Hogs are widely avaliable, most can be hunted year 'round and are relatively inexpensive to hunt. capt david

Same reason we don't have a sheep forum. Ingwe and sam olsen would give it a bad name .

I was thinking the same thing the other day, though in my book they fit pretty well into 'predators and varmints' or whatever that forum is

Listening to the way a lot of guys talk about wild pigs you might have a better chance starting a thread on killing cockroaches.

It'll come. 15 years ago there was a hog problem in only 20 something states. Now they are a BIG problem in 45 states or so. One sow and her offspring in 5 years gives you 1,000 head. This is based on a sow only having 4 or 5 pigs twice a year. Fact is they have 3 litters every 14 months. With a good food source they are just like a brood sow. To stabalize the number at least 70% of the critters has to be taken out every year. This is impossible and very serious.

Hogs.
Natures finest natural bullet test media.

dave

A lot of fun to shoot and good eating too...

Hope they set a hog page up. They are popular enough, and easy to get to. Usually one of the cheapest big game animals to access.

Maybe a list of landowners with "Crop Damage" permits or others that just need help to remove problem animals off their land. I am sure we could get a list of "volunteers" to help out.

As Capt. David said, one of the best bullet testing mediums made.

Dave,
Do you have huntable numbers of them in PA?

Lotta money being made on these dang things! Once was a time people begged you to catch or kill. Now they are making money on the hunts. Aggravating corn vacuums....

I would say no.
But they found a dead one on the road here last summer and the buzz was that there moving in.
I live in NW Pa. so I figure there numbers will be limited.To tuff a winter here.
In southern Pa. could be a totally different story.
All my pigs are from Texas.
I usually go in Feburary just to get a few days away from butthole deep snow and below freezing weather.Makes for a nice break.
Warm weather.
Hunting vermin.
Shooting.
What more could you ask for?

The 270 WCF.
What a wonderful tool.....



dave

Winters don't bother pigs. Their roots (pun intended) are from Russia. They can handle long rough winters. Their adaptability to various rough climates is a big reason they are so hard to get rid of and why they spread so fast. If you've seen one up there, you will see more. Maybe not tomorrow, but they're coming.

I find it funny that so many farmers, ranchers, people complain constantly about the pigs, but won't let anyone hunt them. They can be a huge source of revenue for ranchers, if they would change their way of thinking. If they truly want help, they need to stop complaining and let people on their land to hunt, or hire hunters to take care of the problem or at least keep them in check. They don't have to let every jackass on their property, but a few good hunters can keep the numbers in check. I have hunted them from helicopters a couple of times on LARGE ranches. A couple of hundred rounds of 12 gauge and a Benelli semi auto loaded with buck shot thins them out in a hurry. It isn't a problem to take out an entire family group of 12 pigs in one pass. Flinch

Ranchers on the Big Island (Hawaii) don't care for poachers coming on their property and shooting pigs. Spooks the horses and cattle to stamped and tear up fences and get tore up in the process. Most don't have a problem with dog's and knife or bow / crossbow or trapping. Trapping is great if you have a pen. That way you can see what the pigs been eating and just before the luau, put a 22 mag in its head. Another way (I don't recommend but my family kind of crazy) was to chase a sow with piglets screaming the whole way. The screaming scares the piglets and they drop to the ground. Doesn't work out so well if / when the sow turns around.

HaYen

ok this post is worthless without video sounds like something my brother would do

Mine.........

Another....

Yet another......

I wish we had some video of yelling down piglets. I'll have to ask my cousin. If we have any, it'll be on 8MM film.

Yelling piglets...uh hu? Sounds like someone with an ego made that story up after a couple of beers or seven. The piglets don't get scared and lay down, they do their best to keep up with momma. They usually scatter in every direction once you get too close to them. I would like to see ANYONE keep up with even the smallest piglet. They can flat out move. Put them in a little brush and you lose! I've yet to see any pig lay down or stop running. Even when they are tuckered out or cornered, they will turn on you, try to rake you or just try to run past you (depending on the size of the hog). All they know how to do is run or fight. Crazy things. Flinch

Your sick..........

