork should not be 'aged' like beef or venison.
This site specifically recommends not doing it, although they don't say why.
Pork Processing %. This Chart shows approximately how many pounds and what percentages of  each cut of pork you can expect from a hog.

What I've heard is that pork fat turns rancid pretty quickly.
This may be referring to 'hanging' the meat rather than keeping it on ice for some period of time.

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