Hogs Gone Wild

[Rick]

I hope you don't have to dress it up for the trip to town. You know what they say about silk purses and sows ears. You maybe could put a wig on it. No farmer would be looking for a pig with curls. Of course that could start some rumors about the girls you date so there's probably some good news bad news with that.

[crashdive123]

Well - you could put lipstick on it......no wait - that doesn't work.

[wtrfwlr]

Oh' ya'll have obviously never been here to witness how some Arkansan's feel about their livestock. Especially if they've gone out in the woods and trapped then took it to the town square to let everybody have a look-see. Now that's pride my friends.

[Rick]

Sparky - I pulled the DNR definition of a wild hog for you.

“Wild hogs” are called many different names such as wild pigs, wild boar or feral pigs. The names all refer to non-native swine and various hybrids that have either been illegally released or were formerly domestic pigs that were allowed to become feral. They pose problems in many states, including Indiana.

As opposed to the dictionary definition:

fe·ral/ˈfi(ə)rəl/Adjective

1. (esp. of an animal) In a wild state, esp. after escape from captivity or domestication: "a feral cat".
2. Resembling a wild animal.

So looks like a pig is a pig is a pig.

New rules have also been adopted with regard to "wild hogs":

• It is illegal for a person to import or possess a live wild hog in Indiana, except under stringent exemptions.
• Resident landowners or other individuals with written permission can take (capture or shoot) wild hogs on the landowner’s property at any time without a permit.
• The regulation removes the ability for giving economic or any other type of compensation for providing recreational opportunities to hunt wild hogs and requires captured wild hogs to be killed immediately or transported, in a container of sufficient strength preventing escape, to where they will be killed immediately.

[crashdive123]

***Breaking News***

Man detained by authorities while trying to smuggle wild hogs into Indiana

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[Rick]

Not here. They'd just confiscate his suitcase and send him on his way. We aren't THAT stupid. Why share?

[JPGreco]

The real problem isn't that they are wild hogs or escaped domestic pigs, its that there is one species, a russian boar, that is very big and very aggresive that is taking over. They were imported to hunt and are mating with other species of hog. This basically means that you have a large mean animal with no or few natural predators in the areas they are.

It's a very similar problem to the constrictors in florida. The only way to even try to deal with it is open season year round.

[Rick]

That's the one that was released up in your neck of the woods. MA, maybe? Late 1800s?

[Sparky93]

The real problem isn't that they are wild hogs or escaped domestic pigs, its that there is one species, a russian boar, that is very big and very aggresive that is taking over. They were imported to hunt and are mating with other species of hog. This basically means that you have a large mean animal with no or few natural predators in the areas they are.

It's a very similar problem to the constrictors in florida. The only way to even try to deal with it is open season year round.

I've heard about that, very large, agressive boars, mating with feral and wild hogs in North America. Here in Indiana if you see'um you can shoot'um, I think it's that way with any non native species.

[power]

Years ago we would turn hogs loose in the summer and gather them in the spring. They ran loose in the mountains all fall and winter. Back then people were a lot hungrier than nowdays. Not a lot of hogs were missed when we gathered them. Now days it is a lot easier to go to the store and buy pork already cut and wrapped. Many people will not eat a wild hog.
SHTF ever happens we will see a big decline in the numbers of wild hogs.

[crashdive123]

SH'sTF just about every day --- someplace. Hasn't seemed to affect the hog populations yet.

[power]

SH'sTF just about every day --- someplace. Hasn't seemed to affect the hog populations yet.

In many places SHTF means a little more than forgetting to stop by the grocery store on the way home.
When people get hungry we won't have a hog problem. Guess I had better change that. We will have a hog problem but it will be not enough hogs.

[crashdive123]

I guess I just don't envision a scenario where everybody is out harvesting wild game because there are no other choices. Yes, I know that quite a few people already hunt out of necessity, and that during lean times those numbers rise. I just don't see a realistic, or probable scenario where it is likely to be so widespread that it will cause shortages.

