Photo by Michael Skinner

It was my first time ever to hunt Pearl River Wildlife Management Area with a muzzleloader. The mid-December morning was a little warmer than I liked, and the trend was to continue until rains began and a cold front cleared the way for another round of winter chill. It is what I like to call December's "three-day" rains; every three days or so the cycle is repeated. It was midweek as well, and from the looks of traffic, I had the whole area to myself.

The hunt was two-fold: first, to get out of the office and into the woods and second, to see what kind of scrape activity I could find near some impenetrable thickets on the area. The very shape of Pearl River WMA in Madison County is deer friendly rather than hunter friendly. It is long, bordered by water to the south and east and the Natchez Trace Parkway and private land to the west and north. There is one road in off State Route 43, so critters in that area know when somebody is coming.

Rather than setting up on a specific trail, I set up in an area with the greatest visibility. After all, I was looking for an area to hunt more than hunting a specific area. About 25 feet up a tree, I capped my rifle and settled in to wait. Within 30 minutes, I saw two does and a yearling feeding along the edge of a thicket. The day was already becoming a moderate success. Before another 30 minutes passed, I was looking at a reddish-black sow hog and six piglets.

As the pigs gleaned the forest floor for acorns, roots and whatever else pigs find palatable, the does were joined by a fair 4-point buck. The young buck was interested in one of the does and harassed her until all the deer disappeared into the thicket. The hogs, feeding 75 yards away, gave them little more than a passing glance.

On the way home, I told a friend I could have shot a doe or a pig but opted to shoot neither. In the subsequent conversation, we agreed that wild hogs have become established in the Mississippi landscape. They are despised by many and loved by a few. However, they are becoming abundant across the state and now allow hunters a second big-game option. They are good to eat and can be as canny as a whitetail to hunt. They lack the eyesight of a deer, but they have excellent hearing and a sense of smell that is very acute. Hogs' senses make them incredibly fun animals to stalk. Getting into range with a bow or a primitive weapon is challenging but not impossible.

For a long time, hogs and deer were common in several areas of the state, such as along the river systems and where domestic hogs had been allowed to roam free, becoming feral. European hogs were imported later and spread beyond the borders of their release to inhabit the surrounding environs. The descendents of these imported hogs are the most prized. The Russian boar, as it is often called, is actually a European wild boar. The hog is believed to have originated in Eurasia, and domestic pigs are allowed to revert, regain their (no pun intended) roots.

That said, we have two species of wild big game on approximately 26 of Mississippi's WMAs. Undisturbed, deer will remain in an area where food and cover are nearby. To an extent, hogs are the same way. However, hunting pressure or just human disturbance will send hogs immigrating to another area, sometimes miles away. Their food sources are so diversified that they can find something to eat just about anywhere and in any type of terrain.

Deer sign include tracks, scrapes, rubs and, for the trained eye, browse markings. Hogs also leave tracks, but a sign of their presence in an area looks more like a field following a demolition derby played with a dozen D-9 bulldozers. Finding rooted areas in the woods is easy. Just look for the ground that resembles the work of a hundred or so energetic Boy Scouts trying to dig foxholes with camp shovels.