Wild pigs

[chickened]

Any wildlife that is allowed to overpopulate causes damage it is not exclusive to hogs. A good argument for good management not eradication (which would be impossible with hogs) they tried it with coyotes it did not work. Someone said you cannot use dogs in California which is an example of wildlife management done at the ballot box promoted by the animal welfare folks and the end result is all wildlife suffers when a valuable management tool is removed for no logical reason.

 

[harveyhorses]

They are scared of nothing, will destroy crops and kill anything that bothers them. They can and will tear down fences, they are not nice.

 

[Sir Birdaholic]

Feral hogs are THICK around here. They will dig up every square inch of pasture, but there is a good side to this,...... They are DELICIOUS!

 

[harveyhorses]

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Ahh I seem to be posting in reverse order.

They were originally brought over from Europe, I guess England never let them get out of hand.
A friend in Florida had a herd of them tear up her fence, terrorize her horses, which of course got loose through the torn up fence, they did run to the neighbors house/barn (they ride together) neighbor put all the horses up and went out loaded for bear (*or pig) he did not kill the whole herd, but they were well on the way to tearing her barn apart, including her chicken pen, lucky for her hens pigs can't climb into the loft.
The amount of destruction they cause is beyond scary. Sorry it just infuriates me when I hear the "oh don't kill them they are doing what ----- do" BUT the balance of nature is WAAAAY off kilter.

 

[zzGypsy]

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This is what we are lining up to do. Should be a blast. http://georgiahogcontrol.com/

AR-15s and night vision.

well I built my first AR15 this year (first gun I've built myself!) and it needs a job too

I'll take a look at your link!

 

[mtngrl812]

when they get a chance they will kill the dogs and eat them. The young dog is smart to stay on the porch. My sister in TX will not let her two 100+ rotties out when the hogs are around. The hogs will kill the dogs if they get a chance, and at this time of year they might just be on the look out for a supplemental food. Tell your parents to PLEASE be careful. And if the hogs do get a dog don't go running out there to save it. That will most likely only result in one of them getting hurt. Keep the dogs up and the guns out. The hogs are a national problem that is spreading like a disease. I am sure if they asked, someone in there area would love to come out and hunt them for free. That could be the easiest and lest expensive solution.

 

[danischi24]

I'm well traveled in the US & have seen first hand how much destruction hogs can cause both there & in my country where we have a problem with them too. Finding some useful product (apart from ham ) to turn them into would solve the problem. Once there is a demand for them, more people will turn into full time hunters to cash in & in no time at all, the pigs will be extinct.

 

[flyingtnh]

As discussed above, they're a nasty problem. Impressively hardy and voracious, and they reproduce faster than anything native except maybe rabbits. They will destroy your crops and pasture, and drive out native wildlife. You need to get rid of them and every month you wait your problem will increase until your land is barren.

The best thing about them is that they're free food with no limit, and they're pretty easy to clean and butcher by yourself.

We don't have them up here, but in TX they were a big problem. I found them to be exceptionally good eating - leaner than farm raised pork, but very good if slow cooked. Much better than deer, and again, no limit. I've been told that some of them are heavily diseased and to really check out the internal organs when you dress them, but I've never seen one with any problems.

You can do some net surfing for different techniques, and I had some friends that trapped them, but my recommendation is to bait them with corn (I knew guys who swore by soaking the bait w/diesel, but plain corn worked well for me) and shoot them. I've got friends that use .223s, but I'm a big fan of larger cal (12g slug works great from a tree stand in the woods, and a good 7mm Mag or larger rifle is perfect about anywhere).

Do some research on kill zones also. I shot my first pig (~150+ lb boar) dead center of where I was aiming - a couple inches behind the shoulder (where a deer's vitals are). It killed him in one shot, but a lot of that was because it was a 180gr .300WinMag (yes, overkill). It also blew out a whole side of ribs, which is a waste. I later learned that the vitals on a pig are a lot more forward. You really need to aim for or just in front of the shoulder. With a slug or big rifle, hitting the neck just in front of the shoulder is about perfect, will put them down immediately, and doesn't waste much meat. If I was using something smaller like a .223 or .243, I think I'd go for the heart/lungs area, which is in the lower third of the body below the shoulderblade and just above the "elbow."

 

[harveyhorses]

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The dogs they use to hunt them are amazing, Big fast smart and fearless. Too bad you can't put a saddle on them! wonder if anyone has a collar cam? THAT would be cool/scary.

 

[7L Farm]

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But a pain to clean.