I can't tell which one is the hog in this pic. The kid is 20 yards behind the pig. He isn't leaning on it, but it makes the pig look huge. The kid is a dumbass. He supposedly shot it 7 times with a S&W .500 magnum. Must have been sitting at the feeder while he reloaded. That punk couldn't shoot that gun that many times, let alone hit anything. Flinch

Maybe he flinched..................?

i got a call earlier from some folks over by Orange groove that have hog problems. told to come and shoot all i want, so there are opportunity's out there to hunt them for free if you put the word out.

BP...

Yum, a ham sandwich!

I shot a sow two years ago and unzipped her. She took off through the field and I hit her again, finishing her off. Toby and I kept hearing squealing from the direction of the woods she came out of...or so it sounded. The wheat grass was about a foot high. We zeroed in on the sound and found 4 piglets that the "unzipping" of the sow had birthed. They were up and sniffing around for mom, squealing and carrying on. One was still in the birth sack wiggling around. Kind of strange, awkward and sad, but the rancher will be happier ;o). Flinch

How did they fair with the cold winter? Do they still have a lot of them? I hear their were a LOT of dead pigs, due to cold and snow this winter. Flinch

dave7mm - I respectfully disagree with your observation. Check the European forum where the same critter is hunted in deep snow in Germany, Czech Republic, France; Italy; Croatia; Serbia; Romania; the Black sea; Ukraine; the Caspian sea; Kazakhstan; northern China; Mongolia; northern Japan; Oregon, Maine in the United States; Ontario, Canada and other eastern republics. Would say Northern PA is roughly the same latitude.

I have unsuccessfully tried to catch a couple of young ones myself.
They may get left behind, but they trail their mother by scent and eventually catch up.

I love to hunt them, but as a landowner, I hate them. Very nocturnal and unpredictable when hunted. Sport hunting makes a small dent in population, especially daytime shooting. They get spooked out of the hunted tract and don't return for days. Trapping, dogs and helicopters can have some impact.
For all the people who suggest landowners allow hunters on their land, most do. Either family, friends, or leaseholders. Seldom in TX is a tract not hunted. Especially if the game populationss are good.

stumpy

Hogs.
Natures finest natural bullet test media.

dave [/quote]

The most redeemable quality that hog's possess. They're a real nuisance in FL and in season year round. We frequently hunt them for "pest" control. They are an excellent test media for bullet/load development after initial testing for accuracy on paper!

Here is the problem with hog trapping/hunting. It cannot be done with weekend hunts very sucessfully. It takes time to set a trap and get them coming unless you are lucky. In other words you need to live on the property or have help from someone in the area to keep the traps baited. So, if your situation doesn't fit this criteria you are SOL or darn lucky to kill hogs.

Dang KaBoom your gullible. I was just kidding about the pigs freezing to death. It was just a comment on how cold it has been and how much snow we have right now.

Toby Joe

We are headed to Canadian Texas for two weeks and hope to get to do some pig hunting while we're down there. Anybody know the rules on shooting pigs with a suppressed rifle?

No need for a seperate forum. Huntin' big uns, post in big game. Bullet performance on the bastids, post in hunting rifles or reloading, etc.

Little bastids get in a pile when it's cold! Semi auto is not a bad idea when you have multiple targets of opportunity.

Theres not a huntible population of wild pigs in WA.
I want to hunt pigs, I know Cali. has some but from the research I've done it doesn't look like much opportunity on public land for nonresidents. I haven't found any info showing wild pigs in any of the neighboring states, Id. Mt. Or. or Wy. Any recommendations on witch states to look at, The closer to WA the better.
A DIY hunt preferably on public land.

Yep

It'll suck.My guess.

A friend of mine moved to Wichita Falls, Texas a couple months ago and I would like to get down to visit during March next year to visit and go hog hunting. Is there a way I could get onto some good hunting without paying a commercial operation? My friend isn't a hunter so I don't think he will be much help in that regard.