Gat,

The biggest hogs that I know of are in the peanut fields around the Memphis, TX area. Here is a picture one that is supposedly 600lbs. It may or may not be, but I have seen larger ones taken. Not many, but they are larger.




Here are three that I took in one of the peanut fields one night. I didn't weigh them, but they were darn sure fun to shoot!

Snider, I'd be interested to talk to you more about these South Carolina hog hunts.



I too am planning on going on one, I think these are also from stands. It might even be the same area. I was told it was like a 3 hunt package, friday evening, saturday morning, and saturday evening. Is the place you're going night hunting?



Also, the place I've heard of says the average range is more like 100-150 yds. I was planning on taking a peep sighted 8x57. Certainly not what I would want to take if the ranges are out to 300 though.

Hey Longbob..

I can be in denton is 3 hours... when we hitting that beanfield?
jeffe

Where and when are you 2 fellows going to SC boar hunting? 9 of us are leaving Friday morning for Estill,SC at Cypress Creek to hunt Fri. evening,all day Sat.and Sun morning.
I killed a 250 lb boar with a bow years ago but this will be the first time with a rifle if I get lucky.
Going to be hunting with a savage muzzle loader and a 7/08 if and after I get one with the muzzleloader.Good luck to you fellows.

Bob,
the center one in your truck is far bigger than the top picture. The young fella holding that rifle is AT LEAST 5 feet behind the pig, and up hill (the "lard of the ring pig picture angle)

While a HUGE pig, i doubt it's over 350-375... but that's guessing, and that guess is on the light side, but that's due to the attempted depth of field manipulation. After all, if you have a 600# pig, why would they screw around and try to make it look bigger?

Longbob: I don't know what they weigh, but them's good 'uns. As I said earlier, hogs that have access to growing crops (peanuts are first class in this department) can get a whole lot bigger quicker than those that are running around prickly old pastures and trying to make a living off of weeds and roots and such. The same is true of deer, and I would suspect that the Memphis area has some good ones of both whitetail and muley. Have you taken any there?

Jeff,

I agree that he is making the hog look bigger than it is by being so far behind it, but I think his hog is bigger than any of the ones that I shot. If you want to go hog hunting with me, you have to bring all of your cool guns. Or no deal! lol!!!

Frankly, I'm disappointed in everyone that posted after my pictures. None of you asked ANY details on the rifle, rounds, scope, etc.... that I used. What is wrong with you people!

It's a Ruger (special run) 35 Whelen shooting Federal Premium 225 gr. TBBC's. I reload, but I am successful in loading worse groups that these factory rounds. The scope is a Leupold 6x36. I'm wearing a King of the Mountian Pullover (bought used in great shape) and Woolrich Wool Bibs. Since Martha Stewart is busy trying to stay out of the pokey, someone has to share the details.

Stonecreek,

I go up there every year to hunt Whitetail, Mulies, Hogs, and Quail. We generally take my RV and spend the 1st week of December in Memphis and Canadian. Canadian is where we hunt Whitetails. They are all over the place like cockroaches. We hunt on the Canadian river. It seems to concentrate them there.

Early one morning, we were driving to the lease and I saw the biggest Whitetail I have ever seen. There was no question it was a monster. It was on the side of the road way up on a plateau. This is no exaggeration, it was so big, if I had seen it just moments earlier, I would have made the split second decision and may have hit it with my truck just to bag it.

One afternoon, I was sitting on a huge log in the middle of some deadfall. I was watching over some incredible scrapes. Normally, I am very conscious of my scent, but I was wearing a hodgepodge of camo (I looked like a hunting golfer) that hasn't all been washed in my scentfree detergent. We have also determined that human pee doesn't affect deer at all. Don't let anybody tell you differently. It flat doesn't affect them and I had several intances to prove it.

This lease that we hunt on is one of the greatest places I have ever been to observe deer behavior. There are just so many deer, you can try all kinds of stuff and see how the experiment goes. If you screw up, there will be more deer that come along and you can try all over again.

