Patterning a Hog?

Double Naught Spy · June 22, 2015, 10:44 AM

https://youtu.be/x5Py9WvNAho

This is a hunt from last evening and I had some fun with the concept of "patterning." I have some friends who like to say that they have a hog patterned, but quite often when they go after the patterned hog, the pattern is broken and they come home empty-handed. So I patterned the hog with the first time it showed up and then verified the pattern by taking the hog on the following night.

Of course, statistically, this is not a valid concept, but given the numbers of influences on a hog's daily activity and the fact that they don't have reason to keep a set schedule, their patterns are apt to change without notice. That is for an individual hog. Based on experience, I have come to find that if a boar shows up for the first time, there is a good chance it will be back the next night (maybe about 30%) and a very good chance it will be back within the next 3 nights (>70%), not necessarily at any given time, mind you, but just come back. This isn't really "patterning a hog," but playing the odds of what often happens at my place.

Beyond the first visits, I have had poor luck with trying to pattern hunt individual hogs. Too many things seem to change their pattern enough to keep me from being successful beyond random chance. The hog I shot before this one had been coming several nights a week, usually after 1:00 am. I showed up at sundown to wait for him and he was already under the feeder at 9:00 pm. Had I shown up according to the pattern, he would have been long gone, LOL.

So do you pattern hogs and if so, what sort of criteria do you use for determining what constitutes a pattern? How well does patterning a given hog or sounder work for you?

dahermit · June 22, 2015, 12:40 PM

Patterning hogs seems an interesting concept. With the abundance of feral hogs in some areas and much time on some people's hands, it seems logical to me that it would be able to be proven if someone would capture a few hogs and implant tracking devices, let them go and see if they establish patterns, how frequently and how often do they follow their patterns. I for one would find such a scientific approach to be of interest.

TimSr · June 22, 2015, 02:55 PM

A tracking device, and a GoPro!

thallub · June 22, 2015, 03:07 PM

i've had some success getting big solitary boars on my clock using timed feeders.

The secret is to dispense a limited quantity of feed. If the hog shows up too late the feed is gone. Sometimes they camp out nearby and come in quickly when the feeder runs.

IMO: It's easier to "program" a hog to morning feeding. i currently have two boars that are visiting feeders early in the morning. They show up about 30 minutes after daybreak nearly every morning.

For many months one big boar had a routine. He would cross under the west fence, wallow in a gully stopper and then visit the feeder; sometimes he would wallow after feeding. He seldom varied as much as 30 minutes. Sat in the nearby blind one morning and killed him.

One morning i waited for a boar that never showed. Then this old boar showed up and grazed on the oats. Wondered why he avoided the corn. His teeth were worn down to the gums.

Snyper · June 22, 2015, 03:59 PM

I've often patterned deer to the point that I could predict within 5-10 minutes when they would show up, but I don't think hogs are as likely to follow any patterns unless it's coming to a good food source, which is what those deer were doing

Double Naught Spy · June 22, 2015, 04:10 PM

I think deer are a lot more predictable. They also tend to have smaller home ranges than hogs as well.

Old Stony · June 22, 2015, 05:30 PM

I've tried to "pattern" hogs, but not very successful with it. I check cameras and feeders regularly and still haven't found any pattern to their movements. I have seen groups hit the same feeder for successive nights and sometimes several times a night....but no particular time necessarily. I've had a few boars that come in just after dark and kept to that schedule for a while and that gave me a better chance than setting out all night hoping.

RaySendero · June 22, 2015, 06:07 PM

I've had no luck patterning/timimg hogs to corn feeders.

However, have found patterns to water holes during the hot summer days.

If this helps you.

979Texas · June 22, 2015, 08:04 PM

Patterning hogs can prove to be very futile most of the time. But I think that alot of it just hinges on what type of environment in a fair bit of cases. I have had luck a few times patterning hogs but a huge majority of my sightings and kills have been very spontaneous. Some of them even unexpected. But hogs have a huge range and if your property is not very big or diverse then unless you have access to property adjoining yours then patterning can prove difficult. But in my experience the longest that I have ever been able to pattern a hog was for a little less then two weeks. And a majority of my patterns have been confined for no more than three days and a few up to a week. Both to corn feeders and pasture forage. But I tell you the most consistent and successful patterning spots I have had are to cattle bunks and feeders. 100 percent of the hug hunting that I have ever done in my life has been on active cattle ranches. Mainly my parents old cattle ranch now because living in the city like I do now has limited my ready access to other spots. And I've had hogs come back for over a week in a row to areas in the pastures where we have cattle bunks and feeders and especially in the winter when we feed on a daily basis and other food is scarce, in the middle of the nights around 10 till 4 groups of hogs will show up to the feeders long after the cattle are done with them and just clean up all the left over feed. I have even witnessed on multiple occasions hogs putting their two front legs in the bunks and while standing on their hind legs clean out the inside of the bunks with their snouts. I got to when I notice sign of hogs around feed bunks I will wait until it gets dark then just go sit nearby either on the ground in the open pasture or on the edge of some brush. I will wait till they come out and get comfortable and just cut on my 900 lumen light on my AR and let lose. But on full moon nights down here in Texas the nights can be so bright from the moon that I don't even use my light. Just my Bushnell Banner Dusk & Dawn 4-12 and my green laser works perfectly. That laser is ultra deadly when those hogs start to scatter at night.

