Hunt More Pigs

[Dharma]

Hey you guys in wild pig country! Your services are needed!

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/can-wild-pigs-ravaging-the-u-s-be-stopped/

[PrimitiveTim]

They should have open season on pigs for primitive archers on all government land.  No stands, no camo.  Just walking into the woods with bow and arrows.  All spot and stalk hunting.  You kill it, you carry it out.  Pigs are everywhere down here but I don't have the connections with private land.  I wish there was some kind of course that one could take to get this allowed.  This is my dream

[Dharma]

I don't know what other states games regs are, but they should just do what they do here with jackrabbits. Big bag limits. But, instead, make it an unlimited bag and even organize some Hunters For The Hungry derbies. This is food. Ought to be a way they could open this up for more hunting and help some needy folks out in the process instead of wasting all that meat.

[Pat B]

I watched a video a few weeks ago of guys in Texas hunting hogs from choppers with assault rifles and shotguns. It was a massacre and sorta fun to watch. They filled a walk in cooler with meat that was going to a food bank. Seems like they were donating 3000# or more of meat. 
 NC just changed its laws so you can hunt hogs now during any hunting season with an appropriate weapon for that hunt. I think bows fit in any hunt season.

[paoliguy]

I saw an article where Georgia is introducing a program that pairs farmers and hunters up to coordinate hunts on private land. I didn't see any restrictions on weapon types.

[Dharma]

Man, someone needs to make some prosciutto! Better yet, Serrano ham. Serrano ham made from pigs that eat acorns is top dollar. Dang near worth its weight in gold.

[Marks]

In Alabama it open season all year long with any weapon but our private land borders a Wildlife Refuge that only allows small game hunting. No pigs. There are plenty of thickets and Ag fields on the refuge. We put as much pressure as we can but they have a sanctuary with built in food source so we can only do so much. We also border a management area along a river bottom with lots of swamp and thickets that is primitive weapons only (bows and muzzle loaders of any kind) and small game but the seasons are limited. They are here to stay.

[rossfactor]

I agree that wild pigs in many areas should have relaxed permits on hunting seasons and more tags.  Here in CA where wild pigs have caused problems ecological and for agriculture, there is no season and no bag limit for wild hogs.  I take advantage of that and appreciate it.  I love me some wild pig sausage.  But the wild hogs mostly stick to private land here (often opposite for deer).

Now a small rant. Skip if you don't wanna hear it.

I have a problem though with how a lot of folks treat these "nuisance animals."  Just because their large populations cause ecological and management issues doesn't mean we should treat them, individually, differently than other animals we hunt.  Hunting from choppers, using semi autos, poison etc... to me this stuff is nuts, unethical, and idiotic. And to defend that in the name of management is a poor excuse for ecological rape.  Sure, have longer season, relaxed bag limits and encourage more hunting. But encourage ethical hunting and a good sense of the ecosystem.  The lives of those pigs, are not less deserving of our respectful treatment because their populations are greater (which is largely in response to human management decisions anyway).

 Its the same way with hatchery steelhead up here.  You catch a wild fish, we handle it with kid gloves, either keep it in the water and release quickly, or humanely kill it ASAP.  But if its a hatchery fish some folks think its fine to toss it up on the gravel bar and let it expire, or worse cut out the roe and leave the fish to die slowly.  Bad stuff.

Ok done now,

Gabe

[mullet]

You need to talk to the Government about being Ethical, also. Down here on Federal land they poisoned them for years. There is some Federal Mngt Areas I hunt that you will not see a hog. Also,some of our Management Areas have special seasons for Dog Hunting only.

 And I'll be the first to admit that if I shoot a big, Boar hog and nobody else wants it, It's not going home with me. You couldn't pay me to eat one, but I'll keep sows all day. And some of the Sod Farms and Ranches I get a chance to hunt on, you better not let the landowner know that you let a pig walk without shooting it whether you want it to eat or not. I've watched the Ranch hands ride around over thousands of acres shooting packs of hogs to where it sounded like a small war going on. And they left them all.

[rossfactor]

I'm not trying to judge anybody Eddie, guess it just gets in my craw sometimes.  Actually I shot a big old boar three years ago, must have weighed 250 (maybe that's not big, but it was for me). Anyway, he made great sausage, and great carnitas...  But  I dropped him with a 3030 before he new what happened, and I was careful to cut out the glands etc...  That said, I've tasted some less than appetizing ones as well

Gabe

[mullet]

Yea, Gabe, I didn't take it like you were judging people. I've asked about donating the pigs killed on those slaughters and the ranchers told me they don't have the time to clean them or storage space and most of the soup kitchens or charities didn't want to skin them either. Guess they aren't that hungry.

I've tried sausage, soaking in water and vinegar, you name it, but my wife and kids can always tell it's boar meat.

[Parnell]

I wonder if the zoo would even take it?

[Marks]

I think there is a difference in hatchery fish and hogs. This year hogs cost my dad several thousand dollars in damages to his corn crop. I try my best to find someone to keep all the hogs I shoot but not having someone to take one won't stop me from killing it. We kill everyone we can. This year we spent every available afternoon walking the corn fields and ran dogs when we could to try and put enough pressure to keep the hogs away. As a hunter I see what you mean by ethical treatment and management but when it comes to providing for your family the rules are different. If your house gets a mouse you put out a trap. We used to get the BB gun sometimes to make it a sport. When your house becomes infested the rules change and you put out poison, fumigate, buy 100 cats....etc. We differ in opinion and I'm ok with that but that is how it is looked at here.

[tattoo dave]

Up here in Michigan, pigs are a shoot on site kinda critter. Open anytime, anywhere as far as I understand. As long as you have any valid hunting license. I just can't seem to find them, I wouldn't mind shooting one, two, or maybe a bunch of them.

Tattoo Dave

[mullet]

I'd like to see the shoot on site here too. Unfortunetly, and I can see why, it's against the law to shoot from a vehicle, even if they are in the ditch 15' away. Most of your kills are like that down here or stop and throw a dog out on it and hope you get it to the truck without the Sheriff, Game Officer, or landowner getting there first. If you are caught, it's a Felony. That's why I get more with my Jeep .