HugHunts

My dash cam caught this lightning strike blow up what appears to be a giant oil tank!

I tried to call this sounder from a different location and they ran away to this corner. I decided to drive to them (around the wheat) and it worked. They spooked as I was setting up and did not get my rest set well at all, as you can see by the crazy wiggling. In wheat like this you never really know how many hogs are there until you shoot and then the wheat begins to "boil" with hogs!

I saw some hogs in this field from about 1/4 mile away and had to drive the long way around the farm to get to them. By the time I arrived they had move onto another property (pics taken and sent to landowner who has now given permission to shoot there) so I tried to call them back. They were not budging. I scanned around to make sure none were sneaking in from another direction when I see this large sounder directly behind me at a few hundred yards. They hit a fence and didn't seem to care to come any closer. I decided to stalk them. I left the speaker running at first but they seemed to be agitated by it so I turned it off as I stalked. The sound and video is at 2x speed until the end to save time but you still get the idea of the stalk. You will notice I stayed focused on the hog on the right. Our cows were directly to the right and I was hoping the hogs would run left after I shot the one on the right as they often do... I had no luck with that on this stalk. They ran straight to the cows.

I called this group away from a large sounder and the first one about got on top of me before I acted, then I shot a single strand of our barbed wire fence which allowed the second to get away. Look close and you can see the wire glowing hot.

We called in a couple of sounders in tall wheat. I'm posting this for folks who don't get to hunt like this so you can see what it is like. Unfortunately there is no audio so you cannot hear the sounds that I am bringing them in with but you can tell they are coming stright to me... amazingly both groups we DOWN WIND which shocked me.

We stalked up on this group in a recently cut field... I'm using a different scope with 3x base magnification (which has less field of View than I am used to) and I think I got a little too close! At this distance tracking runners was crazy. I missed every running shot I believe. We did remove 4.

We called in a couple of sounders in tall wheat. I'm posting this for folks who don't get to hunt like this so you can see what it is like. Unfortunately there is no audio so you cannot hear the sounds that I am bringing them in with but you can tell they are coming straight to me... amazingly both groups we DOWN WIND which shocked me.

I found this sounder in a hay field with cows and when I get close to these cows they act nuts so I decided to see if I could call the hogs to me... It worked, sort of. This is a long video but I wanted to show what hogs seem to when when being called. I had already been calling for 15 minutes and they just ignored me so I kept trying new sounds. I even tried some twice! Then they started the "swarm" and I knew they were about to run away or come to me. Unfortunately they ran away. I switched up sounds again and apparently it made this small group angry. Listen to this lead sow grunting at me as she came through the fence. She was closing fast and it looked even worse through a 3x magnification. She dropped at 20 paces. I took a shot on the other large hog but as you will see (and hear) I now have fence to repair! Ugh! Bering optics Super Hogster

One lone Boar at over 100 yards (guess). I try to keep my shots much closer than this but this boar was on HIGH ALERT and was leaving so we decided that with 3 shooters we could surely get him... well, one gun was jammed and didn't fire but you can hear the two that did fire both hit and this tank still ran. Shooting hogs on the run is different every time. I usually start with crosshairs on the nose and adjust from there. As you can see I didn't do that at all and you can clearly see one of my hits in the dirt several hog lengths behind the hog. I know better but just didn't think he was that far or running that fast. At least I hit him again when he stopped and he went down. I post this so folks that are just getting into hog eradication can learn from my lack of lead.

A decision was made here. We found a large sounder on the far side of a wheat field. There were 2 stragglers on our end of the field but we decided to stalk up to the sounder to remove as many as possible from damaging the wheat. As we moved to them, they moved on out of the field, through a fence and into some bushes and trees. Then I noticed that the two stragglers seemed to be stalking US! We made the decision that a bird in the hand... you know. Mine dropped immediately but my partner's made it to the trees before expiring. Bering Hogster R35

