I see..... So I may have shot myself in the foot.... Well I'm definitely here to learn and to try and help my kiddo bag her first hog. The farm has several oil and gas wells on it as a pit for vacuum trucks to blow off into.
Idk.... the owner told me I could shoot everyone of them.... Wouldn't that be nice? I just want to put a few under our belts. Learn the animals and become more proficient at taking hogs. We intend to process them and put some meat in the freezer too. So we're looking for meat and not trophies. If a trophy wonders up... Then great, but it's not what's driving us.
My neighbor says to start about 10on and see what happens? He is confident that 10pm is a great time to get set up and get up on them. Is there any truth to this? All I know is what I've read. And that's definitely not real world experience.
Thanks
Leo
If the property already has old and gas wells on it, then there is plenty of petroleum product for pigs to access. I have hunted properties with oil and gas rigs and they are often nasty. One thing I don't see going on is pigs wanting to ingest petroleum products. You may get them to eat corn that has been in diesel, but you won't find them licking the spills on the ground for yummy flavor. You probably don't want to eat them if they are.
10 PM? Hogs don't wear watches, right? If he is out and seeing then around that time, then you might consider getting there a couple of hours early. Sometimes they will be early. Sometimes they will be late. Sometimes they won't show.
Get a game camera or two and see what shows up and when. You can pattern hogs until they no longer hold the pattern. Over on Texas Hunting Forum there have been numerous threads where people express disappointment about having patterned a hog that didn't show up at the appointed hour or even for the night. Keep in mind that while a hog may be coming for X nights around Y time, the hog is doing other things all the rest of the time. So his schedule may change depending on what is going on. Maybe he finds a patch of sweet onions to graze on before he gets to your place, or some dog chases him. Heck, maybe your neighbor shoots at him a few times? Even worse, maybe he approaches from down wind of where you are waiting for him and so never shows where you expect him. All you know is that he did show.
The point is that 10PM may work, or it may not. It isn't a special time for hogs. They are likely eating somewhere during the hours leading up to 10pm and the hours following 10PM, when they aren't otherwise sleeping, drinking, wallowing, mating, nursing, etc.
You know, hogs are fairly individualistic and even groups have their own personalities. They are very adaptive to circumstance. Maybe the hogs will already be there when you show up (regardless of when that is). Maybe they will show up soon after you arrive. Maybe you will have to wait hours for them to show if they do. That is hunting.