I’ve been hunting free range / wild hogs here in Texas and Oklahoma for 11 years and really have come to enjoy it. Hunting anything at night with archery equipment is a unique challenge and I quickly learned to respect how smart an adult hog can be.
Sure, baiting helps a great deal and you can use the cover of night to add to that advantage but it’s still a challenge to get a wise hog that’s in an environment where they receive hunting pressure close enough for a lethal shot.
If you are very good with your equipment and have the right gear to make a deep penetration or pass-through on a 100-200+ lb hog, your chances are good. Remember, it’s still a 50 yard and under world and defeating the nose of a wary hog can be very tricky.
Field Experience with DNT Night Vision & Thermal Optics
Success with DNT’s ZULUS HD V2 and the ZULUS 4K is simply putting them to use. They both work very well on crossbows. The traditional glass optics the crossbow community has used in the past do work well and are very effective while the sun shines. Today we can choose electronic optics as well and the change to a Day/Night or Thermal optic makes anytime hog and varmint hunting a reality and it’s affordable.
My ZULUS V2 at work.
The ZULUS 4K doing its job on the Hard Wood Outdoors hog hunt earlier this year.
Hogs captured with the ZULUS 4K day & night vision scope.
The HOUND thermal used as a spotter is also a nice tool to have in your kit.
A thermal can pick up the heat signature of an animal where a digital device may not. This works well seeing into wooded areas, through fog, light rain or smoke.
Hogs captured with the HOUND thermal monocular.
A good friend is an accomplished hunter (rifle and crossbow) and he successfully uses the ThermNight TNC225R for wild hogs and coyotes.
Tips and Tricks for Crossbow Night Hunters
Here are a few to consider for the crossbow hunter:
Know Your Equipment by Feel
My first piece of advice to any crossbow hunter is to be very familiar with their gear. To make night hunting fun and easy to do, memorize your optic buttons and know their positions by feel. This is an exercise you can work on at your practice range or in your back yard. Master it and it will make your hunts go well!
Hunting Strategy: Wind, Movement & Setup
Practice as you plan hunt. I hunt mostly from ground level blinds and try to ambush hogs in or near feeders, bedding or by water holes. Being portable can give you options to relocate and play the wind to your advantage. This chairblind has become a go-to for me this year.
It is an amazing product for under $100. It’s made with see-through material on its sides and front, packs very small and with the tripod I use tucked in the same bag, tips the scale at only 17 lbs. The backpack style bag makes carrying it pretty comfortable.
Pressured pigs are more alarmed by our human scent than seeing an unfamiliar object, so don’t be afraid to setup with the wind to your advantage and not be hidden or fully brushed in. Both of the blind pictures here produced effective spots for an ambush. I saw dozens of pigs from each and was successful in harvesting several.
I’ve often been on a hog hunt that starts at 3pm and goes well past midnight. Comfort is key so pack essentials for hydration, possibly a snack that’s easy to get to, quiet, not fragrant and healthy. I’m a big fan of crossbow stability and I use tripods almost all the time. They are a “must-have” in confined spaces and very handy to hold and position your crossbow on those very long hunts.
Standby Mode & Battery Management
Use the “Standby” function to preserve battery life and remember to turn on video recording prior to putting the scope in “Standby”. That trick will save you a step when that boar shows up and you only have seconds to come out of “Standby” and make a shot. The DNT software retains the recording state and it will come on without a button press.
Infrared Illumination: 940 nm vs 840 nm
The ZULUS and ThermNight IRs are tools for night hunters and to make the most of it at the close distances we hunt, the 940 nm IR Module is ideal.
Why? The visible red emitter from the 940 IR Module is a softer light and it becomes undetectable after 30 yards, yet it is still a bright enough IR light for the scope to see very well to 100 yards.
In contrast, the 840 nm illuminator has a much brighter emitter to project at longer distances and its small red emitter light can be seen 2-3X the distance of the 940s. Hunting at night from a ground blind or stand, that visible odd red light from the 840 nm IR Module may keep a smart hog from approaching.
Shot Placement & Arrow Tracking
Shot placement needs to be understood. A fully broadside animal is the best target. Wait for that front leg to move forward exposing more vital area. The vitals are unique to hogs and boars that have strong European/Russian genetics have the toughest mid-back hide often referred to as “the shield”. The picture below shows that “shield” area captured in the green box. Avoid it and target the vitals in the lower third of the animal.
Lighted nocks are very valuable and when hunting at night with a ZULUS or ThermNight that record. They can provide arrow tracking detail vital to animal recovery. I’ve always been a fan of lighted nocks and even more so now that I’ve been recording my hunts.
Hog Behavior & Baiting Strategy
The old boars are usually loners and occasionally mix in with the sounder to breed and feed. They are often the last to enter a feeding area. Sows with piglets are very savvy as well and can be the bigger challenge to get into a bowhunter’s range. If you are hunting over feed, give the younger hogs time to settle in which will signal the older hogs the coast is clear.
Baiting hogs may seem simple enough and pigs will eat a wide variety of organic food. One way to target hogs vs deer, racoons, turkey and other wild game is to use buried corn or even better, buried soured corn. Pigs can pick up that soured corn smell from a mile away yet deer and racoons typically dislike the smell and its fermented taste. Sour corn recipes include: shelled deer corn, 3 to 5 lbs of sugar, 3 packets of active dry yeast, and 3 packets of fruit-flavored powdered drink mix (Kool-Aid and/or Jell-O). Add enough water to cover the corn and mix it up in a 5 gallon bucket. In 3-4 days you will have that soured corn blend the hogs will love. If you are baiting a new site, don’t expect hogs to show up immediately. Pre-bait a week or so out and you will condition the hogs to associate this site with a safe and reliable food source.
Which Hogs Are Best for Meat?
Which hog should you harvest for food? Wild pork has become very popular and should be carefully considered. All wild animals reflect what they eat so keep that in mind. Pigs that have grown up in agricultural settings vs ones in rugged terrain will have the better diets. The younger, healthier animals, and females in the 80-120 lb weight class will produce the more tender meat. Because they are highly active in the wild, they tend to be leaner and best cooked low and slow to retain moisture. I typically quarter my harvested animals, keep them cool, often frozen until I get them processed. Sausages, bratwurst, smoked links, breakfast links, breakfast patties, chorizo grin, chili and summer sausage are what we enjoy.
Common Sense Field Checklist
Practice and know your crossbow and scope.
Carry at least one extra fully charged battery for your scope.
Clean the optic lenses well before a hunt.
If your scope does not have a focus “throw” lever, add one. When you are “in-the-moment”, it’s much easier to find to make an adjustment.
After you get setup and settled for your hunt, use the scope’s LRF to pre-range area markers. It’s possible you can get into a quick shot situation and you have to estimate distance and use old-school holdover versus the LRF.
If your hunting area is easily accessible, scout it and study animal movement. Game cameras can be a big advantage as well.
Choose your target wisely, make your shot carefully, and most of all, enjoy your wild hog hunts!
”Go afield with a good attitude, with respect for the wildlife you hunt and for the forest and fields in which you walk. Immerse yourself in the outdoor experience. It will cleanse your soul and make you a better person. - Fred Bear”