Double Naught Spy · June 23, 2015, 11:27 AM

Quote:

But I tell you the most consistent and successful patterning spots I have had are to cattle bunks and feeders.

I am not sure that patterning localities is the same as patterning hogs, but you may pattern given hogs at a given locality.

For example, this hunt from last night is in a 29 acre oats field, apparently the only crop field for a couple of miles in any direction. It is a magnet for hogs and deer (and whatever cattle can break into it). We have been there 5 weeks in a row and hogs have been there all 5 weeks, not necessarily the same hogs and not necessarily at the same times. They don't enter from the same directions, either. So I can't say that we have the hogs patterned so much as we have the field patterned.

https://youtu.be/0UCUaCnCryI

Texgun · June 29, 2015, 03:43 PM

I have tried every trick I've ever heard of and can't find a way to predict when a hog, or group of hogs, will return to a specific place.
I think they have a routine, or circuit of places they work, but there is no way to be sure about the timing. The amount of time they spend at each spot varies and makes it impossible to know when they will shoe up where you want them.
Also, once they have been shot at they routine will be altered.
The best way I know to hunt pigs is the old fashion way. Find an established trail and set up upwind of it. It take patience.

Capt Rick Hiott · July 13, 2015, 08:58 PM

Texgun is right,,,,,"once they have been shot at they routine will be altered."

This is true 99% of the time. It takes about two weeks for them to come back to the same feeder at my club once there shot at.

Saltydog235 · July 13, 2015, 09:49 PM

We patern ours every time we feed. Put feed in the feeders and sometime during the next two nights, they'll come and eat it. One of the guys stayed almost all night waiting. The game camera got them coming in right after he left, like 5 minutes after. For us it's a game of chance and opportunity unless the dogs are in, then odds go up.

June 22, 2015, 10:44 AM	#1
Double Naught Spy Senior Member Join Date: January 8, 2001 Location: Forestburg, Montague Cnty, TX Posts: 12,717	Patterning a Hog? https://youtu.be/x5Py9WvNAho This is a hunt from last evening and I had some fun with the concept of "patterning." I have some friends who like to say that they have a hog patterned, but quite often when they go after the patterned hog, the pattern is broken and they come home empty-handed. So I patterned the hog with the first time it showed up and then verified the pattern by taking the hog on the following night. Of course, statistically, this is not a valid concept, but given the numbers of influences on a hog's daily activity and the fact that they don't have reason to keep a set schedule, their patterns are apt to change without notice. That is for an individual hog. Based on experience, I have come to find that if a boar shows up for the first time, there is a good chance it will be back the next night (maybe about 30%) and a very good chance it will be back within the next 3 nights (>70%), not necessarily at any given time, mind you, but just come back. This isn't really "patterning a hog," but playing the odds of what often happens at my place. Beyond the first visits, I have had poor luck with trying to pattern hunt individual hogs. Too many things seem to change their pattern enough to keep me from being successful beyond random chance. The hog I shot before this one had been coming several nights a week, usually after 1:00 am. I showed up at sundown to wait for him and he was already under the feeder at 9:00 pm. Had I shown up according to the pattern, he would have been long gone, LOL. So do you pattern hogs and if so, what sort of criteria do you use for determining what constitutes a pattern? How well does patterning a given hog or sounder work for you? __________________ "If you look through your scope and see your shoe, aim higher." -- said to me by my 11 year old daughter before going out for hogs 8/13/2011 My Hunting Videos https://www.youtube.com/user/HornHillRange

June 22, 2015, 03:59 PM	#5
Snyper Senior Member Join Date: December 16, 2013 Location: Eastern NC Posts: 3,047	I've often patterned deer to the point that I could predict within 5-10 minutes when they would show up, but I don't think hogs are as likely to follow any patterns unless it's coming to a good food source, which is what those deer were doing __________________ One shot, one kill

June 22, 2015, 04:10 PM	#6
Double Naught Spy Senior Member Join Date: January 8, 2001 Location: Forestburg, Montague Cnty, TX Posts: 12,717	I think deer are a lot more predictable. They also tend to have smaller home ranges than hogs as well. __________________ "If you look through your scope and see your shoe, aim higher." -- said to me by my 11 year old daughter before going out for hogs 8/13/2011 My Hunting Videos https://www.youtube.com/user/HornHillRange

June 29, 2015, 03:43 PM	#11
Texgun Member Join Date: June 12, 2005 Posts: 32	Right Place at the Right Time I have tried every trick I've ever heard of and can't find a way to predict when a hog, or group of hogs, will return to a specific place. I think they have a routine, or circuit of places they work, but there is no way to be sure about the timing. The amount of time they spend at each spot varies and makes it impossible to know when they will shoe up where you want them. Also, once they have been shot at they routine will be altered. The best way I know to hunt pigs is the old fashion way. Find an established trail and set up upwind of it. It take patience.

