Australia is famous for wild pigs and since they thrive in our country and do a lot of damage to crops and vegetation, many property owners are more than happy for licenced hunters to humanely cull these pests.The problem is that whilst pig hunting is an exciting activity, not everyone has the skills and the know-how to be truly successful.
The trick is to know the land and understand the pig’s behaviour, and with these two boxes ticked, you should have no problem ending the day with a successful hunt.
Explore and understand the landscape
The biggest tip here is to spend a couple of days and nights camping on the property and getting to understand its rhythm and what happens on the land during a 24 hour cycle. A long discussion with the property owner is essential, as they will have intimate knowledge that can make a huge difference to your success as a hunter on their land.
You need to spend time scouting the landscape, noting tracks frequented by the pigs, sources of water and good vantage points for your hunt. Pig hunting isn’t for the faint hearted and it’s not for the ‘boys’ who want to shoot anything that moves, not really caring about the consequences. Pig hunting is a serious occupation and delinquent behaviour will not be tolerated by other hunters or by the property owner.
People who hunt feral pigs are passionate about their sport and are willing to put the time into exploring the land, so that they can increase their skills and hunt ethically on the land.
Understand the pig’s behaviour
Wild pigs are nomadic, however they tend to stick to familiar trails when hunting their food, so you need to locate these tracks and decide if they are new and recently used. If they are new, then the pigs won’t be far away and since they are not quiet creatures, you can generally hear them in the distance.
Since pigs are voracious feeders, you can lure them to one area by setting up a feeding station with nuts, vegetables and fruits, and when they are distracted by the food, you can take them down. Wild pigs however, have extraordinary hearing and can smell hunters a mile away, but their eyesight is fairly poor. This means that if you are quiet, downwind and the light level is low, you stand a pretty good chance of a successful hunt.
July to November is the best pig hunting season in Australia, simply due to the climate at this time of year (it’s winter). This means that it won’t be overly hot during the day, but it can get quite cold at night. You will want a range of lightweight clothing with extra layers for night time or evening hunting, but don’t forget to wear sunscreen and a hat during the day, because the sun can still be quite strong, even though it might not be very hot.
Don’t forget to stock up on your hunting supplies before you leave home and with all of these tips, you can look forward to a good day hunting wild pigs in the outback.