[scorpio]

Are there farmers or other land owners that invite (or welcome) hunters to help eradicate feral pigs and other destructive creatures? I see all kinds of expensive day hunts, many of them operated by farmers. The only hog hunt near me in NJ is some island that they have set up for one of those "guaranteed" success kinda hunts, with game processing and all, and that don't seem very sporting to me, or helpful to getting rid of the piggies.

It doesn't matter if the places to hunt for free are near me, I'm just curious if farmers are really looking to get rid of the hogs or if they are looking to cash in. When I was a kid, I seem to recall something that was, I dunno, almost a tradition, going to farms to shoot crows and stuff, before NJ became super uptight. I'm wondering if that still exists anywhere in America.

 

[10acres]

Good post. I’ll be following this.

 

[Merle1]

Good post. I’ll be following this.

me to.... :hmmmm:

 

[capt greg]

My experience has been you must get to know the farmers. OR be recommended to them by someone that knows you. These farmers ain’t gonna let some stranger hunt there land. This is hard to do actually. The guides know this, so they rent land an take responsibility of the hunters.

 

[Pig Ninja]

My personal experience has been hunting my cousin's cotton farm in N Ga. He has about 300 acres with cotton and cows, his instructions, if it's not a cow kill it. Hog's, deer, geese or coyotes he does not want it. Earlier this year I was hunting and trapping them but just hadn't had time lately. Right now it is his son, SiL's and myself hunting the property. Don't know if I could have guest hunt with me. To answer your question yes there is at least one farmer that wants someone to rid his property of pest.

 

[Wild Turkey]

The problem is that too many farmers have found hunters to be more of a pest than the hogs. Only takes a few jerks to make things difficult for considerate hunters.

 

[scorpio]

My experience has been you must get to know the farmers. OR be recommended to them by someone that knows you. These farmers ain’t gonna let some stranger hunt there land. This is hard to do actually. The guides know this, so they rent land an take responsibility of the hunters.

This is perfectly reasonable, and probably sensible too. Either we knew the farmers or found a way to introduce ourselves or be introduced. The last thing anyone wants is an unknown quantity running around on their property with a rifle.

So, based on what you are saying, the guides more or less have an arrangement with many of the farmers, turning wild boar eradication into a business.

 

[HIKayaker]

Wild boar are different from feral hogs. They are different species. The wild boar are usually purchased, then released, specifically for hunting. Feral hogs have escaped and become wild.

That being said, hunting feral hogs, unless being run as a commercial enterprise, is usually only a recreational activity for the landowner and his guests. Hunting is not adequate for feral hog control. The hogs rather quickly become educated to being hunted, and either make themselves scarce, changing their routines to feeding very late at night, or move a farm or two away. Hunters, at best, collect only a few, and the rest become very wary.

For actual control, the hogs are either shot over bait, at night, with silenced rifles, or trapped inside a baited wire corral via a radio controlled quick closing gate. The trapped hogs are then killed. The pros dislike the hunters, as the hogs which escape the hunters make the trapping and shooting much more difficult.

As others have said, too many hunters are more trouble to the landowner than they are worth for pest reduction. Unless you are personally known to the landowner, you can expect a lot of permission refusals. You may find a few, but be prepared to work to find them. And many of the landowners realize that they can lease hunting rights to make themselves additional money.

You may be able to find public land where you can hunt hogs on a non-resident basis, but it is likely to have seen hunting pressure.

Good luck, and let us know what you find.

 

[Merle1]

This is perfectly reasonable, and probably sensible too. Either we knew the farmers or found a way to introduce ourselves or be introduced. The last thing anyone wants is an unknown quantity running around on their property with a rifle.

So, based on what you are saying, the guides more or less have an arrangement with many of the farmers, turning wild boar eradication into a business.

true, but don't forget the farmer/rancher has already suffered losses from the hogs - it's fair enough that he gets some of his money back

 

[scorpio]

true, but don't forget the farmer/rancher has already suffered losses from the hogs - it's fair enough that he gets some of his money back

Well, the farmer can complain about how much damage they do, or he can profit from guided hunting, but I don't reckon how he can do both. I understand the dilemma, but if he's going to turn feral animals into lemonade then he's got two business going. Like I said, I just remember a time when farmers were happy to have folks come by and kill slews of crow because they ate their corn. It worked out good for everyone.

