The Hog Blog

Well, you guys are probably getting tired of hunting videos where I don’t kill anything except time… but here’s another one anyway.  Sorry, the money shot is coming, but if I killed something every time I went out, I’d start looking like some of those pro hunters on TV and stuff.  Next thing you know, I’ll have to start hawking products and wearing logo hats instead of my old Stetson. 

Enough foolishness… on with the show!

Well, it’s been a while since the last edition of the Porcine Press, but that doesn’t mean our little piggy friends haven’t been making the news. 

First of all, we’ll visit our neighbors to the north, in the Canadian province of Alberta.  According to this article in the Edmonton Journal, it appears that the bristly beggars have settled right into the Great White North and are making a nuisance of themselves… so much so that the folks at the Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development agency have officially classified wild boar as pests, opening the door for unregulated killing to protect crops and property.  Of course, if you’ll read the whole article, you’ll find that the pest status may be a bit over-stated.  I won’t be packing my hog rifle for a drive to Alberta just yet. 

Speaking of travel…

This is the time of year when my heart and eyes start to wander in search of new places and experience.  OK, actually, my thoughts are usually of warm, tropical beaches, clear water, and big, pelagic fish… but I’m open to other things.   Now it’s been a long time since my honeymoon, but I’d be willing to pretend to be a newlywed if it meant I could sign up for this honeymoon package I just read about on PressReleases.com! 

The 14-day package highlights the adventurous side of Fiji, and takes guests to five different islands throughout the 300+ island archipelago. “I’d categorize some of the activities as ‘extreme’,” explains Marketing Director Susan de Geus, who lives on Fiji’s main island full time to facilitate the tours. “Skydiving and hunting for wild boars in the Fiji bush are definitely not what most honeymooners come to Fiji to experience,” she says. “But while the entire itinerary is adventure oriented, we give couples a break with soft activities like kayaking and snorkeling over the world’s fourth largest reef,” she explains.

Yeah, I could do that!

And moving right along, I’ll close with this great little piece from columnist Bob Terrell at the Asheville, NC Citizen-Times.  This one reminds me of the tales I’d get from my dad and uncles.  It also brings to mind the great stories I read over at the Animal Stories blog.

This just in!

Department of Fish and Games

News Release for Immediate Release 08:30 April 1, 2008

DFG Warns: Hog Outbreak Puts Hunters at Risk

Due to an outbreak of a virulent strain of porcine asymptomatic hypochondriasis in the Central Coast Region of the state, State Biologists and the California Fish and Games Department will institute an immediate halt on all hunting of wild hogs or feral pigs in the state until further research can determine the extent of the outbreak.

“We’ve never seen any thing like this in California, or any other state,” said biologist, Dr. E.R. Satz.  “It’s totally unprecedented.  In fact, all scientific and medical sources tell us such an outbreak is impossible.  The biological sciences community is astounded, but at the same time, we’re quite excited at this opportunity to study a disease they told us didn’t exist!”

At the Fish and Game Department, tensions are running high as officials and officers try to figure out the best way to quickly get the word out, and protect the public.  Department Spokesperson, Sgt. Veral Fulavit says that the outbreak presents a very definite threat to hunters. 

“At this point,” says Fulavit, “we’re unsure of the long-term effects of the disease.  We do know that actual, physical contact is not required for transmission.  Simply being in close proximity to the infected animals is enough to cause symptoms including significant oral dissembly in most hunters.  More extreme cases have resulted in hyperbolic ejecta, and even prevarication.  We cannot stress how serious this may be.”

There is, at this time, no cure for the infection.  Hunters who feel they may already be infected should contact Dr. Satz immediately at the E.R.Satz Disease Laboratory. 

At this time, there is no known threat to domestic livestock or pets.  Dr. Satz urges ranchers and pet owners not to be overly complacent, though.  “We don’t know what we don’t know,” says Satz.  “While all the indications suggest that the infection only transmits from hogs to humans, it’s very difficult to identify the symptoms in non-human animals.”

Until further notice, all hog hunters are urged to cancel all planned hunts.  Department of Fish and Games officers will be in the field to enforce the closure, and anyone caught hunting hogs may be cited with a congratulatory letter for seeing through this silly message for the April Fool’s Joke it really is.

Happy April 1, everybody! 

I spent the past weekend down at the Native Hunt headquarters, along with Native Hunt owner/operator Michael Riddle. 

