Hunting for the first time this weekend, help!

[theDregs]

I am taking my son hog hunting at a buddy's club this weekend. I think he wants to pitch the club to use, which is fine by me, since I know nothing about hunting clubs. First I will tell you what we have.

Guns: Marlin 336 30-30 and AK47, both zeroed at 100 yards (as best as I could manage anyway)
Gear: Nothing. Jeans, t-shirts, a cooler.
License: I just finished the safety course, I am not sure which license to purchase, but I will get one as soon as I figure that out. My son has nothing. He's 12. Does he need one? Does he need the safety course?

Other stuff: I have no idea. My friend is a nice guy, but he didn't give us info, other than, "Show up and we'll get ya a hog!"

Any tips would be appreciated.

 

[D_Max]

sharp knife or 3 or 4 hogs are tough to clean camo shirts would help , thermocell is a must for each of you , sit still don't move around ( listen ) , you can hear them a lot of times before you see them , good cooler , rubber gloves when you field dress them . this is just a start

 

[jeep78]

Go by walmart and pick up a pack of nitrile gloves, some large ziplok bags (2 gal or bigger) some bug spray and some hand sanitizer.

A large cooler will be needed for your meat (not huge, but not a 12 pack cooler).

Hogs don't see well, but they sure can smell.

 

[D_Max]

make sure your son is a good shot , don't let him shoot farther than his ability, chasing a wounded hog sucks and can be dangerous

 

[jeep78]

IIRC, just a hunting license for hogs, same as yotes. But you should go ahead and get the sportsmans license, as the bug will bite you hard, and you will want to try deer, etc.

Your son shouldn't need a license at his age, but the new rules just came out. You can check the rules on the DNR web site.

 

[jeep78]

Toss a decent first aid kit in your truck if you don't have one there already.

 

[theDregs]

I should probably add in that while we haven't done any hunting, we have had a lot of range time, and we can both put up about 6 inch groups at 100 yards. we're not experts, but we can hit a hog. I hope. My plan was for us both to shoot at the same hog on the count of three. Is that dumb? We're hunting from a stand.

First aid kit! Yes. Good idea.

 

[D_Max]

hogs don't stand still like targets , let him shoot first , you can back him up , unless you practiced shooting at the same time something will go wrong, if the pigs are close shoot em in the ear or between the eyes ,

 

[theDregs]

I am aware that they do not stand still like targets. I don't see how I am going to become a much better shot in five days. We've been practicing at 100 yards because that is how far I told the stand was from the feeders. I'll let him shoot first, though. Thanks.

 

[jeep78]

I forgot to mention, the reason for the gloves is hogs can carry brucellosis, a bloodborne disease that can be transmitted to humans. I know a guy that got it from dressing hogs.