Recently the folks at LousianaBowhunter.com posted a picture on their Facebook page of a wild hog carrying a fawn in its mouth.

The caption was pretty great. “Wondering what you can do during the off-season? Well, I’ll just leave this here for ya to think about.”

If you’ve tried your hand at hog hunting before and didn’t have much luck, congratulations, you’re in good company. Many seasoned hunters of other game have attempted to tackle the continuously growing hog problems around the country and have gone home empty handed.

Whether it’s for the hogs’ role as a nuisance to farmers and landowners, or you’re just after some tasty meat, hunting hogs is a growing sport.

Is it better to hunt hogs during the day or at night?

As the need for feral hog hunting continues to explode in the U.S. it’s important to understand your prey as much as possible. Depending on the population of hogs in your area, and the rise in activity for trapping and hunting feral hogs, your considerations for night-time feral hog hunting become greater.

It’s no secret that feral hogs are hard to take. With an estimated population of 2.6 – 4 million in Texas alone, feral hogs are an invasive species wreaking havoc on native crop and wildlife, and their rapid rate of reproduction, nocturnal nature, and adaptable diet make them a difficult species to slow down.

Feral hogs have become an increasing problem in the United States in recent years, with population growth outpacing containment efforts. Texas, which has the largest feral hog population in the U.S., is home to nearly 2.6 million feral hogs, and the annual population growth is estimated at 21%. Other states such as Louisiana and South Carolina have also seen an uptick in feral hog population growth in recent years, prompting the creation of entities such as the South Carolina Wild Hog Task Force.