 

[Merle1]

Well, the farmer can complain about how much damage they do, or he can profit from guided hunting, but I don't reckon how he can do both. I understand the dilemma, but if he's going to turn feral animals into lemonade then he's got two business going. Like I said, I just remember a time when farmers were happy to have folks come by and kill slews of crow because they ate their corn. It worked out good for everyone.

yep, but it was a different world back then

 

[palmetto pirate]

I manage farms that have Wild Boar or Feral hogs on them. First off they are the same animals they arent native the Spanish brought them into what is now Tampa in the mid 1500's. They can readily breed with domstic hogs. As to the hunting part LAW SUITS have just about totally ruined the opurtunity for people to access private property. Yes you can do releases but it doesnt mean you cant be sued. We have had people tear up gates, steal diesel fuel and Ag chemicals and plant Pot on the properties. As said before people can be their own worst enemies.

 

[rapidroy]

Having spent most of my adult life in TX, and now living in LA (both covered up with pigs), I find it sad to say that unless you know someone, it is virtually impossible to find a place to hunt pigs for free any more. Even though they are super destructive and people want to get rid of them, those people also realize that it is a source of income, and I guess I can't blame them for that. I used to hunt pigs for free all the time in TX and it just isn't like that any more.

 

[navajo]

I live in an area where there is a lot of farming (rural Central Texas)
and unless you know somebody, hell no...and there's no shortage
of hogs here either.
I've had farmers call me and ask me to come hunt them before...
and there's plenty of places I can go without even asking...
But I've lived here all my life.

 

[GasGuzzler]

Too many people overpaid for revolver caliber JM 1894's so now everyone pays the price.

Same here.

Too many people overpaid to hunt pigs and now the land owners won't put up with strangers unless they profit.

Farmers and Ranchers: You don't have a pig problem if you charge to kill them.

 

[scorpio]

Though I'd really like to keep the thread in the direction of where folks can hunt for free, in the tradition of animal control, I'd like to point something out. After reading several dozen articles, FG&W papers and other things, it seems like disease is on the rise in the feral pig/wild boar populations. If the pigs become unattractive as a meat source, and the popularity of hog hunting declines, well.... It's estimated that feral pigs cost the US $1.5B annually. The way the study was worded, I got the impression farmers are filing insurance claims, and the US Gov't is subsidizing those claims. So, I guess we are all paying for feral hogs, whether we get to hunt them or not.

 

[Ballistic Therapy]

From what I have seen about these so called guided hog hunts , it should be called killing not hunting.
Especially for these (so called) hunts where you set in a blind watching a timed feeder and wait for it to go off so the hogs will come in so you can kill them.
It comes down to the fact that people will pay money to kill something and these farmers and ranchers are cashing in on it.
Other than buying a hunting license and tag I would never pay anyone to hunt anything.

 

[Longbow14]

Become friends with a farmer. secondly you will pay something to hunt pigs plenty of land in the south is open to hunting with tags or permits. in Florida hogs can basically be taken year round provided your using the gear required for that hunting season. as in you can get a deer tag and hunt pigs during deer season but you can't bring your rifle out in archery season, there are also specialty hunts in the non deer months for pigs but they vary from place to place.

 

[Mike 2010]

The problem is that too many farmers have found hunters to be more of a pest than the hogs. Only takes a few jerks to make things difficult for considerate hunters.

Turkey is right yrs ago I had a place to hunt quail, great hunting too, I took a guy I though I could trust not to go there unless I was along, wrong again boy. Him & 2 more went left beer cans ran the cows left the gates open. Yes your honor thats how the fight started, I could never hunt there again...

 

[Barley]

HIKayaker,

What you have written pretty much covers the dilemma of those who would like to hunt feral pigs, or wild boar (as some suspect a few were intentionally turned loose with some domestic pigs at unnamed locations), here in VA. In fact, as one has mentioned, the VA Game Dept specifically discourages hunting pigs on their website in favor of the corral trap. They actively encourage farmers with a pig problem to use the corral traps rather than allow hunting. Some landowners, where there are pigs, do hunt themselves, but obviously limit who they allow in. In the Great Dismal Swamp, the Game Dept shoots the pigs from a helicopter. I can understand a farmer's dislike for the damage pigs do, but it is disappointing that the hunting part is discouraging. I can see where, with a little communication between interested parties, a combo of hunting and trapping could be advantageous.