I had a pretty bad experience hunting for hogs with dogs today. The guide did his best and we got the hog, but he clearly (and admittedly)was not a bowhunter. It was no cakewalk by any means, with the dog jumping in and out of my shooting lane and the guide telling me to shoot when the hog was facing me,etc.
In the end, it's my own fault for not asking the right questions and letting him know my capabilities and limitations.
At one point during the melee the guide asked me if I could make the shot from 25 yards.
Normally the answer would be yes, but not with a $2000 dog running back and forth between me and the hog.
Has anyone had similar or hopefully better experiences hunting hogs with a dog(s)?
Next time it's stand or stalk or nothing.
Gun hunters.....They'll never understand.
i haven't tried bowhunting hogs with dogs but here downunder our dogs grab hold of the hog and then we grab the hog and finish it off with a knife by stabbing it in the heart
This dog would locate the hog in the thick palmettos and then bay him. It wouldn't attack the hog but would distract him enough to allow a shot.
I felt like I could have gotten a lot closer(like 5 yards) to the hog for a shot but the guide kept offering unrealistic shot angles and distances. Live and learn, I guess.
They do the "catch dog" knife hunts here in Florida,as well,it's not for me.
Where did you hunt. What ranch. I have killed a few over dogs before with pistols. I am pretty sure I would have found a shot with my bow. It is some pretty fast action though..A little thought for some more UPFRONT conversation next time. You should try the dogs again.
My experience with good dog handlers is that they will let you get in close and then you are looking at a 10 yard max shot. I am not sure why he would not go that route as its in his best interest as it really decreases the chances of the dog getting stuck with an arrow. I have some good memories down in florida over dogs. Great dog work and close and personal game shots. tom
I went to the same place about a year ago with a friend and he got within 5 yards for his shot(s)and got his first trad kill.
Obviously, every hog is different though.
I have had good luck at this ranch from stands
but have since found a much better place.
The trick with hog hunting with dogs is getting the right dogs. If you are hunting with dogs that are constantly jumping around or actually attacking the pig instead of baying, then bowhunting can get really dangerous really fast for the dogs. However, I do use dogs to hunt pigs in Florida, but I bring my own dog from here in Colorado. I have a Vizsla pointer that loves to bay pigs almost as much as he does hunting pheasants. The difference is he won't attack the pig ever. He will stand there growl and bark his head off and he knows to stay out of my way which works out pretty well most of the time.
I also have a Vizsla (but only use her for birds). The right dog would have made a big difference. The last thing I wanted was to hurt the dog. Thanks for the input.
I've hunted hogs with dogs many times and found it's how the dog is trained.This fella had dogs that would be all over the hog,distracting it.When we would sneak into shooting range,then he would give a command and the dogs would back off 15-20 feet.I love hunting with dogs. Leland
Thats impressive that all you have to do is call off your dogs and they will listen while pining down a pig. That would take a lot of training but if you put in the time those would be some pretty amazing dogs
Hunted them woth dogs and had a blast, only killed one hog that way myself though I have been in on many kills. It can be hectic and your guide shouldn't be pushy, but he is trying to get the hog killed before the hog wounds or kills a dog while your trying to kill the hog and not a dog (make sense?)
It is fun, but yeah you need to be sure the guide understands what bowhunting is. Your paying him, just tell him what you are confident with.
Spot and stalk is much better, bushwackin at its finest.
I can realy some real horror stories about guys that come to run dogs when I was doing it so much! Give me a whole new respect for how much a hog can tote in wounds.
J
Yeah Jaime, we had catch dogs as well, one really good one that just hated a hog, he would grab and wrench down most any size hog. Course those dogs never lived to die of old age either.
J
One thing that never has seemed to be a problem is snakes. I have done spot and stalk and hunted with dogs in Florida and Georgia and I have never encountered any snakes and niether has my dogs or other dogs i have hunted with. You would think that dogs would get bit more often running through the swamps. Maybe Ive ben lucky I don't know.
CSUkid, you've been lucky. Florida has plenty of diamondbacks and pygmies. My buddy who lives on the outskirts of Orlando kills them in his yard regularly, and his labs have been bitten twice, in the yard.
Ya its probably because I don't live down there that ive so fortunate
I've hunted on a ranch south of Orlando for six years. Great time hunting with the dogs and all shots have been close. Sometimes the hog doesn't go with the program but the dogs usually bay it up nicely. As for snakes, it all that time i've only seen one snake crossing the road. I think since this ranch has so many hogs they eat the snakes.
I don't get it. If you use dogs, you're not doing the hunting, the dogs are. You're just the killer.
I guess lots of guys get excited about the "chase" and all that but as far as bowhunting goes, I can't seem to stretch the concept that far.