Anyway, I have been peeing in this one spot right next to me at my normal pace. I've got race horse kidneys and a girl scout bladder. As I'm looking for Mr. Big Buck, I notice some does working their way over to me. I sit very still and watch one approach me. This is no joke, the doe cautiously walks with in two feet of me. We are looking eye to eye (I'm wearing the standard camo ski mask) and she is sniffing, trying to figure out what I am. She gets so close, I could feel the air coming out of her nose when she sniffed!

There was a log that stopped her from getting any closer. She was about to step over it to get even closer. If she had, she would have stepped in a really wet spot where I had been peeing. She had lifted her leg to step over the log when I finally had to blink. My eyes were about to fall out of my head for dryness. This startled her and she jumped back about 10 feet. Slowly she walked around me, trying to figure out what I was. And then she left.

That was sooo cool! It makes you feel as if you are doing everything right to get one to come so close. For a minute, I was wondering if these damn things bite. I was pumped!

I just happened to get some information you may be interested in. Yesterday I sent an email to the outfitter I'll be hunting hogs with in SC next month. I had hunted with him last Feb. (for hogs) and last Oct. (for deer). I was just asking him how things were going and this was his reply.

Quote:

---

Hey!
Have had 17 hunters, killed 27 and missed 6.
The biggest one was 255 but have SEVERAL big ones that are still out there. I am talking 300 plus!
I will do my best!
Holler @ you soon!

---

I remember him telling me that he rarely sees hogs over 300# or so (in eastern SC) so I don't think you'll be running into anything much bigger than that. Some of the areas that he hunts have old rice fields nearby. Because of this, he recommends shooting them in the head to prevent them from running off into the rice fields. It seems that the hogs can travel along in the rice fields just fine, but humans will sink as if it was quicksand. Good luck

JJ: This is encouraging. At least your outfitter is staying somewhere within rock-throwing distance of the truth!

I'm not sure where in SC we're going, but I think its about an hour and a half south of Charlotte NC. So definently not eastern SC.

Sounds like a good place to go hunting. If the guy has had 17 hunters and killed 27 hogs, considering how a lot of people shoot, he must be overrun with them. Wish I was closer, I'd give it a whirl.

crazyquik and owensby: im going to sumter lodge. its outside of columbia. i got great references from the deer hunters about the pig sitings. it may turnout well and it may not. i want to try it and i hope we do well. let me hear about your hunts.

longbob i like to hear some mule deer stories. i agree about the peeing. ive done it for years with deer walking all thru it. never a reaction.

Snider,



Unfortunately, I do not have any good Mule Deer stories. Yet. Well, maybe I do.



My best friend, Chris, and I go out to these areas each year for any kind of hunting that we can scrounge up. A couple of years ago, Chris met me at my grandparents house in Silverton, TX. The Red River is a few miles away and it is public land for hunting.



Basically, you park under the bridge and hike down the river as far as you are willing. The further you go back, the better odds you have. The whole time you are thinking "I hope I don't get something because I'm going to have to carry it out." I guess we would end up quartering and packing it out, but jeeze it would take hours.



We finally locate a promising spot and set up shop. We glass all day without seeing anything. I have to go pee. So, I do the considerate thing and walk a little ways behind where we are sitting and let go. I don't need my gun to go to pee and sure enough, I see a Muley Buck. It wasn't big. At first I even thought it was one of the fake deer that the Parks and Wildlife set up to catch poachers. I'm looking at him and he is looking at me, but he doesn't flinch or budge. I step to the side, then back. Finally, I realize that I forgot to zip up. The sound of the zipper must have done it because he took off after that. Thank goodness Rocky Boots are water proof.



I go back to where we were sitting and in about an hour I see a bigger Muley crossing the river. I ask Chris if he wants to take it. He said that I could. I think he really didn't want to pack it out. He was going to help me wheither he shot it or not. I waited until he was about to jump up on the bank and shot as soon as he landed. It looked like he was knocked back 10 feet from the shot (300 Win. Mag). I know it is an exaggeration, but both of us said the same thing.



We left our spot to find the deer. Neither one of us really saw where it went. Chris took the high, brushy route and I took the easy river route to where I shot the deer. I told Chris to come my way and he said that it looked risky. The Red River is very wide in this area. It is mainly streams that are about 6 inches deep separated by strips of sand.