July 13, 2015, 08:58 PM	#12
Capt Rick Hiott Senior Member Join Date: August 30, 2010 Posts: 376	Texgun is right,,,,,"once they have been shot at they routine will be altered." This is true 99% of the time. It takes about two weeks for them to come back to the same feeder at my club once there shot at. __________________ Capt Rick Hiott Charleston,SC

June 22, 2015, 12:40 PM	#2
dahermit Senior Member Join Date: October 28, 2006 Location: South Central Michigan...near Posts: 6,501	Patterning hogs seems an interesting concept. With the abundance of feral hogs in some areas and much time on some people's hands, it seems logical to me that it would be able to be proven if someone would capture a few hogs and implant tracking devices, let them go and see if they establish patterns, how frequently and how often do they follow their patterns. I for one would find such a scientific approach to be of interest.

June 22, 2015, 02:55 PM	#3
TimSr Senior Member Join Date: March 8, 2013 Location: Rittman, Ohio Posts: 2,074	A tracking device, and a GoPro!

June 22, 2015, 03:07 PM	#4
thallub Senior Member Join Date: November 20, 2007 Location: South Western OK Posts: 3,112	i've had some success getting big solitary boars on my clock using timed feeders. The secret is to dispense a limited quantity of feed. If the hog shows up too late the feed is gone. Sometimes they camp out nearby and come in quickly when the feeder runs. IMO: It's easier to "program" a hog to morning feeding. i currently have two boars that are visiting feeders early in the morning. They show up about 30 minutes after daybreak nearly every morning. For many months one big boar had a routine. He would cross under the west fence, wallow in a gully stopper and then visit the feeder; sometimes he would wallow after feeding. He seldom varied as much as 30 minutes. Sat in the nearby blind one morning and killed him. One morning i waited for a boar that never showed. Then this old boar showed up and grazed on the oats. Wondered why he avoided the corn. His teeth were worn down to the gums.

June 22, 2015, 05:30 PM	#7
Old Stony Senior Member Join Date: May 31, 2013 Location: East Texas Posts: 1,705	I've tried to "pattern" hogs, but not very successful with it. I check cameras and feeders regularly and still haven't found any pattern to their movements. I have seen groups hit the same feeder for successive nights and sometimes several times a night....but no particular time necessarily. I've had a few boars that come in just after dark and kept to that schedule for a while and that gave me a better chance than setting out all night hoping.

June 22, 2015, 06:07 PM	#8
RaySendero Senior Member Join Date: August 23, 2010 Location: US South Posts: 857	I've had no luck patterning/timimg hogs to corn feeders. However, have found patterns to water holes during the hot summer days. If this helps you.

June 22, 2015, 08:04 PM	#9
979Texas Senior Member Join Date: January 24, 2015 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 177	Patterning hogs can prove to be very futile most of the time. But I think that alot of it just hinges on what type of environment in a fair bit of cases. I have had luck a few times patterning hogs but a huge majority of my sightings and kills have been very spontaneous. Some of them even unexpected. But hogs have a huge range and if your property is not very big or diverse then unless you have access to property adjoining yours then patterning can prove difficult. But in my experience the longest that I have ever been able to pattern a hog was for a little less then two weeks. And a majority of my patterns have been confined for no more than three days and a few up to a week. Both to corn feeders and pasture forage. But I tell you the most consistent and successful patterning spots I have had are to cattle bunks and feeders. 100 percent of the hug hunting that I have ever done in my life has been on active cattle ranches. Mainly my parents old cattle ranch now because living in the city like I do now has limited my ready access to other spots. And I've had hogs come back for over a week in a row to areas in the pastures where we have cattle bunks and feeders and especially in the winter when we feed on a daily basis and other food is scarce, in the middle of the nights around 10 till 4 groups of hogs will show up to the feeders long after the cattle are done with them and just clean up all the left over feed. I have even witnessed on multiple occasions hogs putting their two front legs in the bunks and while standing on their hind legs clean out the inside of the bunks with their snouts. I got to when I notice sign of hogs around feed bunks I will wait until it gets dark then just go sit nearby either on the ground in the open pasture or on the edge of some brush. I will wait till they come out and get comfortable and just cut on my 900 lumen light on my AR and let lose. But on full moon nights down here in Texas the nights can be so bright from the moon that I don't even use my light. Just my Bushnell Banner Dusk & Dawn 4-12 and my green laser works perfectly. That laser is ultra deadly when those hogs start to scatter at night.

July 13, 2015, 09:49 PM	#13
Saltydog235 Senior Member Join Date: October 20, 2010 Location: Pawleys Island Posts: 1,563	We patern ours every time we feed. Put feed in the feeders and sometime during the next two nights, they'll come and eat it. One of the guys stayed almost all night waiting. The game camera got them coming in right after he left, like 5 minutes after. For us it's a game of chance and opportunity unless the dogs are in, then odds go up.