Part of the visit was spent getting a short tour of the property and Mike’s operation.  He’s got a great setup, with over 1000 acres fenced for exotics, including a herd of pure-strain European boar, some Fallow Deer, Corsican Sheep, and some buffalo.  Outside the fence are native blacktail deer, and hoards of feral pigs.

Ever since I came to CA, I’ve heard various hunt operators claim to have “pure” European or “Russian” boar on their properties.  However, unless those hogs are inside a fence, they’re not likely to be pure Euros.  The hogs most of us are familiar with in this country are feral hogs, or at best, a cross between the descendants of released Europeans and feral swine.

After spending a couple of days at the Native Hunt property, it was pretty clear that none of the hogs I’ve seen on private or public land in this state were pure Europeans.  The real thing is very distinctive. 

Mike did a pretty good article about the pure-strain boar in a recent issue of Boar Hunter Magazine.  It does a much better job describing the difference between the Euros and feral pigs than I could ever do here.  If you’ve got the time, go take a read. 

There was another purpose for our meeting this weekend as well. 

The timing and details are still in the final works, but I can now tell you that we spent a good bit of the weekend discussing a new organization dedicated to the promotion of wild boar hunting across the country.  We’re also interested in bringing various interests together, and working collaboratively with the diverse members of the hunting and wildlife management community. 

Membership questions?  Hang tight, and I’ll have a lot more information about this as we go. 

So my friend, Joe Patton moved back from CA to FL a couple years ago.  Joe’s a pretty hard-core hunter, and it was a shame to see him leave the state, but Florida has a lot to offer the hunting addict as well.  Even so, I don’t think either of us expected the turn of events he just experienced…

I’ll put it here in his own words.

I opened up our garage door here in our master planned Orlando community to get a phone number out of my truck. The first thing I notice as the door was rising, was two wild pigs rooting up my front flower bed, approx 25 feet away. Our six-month old dog was tailing me out to go to the bathroom. The pigs look up, and come toward us in the garage! I quickly kick the dog back in to the house.

For whatever reason, the pigs went back to rooting. My Mathews was on the top shelf in the hardcase, so that wasnt an option. BUT, thanks to Arrowhead (beloved JHO Member), there was a brand new Fred Bear bow that he had given to Lil Buck-eye within arm’s length. I grabbed it, and slid an arrow in to it. The boar is at about 6 yards. I let loose with the arrow and it sticks right in to the shoulder. The pigs take off in to the neighborhood. They seemed inseparable. The one is running with an arrow poking through its side, while the other one is still feeding in people’s yards. It was the oddest thing. They stayed together the entire time. I called our Game Agency to make sure I was within the law. They confirmed that I was okay, but I could not finish off the pig unless I had permission from the owner of the yard they were in, or unless they were in mine.

By this time, the pigs had crossed the street, and gone behind other houses. They were about 150 yards from our home and out of sight. By this time, neighbors had called the police, and they were all standing outside wondering what was up.
Here is where it gets crazy….

I figure the only way to finish this hunt is to attempt to get them back in to our yard. I found them behind a house down the street, and I began to chase them, all the while clapping my hands. It was unreal. They did what I wanted. The sow (uninjured) went wherever the boar went. I stayed right on his tail. I even got close enough to pull the arrow out of his side. He didnt like that too much at all.

Unbelievably, I get them to cross the street and they get in to my yard. The boar flops down in to my bed that he rooted up. I run in to the garage to get the Mathews. No time to get the release. I grab one arrow, and head out the garage. The boar is looking at me and bedded low. I release another arrow and all hell breaks loose. The boar jumps up squealing bloody murder. The arrow didnt completely pass through as it hit the ground behind it. But, upon jumping up, it snapped the arrow in half. Both pigs bolt across the street and at that point I see the sheriffs pulling in.

I put the bow away, stood outside and let them know that I am who they need to talk to. They head over to the pigs (who are still together). The one is dead (or appears to be), and the sow is still feeding in the yard. Both sheriffs go over to the boar with guns drawn and one of them pops 3 shots in its head. Hit the jaw 3 times. Goofball.

The second sheriff grabs a rope, and hog ties the sow. They load that one in the truck alive. I asked if they needed anything from me, they said “Nope! You want the pig?”

I said - “HECK YA!”

So, in my little gated community, good old neighbor Joe…drags the dead pig across the road to my yard.  My peaceful community is now tainted with a blood trail in the street and pooling blood on the sidewalk. This was all so bizarre. I had multiple neighbors I had never met coming up to take pictures.

