Missed Hog and a Gadwall Invasion

[Carl]

Daughter and I got up early and went up into the lower Mobile Delta to hunt hogs. At sunrise, we trolled up a small creek, watching the banks for pigs. No luck but I did manage to shear the pin in my trolling motor. That would turn out to be a bad thing. After we got to the end of the creek, we ran back out into the shallow bay and headed for a bank with a shell midden that i know the pigs frequent. We were motoring through milfoil towards the bank when I spotted movement under the palmettos on the bank. Got the binos out and sure enough there is a pig right where I expected. But we are still 100 yards out. The pigs seems oblivious, so with the trolling motor out, I start paddling while trying to stay low in the front of the boat. It was a tough & slow going. About 75 yards out the pig seemed to be getting fidgety. It turned broadside, so I put the bead a little over its back and let a slug rip. Miss. But he just stands there, not know where the sound came from. Forgetting I had buckshot in back up, I fired again. Pellets hit the water way short and he still just stands there! Daughter is watching throw binos and while I am scrambling to get another slug out of my pocket, she says the pigs just walked into the brush, didnt even run. We quietly moved to within 40 yards and anchored but he never came back out. I bet if I had my TM working, I could have easily got within closer range and popped him after I brought the boat to a stop. Oh well.
Anyway, we ran back down the river to the open bay to see if there were any redfish along the edge of a bar I hunt. No redfish, but when I looked out over the bar, the water was black with birds. I grabbed the binos and OMG, there is a rafts of gadwalls a 1/4 mile long! Easily a thousand or more ducks. And that doesn't count the flocks of coots off the sides. We sat there and watched them, listened to them whistle and quack.
Don't think I have seen this many gadwalls here this early in 15 years. I guess they dropped in on this front. Lets hope they stay!

 

[Randy Duda]

Still sounds like a great day Carl... Now the money question... can you get on those birds??

 

[Carl]

Yes, if they stay in that spot! Its one of my go-to spots all season, its a huge Vallsineria flat, divers and gadwalls love it. Only bad part is its easy to get to and gets lots of pressure early in the season.
But i think the birds there now will start to disperse and spread out before our season comes in on the 23rd.
Especially once guys see them and start running around sticking up blinds and moving them around.

 

[SJ Fairbank]

I'd like to hear more about hunting hogs from a boat. Have seen hogs hunted from the ground and air, was not aware it could be done from the water.

 

[Carl]

I don't do it often but the usual technique most guys who do here is to paddle or use a trolling motor to go slowly up tidal creeks, listening and watching for them. A lot of the tidal creeks have a flood berm along the bank and the pigs will be foraging along the berm.
If you hear them but can't see them, move up to the shore and stalk them. Most guys use slugs with buckshot in the magazine.
The spot I missed the one this weekend, there is a shell midden that is high ground, right along the shoreline. Next time I go, I will anchor up within easy slug range just off the shoreline and watch for them. Might take my rifle too.

 

[SJ Fairbank]

I don't do it often but the usual technique most guys who do here is to paddle or use a trolling motor to go slowly up tidal creeks, listening and watching for them. A lot of the tidal creeks have a flood berm along the bank and the pigs will be foraging along the berm.
If you hear them but can't see them, move up to the shore and stalk them. Most guys use slugs with buckshot in the magazine.
The spot I missed the one this weekend, there is a shell midden that is high ground, right along the shoreline. Next time I go, I will anchor up within easy slug range just off the shoreline and watch for them. Might take my rifle too.

This really does sound like fun Carl. I assume you can get them in the boat for the ride to the freezer? That must be a chore with a big pig. I would have thought buckshot to be a little light for pig skin, or is it normally a followup for in close? I like the rifle idea. As much damage as they do I hope they never get into the northeast, but if they do I stand ready! [smile]

Somebody needs to design a hull for a hog boat, call it the BPSS (Big Pig Sneak & Scull). [w00t] LOL

 

[Carl]

At close range, buckshot is plenty. Some of the places you can only see 10-25 yards, so plenty close for 00 buck. But I prefer slug or open site rifle.
I have never shot a really big one and have no desire to shoot a big one. Large boars are so full of testosterone they generally inedible, if you can get past the smell to even clean it.

Under 100 pounds is the best eating, with 25-75 pounds being ideal. One reason to carry buckshot in the tube is in case you walk up on a sow with a sounder of 20-40# piglets, you try to pop the sow and then take out as many runners as possible. They are the ideal to put on the smoker whole.

The one I missed the other day was probably around 75 or 80 live weight. Given that it was alone, it was probably an immature boar that momma just ran off. That size is ideal, nice size hams and shoulders for smoking but not full of hormones like a big dominant boar.

