Editor's Note: Sam Klement, owner of Spectrum Outdoors in Dothan, Alabama, and a member of Hunter’s Specialties Pro Staff, is known to his friends and acquaintances as Mr. Hog. Klement hunts for hogs all over Southeast with his bow, his black-powder rifle and conventional firearms. This week Klement will share some of his hog-hunting secrets with us.
1. Don’t attempt to hunt hogs with a bad wind. Hogs have a keen since of smell and can detect human odor easily.
2. Wear rubber boots any time you hunt hogs, and try not to touch any bushes or limbs. The slightest hint of human odor can spook a trophy hog out of your hunting area.
3. Stalk hunt. Hogs have poor eyesight and most likely will not spot a well-camouflaged stalk hunter. However, if you decide to hunt with a primitive weapon, locate a nearby sprint tree for a quick escape.
4. Always shoot a quartering-away shot. Hogs have a tough, gristled shield that covers their shoulders and vital areas. To bring the hog down quickly and effectively, take a shot that hits a little behind the hog’s front shoulder.
5. Look for trails between the hogs’ feeding and bedding areas. Hogs create rubs and make cut marks on the sides of trees along these trails. Generally, the higher the cut marks on a tree, the bigger the hog you’ll find.
6. Scout for hogs like you scout for deer, if you hunt in agricultural areas. Hogs usually will come out to the fields late in the afternoon. By scouting, you can learn where they enter and leave the field, find their trails and put up stands along those trails.
7. Hunt hogs on farm lands. Check with your county extension agent or local game warden to locate farmers who have had crops damaged by hogs. Many of these farmers will gladly permit you to hunt on their lands and remove the pesky hogs.
8. Stalk into the wind. Hogs have a highly developed sense of smell.
9. Realize you may have difficulty with blood trailing. A hog has a thick layer of fat just underneath its skin, and arrow wounds often close up quickly. However, by knowing where the hogs like to go, and by studying every drop of blood you find, you can locate your downed hog quicker.