Discovery Channel on wild boar

[ladder13]

Anyone see the recent(or maybe not so recent) Discovery special on the proliferation of wild boar in the US? I don't know anything at all about these animals, only what I saw on Discovery.
Seems that the "Russian" boar, which is much bigger and more ornery, has cross bred with the smaller boar common to the SE USA. There are reports of 400lb or more boar running wild all over the States, causing quite the commotion. I'm even hearing of wild boar in the south eastern parts of NY.
Comments or experiences?

[wbraswell]

I saw that the other night. I am laughing, a boar doesn't breed with another boar. Sorry Mike, I had to bring that up before someone else did. I have seen a feral pig cross the road in front of me, and I would swear that it had to be 400 pounds. It was huge, I think it would have totaled the van I was driving, if I had hit it. The moral to this show is clear. We should shoot every damn wild pig we can.

[Firehouse]

I think that was the show called "Pig Bomb". They are a pretty bad nuisance animal. They are notorious for rooting up land and digging holes all around farm land. They can destroy a piece of property. I haven't heard of many wild hog attacks but I know they do happen. A sow or a young immature boar make for good eating. A guy on my crew killed two in one shot this weekend and we smoked one on the grill and ate it yesterday while on duty. Might fine!

[kennyb]

yep...i have seen the show mike....i have hunted wild boar in the mountains of western NC....took one down with my 500 mag.as did my brother...the next year we went again...i shot a 4-horn ram and my son shot a mean ole red boar...they are pretty grumpy and VERY fast on their feet!i'll go again in the spring

[redlevel]

If this is the "Pig Bomb" show they run every few months the funniest thing about it is the fact they felt they had to use subtitles in the scenes with the good old boys in S. Georgia because they knew the Yanks wouldn't be able to understand them.

Look closely and you will see that part of those chase and tie scenes were filmed in a pen. The hog problem has proliferated down here since deer hunting became popular and big business. I hunted all over my county from the time I was 10 years old until now, beginning in the late 50s, and I saw my first hog (outside of a pen on the farm) in the early/middle 70s. Atlanta deer hunters who leased huge tracts turned out domestic hogs, which quickly became feral, because they thought it would give them something to hunt when deer season was over. The pigs quickly became a problem.

Sows are sexually mature at six months or younger, and raise two litters per year, usually raising five or six pigs per litter. Do a little math, and you can see how a half-dozen sows and a boar turned out can equate to dozens, if not hundreds, of hogs a few years down the road. They do tremendous damage to fields, streams, and habitat. The young ones, 150 lbs or so, are some good eating. I don't doubt that a lot of hogs reach 400 lbs. Hog doggers will catch them, castrate the males, and release them. They will also catch them, load them in a trailer, and relocate them to another place, which is strictly illegal unless they hold them for a certain period to have them checked by the state for certain diseases.

In short, they are a scourge on the South's farms and game fields. They are the very embodiment of a non-native invasive species.

I believe the only way any progress toward eradication will be made is to outlaw dog hunting and allow the state to contract with outfits like Jagerpro to kill them on a per-head basis. As long as dog hunting is allowed, the doggers are going to practice catch-and-release. They brag about it.

This is an awesome video showing the use of thermal imaging when hunting South Georgia hogs at night.

YouTube - JAGER PRO Thermal Hog Hunting (5)- 22 Hogs in One Night

[blastfact]

Pigs are getting ready to be a big problem here also. The Cougars are coming back as well as Black Bear.

[NonFascio]

YouTube - Nueces Helicopter Pig Hunt (no music)

[CAJUNLAWYER]

Now THAT looks like fun!!!
Course I don't know why they feel the need to wear camo in a heliocopter

[ladder13]

How much per lb does that come out to?

[ingmansinc]

If a person shot a hog, approximately 200/300 lbs., what would be an average price to pay to get it processed and ready for the freezer? I assume it would be leaner than domestic, but would taste about the same as farm raised and fed.

[Hunt200]

Originally Posted by ingmansinc

If a person shot a hog, approximately 200/300 lbs., what would be an average price to pay to get it processed and ready for the freezer? I assume it would be leaner than domestic, but would taste about the same as farm raised and fed.

A sharp knife, a tree, some rope and a buddy to help you hoist it up is all you need!!

[godlessgael]

went boar hunting a few weeks back up in NorCal. Found wallows, droppings, tracks, tree rub marks, tore up ground, everything single sign that boars were out and about...... just no boars. Oh well, if you are gonna hunt, might as well do it in wine country. Even when you get skunked you still win.

[ingmansinc]

Originally Posted by Hunt200

A sharp knife, a tree, some rope and a buddy to help you hoist it up is all you need!!

