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Article by: Rufus Hoyd

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Hunting through the use of spears and other tools used to be the ancient man's primary way of sourcing food. Today, hunting is still very much alive in the modern society, although it is being for various reasons.

One of the top hunting targets for men is the wild boar, a known ancestor of domestic pigs although they look different. Boars are classified as feral hogs, Russian wild boar or hybrids, a mixture of the first two kinds. Boars are called full bloods if they are pure wild boars and standard if they are a result of breeding domestic pigs and pure wild boars.

Feral hogs are hogs that have escaped domestication and became wild. The free roam farming, or the practice of branding hogs and releasing them into the open to roam free and breed, is said to be responsible for the existence of feral hogs today.

Feral hogs can be found in nine States, with the largest population found in Texas. Texas and other States consider hogs as nuisance animals so hunting rules are very lenient. In fact, hunters are allowed to hunt feral hogs using any kind of weapon or bait, at any time of the day. True Russian boars are said to exist only in Texas and New Hampshire.

The increasing population of feral boars is attributed to their ability to reproduce fast, the practice of free ranging husbandry methods and the existence of more water in arid areas. These boars can produce four to six litters depending on their breed and the availability of food in their area.

A hunter's success in hunting boars using rifle will depend on the population of the wild boars, the hunter's knowledge of the behavioral patterns of wild hogs, and the use of the right kind of rifle.

Feral hogs have keen eye sights and they have a very good sense of smell and hearing. A fully mature feral hog can weigh from 200 to 700 pounds while a wild boar or the Russian boar can weigh up to 400 pounds.

Wild boar hunters should consider the kind of gun they are going to use, the gun caliber, the load of the gun which should match their hunting style, the terrain where they expect to encounter the hogs and the range between them and the boars.