Hog Hunting Tips 101- How to Hunt Hogs

Deer season is over and your waiting until it comes around next year. Why wait when in 31 states can hunt hogs. When a few hundred pounds of wild, muscular, tusked hog comes charging at you there is not much you can hunt that is more exciting. Pigs are starting to take over the landscape in the south and many farmers don’t have enough time to hunt and kill the hogs, so they lets hunters come on their property and hunt for them. The top six states for hunting hogs are Texas, Florida, California, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Mississippi.
So how do you hunt these pigs? First you need a gun, your deer rifle should suffice. Then you’ve got a couple options if you’re a picky hunter. You can spot and stalk, stand hunt, or even dog hunting. In any of these methods the best time is the same time as deer, early morning and late evening.

Spot and Stalk:
If you chose the spot and stalk way some information that might be helpful is that hogs have a very good sense of hearing and smell, but their sight isn’t very developed. To spot them you can drive around on roads looking for them if roads are common in the area hunting or you can stand on a hill with some binoculars. When hunting be sure to be checking water sources frequently because during the summer hogs get hot.

Stand Hunting:
Another way is stand hunting. You’re somewhat handicapped in this technique because of the inclination of hogs wandering around a lot. But if you use a timed feeder which is legal in lots of states you can kill a lot of hogs during a season. Another area to put up your stand is by water holes or mud areas where the hogs go when it’s hot.

Using Dogs to Hunt Hogs:
When you are hog hunting with dogs you might need a guide if you are not experienced with hunting dogs. You can use many different types of dogs for this but you old labs probably won’t do well. Otherwise how you hunt with you dogs is pretty much the same as spot and stalk except that you let you dogs loose in an area with lots of hogs signs and watch chase down a hog. How you kill the hog is up to you because most states don’t have many restrictions.

So next spring don’t stand around at home waiting for deer season go out and hunt some hogs.

For turkey hunting tips check out: Turkey Hunting Tips
For help on a turkey hunting gun check out:The $30 Turkey Gun

Summer Deer Scouting Tips - How to Scout Deer in the Summer

for all you slackers.
There are many different ways to scout in the summer from trail cameras to just walking around in the woods looking for deer signs. These are some of my favorite ways to scout in the summer.

Scout from a Distance:
You can scout from a distance many different ways. You can sit on the edge of food fields with binoculars or a spotting scope and watch as deer come and go during the twilight time. As you do this you should be paying attention to the certain areas where you can set up a stand that will be where most the deer come in and out (or where the big buck does). You can also scout from your truck or car if the area you hunt is littered with roads.

Use Trail Cameras:
Trail cameras can be a great way to watch deer trails or food plots without disturbing the deer with your presence. The best trail cameras are the ones without the normal flash these don't spook deer (which is why we use trail cameras). You can put a trail camera anywhere you suspect a big bucks comes through or where you think there is a deer trail littered with does (this will help during the rut when all the bucks are searching for does).

Find the Core Areas:
When I'm talking about core areas I mean their bedding areas, food plots, and trails. You can do this with aerial photography or with trail cameras or if its early enough in the summer or spring you can just walk through the areas you suspect to find these areas and look for clues. Once you find these areas you can set up a stand/s that will take advantage of your hard or easy work.

If you take advantage of these tips your percentages of success will greatly increase. I know people who when doing these strategies have increased their success rate by two-fold.

For more deer hunting tips check out:
Post-Rut Deer Hunting Tips I
Post-Rut Deer Hunting Tips II
Five Deer Bow Hunting Tips

11 Coyote Hunting Tips

Many people see coyotes and are in range to shoot them, but they miss. These are some of the top reasons why people miss a shot at a coyote or predators (some of this doesn't just apply to predators but to all animals).

Eleven Reasons for missing a Coyote:

1) Too much scope - Many people think that the more scope power the better. This isn't always true. When you have too much scope power, you'll miss a shot at a coyote that surprises you at a close range. To prevent this always keep your scope at a low magnitude and increase it if needed.

2) Not having a rest - Shots at coyotes can be up to 300 yards or 400 if your really good. Not having a rest will make your gun wobble uncontrollably these longer ranges. Getting some sort of rest is a must if you are serious about coyote hunting. You can by one at a store or make you own.

3) Can't hit 'em while they're running - All your shots at a coyote won't be while he is standing still. Be able to handle the running shot. Great practice for this is flushing out rabbits with a .22 or other similar caliber.

4) Forgot trajectory - At 200 yards a rifle bullet won't still be flying straight it will start to dip. Many times people when they are hunting forget about this and their shot goes low. To prevent this practice, practice, practice. Practice at different yardage to figure out you trajectory.

