Author Topic: Wild Hog Hunt (Read 6392 times)

Hardwood83 · « **on:** February 01, 2012, 02:38:49 PM »

I went down to Dixie last week and shot me some hawgs. The one on the right is a 300lb sow and the other a little over 200lbs. They were actually black but dragging them through the red Georgia clay makes them look orange. Used Remington R-25 .308's with Thermal scopes (not night-vision but thermal) supplied by http://www.jagerpro.com/videos.aspx check out some of those videos and you'll get a good idea of what I experienced. I honestly have no idea how many pigs we shot, but we only brought back these 2 for processing. The farmers dispose of the rest, since the USDA forbids the selling or donating of wild pigs- they go to waste.

Actually 'hunt' isn't accurate, it's really pest-control. The hogs are numerous and very destructive and costly to agriculture and everything else. The first group we came upon was at least 40 pigs feeding on a peanut field. Gets kinda wild when you open fire and pigs are running everywhere! At another location we shot 2 more- and they had shot 18(!) there the night before. Spotted several deer as well, nothing can hide from those thermal scopes.

I have hunted hogs several times using dogs, over feeders and now using high-tech optics. All are a lot of fun but this was definitely unique.

00BUCK · « **Reply #1 on:** February 01, 2012, 02:58:20 PM »

I'd love to go do that. How did you get hooked up with a place to "hunt"?

sparky · « **Reply #2 on:** February 01, 2012, 03:05:14 PM »

That would be a lot of fun, I had no idea you couldn't donate the meat, seems like a waste.

Hardwood83 · « **Reply #3 on:** February 01, 2012, 03:19:22 PM »

Quote from: 00BUCK on February 01, 2012, 02:58:20 PM

I'd love to go do that. How did you get hooked up with a place to "hunt"?

The guides (Jager Pro) take care of all that, train you how to use the scopes, drive you around and scout for the hogs (they have thermal spotting scopes) load em up, etc. It's a pretty slick operation. Check that website link in the original post.

RobertH · « **Reply #4 on:** February 01, 2012, 09:38:17 PM »

wow. thats awesome. we NEED to do an NFOA hog hunt. it could be a fund raising possibility.

bkoenig · « **Reply #5 on:** February 01, 2012, 10:02:49 PM »

Quote from: RobertH on February 01, 2012, 09:38:17 PM

wow. thats awesome. we NEED to do an NFOA hog hunt. it could be a fund raising possibility.

Gotta wait until I have my can!

kozball · « **Reply #6 on:** February 01, 2012, 10:09:31 PM »

Are Hogs off limits in Nebraska ? I thought I heard that could only spot and report, then the G&P would go shoot them from helicopters......

Supposed to be hog populations around Truman Lake in Missouri. My nephew lives just outside of Warsaw on the east side of Truman Lake and said that he has not seen any around his property yet.

Does look like a great time.

RobertH · « **Reply #7 on:** February 01, 2012, 10:51:17 PM »

it is illegal to hunt hogs in NE.

i know someone who lives and hunts hogs in Texas, but he lives at the very south and west part. way too long of a trip for me.

bk09 · « **Reply #8 on:** February 04, 2012, 04:29:21 PM »

2 things on my bucket list:
1. Blackbear hunt with a handgun
2. Hog hunt with a handgun

Wish I knew where to find people down south that want them taken care of. Everywhere I have seen wants you to pay THEM to eliminate THEIR problem... More of us Yanks would help if they didn't charge for help down yonder...

bkoenig · « **Reply #9 on:** February 04, 2012, 05:12:21 PM »

I would be willing to pay a reasonable fee for hog hunting, but an awful lot of the ones I've looked into are outrageously expensive.

I may have a contact down in Texas through my job. My boss and I were thinking about going last year but it didn't pan out. Hopefully we can make it work this year.

Hardwood83 · « **Reply #10 on:** February 05, 2012, 12:44:22 PM »

Quote from: bradkoll on February 04, 2012, 04:29:21 PM

2 things on my bucket list:
1. Blackbear hunt with a handgun
2. Hog hunt with a handgun

Wish I knew where to find people down south that want them taken care of. Everywhere I have seen wants you to pay THEM to eliminate THEIR problem... More of us Yanks would help if they didn't charge for help down yonder...