He struggled his way as I trotted mine. This was fine until I suddenly sunk up to my waist in quick sand! I said "Chris! Chris!" He said "What do you want!" as he worked his way towards me out of the brush. He went wide eyed when he saw where I was and I said calmly "You were right." Chris went into full panic mode. He liked to never brought me a stick big enough to get me out.



I finally worked my way out and we went to find the deer. I bet we tracked it over 2 miles and never did find it. Naturally, I'm filthy and my Rocky's are soaked from the inside out. I told Chris that we needed to go to town and get a boot dryer. This is Sunday and the nearest large town is Clarendon (pop. 750). He has his doubts.



We roll into town and I spot a brand new "General Store" that is having a Grand Opening. We are met in the parking lot by a couple of young guys that are greeting everyone. They ask if they could help us and I said "Yeah, do you have any boot dryers?" One of them said "We sure do." Chris thought they didn't understand the question, but he kept it to himself as they led us into the store and over to a shelf that had 5 boxes of brand new boot dryers. He couldn't believe it, but it didn't surprise me. I'm an eternal optimist.



We roamed around the store for a while. They had free cookies (about 6" in diameter), free soft drinks, and all served by some of the prettiest young girls you have ever seen. They were very attentive to our needs. Gotta love West Texas people. Now this is hunting!



My buddy is constantly complaining that I am the luckiest skunk he has ever known. He says that alway land on my feet, but he is going to come out on top this time. He is going to write up this entire story, with some embellishments, for Outdoor Life. This was, until, the next day.



His enthusiasm passed pretty quickly when he found himself waist deep in quick sand. To this day he implies that I wouldn't have pulled him out if he using one of my rifles. I guess he does have a point. He was holding on to my gun as I pulled it out of the quick sand. Naturally, we had to go back and get another boot dryer for him. I think it was just an excuse to get more cookies and to look at the young girls.



One of the things that I noticed was how hungry I would get. Big Momma (my grandmother) is a great cook. She would send us out with several sandwiches and a few slices of her pound cake. You would pace yourself so that the sandwiches and the pound cake ran out at the same time.



The last day was a cold one. We positioned ourselves on a cliff on the opposite side of the river. Chris was bundled like the Michelin Man a few feet below me. He remembered that he had two slices of the pound cake left over from the day before. This is really good stuff and it hits the spot like nothing else.



Chris wants it all to himself, but his conscious gets the best of him and he offers me one slice. I said, "That's all right, you can have it." He says, "No. Really. Have some." I said, "No, you go ahead and eat it." He says, "No. Really, I want you to have some." It tell him Ok and and I crawl down so he can hand it up to me.



We settle back in to our positions. About an hour later, Chris hears me rustling around. He cannot see me because he is wearing so much coldweather gear he cannot hardly move his head. Chris asks, "What are you doing?" I said, "Nothing." He must have sensed the guilt in my voice and says again, "No, man WHAT are you doing!" Sheepishly I said, "Nothing." He then rolls his body over and says, "What the Hell have you got!"



It was then that he spotted me with the whole other loaf of Big Momma's pound cake. There was nearly a hunting accident.

longbob ive hunted whitetails along the red river northwest of quanah, texas. is that near you? the last two seasons have been great. year before last i killed a 16" heavy horned 8 point using rattling horns. here in north carolina we don't use the horns. that was the greatest rush i have ever had afield. better than my two mulies from wyoming. this past year i passed several small bucks along the red river area. the last morning i got after a 140 class 20" 8 pointer. got to 352 yards and was ready to pull the trigger and he slipped into a plum thicket. he never gave me a standing shot. my 7mm ultra mag will zip anything out past 450 yards easily but a rest is necessary. my first muley came at 447. my second was 408. later i saw what spooked the buck. 40 turkeys came out of some mesquite trees. it took me about an hour to work to that buck. i had a shot at 424 but i said to my buddy, i can get closer. in retrospect i should have shot. i can shoot nickel sized 3 shot groups with that ultra mag at 200 yards. those 139 gr. sst's and 139 gr. IB's shoot lights out. the 154's do the same. i'll be back next year. a guy i do business with uses his private plane to fly me out and set me up hunting on some leased land of his. that country there reminds me alot of eastern wyoming and the national grasslands in thunder basin. great story in the sand. sounds like you and your friend have shared some interesting times in the field. strong bonds are built with friends and family when you go afield together. the rugged outdoors will build character in a person. its not always about the kill.

