Hog cull this weekend

[Corpe Nimrod]

About 10 of us are going on a hog hunt on State Land in Central Michigan Saturday to try to help the DNR eradicate some of the feral swine that are infecting the State. I have mixed emotions about them as it would be nice to have something to hunt year round but everything that I've read indicates that they are hell on the environment, crops and other native species. That being said, as much as a curse that they are down South, you would think that it would be easier to gain access to hunt them. Most hunts for them seem to run $500.00 or more. Anyone from down South that has a bunch of them you want culled let me know. A couple of us will be glad to come down and shoot them for you! :wink:

 

[Rolex Dr.]

hey if you need another shooter/hunter/tracker/dragger


Im in and willing to bring lunch

i normally hunt up by you (previous pms we had)


Jamie

 

[Corpe Nimrod]

You didn't miss much except for a lot of rain. I'll give you a shout the next time we try it! 7 of us covered 8 square miles and found some sign but no hogs. Kept tripping over deer. Big State game area. Felt good to be in the woods again!

 

[cayuga]

Well if you came across sign, that means they are still around. How did they get into your area according to your DNR? Do you think someone released them or did they escape from a farm? I watched a show about hogs and how if they escape from a farm its amazing how fast they turn feral. And not only resort to their wild ways, but actually will start changing body shape and design in just a few generations.

Better luck next time. Our DNR is running the woods looking for a mountain lion. A farmer has been telling them that one was in the area but like usual, they denied the cat being there. Well then it was photographed. So they want to capture, tag, collar it, and then release it. And they had a big thing in the paper about.. shooting mountain lions in Wisconsin is illegal. It always makes you wonder where the cat came from, and why the DNR thinks we need something like that running around the woods.

 

[Corpe Nimrod]

We've got the same problem here in Michigan. The DNA evidence is overwhelming yet the DNR continues to deny mountain lion existence in the State. Had a friend who's penned goat got killed and lifted out of a horse stall with 5 foot walls. DNR claimed coyote, left him a huge live trap and told him not to shoot anything he caught. Didn't follow logic. I also heard that if Lions are officially declared in Michigan, then the DNR has to manage them and they don't have the financial resources. On the other hand, I have not heard of one being shot and with so many hunters out after deer you would think someone would kill one. They once were indigenuous to Michigan so it is not legal to kill one without protecting your livestock or person. Hogs are another matter. The ones we were after apparently escaped from a large hog operation in the area. 20 kills thus far and I understand they breed like mad. Further south near Homer the rumor is that some of Ted Nugent's got out when a large tree fell and took out the fence. Also, the State claims people have been guilty of free releasing them to get them started. It is appealing to have an animal that could be hunted year round but I understand that they do terrible damage. Also, as they hoover everything that the whitetail does, I assume that they greatly affect the other game species in the area. Time will tell what will happen, but I do remember when you saw a few turkeys here and there and now they are all over.

 

[cayuga]

Hogs breed like rats. They have litters as big as 10-15 piglets. And a good sow will keep them alive. Some of them sows will defend their young just as ferocious as any thing you ever saw. They are down right nasty. I can't count the time I was chased out of pens by a sow when we went in to castrate the little males.

Some will breed twice a year, so if one sow had 20 a year, and those 20 have even 50% female.. well the math is clear. In a short time, you can have a lot of hogs.

And hogs are destructive. On the farm, they will take a yard and basically trash all but the place where they sleep. They are a fascinating animal. And they taste good too.

 

[gobbler getter]

the yotes are keeping the hogs in check at my hunting club. i will get pictures of a sow with a litter of 8 to 10 little ones and by the time they get around 30 lbs. there will only be one or two left. and yote scat full of course hair is all over the place. of course me shootin them dont help there numbers either :lol:

 

[SWThomas]

the yotes are keeping the hogs in check at my hunting club. i will get pictures of a sow with a litter of 8 to 10 little ones and by the time they get around 30 lbs. there will only be one or two left. and yote scat full of course hair is all over the place. of course me shootin them dont help there numbers either :lol:

HAHA!

 

[wayles]

pigs

In my opinion they should be eradicated because they are so distructive to save our native fauna and flora. People have a right to do what ever they want on their own land. That does not include my land or state / BLM land. One escape should warrent canceling their permitt to keep pigs behind high fence. Use helicopters , traps, guns ect, Tame pig tasts better any way.

 

[Rolex Dr.]

Corpe

what game area Gratiot Saginaw


if so im very familar with that area i have hunted it a bunch, my uncle normally shoots 1 deer a year up there (he lives 15 miles south of there in Ovid) so he hunts it alot, i will ask if he has ever seen hog sign

i know if he sees a hog he will shot it (plus he has that luck)


please let me know i would lover to stomp the woods looking for hogs (or just hanging out with a great group of guys

 

[Corpe Nimrod]

Rolex,

Yes and what a great area. Does it get pounded during the hunting season? Saw quite a few shotgun casings near all the parking areas but we covered a ton of it and the deeper in we got the more wild it seemed. Saw a ton of turkeys and deer, also, saw more coyote sign then I have ever seen before. All of the scat was full of hair and I wondered if the earlier post explained that too. I'll get the map out and tell you what zones we covered. If we get up there again, or line up anything down here for that matter, I'll give you a holler. PM me your email and I'll add it to the hunting buddy list. We are always trying to pull something off and normally the more the merrier! Went coyote hunting with a group out of Indiana on Sunday and saw one terrorizing their dogs. Darned thing would stay about 50 yards in front of them and if it got too far ahead it would stop, sit down and wait on them. Ran circles around them all morning until it decided to disappear. The rain didn't help the scent at all.