About this episode

Larry Weishuhn and Luke Clayton discuss wild hog hunting, their shared history, and the intelligence of wild hogs.

The episode kicks off with Luke sharing a story about a summer pear tree in his front yard in Northeast Texas. The tree drops a massive amount of fruit, which squirrels nibble on during the day. By nightfall—around 9:30 PM—a sounder of about ten wild hogs arrives like clockwork to eat the fallen pears. Luke reveals he has been tracking them with a thermal monocular and plans to hunt them from his front porch (about 45 yards away) using his new Ten-Point crossbow. Larry and Luke dive into the fascinating intelligence and sensory capabilities of wild hogs. Larry notes that research shows hogs have an extraordinary sense of smell (capable of detecting truffles six feet underground in Europe) and an incredible multi-generational memory that maps out seasonal feeding patterns year after year. The duo reminisces about their shared history hunting hogs and their co-authored book, Poor Man's Grizzly. They look back at the timeline of the wild hog population in Texas: The 1970s: Hogs were sparse and considered a highly prized, rare trophy in places like South Texas. The 1980s: The population boomed. Luke and Larry candidly admit that back then, it was common—and legal—for hunters to trap…

People in this episode

Host: Larry Weishuhn

Guest: Luke Clayton

Topics covered

• wild hog hunting
• thermal monocular
• crossbow hunting
• wildlife intelligence
• hunting history
• Texas wildlife

Keywords

• wild hogs
• hunting
• thermal monocular
• crossbow
• Texas
• hunting history
• Poor Man's Grizzly

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Poor Man's Grizzly

Places: Northeast Texas, Texas

More episodes of DSC Campfires with Larry Weishuhn

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• EP 403 Samuel Old: Whitetail Habitat Management · July 8, 2026 · 49 min
• EP 402 Hunting African Game with Phil Massaro · July 1, 2026 · 1h 4m
• EP 401 Gary Roberson Talks Game Calls · June 24, 2026 · 40 min

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