Ed Dean of Marietta got his boar on a hunt in Macon County last fall. Photo by Ernie Price.

Walking very quietly through the woods, I saw a flicker of brown 50 yards ahead. Was it a bird taking flight or something bigger?

It was hot and steamy in Oaky Woods Wildlife Management Area along the Ocmulgee River swamp bottom and sweat trickled down my brow. Such weather is to be expected in mid-August when the small-game season kicks off.

Normally this is squirrel-hunting time, but as an extra bonus, many WMA hunters are allowed to take wild pigs with small-game weapons. I was ready for either game with my .22-magnum rifle and .50-caliber CVA blackpowder rifle. That latter weapon obviously might be a little heavy for squirrels, but it is legal and definitely can put the bacon on the table when a wild pig presents itself!

Continued to walk in the direction of the movement, I soon saw a couple of wild pigs moving slowly ahead of me. Knowing that the situation could change quickly and the hogs might be gone in a flash, I pulled up the CVA rifle and took a bead on the larger hog of the pair. Upon squeezing the trigger, smoke filled the air. I heard the hog squeal, so I knew it was hit, but could not see the pig. After a few seconds, I saw it limping off.

I did not have time to reload the CVA rifle, but this was when it is helpful to have a backup plan. My .22 magnum was the problem solver. It only took a couple of seconds to find the pig in the scope and another shot into the chest area put it down for the final count! After a few minutes of picture taking, I boned out the 125-pound sow and put the meat in several large plastic bags that I carry for such occasions and headed to the truck.

Feral hogs now inhabit nearly every county in Georgia and are a frequent target of hunters in Oaky Woods, Ocmulgee, Beaverdam and River Bend WMAs and Bond Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, all located in central Georgia.

Feral hogs can be hunted with big-game weapons during the scheduled firearms deer hunts and with bows or crossbows during the archery season. They can also be hunted during the small-game season with any small-game weapons on open dates listed in the hunting regulations. Even during the turkey season, you can take hogs, as long as you are using weapons approved for gobbler hunts.

In Houston County, the 19,401 acres of Oaky Woods have a strong wild hog population, according to area manager Raye Jones. He said that prime areas are in the bottomlands along the Ocmulgee River, as well as Beaverdam, Big Grocery and Big Indian creeks.

Also, the pigs sometimes show up in the stands of pine trees, rooting for grubs and eating soft green vegetation. When the acorns start falling, the hogs start rooting in areas around the hardwoods.

In Twiggs, Pulaski and Bleckley counties, you find Ocmulgee WMA stretching across 21,243 acres. Area manager Randy Wood said it has a good wild hog population.

"The best places to find hogs are along the Ocmulgee River in the southern sections of the WMA," Wood noted in regard to areas 1 to 3 of the WMA near the check station. "But the northern section, north of Highway 96, along the bogs and Richland Creek, has been good in recent years, so definitely check it out also.

"The middle sections and the west section and the Gum Swamp tract only have a few hogs," he concluded, "but a good hunter might find some."