# Are there feral pigs in the US?



## AUSTRLIAN SHOOTER (Dec 7, 2004)

are there feral pigs in the US? If so, are there many? How do you hunt them?


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## Anas Strepera (Nov 10, 2004)

Feral pigs can be found in most southern states. In some places there's lots of them. I've never hunted them so I wouldn't know. Maybe someone from down south can help you.


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## StillKillsTheOldWay (Nov 14, 2004)

There are many of them in South Texas where I used to live. VERY ggod eatin' but if they ya'lls are anything like the one's here, hunt from a tree, or keep a pistol with you! They can be EXTREMELEY aggressive, especially the sows. Good Luck and make sure your aiming good!


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## AUSTRLIAN SHOOTER (Dec 7, 2004)

haha aggressive............potentially. I know its fun to think they are dangerous, which i know they can be, but how many people do u know that have ever been "attacked" by a wild pig. I've shot pigs in Australia since i was 10 and have never seen one become aggressive, but i'm not doubting it happens.


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## astro95 (Nov 22, 2004)

When I was stationed in Georgia we had some down there, but I found that a lot of them were halflings lol. I guess a great deal of farmer's hogs got loose and mated with the wild ones. We'd always check out how straight or curly their tail was to determine how wild they were..


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## sdeprie (May 1, 2004)

I hunted feral pigs in Guam. I didn't see any big ones, but they were there. It's kind of spooky standing around in the bush listening to pigs crunch coconuts. They are in most southern states, all the way up as far as Illinois. There are many kinds, some get to be 200 kg. Most don't. They are called the poor man's bear around here.


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## redfishman (Apr 3, 2004)

Feral Hogs are a big nuisance in certain areas of N. Louisiana. Arkansas which borders to the north is the "Razor back " State and and Arkansas
uses the icon in the Football program.

Typically the hogs will get extremely aggressive when their young are threatened. They are fiercely territorial (according to Food supply) and have family dominance . They range in color but black is most common. Most are hunted with dogs in our area and hunters are welcomed because
they can be very distructive in cultivated areas.

They had a short video shot of a daring guy hunting with a pistol on a site about 2-months ago with a 450lb boar charging him....
http://huntnfish.com


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## Remmi_&amp;_I (Dec 2, 2003)

I have never hunted them, but everytime I see it done on TV it doesn't really seem too sporting!?!?!??! Don't get me wrong, I'm sure it is much more than I know, but there is something about watching those hunting shows and having a big pig walk perfectly into an opening and have an arrow fired less than 20 yards away.


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## Sasha and Abby (May 11, 2004)

They are all over the major drainages in the Southern half of the US. They are NOT aggressive - and will do everything to avoid contact. The ONLY exception to this is when a sow is protecting her little ones or you have a hog backed into a place where you are blocking his way out.

They are fantastic table fare, and are fun to hunt. We use "bay" dogs, and also still hunt them. They are a lot of fun to hunt on SOMEONE ELSE's property... :wink:


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## Dean Nelson (Mar 3, 2002)

blah


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## redfishman (Apr 3, 2004)

Wild hogs in our area are usually heavily infested with internal parasites and boars are usually not eaten . A combination of parasites and musk glands makes the males practically unpalateable. The sows when not lacatating are smaller -cleaner and easier to work with. Maybe we have a different variety in the deep south - but cornered or protecting their young they are dangerous and many a dog has been killed by a tearing tusk.


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## STEVE ERWIN (Dec 7, 2004)

Hey Dean, what do you mean they have a lot of wild boar in them? Your pigs are just decednats of domestic pigs that escaped into the bush arent they? Or have you got pigs that were there naturally?


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## win4win (Sep 8, 2003)

AUSTRLIAN SHOOTER said:


> how many people do u know that have ever been "attacked" by a wild pig.


Two.


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## STEVE ERWIN (Dec 7, 2004)

hey win4win, were they injured or what?


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## Simple (Oct 6, 2004)

We have both types of pigs. Feral hogs are just the descendants of pigs that have escaped and gone wild. The SW also has javelinas which is a small wild pig.

http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/javelina.htm


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## mr.trooper (Aug 3, 2004)

many wild pigs have some domestic blood, but they are almost aolwase crosses betweene Boars and domestic pigs. Back in the day, wealthy settlers imported Wild Boar from Germany(the Big'uns) and released them into the woods. most of the united states has a climate similar to the majority of Europe, and so the boars adapted quite well.

