I am a fan of the phrase that "The only pattern is that they don't have a pattern." It is both right and wrong. Most folks "pattern" hogs by observing a given hog at a given location over a period of days or weeks, then they get surprised when the "pattern" doesn't hold. We tend to think of patterns as if they are schedules kept by the hog, but hogs don't keep schedules. Their pattern of behavior is hugely influenced by things that happen away from the "pattern" location. As we don't understand what is happening to the hog away from the pattern location, we don't understand why the perceived pattern changes or is disrupted.
I see it more as an issue of probability. If the hog has been coming a lot, then there is a higher probability that I can be successful hunting the hog at the location where he is "patterned." The only problem with probabilities is that they are not absolutes.
