8 Crucial Mistakes to Avoid When Boar Hunting
Martin Banks 04.09.24
Boar hunting can be a unique thrill. While any animal is dangerous when wounded or cornered, these intelligent creatures pose unique challenges to humans. Keeping their population in check provides a valuable service while ensuring a reliable supply of meat. However, pursuing this kind of game demands a certain kind of rigor. So, what are some common mistakes to avoid when boar hunting? We’ll give you our 8 crucial mistakes to avoid so hopefully you can have a more successful hunt.
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1. Underestimating Your Quarry
Wild boar are an invasive species in the United States. They’re escapees brought over from Europe. Hunting these creatures spares $40.2 billion in crop revenue yearly, as boar eat a lot and destroy more through rooting and wallowing. Feral swine carry over 30 bacterial and viral diseases and nearly 40 parasites. They’ve attacked outdoor enthusiasts and family pets and can become aggressive, especially when improper waste management or misguided feeding causes reliance on a human food source. Several hunters who have had close encounters with these creatures report the importance of not underestimating them.
2. Improper Shot Placement
A quick kill treats the animal with kindness and respect while protecting you from pain-rage attacks. Aiming for the lower quadrant of the vital V is ideal. This area sits just above the front leg, as in deer hunting.
Shots higher and more forward on the shoulder may do little but enrage the animal. While shots to other vital organs kill eventually, the creature could suffer enormously, especially if you are unable to track and dispatch them.
3. Lack of Patience
It’s natural to get a bit trigger-happy when you spot your quarry within your sights at last. Take a tip from snipers and draw at least two deep breaths before moving your finger or letting that arrow fly, awaiting the respiratory pause to deliver the killing shot in a moment of pure, calm precision.
4. Alerting Their Scent-ses
Boars are nocturnal creatures with a keen sense of smell, so treat your clothing with a scent elimination system. Store your gear in airtight plastic bags or some other system that protects it from campfire aromas. If baiting hogs, wear rubber gloves to prevent wild boars from associating your scent with food.
5. Skipping Tracking Practice
You know how to identify signs of boar traffic from their rooting, tracks, wallows and rubs. However, how keen are you on tracking the critter down if your shot goes wide of the vital V? While you don’t want to leave an animal to suffer or let the meat go bad in warm weather, keep in mind that a wounded boar is extremely dangerous. Wait at least half an hour, as many as two or three for a gut shot. Mark the trail as you go and avoid stepping on blood spots, as you may need to retrace your steps if the signs become confusing. Enlisting dogs and other hunters helps when you can’t locate the animal, but keep your pups tethered.
6. Overlooking Safety Protocols
You should review safety rules before every hunt. These include knowing the unique risks of your quarry and proper guidelines for handling your weapons and any other equipment you intend to use in the field. Practice mounting a new tree stand close to the ground amid supervision before erecting it on a sturdy, rough-barked number for the big day so you reduce the risk of a tumble. Ensure your GPS and headlamp have full charges.
7. Ignoring Regulations
Wild boar hunting restrictions vary by jurisdiction. Some states have no bag limits or specified seasons but require you to reach legal age and obtain a hunting license. Hunts may take place on public or private lands. When hunting on private property, you must follow the owner’s directives. Rules vary regarding your choice of weapon. Furthermore, the permissibility of using dogs and baits to track feral hogs varies by jurisdiction.
8. Disrespecting the Earth
The planet belongs to all creatures, not just humans. Every action you take impacts the environment and all others that depend on it. It may not feel like disrespecting Mother Earth hurts you, but it does. Tread lightly, packing out what you pack in and leaving no trace. Preserving wild areas ensures future generations will similarly enjoy the sport of hunting, with all playing their roles to honor, not destroy, the natural cycle of life.
Mistakes to Avoid When Boar Hunting
A boar hunt sustains your family while controlling an invasive species and protects the environment, people and other living creatures. Boar are highly intelligent animals and a worthy quarry for any hunter wanting to prove their stripes. Avoiding mistakes when hunting these animals protects you and increases your chances of success.