I was referring to sausage, bacon, chops, roasts, hams, etc. That takes more than a sharp knife and a tree. Would something in the neighborhood of $2.50 lb. cover the cost of a butcher processing the meat?

[mtgianni]

It isn't a problem -30 and a few feet of snow couldn't fix.

[zercool]

Originally Posted by mtgianni

It isn't a problem -30 and a few feet of snow couldn't fix.

Sadly, it is. They're amazingly hardy animals. There are documented breeding populations in my piece of NY, where -20 for a week or two during the winter is not uncommon ... so far the pigs are still there.

[Texas Star]

Remember, these pigs live in countries like Russia and Germany, where it gets quite cold in winter.

T-Star

[Palmetto Sharpshooter]

My wife and I saw it. After watching she told she'd never want to go deer hunting but that looked like fun.

Since then I've been looking at a DPMS .308 and NV.

[redlevel]

Originally Posted by ingmansinc

I was referring to sausage, bacon, chops, roasts, hams, etc. That takes more than a sharp knife and a tree. Would something in the neighborhood of $2.50 lb. cover the cost of a butcher processing the meat?

I think local processors would do it for $100 or so. I am not sure about the regulations governing hog processing, but there are some, more than what there are for deer.

A few years back I had a student whose family runs a deer processing cooler. She and her uncle developed a severe infection from handling a feral hog--both had to be hospitalized. I have cleaned a lot of deer, and a good many farm raised hogs and never took any precautions. I don't know that I would try to clean a feral hog myself now.

[gunman1960]

i was reared in s.e.texas,(1950) and everyone called them piney woods rooters. most people wouldnt eat them,said they they tasted to wild. i was told the pigs got loose from farms, mainly in the big thicket. some farmers had pigs running all over ,and had ear marks as a brand. at hog killing time,everyone helped one another.they kept meat from their hogs and even shared with other farmers. most all of it was smoked,to keep it from spoiling. this is when all the hog cracklings were cooked. in Louisiana,this was called a bouchere.
i think over time the hogs kept escaping from the farms, and getting wilder. these hogs were not afraid of people,or farms. farmers then couldnt keep the hogs out,,they would just tear the fences down. this has been going on since the settlers came here.

[Senior Citizen]

Originally Posted by redlevel

I think local processors would do it for $100 or so. I am not sure about the regulations governing hog processing, but there are some, more than what there are for deer.

.

Florida health laws require butchers to use a seperate saw, scale and grinding machine for deer and wild hogs. You can't clean your "domestic" machines and use them for wild and reclean them and use them for domestic again. Many butchers do it, but it's against the law.

Both the Appalachicola and Choctawhatchee river basins are flooded and have been flooded for over 3 weeks. This pushes many of the wild hogs up/out onto farm lands that they normally avoid. Farmers that don't allow hog hunting are having some fits right now.









Unethical/jealous hog hunters will trap a big boar lilke the silver one above and cut off his ears and tail and turn him loose in a man's corn field. Property owners call some local boys to remove the hog and usually end up with a dead dog or two.



But I had the good fortune to own a world class "nut gnawer" ! ! ! Every time that boar stood up she ripped his jewels and he'd sit back down. The hog had no ears or tail. Other wise he'd been caught when the pic was taken. I eased in behind him and grabbed a back leg and filpped him on his side and my partner kneeled down on him and stuck him with a pocket knife. Shame a good hog like that was purposely turned into a killer. His whetters (upper big teeth) had been broken out so his main tusks would continue to grow..

I used to be the guy that all the farmers called when their corn was sweet. But I broke my leg in 11 places so now I just watch it on TV and read about it here. ;-)

SC

[CAJUNLAWYER]

Originally Posted by Senior Citizen

Unethical/jealous hog hunters will trap a big boar lilke the silver one above and cut off his ears and tail and turn him loose in a man's corn field. Property owners call some local boys to remove the hog and usually end up with a dead dog or two.

. Shame a good hog like that was purposely turned into a killer. His whetters (upper big teeth) had been broken out so his main tusks would continue to grow..


SC

That kind of stunt makes me sick-the guy who does this ought to have the same done to him-mutilation & torture is just plain wrong.

[reddogge]

No better than Michael Vick.

[7003006]

Originally Posted by CAJUNLAWYER

Now THAT looks like fun!!!
Course I don't know why they feel the need to wear camo in a heliocopter

The camo is in case they fall out and the hogs come looking for revenge

[dondavis3]

Here in Texas the wild hogs are going wild bad joke.

They really do a lot of damage daily to farm crops and property .

I've read articles saying that they can do thousands of dollars worth of farm damage in a very short time.

It's kinda like shooting gophers in Wyoming or Montana I guess.