Feral hog hunting, best strategy?

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Re: Feral hog hunting, best strategy?

Postby Holland&Holland on Wed Nov 27, 2019 6:38 pm

hard h2o wrote:
Jackpine Savage wrote:I'm in for information.

An Amish neighbor goes to a place in Texas that charges them $250 for a cabin, I think for a week. All the pigs you can shoot. The Amish neighbor got night vision before I did :o

It seems though that in general it is difficult to find a place to hunt without getting charged an arm and a leg, even though they complain about the hog damage.


They complain about damage due to the hogs but a lot of those hogs are not truly wild. Many of those places play fast and loose. Those hogs just might be domestic hogs bought and released just so someone can pay to shoot them.


Aren't all wild hogs technically from domestic stock?
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Re: Feral hog hunting, best strategy?

Postby smurfman on Thu Nov 28, 2019 11:23 am

Holland&Holland wrote:
hard h2o wrote:
Jackpine Savage wrote:I'm in for information.

An Amish neighbor goes to a place in Texas that charges them $250 for a cabin, I think for a week. All the pigs you can shoot. The Amish neighbor got night vision before I did :o

It seems though that in general it is difficult to find a place to hunt without getting charged an arm and a leg, even though they complain about the hog damage.


They complain about damage due to the hogs but a lot of those hogs are not truly wild. Many of those places play fast and loose. Those hogs just might be domestic hogs bought and released just so someone can pay to shoot them.


Aren't all wild hogs technically from domestic stock?


Technically, all domestic pigs are descended from wild stock.

What we mostly have in the U.S. are feral pigs - domestic pigs that are reverting back to thier original, wild state. Given enough generations, one will likely see feral pigs return to their original appearance. One can see the changes in feral pigs from domestic already in their longer tusks, longer hair, and muting of colors.

As for hunting pigs in Texas, go with an outfitter. As mentioned, tresspass laws are very severe and strictly enforced. One does not want to get caught by the authorities doing such though it is vastly preferable to getting caught by the landowner. When I was guiding down there, there was more than one instance of the landowner trashing the vehicle of a trespasser then holding the person or persons at gunpoint until law enforcement showed up.

What pig shooting I did was incidental to goose hunting. I carried a rifle in the truck for such occasions and I was able to shoot a few each year. I used a 6mm Rem as that was what I had but most carried a 223 of some sort. Most of the surrounding landowners told us to shoot any pigs we saw but we were not allowed to retrieve the animal due to livestock concerns. That and carrying a loaded rifle in the vehicle were strange at first compared to here but one soon got used to it.
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Re: Feral hog hunting, best strategy?

Postby Holland&Holland on Thu Nov 28, 2019 4:45 pm

So there were wild pigs in America prior to European expansion?
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Re: Feral hog hunting, best strategy?

Postby smurfman on Thu Nov 28, 2019 8:52 pm

Holland&Holland wrote:So there were wild pigs in America prior to European expansion?



Yes.

The current domestic pig is typically considered a descendant or subspecies of the wild pig of Europe. So, the feral domestic pigs currently found in America are originally from wild stock. They were brought here by some of the first European explorers and further introduced by settlers. They mostly are not "wild" pigs as they are escaped or released domestic pig which is why they are correctly called feral and not wild. This is a well known and published concept.

There are a few pigs that are the offspring of "Russian" or more correctly European boars which are considered to be truly wild animals and not feral. They were imported for hunting preserves and were escapees from them. They do look like truly wild pigs with their more or less dull coloring, long tusks, longer hair, and other characteristics. The so called "Arkansas Razorback" would be a good stereotype of this animal. Their genes are thought to have been diluted by breeding into feral populations so truly wild pigs are no longer likely in this country.

When "feral" becomes "wild" is a moving target. Lay people tend to think of anything not having a proven ownership running around freely as being "wild" while those with a more scientific bent considers a creature to be feral until obvious regular signs of domestication have been bred out and the animal returns to its original general appearance.

It isn't a new concept, I first heard of it in 4-H and understand it in 9th grade biology class 40 years ago. My grandfather even knew the basic definitions though he tended to confuse feral and domestic rather than feral and wild.
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Re: Feral hog hunting, best strategy?

Postby Holland&Holland on Thu Nov 28, 2019 9:04 pm

By that definition every thing including humans are from wild stock.

You seem to be claiming that there were wild hogs here before Europeans brought them over. Please clarify.
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Re: Feral hog hunting, best strategy?

Postby crbutler on Fri Nov 29, 2019 2:31 am

Well, technically Javelina are a swine relative. They are native.

I don't think pigs (Sus scrofa) were in the Americas natively.
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Re: Feral hog hunting, best strategy?