Yes, it sure does seem that way, I've thought the same thing. There probably are places where that (no fee) is an option but would require a lot of legwork to find. Believe it or not, on that recent hunt in Georgia the guide told me that some local guys that run dogs get upset with him for killing so many hogs, shrinking the pool for them. Idiotic, but we're all selfish, for instance I want lots of big deer around and I don't think much about the car accidents or crop damage caused, etc.

To answer your question, I suppose there are a number of issues that play into that: 1) Casual hunting really doesn't do much at all in controlling the hog numbers so why bother. You can google the specifics, but I believe you have to kill something like 75% of the population annually just to keep it level. They are prolific breeders especially in favorable environments. So popping a few hogs occasionally isn't statistically relevant to controlling them. 2) It's not likely anyone will open up their property to strangers with firearms. Liability reasons, etc. 3)Most important, enough people are willing to pay, so why not? Those of us up north without local hog populations or all those urban southerners in Dallas, Atlanta, Orlando, etc. helps the hogs pay for the damage they do.

Also depends on what kind of hunt you want- merely access to land that has pigs or a guide, lodging, feeders/dogs, etc. Obviously those cost something. Ain't no such thing as a free lunch.

I have hunted hogs a number of times since 1997 and am willing to pay since it is much more convenient and successful then trying to arrange a DIY hunt in a strange place.

Btw first pig I shot was a big sow in a sugarcane field near Lake Okeechobee in South Florida. The pig ATE SUGAR for a living. It was the best meat I have ever tasted.

Burnsy87 · « **Reply #11 on:** February 10, 2012, 09:56:53 AM »

Damn, illegal here? I'd love to go hog hunting.. coyote hunting would be cool as well.

bk09 · « **Reply #12 on:** February 10, 2012, 11:24:56 PM »

Sugar fed pigs

... Sounds incredible

Wesley D · « **Reply #13 on:** February 12, 2012, 03:31:43 PM »

Quote from: bkoenig on February 04, 2012, 05:12:21 PM

I would be willing to pay a reasonable fee for hog hunting, but an awful lot of the ones I've looked into are outrageously expensive.

I may have a contact down in Texas through my job. My boss and I were thinking about going last year but it didn't pan out. Hopefully we can make it work this year.

Hey Koenig, forget little Texas pigs, we should go hunt Russian boars: http://www.boarhuntingtn.com/russianboar.php!

They look almost like what I imagine Wargs to look like in Correia's MHI books.

bkoenig · « **Reply #14 on:** February 12, 2012, 05:47:59 PM »

Ok, but only if we can hunt them with spears.

Wesley D · « **Reply #15 on:** February 12, 2012, 06:25:07 PM »

Sissy. Real men hunt them with rocks. Rounded, blunt rocks...

bkoenig · « **Reply #16 on:** February 12, 2012, 07:08:41 PM »

I once had a guy from Texas tell me that real men hunted them with nothing but a knife and a pack of dogs.

SemperFiGuy · « **Reply #17 on:** February 12, 2012, 08:26:29 PM »

bkoenig

That's what they did in SE Missouri when I wuz a kid. [The Hillbillies; not me.] They still do it today. Shows you can have fun without dangerous guns.

Get a pack of rangy hounds to track down the hog. Dogs hold it by the ears. Hog stands there, squealing and pulling. Dogs hold it at bay. Great Big Hoo-Raw!!!

Hillbilly comes up from behind, grabs the hog's hind leg, lifts it up, takes out his Pigsticker, stabs deep into the hog's abdomen, pulls the Pigsticker back along the abdomen, bowels come tumbling out.

It's a helluva mess. There are some videos that can be Googled which show this method. See here:

Guess that's why those big Bowie/K-Bar type knives are called Pigstickers down in the Ozarks.

sfg

RobertH · « **Reply #18 on:** February 13, 2012, 09:38:05 AM »

ill stick to my guns.

Hardwood83 · « **Reply #19 on:** February 13, 2012, 11:17:38 AM »

Quote from: RobertH on February 13, 2012, 09:38:05 AM

ill stick to my guns.

Good choice. I did this once, it is very exciting running with the dogs, then when they had the hog by the ears grabbed his hind leg knocked him over, put my knee behind its ear and stuck him in the heart- well pretty much how it happened in the video for that kid, although I was a little more assertive (I hope). Nothing 'wrong' with it but was distasteful to me and I wouldn't want to do it again. Same reason I don't bow-hunt, there are limits to how sporting I will be

It is exciting though getting up close and personal with your (potentially dangerous) game.