5) It's windy - With almost all shots over 100 yards the wind has to be taken into account. Just a little wind can move your bullet a couple inches. This could be the difference in a clean kill or a couple hours of tracking.

6) Closed lanes - If you only have a small opening to shoot at a coyote your shot will be hurried and off target. To prevent this make sure your shooting a lanes are clear and your have lots of open space.

7) Didn't pick a spot - This is a frequent occurrence among people. They tend to aim at just the general vital area instead of picking a spot to shoot. Practicing picking a spot while shooting will greatly increase your kills.

8) Haven't practiced - If you go into the coyote season without shooting your gun at all except for the weekend before. You are going to be a pretty poor shot and will miss some that you should have had.

9) You don't understand coyotes - Lots of hunters don't understand coyote behavior and the coyote will surprise the hunter when he sprints towards the rabbit call like they sometimes do (unlike a bobcat which stalks its prey).

10) Your butt hurts- If you don't have a comfortable seat you won't be able to stay on a stand as long and you will miss many opportunities. Get a comfortable hunting seat and that problem should be taken care of.

11) You're flinching - This is a big reason why younger shooters miss. This can be because you have a gun that is too big or because your gun is too loud. You can help prevent these problems by buying a recoil pad and ear muffs.
For more tips on gun recoil vist: Gun Recoil Reduction Tips

For coyote calling tips check out: How to Call Coyotes
For bobcat hunting tips check out: Bobcat Hunting Tips

Wolf Hunting Tips? Not yet...

It was predicted that the reintroduction of grey wolves in Yellowstone National Park would hurt the elk herd in a 1 to 10 loss, but that prediction was wrong. The elk population was actually reduced by almost half after the reintroduction of the grey wolf.
The last count of the grey wolf population in the Northern Rockies of Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming was 1,246 wolves. This population is at or very near the carrying capacity, but the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service won’t classify the grey wolf as certified. There reasons are that only Idaho and Montana have management plans for the grey wolf. Wyoming just states the grey wolf as a predator which allows anyone to shoot it anytime – which the USFWS denied.
The USFWS and Wyoming are still working on a compromise which could prove costly. Every week that they are still in dispute the elk population declines little by little. If they do not come up with a compromise soon the elk population could face serious problems in the next few years.

How to Turn a Deer Field into a Dove Field

Many of us multi-task everyday while at work, home, or in the car, but we aren’t the only ones who can multi-task our food plots can too. Yes, green field for deer can also transfer into fields for spring turkey hunting too, but they can do more.
A properly managed field can be used for deer, turkey, dove, and many other animals to hunt. If you want to turn your deer plot to be a dove plot also, the plots are limited to the annual plots planted for fall and winter hunting.
First select a field you want transformed. To turn that deer field into a dove field there are a few considerations to take into mind. A good dove field will need some large trees around it for roosting and inspecting the field for danger. You’ll also need water nearby for the doves to drink from. Don’t forget that doves like a lot of other birds need a little sand or pebbles to help digest their food so if a dirt or gravel road is nearby that will also be an asset. Some good plants to plant are sunflowers, grain sorghum, corn, or other grasses with a seed head. Sunflowers seem to work the best for a lot of dove hunters. Two weeks before dove hunting you might want to bushhog the field since doves are ground feeders.

Grizzlie Bear Hunting?? Not yet.

Just this March, grizzly bears in Yellowstone National Park were unlisted from the threatened list, after being on the list for 32 years, by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Groups of wildlife conservationists are threatening to sue the USFWS because of the delisting, even though the three recovery goals for the grizzlies have been achieved.
Even though they are off the threatened list their welfare and population is being closely monitored by federal and state agencies. Right now, there are no real plans to have a grizzly bear hunt in the states affected ( Idaho , Montana , and Wyoming ), mostly because of the debate about the bears being delisted for hunting purposes. Many game biologists agree though that in the future hunting will be a major management tool for the success of the grizzlies.
While the debate is still going on Wyoming Game and Fish is setting the price for future grizzly bear hunting permits at $5,000 – a lot cheaper than the previous proposed price of $17,500.

Minority Hunters

No, I’m not talking about African-Americans or Latinos. I’m talking about women. There are now more than three million women hunters in the United States according to a study by the National Sporting Goods Association. This is accounting for about twenty percent of the hunters in America . This may not sound like a lot but there has been a seventy percent increase in the women hunters in the last five years.
For some people this might not sound that exciting, but for women already hunting this shows that hunting is becoming a more fashionable thing to do. This is also good for us men hunters out their. Tell your wife or girlfriend these statistics and she might be more readily interested in hunting.
A lot of women have problems finding gear to wear while hunting, since hunting is a male dominated hobby. Some women decide to wear youth clothing to save money. Others will just live with men’s clothing, but for some comfort is everything. So they opt for female lines of hunting clothing.

