The recovery rate for bow hunters is half of that of gun hunters and I’ll explain why. I am going to tell you what I have learned after guiding over 2500 hunters ( 40 percent archery) on successful trophy boar hunts. More importantly what I have learned after guiding over a thousand bow hunters that were unsuccessful in recovering a wounded boar. 

     A taxidermist is only as good as what you give them  to work with. Skinning and properly preparing the cape for the taxidermist is a task all hunters should know. If you hunt “own your own” you gotta know. If you hire an outfitter, a guide or skinner should cape your hide, but you should make sure its properly done. These are things you need to know because you make the difference.

I need to “touch on” the subjects of feeding and nutrition as they pertain to free ranging swine. Assuming you have hogs roaming your hunting land and would like to improve the quality of the hogs you see there. Supplemental feeding will have a positive impact on your hog herd and should be a part of your overall herd and habitat management program. 

    The ultimate test would come at the hands of Guns and Ammo editor Richard Venola.  With the dog’s nowhere to be seen or heard, Richard found himself in the right place at the right time.  Flanked by myself and Terry Palmer of B.H.M., Richard dropped down on one knee as a massive European boar headed straight toward us.  

      After gaining access to  “hog inhabited land” what are you going to do next? You could simply throw a climbing stand across your back grab the old “06” and climb a tree over the first rooted up spot you come to. Good luck! If lady luck isn’t on your side there are several things you can do to get her back.  Hunters that are willing to invest some extra time and  money into setting up a well thought out bait site,  can expect an explosion in the hog population in front of their stand.  Proper stand placement and a consistent baiting  program, will greatly improve your freezer’s inventory of pork! 

       Many landowners are implementing programs that introduce European genetics to improve their wild herd. There are only a handful of breeders with pure European blood lines that are not crossed. These hogs are expensive and their availability is limited.   With the control gained by enclosing your property with game proof fence, the cost of introducing genetics can be justified.