Since then, however, the wild boars have mated with domestic stock, and there is now quite a large number of half-breed semi-wild pigs roaming the landscape.

The javalina is a different story. They are smaller, and more timid, and have alwase inhabited the Arid reagions of the South West.


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## gunguy56 (Dec 11, 2004)

I live in Hinesville, GA which is the city next to FT Stewart , GA, home of the US ARMY's 3rd Infantry Division. I hunt Ft Stewart exclusively and there are wild hogs all over the installation. I have never witnessed an overly aggressive hog myself. I either sit in a ground blind near a trail leading to a river bottom that I know hogs are feeding in, or I hunt from a treestand in the riverbottom. Sometimes, and this is when it can get hairy, I just slowly walk a riverbottom keeping my ears and eyes open. I have found that hogs are normally nocturnal, especially if hunters have been in an area. They will start coming out of their bedding area about a half-hour before dark. It's a challenge to make a kill in fading light ,gut the animal, drag it out to a road, get it in the bed of my pickup, get back to a hardtop road, and checkout of the area via cellphone by the prescribed time. The hogs can really be too big for one person to handle. I really worry about rattlesnakes a lot more than vicious boars. Snakeboots are mandatory and I have barely escaped being bit several times. I have actually seen a big(300+ lbs.) boar chase two deer out of a acorn -littered feeding area. That's why they're called "hogs"!!! Hog hunting is great sport down here, and a lot of the locals use pit bulldogs to chase and corner the wild pigs. Once brought to bay, some foolhardy souls(NOT FOR ME!!) jump in and kill the animal with spears, handguns, or, for the really macho, bowie knives!!! Personally, I prefer A Marlin lever-action rifle in .35 Remington. Just recently bought a Marlin lever in .450 Marlin. Can hardly wait to tap a boar with it. Oh, by the way, hogs are considered vermin and can be hunted year- round, even at night with a 6-volt light(except at Ft Stewart). No night hunting allowed on the installation. For eating, I prefer a young, under 100-lb sow. Great chow!!!


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## win4win (Sep 8, 2003)

No one was hurt except for one of the hogs.....shot dead.

The other put my friend up a small tree for about 45 minutes. :lol:


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## STEVE ERWIN (Dec 7, 2004)

Thanks Gunguy, its interesting to hear how you hunt them over there. Here they are considered a pest aswell, and are in large numbers in some places depending on rainfall and available cover. Over a weeks shooting in a pig infested area it would not be uncommon to shoot up to 100 pigs.We generally leave them where they fall after shooting them, but do have the option to take them to meat stations wich are situated all throughout rural Australia, where provided the pig has been headshot or had its throat cut, you will be payed X amount per kilo. The pigs are then sold to Germany. Personally i wouldnt eat one.........hehe. When hunting pigs i use a model 70 winchester in 308., 44. magnum winchester 94, or a 12g with SG's or SSG's. Happy hunting!


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## gaddyshooter (Oct 12, 2003)

"world famous" Nodak Outdoors. Good work MR. Hustad. :wink:


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## Sasha and Abby (May 11, 2004)

The only time I was ever hit by a hog was about 15 years ago in a standing corn field at night.

We had field that we had hunted enough that the hogs were only coming out at night, so we waited until 9:00pm to put the Catahoulas out. They bayed the hog in short order and we came in to put a shot behind her ear. We were about 15 feet from the hog/dogs and looking for a shot when she broke and went for the only open escape... between my legs.

:lol:

She never knew I was there... and just plowed right through. I was temporarily suspended in mid air, flashlight in one hand and pistol in the other, until gravity took over and I landed on my ***. :lol: We never did bay that hog for the rest of the night. It makes a funny story now, but it scared the crap out of me then.

She was not trying to "get" me though... I was just blocking her way out. I did learn not to get in the way after that.


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## Sasha and Abby (May 11, 2004)

BTW...

Our hogs primarily breed in August and February. We try NOT to shoot a boar during that time as his testosterone levels will permeate the meat. Most of the other time, they are fine for sausage - but not the really big ones.

A "true" Russian/European boar is huge at 225lbs. 
A feral can get 2-3 times that size.

A R/E hog has one litter a year. 
A feral may have 2-3 litters if conditions are right. You can have a problem quickly if they are not kept in check.

A boar will "mark" his turf just like a deer will. He will rake a tree, or a creosote pole if available, with his tusks until he gouges deep gashes in them. He will then rub on his mark. They also do this to "itch" parasites from their skin. The old timers usd to call hogs, "poleshiners" for this reason.


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