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Wild hog ID - telling male from female?
#8139691
01/22/21 11:33 PM
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Joined: Nov 2020
Posts: 76
Steve from GA
OP
Outdoorsman
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OP
Outdoorsman
Joined: Nov 2020
Posts: 76 |
Surprisingly, I have found very little information on this question. Can you guys give some dependable pointers on how to quickly tell a sow from a boar? I’m new to the game, and aside from the t*ts and the n*ts (which aren’t always visible), they all look a very similar sort of ugly to me.
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Re: Wild hog ID - telling male from female?
[Re: Steve from GA]
#8139701
01/22/21 11:42 PM
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Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 25,276
Creekrunner
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 25,276 |
Shoot first. Ask questions later.
...and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. Gen. 1:28
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Re: Wild hog ID - telling male from female?
[Re: Steve from GA]
#8139703
01/22/21 11:44 PM
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Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 4,508
syncerus
Extreme Tracker
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Extreme Tracker
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 4,508 |
Watch the German hunting videos. On a number of the driven hunts, there's a penalty for shooting sows, so they make a greater effort to identify boars.
NRA Patriot Benefactor & DSC Lifer
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Re: Wild hog ID - telling male from female?
[Re: Steve from GA]
#8139808
01/23/21 01:13 AM
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Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 473
killen
Bird Dog
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Bird Dog
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 473 |
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Re: Wild hog ID - telling male from female?
[Re: Steve from GA]
#8139825
01/23/21 01:29 AM
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Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 5,987
Michael W.
THF Trophy Hunter
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THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 5,987 |
They are all the same in the Eyes of the bullet. Shoot all and throw the smelly ones away.
A clear conscience is often the sign of a fuzzy memory.
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Re: Wild hog ID - telling male from female?
[Re: Steve from GA]
#8139837
01/23/21 01:43 AM
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Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 6,331
Blank
THF Trophy Hunter
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THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 6,331 |
You obviously didn't have drivers ed and sex ed in the same car in high school!!
Beer and whiskey, 'cause you can't drink bacon!!
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Re: Wild hog ID - telling male from female?
[Re: Steve from GA]
#8139872
01/23/21 02:13 AM
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Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 15,701
603Country
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Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 15,701 |
Well, generally, at least around my place, the big boars are usually alone, whereas the sows, kids, and such are in groups. And when I find them in groups, I just shoot a middle sized one for food. The gender doesn’t matter too much.
I’ve told this before, but a while back when the starving college kid grandson came to hunt, I put him where I knew pigs would show up. He said he wanted a medium sized sow. He came back from the blind with a smile and said he got a fat female. I congratulated him and we took the Kubota to collect the pig. When we got there I took a look and congratulated him on killing a female pig with some monstrous testicles. It tasted fine though. Hard to tell the sex at 135 yards in dim light.
Mother Nature keeps the male/female ratio as 105 males born for each 100 females. So, shoot into the sounder and if you kill one there’s about a 50/50 chance it’ll be a male.
Last edited by 603Country; 01/23/21 02:26 AM.
Not my monkeys, not my circus...
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Re: Wild hog ID - telling male from female?
[Re: Creekrunner]
#8139920
01/23/21 02:59 AM
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Joined: Nov 2017
Posts: 19,272
Biscuit
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Nov 2017
Posts: 19,272 |
Shoot first. Ask questions later. Good advice
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Re: Wild hog ID - telling male from female?
[Re: Steve from GA]
#8140001
01/23/21 03:48 AM
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Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 1,683
Walkabout
Pro Tracker
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Pro Tracker
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 1,683 |
Sometimes you just can’t tell. You just can’t.
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Re: Wild hog ID - telling male from female?
[Re: Steve from GA]
#8140071
01/23/21 05:47 AM
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Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 1,633
jrgocards
Pro Tracker
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Pro Tracker
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 1,633 |
I try to shoot the medium size ones. used to shoot the biggest, but it was usually a boar.
Last time I hunted I killed 6 sows and 2 boars.
Heading out next week and hoping to kill a few - I do like this retirement gig!!
JR
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Re: Wild hog ID - telling male from female?
[Re: Steve from GA]
#8141534
01/24/21 05:56 PM
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Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 5,162
flintknapper
THF Trophy Hunter
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THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 5,162 |
IF mature and alone....chances are it's a Boar. With respect to identifying by physical features....this can be tricky depending upon distance, lighting and angle of the animal observed. But generally speaking, look first for the presence of testicles (large even on juveniles) and along the belly line for a 'penile sheath'. If neither of these areas are visible you can sometimes make out the 'lip curl' (upper) on boars which if mature....will have more distinct Cutters and Whetters. On hogs not yet mature some (or none) of the above might prove any help. And even on mature animals....physical size and shape isn't always a good indicator. I have killed Sows approaching 300 lbs in weight (weighed on a scale) that had a build not much different than boars. IF time and circumstance permit....use a good set of binoculars to get a good look at the animal if the sex of it is important to you. Personally, I kill them all....as many as possible, as often as possible. They are a scourge. Sow lacking male 'parts': Look for lip curl: Sometimes cutters and whetters of boar are obvious: Don't let body size or shape fool you, this is a big sow:
Spartans ask not...how many, but where!
