New to Hog Hunting

Mike here from MN. Going to be down in Texas in a few weeks and was thinking about trying a couple days of hog hunting. No hogs up north here so this is all new to me. Going to be in the Forth Worth, Austin area for a week or so towards the end of January. Think Im going to try to find a ranch or guide to set me up on my 1st hunt as I know very little about hog hunting and the area. Couple of questions.

Is the end of January still a decent time to hog hunt?

We do not night hunt up north here. Will I be able to find a decent daytime hunt or should I be looking for someone to set me up with night equipment.

Was going to bring my 30-30 to hunt with. Put down plenty of deer with this rifle so imagine it should work on hogs?

What to do with a hog after shooting one? Think I could get through the field dressing. Have done plenty of deer. Have heard mixed reviews on the meat. Do most towns down there have a local butcher to process the hogs? We process our own deer but think since Im limited on time and knowledge of hogs would just pay to get it processed.

Thanks for any help with this or any other info you think I should have. If you have any recommendations for a guide or ranch I would be happy to hear them to.

ta HF, ing with android. astronuts back in 60's got better reception than me. theirs some good reviews of places ta go on here. late Jan. tis good time for day hog hunting. cooler weather keeps hogs moving. check oiut some of videos for night hunting. may be few places offer it. hunt piblic land here, no garontees. dont bother with the gutting. backstraps, & quarters. best wishes.

It's always a good time to hunt hogs. Daytime hunts are available though nighttime is more fruitful. Your 30-30 will work and once you have one your guide can steer you to local processing supposing you don't do it yourself or if the guide won't (I think most will for an additional fee).

Good luck.

Try http://dbhunting.com/.

Thanks for the info. That DB ranch doesn't sound to bad. Close to where Ill be staying with wild game processing to. With temps heading to about -15 below up here tonight Im looking forward to heading south.

Thanks for the help guys. Ended up getting a hunt at the Wild Turkey Ranch north of Stephenville this last week and shot two hogs. 135# and 90# field dressed. Was very happy with those for my 1st pigs. The ranch was a great place to stay. Bruce meet me at the gate, showed me the lodge, cleaning station and around the property a bit. Was pretty much on my own from there. Both Bruce and Clint checked in on me from time to time to make sure everything was going all right. Lodge even had a pool table in it. Very much enjoyed this on you own style of hunting.

Stands where very nice. Much nicer than the sitting in the open we do here in MN. Feeders had lights on them but the one thing I will do next trip down is pick up a light for my rifle. We dont night hunt up here and shooting at that dime light under the stand was a little challenging. Good thing the big pig was making itself right at home directly under the feeder.

Very much enjoyed my drive down to Texas and back for this also.



Pics of my two hogs.

Nice pigs. Congrats

Nice hog. That things a brute!

congrats on the hogs

Congrats!! Nice shooting!!

Congrats! Come back anytime, we have plenty of hogs for you to take back to MN!!

Congrats! Hog hunting is an addiction for sure.

Sure is. Ill be back down next winter with company and some new equipment. Looking forward to it.