By Cody Brianese
Hunting cane comes with its own set of challenges, from big blocks to smart pigs and some challenging country. With a heap of food and too many good places for pigs to hide and live, it can be challenging but very rewarding. I mix it up between shooting and using dogs on my blocks depending on the situation. Lately, I have been doing more shooting than using dogs I’ve learned a few tips from fellow shooters as well as figuring a few things out on my own from personal experiences. Generally, we walk most of our blocks. This makes finding well-used pads and seeing the tracks getting around much easier. We can work out what size and how many pigs are coming in and out of the paddocks. Setting up a trail cameras helps in figuring out what time they are coming in and showing what’s really coming in and how long they are in the paddocks for. Using a bait site can help for the smarter big fellas that seem to be not as consistent from being chased or shot at before. For anyone who has hunted cane, you will know just how hard it can be!
When shooting pigs you have to think about a lot of the same things as you do when using dogs, from wind and scent to noise. Shooting I find its all about the position and where you sit and wait so you can get the perfect shot. Cane pigs being so skittish from being chased before making it hard as any noise or off scent will usually send them running! Doing your homework and being patient pays off and helps with getting the bigger smarter boars! I find using rifles around the cane more effective to dispatch pigs due to the way you hunt, besides your scent and very minimum noise to give your presences away to the pigs. You can sit and wait and let them go about their business undisturbed at times although it’s not quite as simple as loading up the dogs and just going around the general area of where the pigs have been. We have to first to find the right blocks or right pad to sit on, use trail cameras or even at times a simple stick across a pad and checking it at different times helps with getting the right times and where to sit.
For a shooter, cane season is the best time of year, and it makes for easier hunting as any hunter could agree whether using guns or dogs! Open cut blocks and big areas for pigs to cross makes shooting a lot easier and more enjoyable. Especially not having to track through the thick scrub following blood trails once you’ve shot a pig! Sitting in a paddock downwind is usually your best bet as any pigs in the block won’t sniff you out hopefully and walk right out in front of you and straight I like using a larger calibre rifle such as my 30-06, I find I can sit at a bit more of a distance, and this helps hide my presence a bit more. The only downside to sitting further back is it’s more difficult to place the right shot. Sometimes you may get an easy pig that will wander straight out in front of you and other times you really have to work for them. I run a Marlin 3030 model 336 with Hornady 160g ftx lever revelution bullets & a whinchester 30-06 with federal 150g soft nose bullets.
Download the app - Share your photos, Buy & sell, Read articles and watch hunting shows click here
submit your article or story click here