This is by far the craziest bow kill I have ever been a part of. Here are some pictures of the event. There is no fabrication in this tale. It was so whacky, I have trouble even typing it without pausing to say ” I cannot believe this all went down”

Gotta love it!

Well, even a “sure thing” can pan out and leave you with live rounds and an empty freezer.  So it was this past weekend, although it wasn’t as bad as all that.

Jerry and Jack are two of the guys who hunted with us last fall at Coon Camp Springs.  During the week, as we chatted, they found out about my love of hog hunting, and mentioned that they pretty much live in the heart of hog country… the Central Coast region in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties.  They talked about slaughtering hogs, both in sport hunts and depredation (keeping the hogs out of the vineyards), and how they were both kind of tired of shooting pigs.

Well, I never tire of it.  Great sport and great meat… how could you ever burn out?

So anyway, one thing led to another and the invitation was extended.  Well, this past weekend we made good on it.  Kat and I drove down, to join the Coon Camp Springs president, Dave Allen, and one of our other board members, Bob Olds for some pig hunting, camping, and good old-fashioned camaraderie.

Bob, once a Marine always a Marine, was there early and camped out to wait for our hosts.  Kat and I made it just before sunset, and just in time to transfer rifles from my truck to theirs for a last light scouting/hunting run. 

We didn’t have to scout hard, as we entered the property and found a huge clump of hogs standing in the open, less than 50 yards from the road.  Honestly, I’ve never seen anything like it… and apparently the hogs were kinda shocked too.  We drove by once, took a look, and kept going.  As soon as we were well out of sight, we flipped a U-turn and came back. 

I had no hopes that the pigs would still be there, but these guys were either stupid or brave… and they still milling around in huddled confusion.  In my imagination, I could hear them whispering to each other, “OK, they’re back.  Which way are you gonna run?” 

Bob, Kat, and I rolled out of the truck and took up positions to shoot.  I had the .325, and since I know its deafening effect, I’d promised not to shoot until everyone else had time to cover their ears.  I really wanted Kat to take her shot, and was hoping she and Bob would double up and kill some hogs.  I didn’t need to kill one, as I’d just put one in the freezer last weekend.  Even so, my finger was brushing the trigger as I put a big boar in the crosshairs while waiting for the shooting to start.

But it never did.  Kat said the hogs kept crossing up and turning their butts to her, so she didn’t have a safe shot.  Bob had the same complaint.  Finally, the hogs turned and trotted off another 50 yards before stopping to mill around again.  At this point, I wanted to shoot, but told Kat to hurry up and pick a target. Then Bob finally touched one off, and I saw dust fly from the back of a big sow.

The herd broke for good, then, and Bob’s sow kinda lingered and fell.  Kat never squeezed the trigger, since a Texas Heart Shot is simply not the right thing to do in that situation.  Good choice on her part.  A lot of folks would have simply started spraying and praying.

We made the drag back to the truck, and headed back to camp to wait for Dave.  Jack grilled up some delicious buffalo burgers, and the first night quickly became a memory of flickering oak flames, good food, and lots of hunting stories.  Oh, and the total destruction of a bottle of really good Scotch. 

Saturday morning saw us posted over the vineyards.  Good sign, including a trail that couldn’t have been more than an hour or two old kept our hopes high… but the fog rolled in over the fields, and for most of the morning visibility was less than 100 yards.  There could have been hogs everywhere, but we never saw them.  Jack and Jerry had driven up onto a high ridge, and stumbled over a bedded sow.  While neither of them was really planning to hunt, Jack decided to go ahead and take her.  The tally for the weekend rose to two hogs.

Saturday afternoon, we relocated, heading down into Santa Barbara county to another property that our hosts had been given sole access to.  We rolled in kind of late, so we set up quickly to glass a patch of chapparal that couldn’t have been more than a half-acre.  We sat and watched this spot, constantly assured that there were almost always hogs in there.  I couldn’t help my doubts as I looked at the tiny patch of cover, compared against all the open ground around it.  Then we spotted the first hog.

It was tough to make it out, as it looked like a log laying there.  But then another hog stood up and stretched, giving us just a glimpse before it lay down again.  I ranged the animals at about 185 yards… not a bad shot, but a tough call on an uncertain target.  I had Kat beside me with her Browning .270, but she was having a hard time finding the hog in the scope.

We sat tight for quite a while, as the wind whipped up and the temperature dropped steadily.  Soon we were facing a gale, and our watering eyes had trouble making out any detail on the far hill.  Still, the sleeping hog had not risen, and we could only catch glimpses of the other one.  Then a literal squall came roaring over the hills.  We could see the grey curtain coming, and as it drew nearer the wind driven rain flew horizontally across the ground…stinging our faces and flooding our scopes and binoculars. 