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Re: Wild hog ID - telling male from female?
[Re: Steve from GA]
#8141610
01/24/21 07:10 PM
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Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 2,409
rickt300
Veteran Tracker
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Veteran Tracker
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 2,409 |
Sometimes on the boars there is a hump of hair on top of the hindquarters.
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Re: Wild hog ID - telling male from female?
[Re: Steve from GA]
#8141624
01/24/21 07:23 PM
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Joined: May 2011
Posts: 8,239
Double Naught Spy
THF Trophy Hunter
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THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 8,239 |
Steve from GA didn't say what he was hunting hogs with in terms of optics. The traits discussed so far are spot on, but certainly not readily apparent all the time on thermal, depending on image resolution and distance to the target. At 75-200 yards, things like whetters and cutters may not be visible on thermal.
I like to look for teats vs. penis (lump) under the hog. I like to look for a large, rounded belly that would indicate a pregnant sow. Only occasionally do I notice testicles. All of these are not always readily apparent on thermal at distance.
Teats tend to show up best when on a well nursed sow (versus a virgin female where they are not distended). Infected teats are often quite large and can show up well. Penises may or may not show up depending on the weather or with younger males. Of course, high grass will hide everything on the bottom side of the hog.
As for pregnancy and the large, rounded belly, that works a lot of the time, but I have confused a couple of beer bellied boars for sows.
I have tried to look for musculature on big boars and that shows up well enough. The problem comes in when you get boars that don't have the massive shoulders and some of those can still be well over 200 lbs and not be hugely distinct in thermal profile from a sow.
Somebody once told me that the angles and shape of the rump can be used to distinguish boars from sows. It may work sometimes, but I tend to not get that right about half the time (which leads me to think it isn't a diagnostic trait, or I just don't understand).
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Re: Wild hog ID - telling male from female?
[Re: Steve from GA]
#8141641
01/24/21 07:40 PM
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Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 9,930
unclebubba
THF Trophy Hunter
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THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 9,930 |
Steve from GA, I'm curious to know why you are asking. Creekrunner has the best solution. Trust me, you're not gonna run out of pigs.
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Re: Wild hog ID - telling male from female?
[Re: Steve from GA]
#8142881
01/25/21 05:29 PM
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Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 429
Exiled
Bird Dog
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Bird Dog
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 429 |
Mature boars tend to be solitary in the hill country where I hunt, but you WILL see them come into a feeder that has a sounder feeding, and if there are sows in heat in a sounder all bets are off and mature boars may be with them. If you have time to observe them you'll see boars be dominant and aggressive towards everything else (including ungulates that may be at the same feeders or in the same vicinity). To be honest, if you're thinking of taking a quick look and making a decision before you shoot, unless the sow has visible teats hanging down or a swarm of shoats around her, sometimes it's hard to tell. In that case, just shoot the big one! Feral hogs in TX vary significantly from region to region, in some areas you can see the strong genetic influence from Euroasian boar strains and in others, they look almost like domestic hogs. Sometimes boars are super evident (tall sloping foreheads, visible cutters, crests of stiff hairs running down the back a.k.a. "razorbacks"), other times it's tough to tell the difference. I just pick the big fat ones and "choot'em"!
"Who Dares, Wins" Instagram: @HCConnected
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Re: Wild hog ID - telling male from female?
[Re: Steve from GA]
#8142983
01/25/21 06:37 PM
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Joined: May 2011
Posts: 8,239
Double Naught Spy
THF Trophy Hunter
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THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 8,239 |
...or a swarm of shoats around her, sometimes it's hard to tell. I shot a 'sow' leading 8 piglets around. The 'sow' turned out to be an immature boar. I don't know why the piglets were following it around an not the actual mother (who must have been one of the other hogs in the group), but I did the quick assessment (piglets = Sow) and shot it and did not get the sow I wanted, LOL. Most of the time the trait works fine, but this one time, they fooled me with it.
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Re: Wild hog ID - telling male from female?
[Re: Steve from GA]
#8143110
01/25/21 08:50 PM
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Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 2,495
der Teufel
Veteran Tracker
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Veteran Tracker
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 2,495 |
I've seen mature, large sows meandering in a pasture alone. I've seen (small) groups of younger boars hanging around together. The guidelines mentioned in the above posts are merely guidelines, which will sometimes fail. Still, if the goal is to shoot more sows (and I think that's a worthy goal) then "You pays your money and you takes your chances". Most of the time you'll be right. Keep After 'Em!
