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Controlling hogs - which one to shoot?

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    Controlling hogs - which one to shoot?

    I asked this question about 10 years ago on here and got a ton of replies, so I thought I'd ask it again since much of the userbase here has changed.

    We know that a sounder of hogs will scatter like the wind when they get shot at. If you're a good shot with your semi-auto, you might take out 2 or 3 before they're all gone. The point is that you will most likely have to pick one to shoot. But which one?

    So the question is, which would have the MOST impact on the local hog population, shooting the boar(s) or shooting the sow(s)?

    And asking politely, please keep it on topic and don't post stuff about using dynamite, traps, .50 caliber machine guns, etc. And we don't care about eating them; we're talking about controlling their numbers.

    Some say the sows, because a sow can have 8-12 piglets twice a year. Others say the boars, because one boar can impregnate several sows.

    Your thoughts?
    Last edited by Ruark; 07-27-2016, 06:45 PM.

    #2
    Any of them… I can get 2-3 on the first shot if I let them line up with a 300RUM and then pick up a straggler on the run

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      #3
      Typically if I get a sow with a bunch of piglets running with her I will attempt a twofer: line the sow up with a piglet and get them both with one shot.

      Other than that, I just shoot the biggest one

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        #4
        If I had a choice, sow first. If no time to check I would pull the trigger on what ever I put the crosshairs on.

        Just my $.02

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          #5
          My first to target is the most mature sow in the sounder followed by her subordinates. Without breeding age sows the boars will go search greener pastures, younger inexperienced pigs will make more mistakes, more often without the older pigs to show them where, when, and how to source food.

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            #6
            me personally the sow but thats when i have a sounder come in at my place typically the boars are alone so kinda depends on what comes out first if its a sounder try and get 2 for 1 then spray and pray til there gone

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              #7
              I would think shooting the sows,especially the bigger ones.

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                #8
                Sows....96% of does get bred in situations with terrible ratios...boars will find sows and breed them and move on to the next group. You can wipe out 5 or 6 with a bolt action waiting for them to line up and holding on a pig that stops to wait for others to catch up after the initial shot. If you'd like to see fast results, walk up to them at night (roughly 20-30yds) and send 5 quick loads of 4/0 into the herd.

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                  #9
                  Originally posted by tex4k View Post
                  My first to target is the most mature sow in the sounder followed by her subordinates. Without breeding age sows the boars will go search greener pastures, younger inexperienced pigs will make more mistakes, more often without the older pigs to show them where, when, and how to source food.
                  This. Followed by any mature boar since the big boars are seldom seen in daylight and usually come in alone. My thought is that they teach the younger pigs how to be more elusive. This is only if I can't shoot a sow. We have a shoot on sight policy on any pigs. Only good ones are dead ones.

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                    #10
                    If you have time to study them in a group (aka sounder), then pick the minimal of either one. Sometimes you will only find one or three dominate mature boars in a group. I'd focus on those first. Then the big sows. Big boars generally only run with a group when checking sows. Not always. But generally. They are there to breed the sows. Smaller boars less than 120-140lbs will run with them most of the time. But when they get big enough to breed, they sometimes get run off by the bigger boars till they get big enough to try to sneek into a group and breed the sows too.
                    After ya knock those out, boars then bigger sows, the rest will be easy pick-ns.

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                      #11
                      Bigger sows is the right answer I believe.

                      For one, I don't believe mature boars would travel with a sounder unless the sows are in heat, so most of the time what people think are boars are really big sows. If the sow is in heat and boars are present, most likely she's already been bred, so it makes sense to shoot her. If she has piglets, take her out, especially if they are still on the tit. The sounder will still protect them to some degree, but bobcats and coyotes can still grab them while they are little, not so after a few months. A sow can get pregnant around 8 months, but it usually happens later and they carry about 100 days or so. The point I guess I am trying to make is most likely if you shoot a mature sow, you are hurting the sounder more than a boar.

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                        #12
                        So far it's sows 100%, boars 0.

                        I didn't realize boars didn't attach themselves to a specific sounder. I always thought they stayed with their group as the dominant hog and leader, sort of like the herd bull in an elephant herd.
                        Last edited by Ruark; 07-27-2016, 07:07 PM.

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                          #13
                          The closest one.


                          Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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                            #14
                            Dumb question, what is a sounder? How do you identify it? Kill it over the biggest sow?

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                              #15
                              Originally posted by Ruark View Post
                              They do? I always assumed a boar stayed with "his" sounder - his harem, if you will - as the dominant hog. Sort of like the herd bull in a herd of elephants. So you're saying a boar will actually leave his sounder and go to another one?
                              Yep....ive had personal vendettas against a handful of boars. They bounce around like a pinball with the different sounders that frequent the place. I thought they were trap shy and killing odds of catching them, but cameras were showing sows turning them away from the trap door.

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