My best hunt with no shots fired! Lol So my wife and kids went on a night “hog hunt” with me again and we actually saw something this time... but it wasn’t hogs. At the first place we went I caught a glimpse of something hop behind a cedar so I cut off the jeep. I didn’t see a tail so I hoped it was a bobcat. I started lip squeaking and it came within about 30 yards of us all sitting in the jeep with windshield down and sat down partially behind another cedar. I tried a few more sounds but it wouldn’t budge so I told my wife to give it a try. She had no idea what to do and she made some strange noise that instantly got a reaction... from my teenagers! All of a sudden we were all trying really hard not to laugh, you know how that is. About that time a coyote barks several times directly down wind and we were busted! It was close. The cat didn’t flinch so I found some sounds on my Bluetooth speaker that I use for hogs and the cat moved around a little and then walked off. Before I fire the jeep up I always scan one last time and see an even bigger bobcat walking in from upwind from our left. So I squeaked some more and it walked around us and sat and watched us a while and moved on (no video oh him as my kids had the monocular). Everyone was able to see both cats and it was awesome. I scanned again before starting the jeep and I see 3 coyotes coming in from up wind! Unfortunately they only came to about 200 yds and hit a new hog fence and ran up and down it for a bit before giving up. Everyone was able to see the coyotes as well. It was interesting to watch as two were constantly mousing and one was intent on looking for us. I was able to get my gun out and on the coyotes but about the time I was ready to take one the internal batteries died. I was running on an external that was full but for some reason the internal ones command the unit to shut down when they expire. My mistake but it still made for a memorable “hog hunt” for the family.

This is the extended cut of Feral Hog Eradication 4 (yes, I shot the tree) so I can showcase the $30 mini-DVR that I used on this stalk. The Bering Hogster R35 that I am using has only video out but this DVR has both Video and Audio input via a single 3.5mm jack (like a mini headphone jack). I wired in a lapel mic to try to be able to hear my shots and it worked (sort of). There is a bit of "noise" so I tried to edit some out. If I do this right, a picture of the DVR will be the thumbnail. This DVR has an internal battery and can be charged using a mini-USB (all things mini right?). I simply velcro this tiny (see what I did there) dvr to my remote battery bank. I briefly flip through the color palettes of the Bering Hogster R35 thermal scope. Hogs were 40-50 yards in complete darkness and some were behind brush and trees. If you are searching for an inexpensive dvr... give this a look!

A short clip of a couple of sharp shooters to show you how we set up when in a group. Safety is job #1. Standing shoulder to shoulder AND NOT MOVING until "SAFE" is called is critical. Sometimes when hunting with one person I am very familiar with we will call out our moves and get an acknowledgement response before moving to a better shooting position. Be safe and get out there and save Texas cropland. AGM TM384 Micro thermal Scanner.

I hesitate to post this video but I think it is a very good example of how tough wild feral hogs really are and how head and neck shots are preferred over heart and lung shots. "Heart or lung, hog's gonna run." - Hug (me) This is also a great example of what to expect from a thermal device in absolute humidity and misting rain. The Bering Hogster is the best I have used in these conditions. Notice how the background is completely washed out with no definition yet the hog pops out. We had removed 5 hogs from this spot just a couple hours before but decided to swing by on our way out of the property and it was a good choice. This was a large boar that was very skittish and the wind was wrong. After and extremely long stalk (including fences that had to be walked around) we decided to take a longer shot than usual. I believe we hit a vital that produced a lot of bleeding that can be seen in the air and on the ground as this boar runs away. I believe he was hit 3 times. He expired in the bushes. Get out there and save Texas cropland. Bering Optics Hogster R35 Thermal scope.

Hogs were tearing this wheat crop up. This was a 400+ yard stalk (momentarily interrupted by a random pig I've named Lucky) followed by one of the longest volleys of fire I can recall. I was able to remove 7 hogs while my hunting partner removed several himself. We would have gone for the bigger group to the left but the wind was left to right and would have spooked the other hogs and blown our cover. I missed a lot of shots but the main reason I started recording my hunts was to be able to review and figure out my mistakes (which are many I am afraid). You cannot shoot "at" a running hog like you can a standing hog or you will miss him every time. I know that sounds obvious but it's tougher than you would expect it to be (for me anyway). Distance, speed, angle of retreat, animal size, ammunition, wind, and more all have to be considered, or you just rely on luck like me. Oh, and my reload stinks. LOL Get out there and save Texas cropland. Bering Optics Hogster R35 Thermal scope.

Hogs are tough animals. It never ceases to puzzle me just how tough they are. Often after receiving what would appear to be a solid first shot (even when reviewing on video afterward) hogs will run. I've seen them do this with many different caliber rifles including 308 Winchester. In my opinion only a brain or spine hit will reliably drop a large hog in their tracks whereas hogs hit in the heart or lungs will expire but they will run first. On this stalk you will notice that I cannot decide which hog to take first. I am constantly thinking about the wind, backdrop, groups in the field, and which way I want to "try" to get them to run... along with a dozen other things. For me and my skill level this stalk worked out well. They ran the way I intended and I was able to remove 5 total from the group. The first hog took two hits and my 4th shot took out two hogs. The last shot caused the hog to flip due to his speed. Hogs are faster than most folks realize. You might also notice the white hot versus black hot color palettes of the scope. I prefer white for scanning and black hot for tracking running hogs. White hot seems to show more definition while black just makes the heat pop a little more for me. Bering Optics Hogster R35 Thermal scope.