Just as the squall hit, the hillside came alive… almost literally!  Every bush became a moving hog, and I think we were all stunned by the number of pigs in such a small area.  There were black, red, grey, and calico hogs all over the place!  One large calico sow came downhill and stood, back exposed, for several seconds.  I held the crosshairs just below the pig’s head, but kept encouraging Kat to take the shot.  Dave was trying to find a pig as well, but both of them seemed to be hesitating.

I was shooting my grandfather’s old Browning BAR in .308, and I’ve never had a lot of confidence in this rifle outside of 100 yards.  I was also shooting the new Extreme Shock ammo, which I couldn’t really get to group well at the range in this gun.   Confidence is key in a hunting rifle, and I should know better than to hunt with something I don’t trust… but there I was.

Finally, after waiting a seeming eternity for either Kat or Dave to shoot, I found the big calico in the crosshairs again.  I settled in, took a deep breath, and squeezed off the shot.  It looked good, felt good, and the sow squealed and bolted.  Unfortunately, she was still running with the herd as they crossed the distant hillside over a half-mile away. 

Dave and I crossed the canyon and scoured the chemise for sign of a hit, but there was nothing to be seen.  Somehow I’d missed her.  I replayed the shot over and over, but couldn’t figure out how.  I immediately wished I had my .325 or the 30-06 with me…but the .325 was at camp, and the 30-06 was at the KDF shop in Seguin, TX, getting a brake installed.  You have to dance with the one you brung, so there I was…

A bit later, as sleet, hail, and snow whipped across the green, central CA landscape, we scoured the property looking for more hogs.  They appear to have dug in for the day, though, and we slowly made our way back the way we came in, the main group riding in Jerry’s H1, and Dave and I following in the Kubota ATV.  Then, as light was fading, I spotted a huge boar standing alone on a hillside.  Dave and I slammed on the brakes and I hit the boar with the rangefinder.  383 yards… much too far for the .308, and out of Dave’s comfort zone with his 30-06 AI.  We watched as the boar stood there for a while, then turned and ambled into the brush. 

I radioed Jerry, and we caught up to them and discussed options.  Next thing I knew, we were 4-wheeling cross-country, heading for the last known sighting.  We hit the ridgetop and everyone spread out.  Suddenly there was a shout and a gunshot from Bob.  The boar had broken cover less than 50 yards away!  Bob’s shot apparently went wild.  The boar reappeared across the canyon and Dave took a shot at the fleeing animal.

What came next was a scene directly from Rat Patrol (you youngsters can look it up on IMDB.com).  Bob and I leaped into the back of the Hummer, and Jerry took off across the property to head the hog off.  There was nothing but open hillsides for probably 1000 yards, and we could see the pig running as the Hummer bounded and flew up and down the rises in this race. 

Unfortunately, the hog won.  I don’t know how, or where he disappeared, but at some point he found cover and we could not manage to put him up again before darkness fell.  We made our way back to camp, arriving late in the evening and too tired for much frivolity.  We ate chili and retired…

Sunday was sort of a strange day.  No one stirred before daylight, and when we did rise we decided to get camp broken down before heading out to do one more hunt.  The sun was shining, and while the wind was chilly it was a really beautiful day.  We had a big breakfast of tortillas, pulled pork, and scrambled eggs… then finally pulled out and headed back to the scene of the evening hunt.

We had no sooner arrived than the wind sprang up again, driving down the temperatures and spattering us with cold rain.  We covered the property from one end to the other, but could not turn up a hog for love or money.  Chilled and discouraged, we finally rolled back to the trucks, packed up, and called it a weekend.

All in all, it was still a great weekend.  Jerry and Jack are awesome hosts, and they have a beautiful piece of property, in addition to the places we were able to hunt.  I shared some excellent times, great food, and lots of stories.  It’s hard to complain about that.  We also had good opportunities to kill a lot more hogs than we did. 

I’m looking forward to getting back down there again! 

As promised, here’s video from day one of this past weekend’s Tejon hog hunt.  I’m no C.B. Demille, but hey…whatta you want for nothing?  The second part should be up tomorrow, if I have time to do the edits.

It’s retribution time! 

After my fairly fruitless archery hunt two weeks ago, it’s time to unlimber the rifle and head back to Tejon Ranch. 