Postby smurfman on Fri Nov 29, 2019 3:40 am

As crbutler points out, there is the javelina/peccary that was here prior to European settlement. Then there are also the various pigs of pre-historic times. You did specify pre-European settlement.

It is also true that our current feral pig problem were pigs brought over from Europe but that does not change the fact these pigs were developed from the wild pigs of Europe. Being put on a boat and shipped over an ocean does not change that fact.

Your point regarding humans is a valid one and I would tend to agree with it on principle but the significant argument against it would be that there does not appear to have been a conscious decision and plan to breed early humanoids into domestication. One could probabky argue that the current humans are still "wild" based upon the actions and habits of a noticeable number of individuals and groups within the species.
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Re: Feral hog hunting, best strategy?

Postby Holland&Holland on Fri Nov 29, 2019 5:29 am

smurfman wrote:As crbutler points out, there is the javelina/peccary that was here prior to European settlement. Then there are also the various pigs of pre-historic times. You did specify pre-European settlement.

It is also true that our current feral pig problem were pigs brought over from Europe but that does not change the fact these pigs were developed from the wild pigs of Europe. Being put on a boat and shipped over an ocean does not change that fact.

Your point regarding humans is a valid one and I would tend to agree with it on principle but the significant argument against it would be that there does not appear to have been a conscious decision and plan to breed early humanoids into domestication. One could probabky argue that the current humans are still "wild" based upon the actions and habits of a noticeable number of individuals and groups within the species.


Despite popular belief, javalinas are not related to pigs. At least not any more related than they are to deer.

My point about the current problem population is that whether the problem pig descended from pigs on a conquistador ship or escaped a farmer's pen a couple of years ago, they are the same pig. For the most part. The very small amount of Russian stock aside.

Your point about humans is an interesting one. We could have quite the tread exploring that topic further.
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Re: Feral hog hunting, best strategy?

Postby Holland&Holland on Fri Nov 29, 2019 5:39 am

Hmm, so just have been reading about the prehistoric pig like species in north America. Sounds like we are quite lucky they died out. Not sure if our night vision and .223s would be enough.

You learn something new every day.
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Re: Feral hog hunting, best strategy?

Postby Ghost on Fri Nov 29, 2019 8:58 am

Holland&Holland wrote:Hmm, so just have been reading about the prehistoric pig like species in north America. Sounds like we are quite lucky they died out. Not sure if our night vision and .223s would be enough.

You learn something new every day.

Grendel all the pigs
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Re: Feral hog hunting, best strategy?

Postby Holland&Holland on Fri Nov 29, 2019 11:56 am

Ghost wrote:
Holland&Holland wrote:Hmm, so just have been reading about the prehistoric pig like species in north America. Sounds like we are quite lucky they died out. Not sure if our night vision and .223s would be enough.

You learn something new every day.

Grendel all the pigs

I have a Grendel barrel on order from brownells :D
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Re: Feral hog hunting, best strategy?

Postby smurfman on Fri Nov 29, 2019 5:21 pm

Holland&Holland wrote:Despite popular belief, javalinas are not related to pigs. At least not any more related than they are to deer.


The Family name for the peccary is Tayassuidea which translates out to "New World Pig". I'll defer to the taxonomists as to what is considered a pig as there are a number of examples of such naming which have withstood the test of time and debate in those circles.

Holland&Holland wrote:My point about the current problem population is that whether the problem pig descended from pigs on a conquistador ship or escaped a farmer's pen a couple of years ago, they are the same pig. For the most part. The very small amount of Russian stock aside.


I never disputed that the two examples above were not the same animal, I merely corrected the common but incorrect use of the word "wild" for "feral" and that "technically" the domestic pig discussed was descended from the European Wild Pig and not the wild pig descending from the domestic version. At least not at this point in time.
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Re: Feral hog hunting, best strategy?

Postby Holland&Holland on Fri Nov 29, 2019 11:29 pm

But today's American population of feral hogs are all from domestic stock. That stock my have been wild at one point but none were wild prior to establishing a presence here.
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Re: Feral hog hunting, best strategy?

Postby smurfman on Sat Nov 30, 2019 6:55 am

Holland&Holland wrote:But today's American population of feral hogs are all from domestic stock. That stock my have been wild at one point but none were wild prior to establishing a presence here.


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Re: Feral hog hunting, best strategy?

Postby yukonjasper on Sat Nov 30, 2019 10:09 am

Now that we have established the origins of the prey..... :lol: The consensus appears to be that an organized hunt through a guide/outfitter is the way to go. Though expensive, it is the option if you want a hassle free experience.
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