How does heat affect hogs?

I will be hunting at Rusty Reed's place May 30 and assume it will be plenty warm by then.
What is my best plan of action for hunting hogs in the heat?
Early morning feeder?
I need some summer hog hunting tips!

I'm certainly not an expert, but it seems that as the days get warmer the hogs show up later. They may still come out around sundown, or maybe not. Lots of factors affect when they show: weather, hunting pressure, food availability and type, plus who knows what else?

While I'll always hunt in the evening if I'm out, I often try to get up and go early in the morning. I'm now using a digital NV scope, so I like to be out about an hour before sunup. If you don't have NV gear, be in position about 40 minutes before sunrise.

It seems that when the hogs come out later in the evening, they often stay out past dawn as well. The trick, of course, if figuring out where they'll be . . .

Good Luck !!

Where i live...burleson county...they have already gone basically noctournal ...i go out about 10pm till 3/4am...hogs cant sweat so to stay cool they come out in the eve till just before sunrise...then disappear again.

That's an easy one: It makes them hot.

After dark is how I would hunt them. Night vision is great but not a prerequisite. I hunted for years with a red light attached to my rifle while sitting over feeders.

I have shot a bunch of summer hogs in the daylight mornings as well, but the vast majority have been at night. Then again, the vast majority have been at night in the winter as well.

Find where they are watering. They will drink in the mid afternoon and wallow. Otherwise, get a night hunting plan.

As 4dog mentionrd hog's dont sweat.. One of the reason's they follow creeks, rivers, & such.. They also use wallows ta keep the ticks, fleas, chiggers, & such off... At OSBWMA were do most of my hog hunting... Rub's mudd on trees can be used for figuring hog's travel pattern, same as deer rubs... Usualy carry a note pad & gps ta write down cordanance, beds, rubs, scrapes, sightings of deer, hog's, & time date, for later hunts... Unfortunatly that does no good at Rusty Reeds place... U gonna be hunting stand over feeder, night hunts, warmer weather, pressure will all play into this... Tried ta video a laser-tag hog hunt between two feeders, both feeders been their for years, the one by creek, has cheap celular lights, got stand set up for taking video with my cannon.. Last season had close ta a dosen hogs at both feeders every month on cam's , dogs would run off hog's before get down for a set up.. This season 2014-2015 heard hogs squealen over by bow stand, had ergh ta get down & go put om a stalk, but stayed in stand with camera set up between feeders... Hogs were a no show.. Hunting some times boils down ta, Just gotta be in right place at right time... Hogs been thinned out around here... Best wishes... Edit: my apolagies for errors, some times hit wrong keys on amdroid...

Do pigs eat less in the summer months since eating/metabolizing generates body heat? Don't make fun of me if this is a dumb question.

You mean to ask if they gain less weight during the summer?

I'm not going to claim that I know the answer, but my guess would be that they possibly do eat less in the summer. However, I'd suppose it might be due to the fact that there's less food available rather than by choice.

I hunt hogs in the summer all of the time One thing is that the coolest time of day is right at daylight that is when they will be coming out.

Good question... Agriculture area's the ninja, night time raiders will feast if ya dont keep pressure on em... A dozzen hogs can put away the veggies.. never done a study... Tis thinking if food is infront of them, they gonna pig-out ..

Until about June...it won't be so hot anywhere in Texas as to significantly change their patterns. Once we get into the hotter Summer months, yes...they'll do what they can to stay out of the heat and often travel shorter distances.

I tend to see greater movement (as a whole) in the wee hours of the morning... until just after dawn. But don't think that you can't find hogs in the heat of the day, you just need to find out where they are bedding. Hint: As close to a water source as good cover will allow.

Hogs don't just bed-up, lay there.... and 'suffer' all day. When they get hot and thirsty they will go to water for relief. If you don't think this is so...place some cameras at watering spots. I think you will quickly find they use them all times of the day.

One thing hogs WILL limit...is travel distance, especially during the day. But we can use that knowledge to our advantage. For instance...IF you have a good water source for them (and hunting pressure is not too great), you may be sure...hogs are not too far away (concentrated so to speak).

Now...I can't speak to the habits of every hog on every property (too many variables) but on our place (Deep East Texas) hog movement will be seen (even if only briefly) about every 4-5 hours. Most often...those videos/pics will be of wet hogs...telling me they have watered (drank) AND wetted themselves down to cool off.

I certainly understand that camera pictures alone can not (do not) represent all the activity played out by any one animal, or herd of animals, but you can get a general feel for 'patterns' if you are willing to move your cameras from traditional sites (feeders, fields). STAY AWAY from bedding areas, you can't 'bump' hogs from their beds (like deer) and expect to see them again.

For those with limited time to hunt...or those hunting unfamiliar property, don't think about 'maximizing' your chances based on temperature alone (thinking that hogs will only be moving during the coolest parts of the day). Instead...think in these terms: (regardless the time of day)...Where would the hogs be NOW and WHY would they be there? Once you've made your best guess...go there, get the wind/thermals in your favor and hunt.

Wishing you the best, hunt safe!

Flint.

well said...

My experience for hunting hogs in the summer months has been early morning (first 30 min after daylight) and late evening (last 30 minutes after sunset. If night hunting is allowed that would be a good option for you. Hunting over water during the day or walking creek/ river beds has also produced for us during the summer time.


Good luck on your hunt