Hey guys, JUST got my hunter's license today and am looking to get out hunting with my brother in law as soon as possible. I think hunting hogs looks like a ton of fun and it would be a great animal to start with. I have a few questions

I realize I can research this on the internet, but I'd rather get opinions/help from actual hog hunters if that's alright.

Here they go..

1) I only own a 12 gauge, nothing else, what ammunition should I bring for a hog hunt? Within how many yards should I get in? Are open sights fine for a hog hunt?

2) What else should should I come prepared with for a night hunt? Any recommendations on some equipment? I'm on a really tight budget as I'm only 16, just don't have the money for really expensive stuff yet!

3) NOW THIS IS WHERE I GET LOST, PUBLIC LAND AND LEASES

- TPWD has public land for hunters from what I've read, but you can only hunt up to a certain time, are hogs active during the day time? Where would I go to find them during the day? Would I try and call them in or go out on a search?

- How would I go about getting a lease for hogs, would I just post in the LEASE section of the forum and ask for land to hunt hogs on? How expensive would it be? I'd like an estimate please, I know it depends on the person and the amount of land. Are leases like a 1 time hunt opportunity or do you pay a certain amount and you have lets say a month to hunt it. I honestly have no clue about these things.


That's all I could think of at the moment, if you guys could give me any help on this, particularly on the lease part I'd GREATLY appreciate it.

your 12 gauge will be fine. when i do use a shot gun i use slugs or 00 buck shot. an the distance would come from practice an how comfortable you feel shooting but they will be fairly close shots. you can get a red dot scope fairly cheap to help ya.
And night hunts get you a good spotlight red lenses work a bit better then the clear i think. and land leases just look around you can find day or weekend hunts alot of them for a good price just google them in your area or close by. but im sure more of the guys on here can help you as well.

I am new to hog hunting too, I have been doing some internet looking trying to figure it out. There are tons of day leases around. Just depends how much you are wanting to spend. Check craigslist too, I have seen hunts on there as well. Good luck to you.

12 ga. will work if you shoot 00 buck shot i would say 25 yards. If you shoot slugs maybe futher but you need to target shoot some.lot of public land, but again check with TPW some places do not allow hog hunting good luck bud

and yes they are active in day time early in a,m, and late in p.m.

Thanks for all the help guys, I've been checking out leases and they are too expensive for my liking, I'll just stick to my property and public land, I sure will check with TPW before I get out there though!

new things get posted everyday so keep your eyes open you will find what your looking for buddy. but good luck hope ya get one soon