bush stalking pigs

Im on a mission to get a wild pig with the rifle. I have my 45th birthday late in August and I thought it would be a good idea to throw a halfway to 90 party! I also thought id like to cook up a pig on a spit at it. Ive done a fair bit of research on you tube etc but I'm having trouble getting one in the sights. Ive shot my share of deer but a pig is proving a tad elusive. Yesterday i was in the Longwoods again, on the hunt and I came across a lot of pig sign. I found rutting so fresh it looked like the ground had just been rotary hoed. A lot of the sign was around the 200m elevation which coincidentally was where we found the deer hanging out also.
I guess my question is where do pigs bed down during the day? Are they down in the guts or up high. The amount of sign i saw would indicate multiple pigs but didn't see any thing move (except red deer).
Do i need to hike up in the dark to try catch one out in the open? I don't have access to a hunting dog yet. Our current one is 12 years old and not up to much anymore.
Any tips or suggestions much appreciated. (except just buy a pig)

they will be somewhere warm to have a snooze. they even more wind sensitive than deer eg if they smell you they will be gone.

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Originally Posted by Micky Duck

they will be somewhere warm to have a snooze. they even more wind sensitive than deer eg if they smell you they will be gone.

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It was pretty frosty saturday morning. Do they travel far each day or do they predominantly hang out in one place?

Upper matuara holds a lot of pigs, know there are a few farmers happy to get rid of them, could always try door knocking or find the nearest doc area.

I've shot quite a few pigs, I hunt them just like deer; the only difference is that I've noticed is that they tend to move a lot more. I.e when you'll see them and you have to be quick to get a shot, whereby red deer seem to stay in a spot for a bit longer. They're bloody fun to stalk and shoot! A dog does help, but it's not essential; just try, try, try and then try some more.

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Originally Posted by craigc

I've shot quite a few pigs, I hunt them just like deer; the only difference is that I've noticed is that they tend to move a lot more. I.e when you'll see them and you have to be quick to get a shot, whereby red deer seem to stay in a spot for a bit longer. They're bloody fun to stalk and shoot! A dog does help, but it's not essential; just try, try, try and then try some more.

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So are they out during the day or quite nocturnal? I guess it depends on the pressure they get.

I've found they hunt best dusk and dawn. But like you alluded to, keep searching with your binoculars and you'll see them bedded up and sometimes feeding during the day.

Your looking for the wrong sign , don't worry about the rutting so much keep going until you find the rooting surprisingly this activity can be successful with only 1 pig involved ..but where there is one theres usually more not far away , but good luck finding them in the bush without a dog , best bet would be to ask a pig hunter to take you out or 2nd best bet dump 2-3+ sheep/goat carcasses in a spot you can sit back & watch once they find them they will keep going back till its gone or you put more there, I have a few fond memory's of doing just that, one time my mate & i had around 10 dead green ,bearing,stinking ewes on the back of his old trailer heading for the hills , got a few k,s down the road & a wheel fell off going round a corner half the stinkn things fell off onto the road lol ..how embarrassing :)
Got a few good boars over the years doing it though..with dogs .

Last two I shot in April, middle of the day out in the tussock. I had seen two large pigs in the same spot four days earlier, but was 800+ yards away with a raging river holding me back. The two I shot were tiny, no doubt the bigger ones were there somewhere.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...1e313d6d6a.jpg

Mate they might be small,but a beautiful feed ,nevertheless.......good stuff there!!

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Originally Posted by MSL

Last two I shot in April, middle of the day out in the tussock. I had seen two large pigs in the same spot four days earlier, but was 800+ yards away with a raging river holding me back. The two I shot were tiny, no doubt the bigger ones were there somewhere.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...1e313d6d6a.jpg

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Originally Posted by Boaraxa

Your looking for the wrong sign , don't worry about the rutting so much keep going until you find the rooting surprisingly this activity can be successful with only 1 pig involved ..but where there is one theres usually more not far away , but good luck finding them in the bush without a dog , best bet would be to ask a pig hunter to take you out or 2nd best bet dump 2-3+ sheep/goat carcasses in a spot you can sit back & watch once they find them they will keep going back till its gone or you put more there, I have a few fond memory's of doing just that, one time my mate & i had around 10 dead green ,bearing,stinking ewes on the back of his old trailer heading for the hills , got a few k,s down the road & a wheel fell off going round a corner half the stinkn things fell off onto the road lol ..how embarrassing :)
Got a few good boars over the years doing it though..with dogs .

