Will Wild Hogs Come Back After Being Shot At?

Fact checked by Steven Lines, lifelong Hunter and Outdoorsman.

Once you’ve lured hogs onto your property, it’s time to start shooting. But you don’t want to scare them away. So, will wild hogs come back after being shot at? I decided to do some research on this issue. Here are some of the things I found. 

Hogs will usually come back to the area after being shot. It might take a few days before they will feel comfortable again. Things like using red or green lights and scent protection will help stop you from permanently scaring them off.

To deal with a wild hog problem, you’ll need to get multiple shots at them. Here are the best ways to shoot hogs without spooking them. 

Will Hogs Come Back After You Shoot at Them? 

After you’ve made a shot and killed a hog, you can expect the group to scattered. The loud noise will spook them. What you do next, though, will determine how quickly they will come back. 

You will need to leave the hog there. Don’t attempt to remove it. If you do, you’ll spook the hogs even more. You’ll also be leaving behind a pool of blood. Their sensitive noses will detect this scent, and they will know to avoid the area. 

If you leave the dead hog there, the rest of the group will eventually come back. How long this will take will depend. Some people report it could be as little as ten minutes.  However, you will often need to wait a little longer. In a few hours, you should start to see some signs of movement. 

Sometimes, there will be a few groups of hogs in the area. If this is the case, you might spook the first group, but the next one will come in a few hours. You can use your trail cameras to see how many groups there are and what times they will frequent the baiting area. 

Another important tip is to avoid shooting on consecutive nights. Hogs are very smart animals. If they know that a particular site is associated with danger, they will want to avoid it. This is particularly common amongst the older hogs.

After each night of hunting, give it a few days. This will let the hogs build trust with the area. Then, you can come back in and do some more shooting. 

What Happens When Hogs Get Spooked? 

One of the best ways to decide whether a wild hog will return to the area is by looking at their behavior. There are a few signs that they have been spooked. One of the first is the way that they move. They tend to be a group, liking to stick to safety in numbers. But when you spook them, they will run in all directions. Their main goal will be to get out of the area as quickly as possible. 

This can be a dangerous situation for the hunter. Wild hogs can be very fast, reaching speeds of 30 miles per hour. If they hit you at that speed, you could be seriously hurt. There is also the potential that they will get aggressive. 

After they have been spooked, it can take a while for them to trust that area again. Even if you present lots of corn, they might not want to come back. Because of this, you might want to wait for a few weeks before you start hunting that spot again. 

How Long Will Hogs Stay on the Property? 

If you’re planning on hunting, you’ll want to know how long the hogs will stay on the property. This can vary. If you spook them, they might not want to return. However, it’s more likely that they won’t be able to resist a steady source of food. As long as they can get fed, the hogs will stay on the property. 

Once the food is gone, they will look to move on. They have been known to travel for long distances to get to a new food source. So, if they opt to move on, it might be a while before you see that group again. 

When are Hogs Most Active? 

To avoid hunters, most hogs have decided to become nocturnal. This means that they will be most active in the dawn and dusk. During the day, they tend to sleep. The best time to hunt them will be during the winter. They will be more actively hunting for food during this period. Because of this, they will be more mobile. In most states, you will be able to hunt hogs all year round. 

What Can Scare Away a Hog? 

Aside from shooting at them, there are a few other activities that can spook a hog. First, because they are nocturnal, they will be sensitive to any bright lights at night. If they see this, they will often be warier about heading out into the area. In some cases, they will even become more aggressive, charging at the hunter. 

The best way to get over this is by using a red or green light. The hogs are color blind. Because of this, they won’t be able to see these types of lights. This will allow you to get a clear visual at night, so you will be able to hunt hogs successfully. 

If you want to use a trap, it can pay to be more patient. Younger hogs tend to enter traps willingly. But older animals tend to be more hesitant. They might have seen traps before and will want to avoid going inside. You can monitor their behavior using trail cameras. It will often take a few nights before the entire group feels safe enough to go into the trap. 

This video gives you some tips on how you can set-up a trap successfully.

Once they are all going inside, you can set the trap off. This will let you get the entire population. If you don’t, the hogs will associate the traps with danger. Because of this, they won’t want to go near them again. 

Lastly, you might want to think about masking your scent. Hogs have a very keen sense of smell. With a breeze, they will be able to smell you from 10 miles away. While this might not be enough to make them avoid the area, they will be warier. Because of this, it can be harder for you to get a clear shot. If they can smell a human scent on the trap, they might not want to go inside. It can be a few days before this smell will go away. Because of this, you might need to wait a while until your trap starts to produce results. 

There are a few products that you can use to help mask your scent. You should be able to use a scent that is aimed at hunters. This will work by releasing so many odors that the pigs will get confused. It would be best if you also avoid smoking during the hunt. The cigarettes will produce a strong unnatural smell, which can alert the hogs to your presence. 

Final Thoughts

Shooting at a hog isn’t the only way to scare them off. Your scent and lights can also spook them. Thankfully, they will return to the baited area as long as you continue to provide a steady food supply. How long it will take for them to come back will depend. Sometimes it can be a few minutes, at other times you will need to wait for a few days. 

Steven Lines is a hunter and outdoorsman from Safford, Arizona, USA. Since he was a child, he has been hunting and fishing and has over 20 years of outdoor experience. Steven works as a hunting guide in Arizona during his spare time and runs a Youtube channel dedicated to sharing his outdoor adventures with others.