I have two unwritten rules: 1. 2.
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Re: Wild hog ID - telling male from female?
[Re: Exiled]
#8143272
01/25/21 10:57 PM
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Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 11,657
colt45-90
Texas colt45
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Texas colt45
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 11,657 |
Mature boars tend to be solitary in the hill country where I hunt, but you WILL see them come into a feeder that has a sounder feeding, and if there are sows in heat in a sounder all bets are off and mature boars may be with them. If you have time to observe them you'll see boars be dominant and aggressive towards everything else (including ungulates that may be at the same feeders or in the same vicinity). To be honest, if you're thinking of taking a quick look and making a decision before you shoot, unless the sow has visible teats hanging down or a swarm of shoats around her, sometimes it's hard to tell. In that case, just shoot the big one! Feral hogs in TX vary significantly from region to region, in some areas you can see the strong genetic influence from Euroasian boar strains and in others, they look almost like domestic hogs. Sometimes boars are super evident (tall sloping foreheads, visible cutters, crests of stiff hairs running down the back a.k.a. "razorbacks"), other times it's tough to tell the difference. I just pick the big fat ones and "choot'em"! the first paragraph is spot on, a boar in the sounder will be noticeable, don't mean to hy jack your thread
hold on Newt, we got a runaway
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Re: Wild hog ID - telling male from female?
[Re: der Teufel]
#8143500
01/26/21 01:08 AM
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Joined: May 2011
Posts: 8,239
Double Naught Spy
THF Trophy Hunter
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THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 8,239 |
I've seen mature, large sows meandering in a pasture alone Ostensibly, these are pregnant sows that will separate from the sounder just prior to farrowing, build a nest, farrow, and a few days later, rejoin the sounder. I've seen (small) groups of younger boars hanging around together. Bachelor sounder, likely siblings recently booted from their mother's sounder because they got to be too large.
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Re: Wild hog ID - telling male from female?
[Re: Double Naught Spy]
#8143744
01/26/21 05:17 AM
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Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 5,162
flintknapper
THF Trophy Hunter
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THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 5,162 |
I've seen mature, large sows meandering in a pasture alone Ostensibly, these are pregnant sows that will separate from the sounder just prior to farrowing, build a nest, farrow, and a few days later, rejoin the sounder. I've seen (small) groups of younger boars hanging around together. Bachelor sounder, likely siblings recently booted from their mother's sounder because they got to be too large. Exactly right on both accounts.
Spartans ask not...how many, but where!
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Re: Wild hog ID - telling male from female?
[Re: Steve from GA]
#8143761
01/26/21 06:05 AM
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Joined: May 2011
Posts: 8,239
Double Naught Spy
THF Trophy Hunter
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THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 8,239 |
My daughter's first hog was a lone sow, which statistically would be very unlikely to happen, LOL. The sow had shown up the previous night on game camera, alone. At the time of her death, she was with milk. Because we did not recover her until the next day, we did not necropsy her, but either she was pregnant (she looked pregnant) or had recently farrowed. Daughter's video... https://youtu.be/bmO-lGNYhn8
Last edited by Double Naught Spy; 01/26/21 06:07 AM.
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Re: Wild hog ID - telling male from female?
[Re: Steve from GA]
#8143783
01/26/21 11:21 AM
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Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 8,336
Dave Davidson
THF Trophy Hunter
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THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 8,336 |
I try to shoot the biggest sow. That way the coyotes have a better shot at the small ones. I don't eat them.
Without a sense of urgency, nothing ever happens.
Boy, if I say "sic em", you'd better look for something to bite. Sam Shelley, Rancher Muleshoe Texas 1892-1985 RIP
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Re: Wild hog ID - telling male from female?
[Re: Steve from GA]
#8143867
01/26/21 01:27 PM
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Joined: Jul 2016
Posts: 1,012
Old Stony
Pro Tracker
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Pro Tracker
Joined: Jul 2016
Posts: 1,012 |
Well lets see now...........
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Re: Wild hog ID - telling male from female?
[Re: Old Stony]
#8144645
01/27/21 12:04 AM
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Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 5,162
flintknapper
THF Trophy Hunter
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THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 5,162 |
Well lets see now........... Sow with Hemorrhoids?
Spartans ask not...how many, but where!
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Re: Wild hog ID - telling male from female?
[Re: flintknapper]
#8144694
01/27/21 12:32 AM
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Joined: Jul 2020
Posts: 308
Chopperdrvr
Bird Dog
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Bird Dog
Joined: Jul 2020
Posts: 308 |
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