So I was reading a report about the Federal Hog Hunters who recently visited a WMA in Middle Georgia. They came in with a small helicopter to Di Lane WMA and I believe during one weekend killed OVER 400 hogs. What suprised me was the shooter was reportedly using a shotgun.?ÿ
Now I have never hunted Di Lane WMA but I seem to recall that it is a trophy managed WMA and it is supposed to have some excellent dove hunting and the mere fact that they dropped that many pigs is suprising.
I was in Ranger (that's about 30 miles north of me) a couple of weeks ago and I came upon 3 adult squellers and a bunch of piglets.?ÿ
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400 anything in a weekend isn't hunting. It's herding and slaughtering. Could be it needs to be done. But it isn't sport.
If you need a helicopter to hunt, stay home.
They were Feds who specialize in killing feral hogs.
I understand Texas has a lot of this.
I found the story. It was a week not a weekend. Little matter though still a lot of pigs.
http://www.gon.com/hunting/aerial-assault-wild-hog-war
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A client and long time friend has a local wild hog hunting with dogs service.
He is a licensed guide and books hunts for different areas in America and Canada for many type of game.
Hog hunting is not a sport. It is war!
Most of the feral hogs are in middle and south Georgia because of all the huge farms and a abundance of food and swamps and river bottoms.
There are farms and guides that offer regular hunts for pigs but those are on private lands.
There is a huge population in NW Georgia but they most of them stay on a couple of the large Wildlife Management Areas.
There is no season for hogs and on private land can be killed any time.
The WMA's however have different (and very stupid) rules. They can be hunted only during a game season and only with the weapon for that particular game species. Since they don't consider swine "game" they never consider that someone will field dress it and drag it out.
The other problem with the WMA lands is that they are huge pieces of land and access is usually on foot, no vehicles so it is easy for the hogs to simply go and hide.
I have had people tell me that there are thousands on Pine Log WMA and Johns Mountain WMA is said to have a large population but unless you have a horse or mule you are left to foot travel.
If they would loosen the rules and allow 4 wheeler and frequent hunts they could eliminate the hogs and people could fill their freezer but for stupid reasons they think people will abuse the land and I guess they think people will poach other game.
I've hunted Pine Log before and it is a lot of damned work to drag a gutted animal a couple of miles without benefit of a 4x4. Never again.
They also allow night vision scopes and sound suppressors for feral hog hunting.?ÿ I have relatives in south Georgia that lose thousands of dollars every year to hogs.?ÿ A herd of hogs can root up acres every night.?ÿ I have NO problem with eliminating as many as is possible.?ÿ
Andy
They were a huge problem here when we were working on the new airport in Ft. Myers..?ÿ I think they culled them pretty good but they weren't so far away from hunting access.?ÿ ?ÿ Now I see some pretty good sized deer around the airport. (for south Florida, that's rare)?ÿ I don't see them anywhere else but the airport grounds.?ÿ ?ÿ
...I have NO problem with eliminating as many as is possible.?ÿ
Andy
Nor do I.?ÿ Feral swine are the four-legged version of kudzu.?ÿ With a gestation period a little over three months and the ability to have two litters of around 10 or 12 piglets a year feral pigs can overtake an area relatively quickly.?ÿ They are complete in their methodic destruction (and they ugly, too).
Open season on them here in Oklahoma.?ÿ Hunters with helicopters, automatic weapons, night-vision and huge traps that can snare two dozen at a time barely keeps them at bay.?ÿ As necessary and gruesome as it is; I have no desire to watch the proceedings.
Now the feral cat community around my house is a different story.?ÿ I gleefully participate in policing their numbers... ??ÿ
Hell, they ought to let the newly minted snipers in all service branches out to track, stalk and 'quiet' the targets of interest for good real life experience with an animal that could potentially kill you if you screw up.
I know a Retired SeAL that shared a story of being treed by a hog, and he dropped his pistol in the process of scrambling up a tree trunk when he got jumped by a big ol Sow.?ÿ His buddies apparently let him suffer there for about 20 minutes with his arms wrapped around the tree while she tore up the ground and bushes around the tree as he slowly kept getting closer to the ground....good to have close friends.?ÿ Kill'em all.?ÿ Hogs that is.?ÿ
Without any natural predators it'll be a battle that can never be won.
What you need is a good size population of tigers.
http://katsfm.com/wild-tiger-caught-on-camera-in-alaska
I should note, we?ÿhave no feral hog problem.
If you are on the ground hunting feral hogs in FL, I would suggest an AK 47, hand grenades, flame thrower and an RPG or two. If you injure a feral boar instead of killing it on the first shot, it WILL come after you. If there??s a mess of ??em the whole bunch will assist the wounded in trying to kill you. ?ÿStrap on tree climbing spurs are a good thing too. You can kill them year round on private property and the Wildlife Managers turn a blind eye if you kill them in a supervised area.
Speaking strictly for the WMA lands here but the rules for hog hunting are stupid.?ÿ
Some of the many WMA's occassionally have a dedicated hog hunt and it is usually in the hottest darned time of the year.?ÿ
Otherwise this is how it works.
If squirrel season or any small game season is in you can kill the pig with any small game weapon. You cannot take a 30-06 "small game hunting". So if you have 22LR you can shoot the pig.?ÿ Of you have #7 shot for rabbits and see a pig you can shoot the pig but you cannot take slugs or buckshot "small game hunting". They are serious about that and will nail you.
And access is the major problem. I like the WMA lands but they do have a lot of drawbacks and those drawbacks exasperated the highest problems. I have seen 50-100 acre corn fields tore to hell and the wildlife managers don't care. Lots of pigs and very rugged terrain.?ÿ?ÿ
Now on my hunting lease it is anything goes.
I think I still have over 80 pounds of de-boned wild pig in the freezer.
They are fun to shoot and MMMMMM?ÿ Bacon....?ÿ They really do over run mother nature.
@Willawa
Hogs do not do so sell out on the frozen tundra, they root to survive.
We have a presence of mountain lion and they are more feared than the feral hogs.
They have little effect upon the hogs because their numbers are low and they do not hunt in prides as the lions or packs like coyote.
Should Bengal Tigers suddenly appear in the area, rednecks would ascend upon them like they did the wolf and we have very few wolves.
Any wild predator that can be blamed for eating livestock and deer and hunting man are not welcome at all.
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If you need a helicopter to hunt, stay home.
It's not a hunt.?ÿ It's the removal of an invasive species.
If you need a helicopter to hunt, stay home.
It's not a hunt.?ÿ It's the removal of an invasive species.
An invasive species that can be made into ham & bacon?ÿ - unlike kudzu, purple loosestrife, norway maple, emerald ash borer, &c., ad nauseum.
I have no problem removing invasive species by any means that doesnt cause another issue. I do have a problem calling it hunting. It's not.
An invasive species that can be made into ham & bacon...
The Oklahoma State Department of Corrections operates a "company" called Oklahoma?ÿCorrectional Industries (OCI) operated and manned by our incarcerated inmates.?ÿ Most of the furniture in the State offices is manufactured by them as well as road signs, outdoor equipment for the State Parks and God-only-knows what else.?ÿ?ÿAnd they do good work.
Not too long ago I mused?ÿover the possibility of OCI directing and operating aggressive harvests of the feral swine population for production of pork products to feed our prisoners.?ÿ A few years ago they got rid of our annual "prison rodeos"; maybe they could even have "prison barbeque competitions".?ÿ I still think it's a good idea.
However?ÿletting convicts loose in the cross-timbers with firearms might be a hard thing to sell to the public... ??ÿ