 

[Carl]

It is legal to shoot hogs a/o any other game animal from a boat, car, truck a/o ATV in Alabama, so long you meet these regs.
You still cant hunt or shoot from any public road or ROW, even if its a dirt road:

A person may not hunt from any automobile, motorcar, airplane, train, motorboat, sailboat or any type mechanically propelled device, or any other device being operated in conjunction with any of the above mentioned devices of transportation.
Provided, however, that nothing in this regulation shall prevent hunting from a floating craft (except a sinkbox), including those propelled by motor, sail and wind, or both, when the motor of such craft has been completely shut off and/or the sails furled, as the case may be, its progress therefrom has ceased, and it is drifting, beached, moored, resting at anchor, or it is being propelled by paddle, oars or pole, and provided further that nothing in this regulation shall prevent the taking of game birds and game animals from any stationary motor vehicle or stationary motor driven land conveyance provided any forward motion is ceased and engine is shut off.
Nothing in this regulation allows the hunting, taking or killing or attempting to hunt, take or kill any bird or animal from any vehicle on a public road.

 

[SJ Fairbank]

At close range, buckshot is plenty. Some of the places you can only see 10-25 yards, so plenty close for 00 buck. But I prefer slug or open site rifle.
I have never shot a really big one and have no desire to shoot a big one. Large boars are so full of testosterone they generally inedible, if you can get past the smell to even clean it.

Under 100 pounds is the best eating, with 25-75 pounds being ideal. One reason to carry buckshot in the tube is in case you walk up on a sow with a sounder of 20-40# piglets, you try to pop the sow and then take out as many runners as possible. They are the ideal to put on the smoker whole.

The one I missed the other day was probably around 75 or 80 live weight. Given that it was alone, it was probably an immature boar that momma just ran off. That size is ideal, nice size hams and shoulders for smoking but not full of hormones like a big dominant boar.

I'm really intrigued by your description of this type of hog hunting. Sounds like a blast. With ducks in the area you could do a ducks and pig combo.

 

[Carl]

With ducks in the area you could do a ducks and pig combo.

Yep, I have not done that at this location but I am definately going to this year after what I saw this weekend!

I'm not a die-hard hog hunter, but the guys that do, and our biologist/wardens, have some really stories to tell about walking right up into the middle of sounders of 10-20 hogs.

 

[greg setter]

I'm with SJ Fairbanks, this sounds like a fun way to hunt pigs. Keep us informed on your adventures with this. Back in the early 80's I lived in S Florida, and I knew this guy that had a grandfathered hunting camp in Big Cypress, you took a swamp buggy to get to it. So one morning I'm walking out to a spot, and out of this low palmetto comes this little pig, maybe 30-40 lbs, making a racket and scaring me pretty good for a minute until I figured it out. I realized afterward I should have tried to shoot it. I told everyone back at the camp about it and they got a good laugh.

 

[SJ Fairbank]

This discussion has me thinking, I bet a railbird skiff would be just the ticket. Good luck Carl, I'm looking forward to a unique and interesting story.

 

[Dani]

I would have thought buckshot to be a little light for pig skin, or is it normally a followup for in close? I like the rifle idea.

I've taken two pigs in my life. One was with buck shot and one was with #4 steel. The buck shot I was just sitting against a log at a hog wallow as I was taking a break from turkey scouting/quail hunting. It was close...no more than 15 yards. That one didn't move after I shot it and he was probably 70lbs. The pig with the steel shot came right up to my decoys....since it "decoyed" I figured why not. It was probably about 10 yards away or so. I doubt I'd shoot one with 4 shot much further away than that but it certainly worked. That pig ran off, but not far....maybe 50 yards or so. A blood trail wasn't obvious but my dog had no problems at all finding her and I'm not sure I would've taken the shot if I didn't have Drake with me (but that's because I have no experience with big game tracking and that would bother me to lose a pig or deer in a situation like that). She was probably 50 lbs or so and when she was cleaned it was clear that the broadside with 4 shot did a number on her lungs, as I expected it would. The pattern at that range isn't much more than about 3" across.

So with the right distances, even small shot will work quite effectively. I don't know how effectively the 4 shot would be on BIG pigs at that range but I'm not interested in big pigs. I don't really wanna shoot another one that is in the 70lb class. I like little pigs a lot more. SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much easier to haul out and quite tender

 

[Carl]

The number of coots seems to be larger every morning I drive over the bay on the way to work.
There is one small flock next to the US 98 causewway that has taken up residence within 50 yards of the same spot both mornings and evenings the last 3 days. There has been a big drake gadwall that is with them every time I drive by!