[Sparky93]

I can think of one, a nuclear bomb detinated in the atmosphere causing a EMP large enough to wipe out most of the north american power grid. Causing long term power outages and many members of this forum straping their BOB's on their back (heheheh huhuhuhehe [insane laughter])

[Sparky93]

Don't take what I just said seriously. Could it happen, yes. Would everybody be feasting on pork, probably not. Sadly enough their is people that if asked the question "where does milk come from" respond "the grocery store". People that don't know the first thing about hunt'n for their own food. After grocery stores run out of food and refergerated food spoils and hords of zombies feast on brains, those that were prepared and got lucky will survive. Most likely starting a new race called redneckens LOL

[SSG HAWK]

I am on a hunting lease of about 3500 acres with ten other hunters, all of whom are very experienced and well equiped good shots. We shoot all hogs on site and usually do not harvest the meat. First reason is that the animals are normally just coverred with ticks that we can see and who knows what that we can't see. A doctor with alot of hunting experience says it would be just plain stupid to get the hog blood in the tiny cuts that hunters will have in their hands; diseaes up the whawho that we can catch.

We routinely kill 30-100 per year and are making no difference in the population. Overnight the hogs completely "plowed" up a 100 acre field hunting for grubs. How many hogs do we think that took and imagine the military like organization required to make that happen in under 10 hours.

I have six deer blinds and routinely get six hogs, one from each blind, hunting one blind each morning and night, over a weekend. We also drive through pastures in such away to drive the "herds" toward particular known holes in the fences between pastures and then set up ambuses where we might get as many as ten or so. On a very windy day I have literally walked up to a herd and got 6 or 8 because (bolt action 2 additional reloads) I was careful in my motions and the wind prevented them from pinpointing where I was from the noise. They just ran around in circles in front of me. I have dropped an 180-200 pounder thinking he was dead when I only shot his spine out in front of his hind quarter and come back 4 hours later to pull him away from the feeder to have him try to attack me dragging himself on his front legs. These mothers are tough.

I have seen a group of hogs attack and eat an injured but living hog to the point that there was not much left but bones. The meek may think they will be taking over the world but it really will be the hogs. Before I got ill I used to spend a couple weekends per month at the lease and would do a fair amount of solo hiking/exploring. I started thinking that it might take four days of laying(little or no cell phone service) on the ground for help if I sufferred a serious compound fracture which is very possible considering the West Texas terain so I always packed enough ammo to fight off a whole platoon of pigs at night while I waited for help. Since that time my wife saw some of the "hogs gome wild" kind of things on TV and now makes me wear a SPOT in tracking mode when I am out wondering around. My daughter thinks it is very funny that I have been "lojacked" just like a new car. I say it might just make it easier to find my body.

Slightly off topic but after a couple years and a couple models of SPOT I have seen it tell my wife exactly when I was in a galvanized roof deer blind directly under a large oak tree at 5 AM or what room of a 75 year old house I was in but then not be able to get thru a moderately heavy cloud cover when I was walking through open fields. Not very comforting.

[Rick]

Why not slip on a pair of rubber gloves and have some pork for dinner?

[Mad Cow]

The high fence hunting outfits are mostly to blame for the Texas problem. They, and other land owners let the herds propagate to make a buck off of city hunters. Ware I live you see them gut shot and rolled into ditches. I think that the state should require hunting ranches to neuter all exotic an non native game that thees guys have on there ranches. I do my part by killing 3 or more pigs a year.

[Mad Cow]

I buried a knife covered in hog juice in my arm. It healed up nice with no super plague or anything. Deer are pretty nasty to. Rick, I wear rubber gloves when I gut anything. Some of that hand sanitizer comes in handy to.

[Rick]

You know, of course, they make sheaths for knives. You don't have to use your arm.