Noticed lots of little piggies around the feeders with sows. Have had 2 diff solitary boars come to feeder, root around a while acting a bit jumpy, then take off. When the boar showed, wondered if the sounder was going to show up, so didn't shoot. Would rather population control by shooting sows. Do boars this time of year travel alone and avoid the sounder. Just curious, as the next time a lone boar shows up, not waiting for others and going to pop him.

Why wouldn't you shoot if you are hunting pigs?? Yes they travel separate. I have shot a boar dead and had sow and babies show up 5 minutes later eating around him. Rare but it happens when they are in a pattern of hitting feeders. They are creatures of habit until disturbed.

Adult boars are usually solitary animals. They travel with sounders only when sows are in heat and permit it. Otherwise, the boars are actually a danger to the little piglets, which is why the sows will run them off. On numerous occasions, I have seen sounders in large fields with boars nearby, but not actually with the sounder. They will trail the sounder, meaning that when the sounder leaves, they will leave, but they will not be among the sounder. They are undoubtedly waiting for a sow or sows to come into heat.

Once in a while, you may find pairs or a few male hogs on their own together, sometimes referred to as bachelor groups. These are commonly (not always) hogs that have reached sufficient maturity that the sow has kicked them out of the sounder. Often, they will all be about the same size and may have the same coloration, indicating that they were likely from the same litter.

It is a gamble to not shoot a lone boar or even pair of boars, hoping the sounder will show up. As Txduckman indicated, the dead body won't scare off other hogs. Your risk is that the sounder you desire is just out of sight off in the woods and your shots will scare them away. I get it. However, waiting to target that which you don't even now is in the area will, more often than not, mean you just blew the chance at taking the one hog you could.

I also wrestle with a similar problem of not shooting hogs when they first appear in my feeder area. I will see them cross in the pasture at 150 yards (feeders at 40 and 100). Often they come in and cross back and forth a couple of times to make sure the area is safe, then come in to feed where they are nicely stationary for an easy shot. Sometimes they cross and disappear, either because they sensed something they didn't like or because they weren't actually going to stop. On one property I hunted, I had hogs that were just passing through the area on several occasions. Just because you have a feeder does not mean it is every hogs' destination when they are in the area. That is abundantly clear when you can see hogs that are 30 yards from the feeder, eating acorns, and not eating corn.

Bottom line, unless you see or hear your sounder in the immediate area and think they may be coming in where you will have a better shot, don't pass up on the opportunity to shoot your lone boars. Make a good shot and put him down. A single shot is much less disturbing than making several shots.