gatogordo: pissing on him probably would draw a reaction. i hunt with a chemist and he says that your diet plays a big part in how your urine smells. its more of a curosity to them than a smell that spooks them. im sure some deer have been spooked by such things in high pressure areas. they associate this odor with danger. ive had a young 4 point walk right to a rotten stump i urinated into just minutes before climbing into the stand. last year bow hunting i urinated out the back of my stand an into the top of a dogwood tree. the urine was dripping from the leaves when a large mature doe and fawn walked underneath the tree as urine dripped onto them. i do not know if it got directly on the deer but i do know that she was standing directly under the tree. she never reacted. she checked the area and moved slowly down the trail in the same manner many deer had done at that stand location. 15 minutes later a good 6 pt. and a spike entered the area and fed on acorns and corn for over an hr. they too never spooked or even investigated the odor. just my set of experiences.

How big do you think these are?

Where I hunt hogs in Central CA, I agree that most hogs run about 100 to 200 lbs. There are some that go well over that, but they are harder to come by. The guide I hunt with doesnt like to hunt near their beds in brushy country because that is a recipe to loose the hog. He also wants his customers to take a hog home in good shape. Therefor, for that reason, he has you make a boilerroom shot. Most hogs will run 20 to 100 yards from that shot. I dont care if it is a 30-06, or a 243 win. I ve seen it. Your choice of rifle is just fine. The bullet you are choosing is very much like a corelok, and I believe you will be just fine. However, I dont believe I would be trying for 400 yard shots.

Crazyquick
I would guess they are in the 260 to 285 lb range but it is hard to tell from a picture.
Very nice pigs in anybodies book. How did they taste?
Tell us about the hunt, rifles and loads etc.
What part of the country was that picture taken?

Not mine, no clue where they were shot although everyone who sees the picture asks where that is. The picture is from Garrett's webpage, and they were taken with 310 grain .44 mag loads.

Sorry to all those who thought they were mine

Guessing, I would say the front hog goes 350 or so, based on his fatness. I can't tell about the other two and they all look awfully domestic to me. Especially the front one, I've never seen a wild hog that fat, but it could happen, of course.

Didn't they weight then when they bought them from the pig farm??

I don't know about the 3 in front, but the one "feral"next to the can on the right is about 50-60#...



the ONE feral looking animal in this picture... notice the scaffolding and wenches... wonder if they are lead in by handfeed corn, then shot with those wonder penetrating bullet?



Heck, in that situation, a 22 mag is your friend



jeffe

Nice short domestic snouts and curly tails. Different strokes I guess......not my cup of chowder.

Bob

at the atlanta sci show this week end there was a full body mount hog that weighed 615 pounds and i believe it.. it is the size of a small car and easily 50% bigger that the 400#'s we have killed at the farm..no telling how many mexicans it would take to get into the truck

No 600 pd. hogs in Texas? 2 or 3 yrs. ago there was a picture of a bowhunter in Texas with a huge hog. He was on a guided hunt with a friend and they came upon a hog in a mostly dry pond,up to his belly in mud. One of them distracted the boar while the other stalked within range and shot the boar. Well the boar thought it was the distractor that hurt him and took off after him,almost catching him before he got up a tree. The shooter put another arrow in him and finally went down.
The Denison Herald paper stated it was a new state record,and get this, fielddrest it weighed 1079 pds.
The guide had never seen this hog before,and was very shook up over the whole thing. And yes it looked very much like a mostly Russian boar.
It's supposed to be in the Texas record books but I'm not very good at finding this stuff. Probabley in the archives of the Denison Herald in Denison Texas. Digger

I saw that picture too Ditchdigger. Pure 100%Russian.
The hunters also found a #300 boar in the wallow that the big boy had laid on and crushed. When they pulled the crushed hog out of the mud they found a Ford Ranger Extended cab with 2 dead hunters in it that had been missing for 3 days. Lucky that the hunters killed that big bruiser before he found his way back home to the hog farm and took reveng on the hog farmer for selling him.