This time I’ve got nine guys from Jesse’s Hunting and Outdoors with me, and we’ve got designs on the hog herd.  Most of the hunters on this trip are well acquainted with the ranch. 

I’m heading south this morning, and if all goes well I’ll be online again tonight.  But just in case I don’t get back to the web until I get back on Monday, at least now you’ll know where I am! 

Nebraska is taking the battle to the hogs, according to this article in the Journal Star online edition.  In an effort to eradicate hogs from the state, the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission has hired aerial gunners to shoot the hogs from helicopters.  

This shooting took place in Harlan County.  Sam Wilson, the commission’s furbearer specialist commented to reporters:

“We believe we were successful in removing more than 90 percent of the pigs in the area,” Wilson said. “We are hopeful that this population can be completely eradicated and we will continue to cover the area looking for sign.”

Of course, the whole thing raises something that’s begun to trouble me a bit of late.

I’ve heard, and even said, many times over, that feral and wild hogs are a destructive, invasive species.  They don’t belong in any ecosystem in this country, so it stands to reason that they shouldn’t be allowed to proliferate.  Right?

But how much do we know, for sure, about their negative impact?  I mean, of course crop damage is documented and quantifiable.  Hard to argue with that.  And the potential risk to domestic stocks if there’s an outbreak of something like pseudorabies or brucellosis… well it’s not too hard to understand why the farmers are concerned. 

I’m starting to wonder though, if more research into the environmental impact of wild and feral hogs wouldn’t be real helpful right about now.  Do they displace native species, or do they fill a niche?  Some researchers, for example, have argued that wild hogs fill the niche vacated by the CA grizzly bears.  Some other folks have suggested that their “rototilling” behavior helps aerate and turn the soil.  And others have argued that they compete with native species like deer and turkeys, destroy ground nesting birds, and aggravate erosion by rooting the banks of waterways.

Anyway, I know some of this research has already been done, or is being done now; and I am also fully aware that the research will need to focus on local ecosystems as there is no one-size-fits-all solution.  I’d like to see more of this research before I lock in my opinion about further eradication efforts.  There’s a big part of me that believes there’s a possibility that wild hogs could be managed for sporting purposes in some areas… particularly in places where eradication efforts are too little, too late (like California and Texas). 

I dunno… but I’m starting to question a lot of “common wisdom” about wild hogs and hunting, lately.  Maybe I’m off on a lark all of a sudden, but it never hurts to ask the questions. 

Well, it’s been a little while since I’ve done a Porcine Press, and since there was no update to the blog for a couple of days, I figured I better do something.  Nothing’s too good for you, dear readers. 

So here we go… first to the United Kingdom, where the lead-in reads:

Boar hunting is back in Britain, 400 years after the last native wild boar was killed.

According to the article in the icWales.co.uk website, the hogs have returned due to escapes and illegal releases from farmed stock.  While the hogs are indigenous to the country, their long absence worries many local farmers and agricultural officials about the potential to spread disease to domestic livestock.  Added to that is the popular mythology about the danger wild boar pose to walkers and children, and there was a reasonably large upswell of support for removing the ban on hunting the hogs. 

While most hunting on “public” lands will be carried out by rangers and officials designated by the government, civilian hunters will be able to hunt on private land.  Harvest quotas will be determined on a local basis, depending on the extent of damage done by the feral porkers and the risk to domestic animals.  The hunt is described as a “cull” hunt, but will not likely decimate the population. 

Now off to the tropics!  I’ve mentioned hunting in Hawaii before, but hadn’t considered Fiji as a hunting destination.  The little tale reported here, in The Fiji Times Online, reminds us that wild boar can be dangerous game.  A hunter in the island was badly injured, and lost three of his hunting dogs as the result of a wild boar turning on them during the hunt. 

And back in the States, this issue of the North Texas eNews advertises a workshop I’d like to see here in California.  The workshop discusses most aspects of wild boar, both from a hunting and an agricultural aspect.  It’s the kind of thing where I’d expect to meet and mingle with true experts on wild boar, and get a clearer understanding of the real-time issues that they create. 

Are they really a totally destructive pest that needs to be eradicated, or is there a benefit to allowing a managed population of swine to prosper in certain localities?  Considering that it’s highly unlikely we’ll ever be able to wipe them out in established populations (TX, central CA, FL, etc.), what’s the next best approach?  Instead of playing catch-up, shouldn’t our wildlife managers be looking forward?  Or is that happening already, and most of us just don’t know about it?  A workshop like this could help answer some of those questions, not just for me but for many other concerned and curious CA residents.