Feral hogs are a pretty big problem around here, and getting worse. While I think an open season on them is great, this video is a good example of why I don't feel the need to go hog hunting...especially with ear protection. My hearing is bad enough.
(Caution: This video is graphic and might cause lily-livered tree huggers to pee a little.)
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Wow... that was too close for comfort. Think I would of screamed like a girl, throw the gun and run!
Reminds me of an orienteering course we were running in the Taunus Mountains near Frankfurt, Germany. Most of the NCO's were stationed at the way points and the squads were each given a map and turned loose. As we were working our way down a logging road toward an intersection we knew based on the terrain that the next point had to be in the thick woods to our left. As we neared the point where we needed to cut through the woods, we saw Sgt Flores run by on the intersecting road, setting a land speed record with a boar hot on his heals. He was a short guy and the boar was gaining but lucky for him, he was able to take a flying leap onto the ladder for a hunting stand. We laughed our asses off and for the longest time if we wanted to get a rise out of him all we had to say was "oink oink". 😀
Yeah I hunt them, but I'm not an idiot that wears ear muffs when I hunt either. You need to be able to hear when hunting. I've rifle hunted for them as well as caught them with dogs with nothing but a knife in my pocket. I think some folks make them out to be more than what they are. Sure they can hurt you, but so can a deer or turkey if not handled properly. You can't/shouldn't be an idiot and allowed to hunt, however that area of sports, as with other areas seems to be getting filled up with those sorts of folks.
They do mercy kills around here for them. The ranchers hire guys to hunt them from a helicopter. Not my idea of hunting, but when something is so out of control, as the hog population is here, then it's needed. I would say it'd be fun to do what they do out of a helicopter...at least once. Lol.
If you've ever been in an area where they are overpopulated, you know what they can do to the land. No way livestock can live where they live, it's too hard on their legs. I've seen cows and horses break legs due to hog rooting. I've also seen truck front ends destroyed after working in these areas b/c they are so rough. A good hog population can turn excellent grazing land into useless, difficult to work land pretty quick.
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Protecting your ears is important, but there is a compromise solution that still lets you hear. I had some shooter's ear plugs that let you hear pretty well and converse normally, but closed up a diaphragm when the shock wave of a gunshot arrived, so that all you heard was a plink. They're probably still available.
Never hunted pigs but I've always wanted to. Don't have any up here thankfully. Think I'd go with a tree stand and hunt them over bait though. From seeing that video and hearing about dogs and guys getting shredded by tuskers, not a quarry I'd be taking too lightly. Read a report on bear maulings while back that attributed one of the causes to impaired hearing. Victims never picked up on the subtle sounds that might have tipped them off to a bear near by. I always double up on the hearing protection at the range but in the field I'll take a bout of tinnitus over getting surprised by a critter.
That's crazy, I've hunted them all my life and I know maybe 3-5 people who've been hurt by them. I know plenty more that's been given a scare, but never "mauled" by them or anything like a bear would do. The treestand and bait idea is the ticket, it's like shooting fish in a barrel, especially if there's little hunting pressure. I've seen guys walk right up to them at a bait station and shoot them with a pistol. Once they get their noses buried in food, they lose all sense of their surroundings. Makes for easy picking.
We tend to use a combo b/w pig traps and dogs. Tree stand and bait are real good too, especially since we can use silencers on our rifles here in Louisiana. But a good dog hunt is very exciting, especially at night.
Louisiana official state dog - the Catahoula Cur
Had a neighbor once that had two Catahoula "hawg dawgs" for hunting. They were good hounds and pretty good natured. An underutilized breed for sure.
Since I have never hunted hogs I have a two questions. I have hunted deer and bear in upstate New York and where I live we have "Tourist Season" but they don't let us locals shot them.
What caliber rifles do you use to hunt hogs?
Joe-Nathan said in his state one can use suppressors. Are you using big slow moving bullets (less than 1108ft/sec) or smaller faster bullets with less sound?
Floyd Carrington, post: 329991, member: 474 wrote: ..What caliber rifles do you use to hunt hogs?...
Here's a short article from Outdoor Life that has some good suggestions. I have a friend that hunts with a .44 Ruger revolver. He likes it, and I wouldn't want to chance dropping that thing after I fired it....
There are several local guides that include hunting hogs with dogs in their services.
Once the dogs have exhausted the prey, a 22 is used to make the kill.
I have found myself way too close to many groups of hogs while at work as they root and feed. They feed and move along rather quickly and make quite the grunting noise. I squat and stay still and keep quite while keeping watch on their movement and they will usually move away. If they do seem to be moving toward me I throw something like a rock or clod to where it will make a sound that will usually move them in another direction.
The only time I've seen them attack is when somebody finds themselves within the circle of the group or too close to piglets. They usually will stop stare and give you a few seconds head start. Using that time to find some high ground or refuge in a tree is useful, unless you are quite a sprinter and feel that you can run faster and farther than they can.
Whatever you drop or leave behind will usually be destroyed or pounded into the ground.
A Harris, post: 330024, member: 81 wrote: .....unless you are quite a sprinter and feel that you can run faster and farther than they can...
Good frickin' luck with that. The only time I would attempt to outrun a wild pig is if there were no trees around. I've seen them cover some serious acreage in a short amount of time. A helluva lot faster than this old fat okie.
The last time I got my truck stuck was because of wild hogs. We had a control point on a grassy backslope that was right on a trail. Sometime between sundown and sunrise the next day a mess of them came rooting through and made one big ass mess of the trail. I didn't realize it until it was too late. Digging a truck out of pig mud was no fun. If I had seen any of them after that I would have shot them just to make myself feel better.
Put a couple of hog rings on his nose. That'll settle him down... har-har..
When I was about 10, I was helping my father separate the boars from the sows in the hog pen. One of the more aggressive boars came after me and pops grabbed a 2X4 and cracked him over the head. He then got that boar pinned in a corner of the shed and put about 9 rings in his nose. It went something like this: Pops: "Youm*th***ers**oftheb***...
That boar never came near me after that. I'll never forget it.
Nobody I know would even think about hunting with ear muffs.
BS Surveying, post: 330075, member: 9461 wrote: Nobody I know would even think about hunting with ear muffs.
Dang, BS, you went and changed your profile picture two minutes before I was about to tell you I know that guy driving that truck. Fortunately, it turns out I know the new guy too. 🙂
Don
paden cash, post: 329608, member: 20 wrote: Feral hogs are a pretty big problem around here, and getting worse. While I think an open season on them is great, this video is a good example of why I don't feel the need to go hog hunting...especially with ear protection. My hearing is bad enough.
(Caution: This video is graphic and might cause lily-livered tree huggers to pee a little.)
[MEDIA=youtube]HjguSbK4mjw[/MEDIA]
I just peed a little.
Cause of the earmuffs.
Who the hell hunts like that?
Don
Don Blameuser, post: 330099, member: 30 wrote: I just peed a little.
Cause of the earmuffs.
Who the hell hunts like that?Don
Gonna answer my own question here. It became obvious after thinking about it.
That dude wasn't hunting, he was just shooting.
The target just surprised his ass 🙂
Don