Gun Recoil Reduction- How to Reduce Your Gun's Recoil

Recoil can be one of the major factors in deciding to get a gun, but with some tips you will be able to master a gun with larger recoil. Let’s start off with a lesson in recoil. Recoil is usually grouped in two categories perceived and real. Real recoil is measured in foot-pounds and perceived recoil is what you perceive or feel; this has a lot to do with how the gun and you are designed.
To figure out real recoil there is a complicated formula, but there are a couple websites that will help you and pretty much do all the work for you (http://www.rfgc.org/reload.recoil_calc.htm is a good one).
To help prevent perceived recoil some adjustments to the rifle or shotgun can be made. If the gun is a loud gun getting a pair of earmuffs will help drown out the sound (peltor.com has some good ones). Sound even though it doesn’t sound (pun intended) like it, is a crucial factor in how much recoil you think the gun has. The drop in the stock also has a lot to do with where the recoil is directed, adjusting this will also help.

Four Recoil Fixes for Your Gun:

1. Get a butt plate pad or have one installed.
-This will help cushion the recoil of your gun and keep it from hurting your shoulder. This will allow you to shoot longer.

2. If you have an old rifle that has lots of drop at its comb, get a newer stock with less.
-Older guns had combs with a large drop. This makes it uncomfortable to shoot. And it focuses the recoil of your gun more towards your face.

3. Put in one or two inertia recoil reducers, this will add weight to your rifle reducing the kick.
-I know no one here wants a physics lesson but it is necessary here. The added weight in the gun will need more force to be moved. Since the amount of force doesn't change, the speed of the recoil decreases. Your body can absorb the slower recoil more effectively but the faster recoil causes bruises. It also helps your gun be more accurate since the gun is not moved as much from recoil.

4. Get a muzzle brake. These help a lot with real recoil but make sure you get some good earmuffs or the sound will make you deaf.
-I have a muzzle brake on my gun and it helps a lot. Though it is louder, all you need are earmuffs and your gun's recoil will be greatly reduced. One negative is the fact that muzzle brakes can be expensive to install.

Your gun's recoil can be a big factor in the amount of time you spend practicing. No one wants to be repeatedly pounded from your guns recoil. By reducing your gun's recoil you can improve your shooting form because you won't flinch and practice more allowing you to improve your shot.

For more gun tips check out:
Gun Maintenance
Best Turkey Gun
The .50 BMG Rifle- For Hunting?

What is a Real Trophy Buck

Every year thousands of hunters go out to try to bag the biggest, baddest deer. I’m not saying this is bad, but for a good deer management program you need to weed out the 4.5 year old deer with only 6 points that keep passing on these bad genetics.
Another thing that really disgusts me is all these game farms that you pay to get trophy deer. That is not how hunting is supposed to be. You’re not supposed to pay to get a deer. You’re supposed to learn tracking and hunting skills. You’re not supposed to be hunting in a fenced in area where deer have no real escape route. You’re supposed to be hunting in the woods where there are no fences and minimal signs of man except you. Hunting was originally a way of survival, but it’s turning to be all about the big racks and the bragging rights (that you paid to get).
I know some of you get your big bucks fairly and some of you guys go farther to get the old bucks with the bad genetics that keep passing down those bad genetics. That is what hunting is supposed to be like. Everyone should have a chance at a big buck and not just the people who have the bigger wallets.
I’m not saying getting a big trophy buck is bad, I would love to consistently. What I’m saying, is that, paying to get a trophy isn’t real hunting its shopping.

Turkey Hunting Tips: $30 Turkey Gun

If you ever need a new turkey gun, just buy or find (if you have on lying around the house) a youth gun. Youth guns are usually a little bit cheaper than adult guns and youth guns also have a lot of the same characteristics of a great turkey hunting gun.

About a year ago, I turned my old Mossberg 500 into a turkey gun. There are a lot of advantages with doing this. One is the size, the size of most youth gun barrels are around 20-21 inches, a very manageable size and great for turkey hunting. The small barrel keeps the gun from getting caught in bushes or trees while hunting. Also the stock is smaller which allows more control, and if you practice a little you will be able to shoot right or left handed. This will allow you to have the best position for a shot when you see a large tom turkey. Youth guns are also very light weight which allows for easy maneuverability.
Steps to turn your old youth gun into a prime turkey gun:1. Install a gun sling if one isn’t already on it ($10-30).
2. Buy and Insert a turkey or full choke ($15-30).
3. Optional: Upgrade the sights to a scope or red dot sight ($75-???).
4. Absolutely Necessary: Go out and kill some turkeys (Priceless).

There are some things money can't buy, for everything else, there's Master Card.