I don't know what goes on with these hunts in general. I've only seen video on ***tube. I don't consider myself soft-hearted, but maybe I'm wrong. Don't mind hunting and killing at all, but these guys who are killing hogs with a knife on the videos that I saw were essentially having a pack of dogs attack the hog. It was almost like seeing a pack of wolves attack something. Really tearing the hogs up. On some of the videos the dogs got tore up. On one of the videos after a hog was really getting chewed up bad the pack kinda fell over a rise with the hog. One of the dogs got trapped under the hog and you could hear the dog got pinned and was getting tore up by the hog. The guys sure rushed in then but previously were content to watch the dogs tear into the pig for several minutes before that. I gotta admit that at that point I was rooting for the pig. I hope that isn't what normally goes on in a hunt, but if it is, this type of hunting is definitely not for me.
IT IS ROUGH THATS FOR SURE,THE DOGS DON'T ALWAYS WIN.I'VE SEEN BIG BOARS LEAVIN DEAD DOGS LYIN IN HIS TRAIL
We go every year to a place north of Okeechobee a couple days after the Daytona 500. Yes you have to have a guide who understands what you need. I have had good luck so far and they have gotten to know us and how we are - both shooting wise and attitude wise.
With some of their other clientele though we have seen when we are there - I can see why they are so short with them. All I can say is that there are some real winners out there toting firearms / bows around calling themselves "hunters".
Last year I seen 3 jokers put about 9-10 arrows into some sort of African cow. Mostly all gut / rear hip shots. One of them (the main shooter) was shooting a LB - 42 lbs and light carbon arrows (not even a cut on contact head) taking on a 600 - 700 lb animal. Almost made me ashamed to be a bow hunter.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v345/Blutck/33ecb50c.jpg)
Then the three of them preceded to drink beer and stand there with their thumbs up their arse. Meanwhile the owner, guide, myself and two other buddies loaded this damn thing into the trailer to go back to camp - they wouldn't lift one finger to help at all. That is just one of the incidences I have seen over the years I have been going to this place.
We just go cause it is something we don't get to do around home. I love the meat but I wouldn't classify it as "hunting" per-say, more like hog shooting.
Skinner
CSU, I have seen one dog bit by a snake. They swell a bit but then they go back to normal.
What I dont understand is why some people look down there noses at hunting hogs with dogs, but will shoot a cougar out of a tree that was run up that tree with dogs, or bear. Guys run bears up trees with dogs yet that is fine.
I do agree with Biggie though you are just the killer - it is just I have no problem with that? But this applies to ANYthing hunted with hounds.
J
Yeah J-dog but with cats and bears, the dogs don't catch em either.
I've found dead piglets by the dozen after guys have dog hunted a place for hogs. If you've ever seen dogs catch a hog, it's downright cruel. I know, I know it's nature and all that and I don't mind listening to coon hounds ringing in the cool December air either but again, as it relaytes to bowhunters, I just don't understand.
You're right about the cats and bears too. I know that dogs are the only legitimate way to arrow a cat, so, I don't have one on my list of hunts. Never will because of that.
Biggie they run em up a tree, they are not going anywhere?? not like they have an escape route from the top of a pine.LOL. And I been in on a many bear hunts where they bay em, then bear is shot with a pistol. Here in eatern NC bears with dogs is a big thing though I have never killed one that way. I have been in on many dog runs for hogs and have seen the piglets killed - course where I was azt they wishin they were eradicated anyhow.
Yeah I shot one pig with dogs, the rest have been spot and stalk kills. Like I said it is not like a good spot and stalk kill. Just aint the same. Won't be hunting cats either, I am with you on that one.
Coons?? Jerry clower said you have to climb the tree and poke em out with a stick, so they have a fair chance, they have the choice of whoopin those twenty head of dogs and walkin off or they loose their hide. LOL!
I'll stand with the dog guys when the ARA crews get after em, even though I do not do it much no more.
Later
Jason
You have to remember that those dogs love to be in the woods as much as we do.I understand each person's point of view,but it's a pleasure watching a dog work a track.
Leland
I'm with Leland on this. A dog is a tool among other things, just like a firearm or a bow. The difference is they are a tool that feels emotion. The dogs love it.
(My background is hounds..coonhounds to be exact, and YES a 30# coon versus a 60#hound can be a very even match.)
There's not a one of them, who makes it into an adult hunting pack, that would rather stay on the porch to old old age than go out in a bloody brawl after 4 years. It's who they are. The ones that aren't like that never really make a decent hound and get weeded out real fast. Now, like I said earlier...they're a tool, and like a gun or a bow a fabulous and worthy tool can be used shamefully by it's owner. It's not the tools fault. It's simply doing what it was designed and made for.
One of the kindest and funniest dogs I've ever known was a whole different BEAST when let go on a coon track. He knew when it was family time and when it was all-out-war. Never got the two confused, not for a moment..even with other dogs. No doubt him or a coon would not be alive at the end of the hunt.
They love it. How they are handled isn't their fault.
