Feral Swine in Oregon

[duffontap]

Feral Swine are listed in Oregon as a major pest.  Does anyone know where they exist in huntable numbers?  Someone told me they saw some just south of the Willamet Valley.  Any ideas?

             J. D. Duff

[tomm]

JD talk to fish and wildlife they may be able to tell you where their is a problem with hogs or maybe check with the DNR they may have places that hogs are a problem. Also we should try to get together sometime I only live in longview wa. so not more then 2 hours from you I would like to pick your brain on tillering as I have a lot trouble in that area. tomm

[duffontap]

Thanks for the reply Tomm (I didn't want to appear ungrateful in public--this topic started an email exchange between Tomm and I).  I'll try writing them to see if they have any ideas. 

         J. D. Duff

[Keenan]

  JD,  I would like a follow up on this if you get any info. I heard about the problem a few years ago and called the fish and game and they had very little info and suggested talking to the farmers.
  It would be awesome if we could locate and set up a hog hunt in this area.   Keenan

[Agbowyer]

Careful what you wish for Keenan. They reek havoc on farm and ranch land....

[Pat B]

You guys might check with state Agricultural services(Oregon State U. or Cooperative Extention Services) and see if they have info. I would almost gaurentee that if farmers have a feral hog problem, they would love for you to take care of it for them.    Pat

[Coo-wah-chobee]

              J.D. & Kennan.........If you have dairy farms or cattle ranches in the area check with them. Most will shed a tear of joy if they have hawgs on their land and  you want to hunt them. Hawgs dig holes and dairy and beef critters step in them and have to be destroyed. Cost them a lot of profit money...................bob

[Keenan]

  I have heard that they are very destructive and certainly would not want to have any here at home.  when I contacted the fish and game a few years ago they said the same thing about contacting the ranchers, however that seem to be more of a task that produced little results. They all hate the hogs and would love for you to hunt them out but numbers then were fairly sparse and sightings and locating proved difficult. Maybe now the numbers are higher to where a person might be able to find something without chasing deadend leads for days.    Keenan

[mullet]

  The numbers are probally alot higher now Keenan.If I remember right they produce 2 litters a year and the survival rate is pretty high.You ought to see what they will do to a cattle ranch or sod farm.It looks like a drunk hit it with a John Deere and a giant roto tiller.

[Coo-wah-chobee]

 Hey kennan....Eddie reminded me of a funny story. 3 of us were goin' hawg huntin' and another fella wanted to go with us. He was an experienced hunter but had never hunted hawgs. Told him to tape up his ankles and wear 8" high boots. Well, he fancied himself a "big man" and just scoffed at the idea. One of the other guys said "hey we are goin' to be huntin' near the tomato fields not the swamps so you need to tape your ankles" He just laughed again and said good naturedly that we were wimps. We went huntin and the second am came at about 3:30 am and when he got up to go take a leak he could hardly walk. His ankles were all swollen, of course, the rest of us laughed like hell, he soaked them in ice water and then I taped them for him so he could hunt. Yup, like Eddie said...a giant rototiller. We still laugh when we see each other, we call him "Big Ankles"  lol .....bob .........As an aside, Eddie's probably correct, survival rate is maybe greater out there than here. Litters can be up to 8 piglets x twice per year. Take into account predation and still do the math ! In a few years you are up to your ass#### in hawgs..................bob

[duffontap]

This sounds great!  Keenan, if I remember right, last year the game regulations said that Oregon was losing the fight against feral swine.  Let's work together on organizing a hunt.  I'd like a chance to brush up my skills (or obtain some) before I subject myself to another Elk season.  We're going to need some ankle tape.

              J. D. Duff

[Hillbilly]

I don't really understand the contradictory regulations and management tactics for wild hogs in NC, but they can sure tear hell out of an area in a short time, one of the most destructive things out there. Here in the Smokies, we have a large population of pretty much pure-bred Russian wild boar. They originated from a small herd that escaped from a game preserve back in the early 1900's. I live beside the Smoky Mountains National Park, and inside the park boundaries, they are classed as an invasive exotic species, and they have people paid to shoot and trap them full-time. Since the program started in the '70's, over 10,000 boar have been killed or removed from the park, but they are still there in large numbers, and during that time have expanded into many areas where they previously didn't live. When one steps outside the park boundary, though, they are a protected game animal. The private and national forest lands around here have healthy boar populations, but you can only hunt them during a short season-mid Oct-mid Nov. and mid-Dec-Jan.1. You can kill two a year, and that's within some pretty strict regulations and restrictions on hunting methods.

[Justin Snyder]

Not only do they reproduce twice a year, the females can start breeding at 3 months.  So the spring piglets will produce a litter in the fall.  They say you would have to kill 85% each year to stop them from increasing. And that does not even begin to reduce the numbers.  Justin

[D. Tiller]

JD if you would like a hunting partner let me know. I still would like to go after some swine before the year is out.

David T.

[mullet]

In the last few years Florida has finally got serious about pigs.On private property we can hunt year round,non-residents too with out a hunting license.On the Mngt Areas there is no size or bag limit.I've known guys that went on Mngt Area special hunts that had hogs stacked above the bed of their pick-ups.