I have a buddy that said "I have a hog problem." He didn't say anything about a HOG-MAGEDDON! WOW! This was A LOT of pigs. It was the biggest sounder I have seen and I've seen a few. I was not prepared. I was truly in awe and probably should have gained my composure before the countdown. My rifle jammed (it points to the sky while I am clearing the jam) but I was lucky enough to get 3 before they were GONE. Pay attention to how FAST these pigs were an how quickly they were out of sight. It was like I blinked and they vanished. It is great to look back at this video and see the hillside literally boiling with hogs. Bering Optics Hogster R35 Thermal scope.

This Hog is like Wonderpig! Dodging bullets! It might be that 3 guys just cannot hit the broad side of a barn after carrying a ton of gear across a plowed field in the dark. Any time I hunt in a group we do a countdown of 3,2,shoot. It doesn't always work out as you may see in one of my other videos but most of the time it gets the job done. One problem with a countdown is that when aiming you are constantly swaying while waiting on the call to fire. ...especially just after the previously mentioned workout. If you watch closely, I believe I personally shot right over the top of this hog on the first shot. Luckily my follow-up shot was good. My other two buddies just have a bigger ammo budget than I do! (Right guys?) ;-)

A rancher was having issues with predators threatening livestock on her property so I offered to help by removing some coyotes. The group that leases the place for deer hunting was glad to have some help. The first night I was on the property I saw a group of bucks just hanging out by the brush piles and was able to share this video with all involved parties to let them know what this year's crop of bucks looked like. Nature at night is a beautiful, and very different, thing! Bering Optics Hogster R35 thermal scope.

While out scanning fields at night for a local farmer who requested help with feral hogs that were causing crop damage, I stumbled upon this group of 7 very nice whitetail buck. I took time to sit and watch as they no doubt were wondering what in the world I was up to. I find that deer, while very skittish during the day, are not very bothered by my presence at night. I have even removed feral hogs while deer were in the same field and the deer don't even leave. Bering Optics Hogster R35 Thermal scope.

Feral hogs are no good in Texas! Especially when they are in your back yard. This is the long version of another video that shows stalking up on a sounder with some large hogs. My partner's gun jammed on the first shot but he got one and I got 3. Note they were so fast and close i could swing my gun fast enough to stay in front of them. The one that bounce off the fence was something you don't see every day! Bering Optics Hogster T35 Thermal.

I set out with a new Texas landowner to call in predators that were threatening his livestock. He was more worried about the predators than the hogs so these hogs got a pass. Pay close attention to the right of the screen and you can see a bobcat that was slowly, and lowly, making his approach to our position. The hogs scared him off as you can see him slink away after they bust thru the "hog fence." I wish this video quality was as good as I was seeing through the scope. I could plainly see the spots on the cat. Sightmark Wraith HD 4x

This is a thermal scope's eye view of hog removal from a TX wheat field using the Bering Optics Hogster R35. It's a full length video of both calling hogs with the Convergent Hog Pro app and spot and stalk. The wind was wrong and the moon was bright for stalking so I tried to call them to me while I was standing in the shade of a tree. They started to come but got spooked so I decided I might as well try to stalk them. Every time they lift their head they are trying to bust me. One started moving into my wind so I had to take the shot I had. Unfortunately the big sow was TOUGH and wouldn't go down so I had to get back on her because I knew she had been hit. She was hit 4 times and you will see all but one other got away because I spent so much time on her and she was a long way out at the end. This is a long video but worth watching to see how they react to both the call and the stalking.

This is a good example of stalking a sounder of hogs that is actively tearing up a wheat field. Forgive the video length (and the heavy breathing) and you will see what it is like to find these dirt demons in the dark and get close enough to remove 5 from the property. This is also a great illustration about leading moving targets. I didn't do a "great" job but I'm ok with taking 5 hogs out solo any trip. Watch and listen and you can hear the hits that make a thud and also see the dirt fly on misses. I started filming my hunts so I could learn what I was doing wrong and hopefully my lessons can help you as well.

Thermal video of a bullet striking a steel target.