Now as to the actual subject of the thread:
This is good to know. There's a decent chance I'll find myself in Georgia when I graduate and the prospect of year-round hog hunting is nice. One of my buddies/mentors down there LIVES for hog hunting, but he's not an archer...he just runs 'em with pits then either 'harvests' them or brings them back ALIVE!! Not sure if his dogs bay or catch sense he says he likes 'em alive but in the same breath talks about loosing 9 dogs to one old boar!?!?? :confused:
You need someone that has a great catch dog or dogs
The dog the guide had was not a catch dog, it would just distract the hog and then you try and get close for a shot. I was just afarid of shooting the dog by mistake, which was a real possibility.
It's just not for me, I can see why it would appeal to some, though. The chase was exciting, we ran a lot before I got a shot.
I've taken several hogs since by spot and stalk, to me that is the ultimate.
I appreciate all of the feedback.
(http://i369.photobucket.com/albums/oo137/jm9862/Hogs/dogboar.jpg)
I "helped" the dog get this hog down in Florida. You are right that the dog is a big part of the hunt and you really hunt as a team if you have a good dog. I can see what Biggie is saying with catch dogs because the hog is basically immobilized but with a bay dog the hog can charge and run and get away. This hog had me nailed clean when i was backing up to take a shot and tripped over a big root. I went down hard and he came right at me and would have gotten me good except the dog rushed in and protected me at the last second. My friends and I go down to hunt hogs in florida every year and I like stalking much more than hunting with the dogs I would recommend itto everyone since it can be a blast especially with a big boar. I have been charged a bunch oftimes by hogs and it is always with bay dogs in the thick stuff.
hi guys, i hunt hogs with my dogs also. but we do knife kills or live transport once the the dogs catch. i catch with bull dogs.
hound and cur dog men are differant they will let you shoot over there dogs to make a buck!">) curs are cheap in there eyes.
i would not let fred bear shoot an arrow past my dogs. plain stupid from a dog handlers stand point.
j
Mint, great shot of the hog and hog-dog. I know that dog and have hunted over it with Hoppy. Use of dogs to hunt is a very different experience but one I'm glad I have had. Don't generally hunt that way now unless hogs are just holed up and not moving. Hunting with the dogs is more about the dogs than the hunt to me. I love to watch good dogs work a scent trail and then bay up the hog. Like many other forms of hunting with dogs, the kill is not the challenging part. I can understand why it is not everybodies cup of tea, but it should not be dismissed out of hand--sporting dogs have a long and celebrated history among hunters of all stripes....Dave
What does a hog hunt with dogs run for prices in Florida. It sounds like a lot of fun. I have run Cougars and Bears with hounds when it was legal here and it is a lot of fun. It let's you pick and choose the animal you kill. Leaving the young and females to grow and breed while allowing the harvest of older animals that are approaching old age and a slow death in a year or two from tooth loss and starvation.
Wolves and coyotes are hard on their prey. So are hunting dogs, it is what they do. Hogs in most states are a nuisance that people want to be rid of. I believe in trying something before I decide against it.
I hunt with Osceola Outfitters near St. Cloud, FL. Hoppy Kempfer is the owner. It's a 25,000 acre cattle ranch that has to keep theh og population in check. Hoppy has a web site with all the info on it. He charges the same for all his hunts. On the same hunt you can spot and stalk, sit stands over feeders, or hunt with the dogs--or a bit of all of it. He's agreat guy with a first rate hunt and excellent accomodations and meals. He also runs a cool gator hunt and you can do both while there if you want to.
a guy i know went hog hunting with dogs using his compound and had a great time. said it was deffinatly different and tricky to get the shot withthe dogs running around and the pig moving all over. i think i rather just spot and stalk personally and not risk shooting the dog. makes me nervous even if i had a gun
Sounds like a little communication (effective range, appropriate shot angles, ect.) up front would have made a big difference in this situation.
I'm the odd man out, I love running hounds! Hogs, cats, bears if its legal Im up for chasing it. Is it the same as a nice spot and stalk hunt killing an animal you spotted a mile away or killing a big buck you patterned all summer out of a well placed stand, no. Is it fun, you bet!
When the guide said "load your bow", I knew I was in trouble.
I told him before the hunt that I need to get "close" but he's probably used to wheel bow guys.
I have had some hunts with dogs that were a lot of fun and very exciting. With the right guide and dogs it's great.
hog huntin with dog is fun its kinda sensory overload thee is so much happening at once. From my exp. with dog huntin about everything at one time or another I would venture o say bear huntin CAN be more brutal on the dog and bear a like the hog huntin. If they bay up and not tree it can get ugly fast. Again this is one of those subjects that is based solely on personal exp., if you had a bad exp. your thoughts on the subject will reflect it.
This thread is great. I'm headed to Florida this summer for a archery hog hunt and was thinking about adding a day in the schedule to try a dog hunt and maybe using a pig sticker instead of my bow for the kill.