A listener writes “Here’s the background on the hunt. A friend of mine has been dealing with a serious hog problem on his property along the Pearl River, south of Jackson, Mississippi. There’s a large swamp bordering the river where the hogs are heavily established.
I set up bait in a field with a cellular trail camera that alerts me when hogs come in. While waiting, I stay in his fifth wheel camper on the main property right along the river.
On the night in question, I was in the camper when the trail camera sent photos showing hogs in the field. I got my gear and stepped outside to begin the roughly half-mile walk in. As soon as I exited the camper, I noticed how unnaturally quiet it was. I’m a retired law enforcement officer, and one thing I was always taught was to trust that sixth sense. An old instructor used to say it would save your life and in my experience, he was right. Without exaggeration, I had a very uneasy feeling.
I continued on, moved into position, and ended up killing two hogs.
Later that night, well into the early morning I dragged the hogs back to my friend’s skinning rack near the river. I cleaned the smaller hog and took the backstraps from the larger one. While I was working, I heard something in the woods I couldn’t identify. It was unlike anything I’ve heard before a series of rapid, low grunts coming from roughly 50 to 70 yards inside the tree line.
After finishing, I dragged both carcasses from the rack to a nearby ravine about 50 yards away, with a drop of 30–40 feet, and pushed them over. The larger hog weighed around 225 pounds, and the smaller one what remained of it was maybe 15 pounds with the guts exposed. Nothing else unusual happened the rest of that night.
I returned four days later expecting to find the remains at the bottom of the ravine. Instead, both carcasses were completely gone. What stood out to me was the total lack of evidence no drag marks, no disturbed ground, no scattered remains. Nothing.
So my question is this: if there were something unusual in that area, in your opinion, would it be safe to continue night hunting there alone, making that half-mile walk to the field?
To be clear, I never saw anything, smelled anything, or heard footsteps or movement following me that night. The only things that stood out were the unnatural silence, the strange vocalizations near the skinning rack, and the complete disappearance of the hog remains without any obvious signs of predation.”
Connie O
As a former law enforcement officer, if someone told you your story and asked you the same question, what would you tell them? Hopefully the answer would be positively no, it would definitely not be safe to hunt there alone, especially at night.
Bill F
I am in south Florida.. hog hunt all the time,I have had this same type of thing happen here. Hog carcasses disappearing overnight.
I never had any issues with these things hog hunting at night, I drop the remains in the same area for them and never have any issues. Its kind of a symbiotic relationship, they get food… I get rid of hog carcasses, same thing, no drags, no scattering by coyotes overnight, just gone by sunrise, and I don’t have to smell them for days while the buzzards pick them apart.
It kinda works for me, YMMV.