Hog Hunting

I love to hunt. I love going into the woods and being one with nature. Whether or not I bring something home isn’t the point, although I go with the intent of bringing something home. I am picky about what I hunt for, too. I don’t hunt to maim or for the thrill. I hunt to put food in the freezer or to help out friends.

Well, my freezer is about out of pork so when my son called and asked if I wanted to go hunting for the weekend I thought about it. Sounded like a good time to me. My wife encouraged me to go. “Have fun” she said. She even sounded like she meant it, too. “Go spend some time with your son. You’ll enjoy yourself” she told me so I called my son and told him I would join him.

Hogs in Florida are considered nuisance animals with an open season on private property. They destroy vegetation by rooting up the land making it hard for other wildlife, like deer, to feed. They also breed often and have large litters out-populating other animals. A doe might have one or two fawns a year but a sow can have 2 litters a year with 5 or 6 pigs in the litter. The hogs are wild, feral hogs with long, coarse, black hair and tusks. There are some that have bred with domestic hogs but the ones with black hair are called Piney Woods Rooters. They are smart and strong animals that can hurt a man or a dog, a common way to hunt hog.

I left early and headed south. No traffic. We got into the woods and he just about walked me to death. Now remember, we were Still-hunting. Still-hunting means you find a good place to watch from and stay still, not walk 5 miles looking for animals. You make noise when you walk. You are also moving. Hogs are very intelligent. They can pick up movement and noise. Not good when you are hunting. Needless to say we didn’t get anything today.

Well, I will keep you posted. Hopefully I will get a nice hog tomorrow, a nice Piney Woods Rooter.