In general, my preferred method of hunting is still hunting or spot and stalk, where I am on the ground and moving. I enjoy working through the landscape to find my quarry, then getting into range for the shot. That’s what drew me to airguns in the first place, the emphasis on hunting skill in addition to shooting. But there are situations in which the use of a blind can be the best way to go, and when I am hunting feral hogs in Texas, I will often use a blind to supplement pounding the ground.
Sitting in the blind with my Rattler .357, waiting for the hogs to come in.
Hunting hogs with an air rifle from a blind offers a unique approach to this challenging pursuit, but it comes with trade-offs. Ground blinds can be camouflaged with vegetation, making them harder for hogs to detect. This animal does not have the greatest vision in the animal world, but it’s not as bad as often stated. But managing scent is especially important since hogs have an excellent sense of smell and can detect human scent from a mile away. Proper placement downwind of expected hog movement is necessary to avoid being winded.
Blinds allow you to set up in prime hog activity areas — near wallows, feeders, or water sources — without being exposed to direct animal contact. Blinds are often set up near feeders in Texas, and a good airgun blind should be within 75 yards, in my opinion. They should also be positioned so that access points to the draw, whether feeder, water, or transit points, can be monitored.
From a blind, you can wait quietly for hogs to approach, using food and water to lure them in. My typical approach at several of the ranches I hunt is to sit a blind in the morning before daybreak or at dusk, to catch hogs moving between bedding and feeding areas. Then I go out on foot during the daylight hours to stalk them in the bush, using my eyes, ears, and nose to find them bedded down.
There are challenges and limitations to using ground blinds, most designs have blind spots, either inherent in the design or due to location requirements, which can make it hard to see hogs approaching from some angles. You will frequently see animals that walk by or hang up outside of shooting range or are in a position where you do not have a clear shooting lane. The most difficult issue to deal with when hunting from a blind with an air rifle is wind direction. If the wind shifts, your scent can be carried toward approaching hogs, alerting them to your presence.
I anchored this boar with the Rattler, at 65 yards.
Now, let’s address the 800lb gorilla in the room: Is this really hunting? It is not as demanding as putting boots on the ground to locate, approach, and bag your quarry. But to be fair, when I go out stalking through a thicket in Texas when it’s 90 degrees in the shade and 90% humidity, I appreciate that not everybody can, or wants to, put themselves through this. Also, when people are hunting a new property where they are not familiar with game movement, property lines, hazards, etc, a blind becomes much more practical. On a working ranch, many landowners don’t want someone roaming their property with a rifle when they have equipment, buildings, or workers moving about. Additionally, in many areas, feral pigs may roam widely, and the most practical way to get a shot, especially for the hunter who only has a couple of days to hunt, is to draw them in. It’s up to the individual to determine what type of hunt they want, a pig down is a pig down, and sausage in the freezer is sausage in the freezer!
Airgun hunting hogs from a blind is very effective effective in areas where pigs can be drawn in, but it demands careful setup, wind management, and awareness of your surroundings. A blind can be a good choice depending on the hunter and the situation. I would say that hunting with an airguns increases the challenge in comparison to a typical firearm, falling somewhere between archery and firearms in terms of challenge. However, if you prefer mobility, quick shot opportunities, or don’t have access to suitable blind sites, other methods may be more practical.