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The sign I saw probably was rooting. Patches of under a square metre all turned up looking for grubs. Often there were several patches of sign nearby. Thanks for all the advice guys.

Hi Alister

Go slow and quietly and be wind-wise. They're in the Longwood but truthfully I've never had one in my sights either.

Longwood has its share of spotlight-poachers, so mid week as opposed to weekends may help, and do have a torch ready if you're dusk or dawn so you can ensure poachers see you

Very hit and miss looking for pigs without a dog.

Best bet is spotlighting farm land, near the bush edges. Fingers of grass that go into the bush or gullies, that type of thing.

I have a mate who still culling, he shot 13 the other night on a beach (Maori land) using a thermal imaging scope. Goes to show how much pigs will let their guard down at night.

I hear them quite often in the forestry block i hunt, just a woof as they take off, i have seen two walking up a road towards me but as i was looking the other way and my daughter was sayin dad dad and just as i lined up they walked into the gorse unaware of us. Crap

Wouldn't eat them if baited off a dump thats a bit "ripe" but yes it works well. Pigs eyesight is pretty crap and you will often come across them at all hours. Put a game camera on a dump get the timing right and you can have quite a field day spot lighting. But a thermal would definitely be the go for control.
These 5 little guys were out happily rooting away at 3 in the afternoon. Shot 2 before they noticed, got another 2 on the run, the last one ran off dragging his back legs, sent the dog to find him which he did but wasnt worth bringing back. Good thing there were only 5 cause the mag only holds 5. Bloody gyroscopic thingy in tablet, the photos the right way up in the file

We get pigs on the trail camera's moving about at all times Day and night, shot the odd one too.

They got wicked hearing as well . I always respect a hunter that gets a pig while stalking . Unfortunately a trait I don't have

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Originally Posted by Munsey

They got wicked hearing as well . I always respect a hunter that gets a pig while stalking . Unfortunately a trait I don't have

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Normally no where as good as a deer thou. I dont know how many times ive been hunting with dogs and they gone away on a pig (before the days of radio tracking) and we been wandering looking for them and making quite a racket pushing though scrub and at times talking away and walked into pigs that had no idea we were there. Bush stalking deer ive shot a few, often if the pigs busy rooting or the like you can walk right up to them even if you just bashed your way though the tight stuff.
Different story if they smell you, they off and dont stop. Smaller pigs eye sight are very poor and ive been standing 20 feet from smaller pigs and they looking straight at you and if you dont move they just carry on with there business. Bigger pigs tend to pick you out better and will bolt. Deer most of the time know im there while bushstalking and more times than not are looking at me wondering what the movement is or whats made the noise.
Every pig ive shot had no idea i was there and often walked onto them at close range and they still had no idea. Smell pigs are on top of the game, all other sences they crap unless they aware somethings up

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Originally Posted by allister

So are they out during the day or quite nocturnal? I guess it depends on the pressure they get.

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I have seen them on the move at all times of the day, they are very transient so they may have been here yesterday but may not be here tomorrow. The only one's I have shot are ones that have got in front of me before I reach a deer

Hamish

Hamish

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Thanks for all the tips and advice. Laid up with the flu at the moment but hope to get back out there next weekend.

The hump track area......One presumes it gets busy at times ?

Years ago in the early seventy's where the Wairaurahiri river came out by the sea. The bush around that coastal track was very pleasent to hunt in and there was some very up close pig hunting to be had.

But that was then.....Whats it like now ?

Hey allister I know this is an old thread but how did you get on? I’m new to hunting and am awaiting my license to get out, but would also like to bang a few pigs without the use of dogs.

Hey bud, what do you class as the upper Mataura?