With daytime temperatures soaring, wild hogs are spending most of their time on their feet at night. Many hunters pursuing the pigs after dark with thermal optics in fields where they are feeding.
Some hunters have been lucky enough to come across large groups of hogs, while others have had more sporadic action. Recent rains and thriving vegetation across many properties has kept pigs spread out in certain areas.
Houston-area sales rep for Fusion Thermal, Ryan Warner, chased pigs on a property he and his dad lease in Throckmorton County with some buddies. He was able to put a stalk on a boar in the evening, prior to sunset, before scanning open fields with thermal optics after dark.
“Right after we arrived, we were heading to bait some fields when I spotted a boar at a feeder off in the distance at the edge of the clearing,” Warner said. “There were several hay bales in the field between me and the pig at the feeder. I was able to move quickly, from hay bale to hay bale, when he was facing away from me. I got within about 100 yards of him, took a shot with my 6.8 SPC, and he fell.”
After downing the boar, Warner and his buddies baited some fields and then returned to camp to eat dinner. They headed back out in the dark to scan the fields with thermal optics with hopes that they could find some more hogs.
“It was somewhat of a slow night, as we are usually able to find some large groups of pigs,” he said. “However, we were able to get successful shots off on two other boars, both of which were feeding by themselves.”
Warner said the property was pretty green and grown-up from recent rains, and he felt like the pigs may have been more scattered due the surplus of food sources.
Ken Kreutz has been hunting hogs at night in hay fields on a dairy farm with his family in Erath County, where large numbers of pigs have been rooting up the fields after dark.
“Lately, we’ve been seeing large sounders of pigs almost every night we go out,” he said. “On a recent hunt, we were able to harvest two boars and a large sow on the same property.”
The hunters have been sneaking into the fields with the wind in their face as much as possible to avoid spooking the hogs.
“Many times, we’ve been able to stalk within about 30 yards or so before taking a shot,” Kreutz said.
Andre Kielczewski has also been pursuing hogs with thermal optics at night. He’s been hunting properties in the Stephenville area, where he said finding large numbers of pigs has been difficult due to most of the landscape being overgrown with tall vegetation from spring and early summer rains.
“I’ve basically just been scanning fields on properties where I have permission to hunt at night with thermal optics,” Kielczewski said. “Once I locate a boar or a sounder of pigs, I try to stalk in as stealthily as possible with the wind in my face. That not only helps with scent, but it also helps with any noise you might be making as you creep in for a shot.”
