Posted on 10/18/2020 4:44:57 AM PDT by marktwain
From a distance, it looked like some garbage had blown into Neal Andrus’ corral on County Line Road in Jefferson County on a recent afternoon. When Andrus went to retrieve it, he found it wasn’t garbage at all but a large, black hog sleeping in the sun.
It didn’t look like any domestic hog he’d ever seen.
“Every indication told me it was a feral hog with its long snout, short tusks and course hair that stood up all along its back,” Andrus said.
Andrus’ approach startled the hog, which darted past him and into an irrigation canal and across the highway that divides Bonneville and Jefferson counties. Andrus alerted his closest neighbor that the animal was headed his way and then called the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, which contacted another neighbor who raises domestic hogs. All domestic hogs were accounted for.
At about dusk, the hog disappeared into some tall overgrowth along a canal and wasn’t an easy target for the deputy. When Andrus maneuvered around the hog to push it back to the deputy, it turned and charged Andrus from about 20 feet. Andrus shot and killed it.
(Excerpt) Read more at idahostatejournal.com ...
Even in Oregon, Wild Hog can be hunted year ‘round, on public and private land, with no bag limit, day only. A hunting license is required on public land, but not on private land.
Gestation is 113 days for pigs.
2.2 litters per year is the maximum.
Can one make good whole hog sausage from the larger ones? It seems a waste to let the meat go to waste.
Also, if you leave the dead hogs out there doesn’t it increase the coyote population?
We have a lot of feral hogs nearby, I’m in the process of fixing a bunch of broken water pipes now, because a very large female got under the other house and destroyed all the pvc pipes. Probably 300-350lbs, huge, grey with reddish tinted black spots. I’m guessing female, but not positive, I didn’t see tusks though. Usually just the boars grow those. Half done with pipes, had to get a few more fittings I didn’t know I’d need. Nobody lives there, running water not critical.
Texas has more feral hogs than anywhere else in the country, and they are a big problem here, destroying crops in many cases. I’ve seen them tear up spots the size of about 8 parking spaces square in a night, everything dug up a foot deep. About 2 or 3 years ago I watched 3 various sized feral hogs roam through the yard next door and tear up a space big enough to park 3 pickup trucks in 5 minutes. All the grass and dirt dug up a foot deep in no time at all. Gone before I could get back outside with the .243.
Right up the street a block or two, I saw a group of 4 adults and 6 youngsters about 100 yards away, and that was 2 years ago. We can’t kill them fast as they multiply. It’s a big problem all over the state. A friend 2 miles away has the same problem, they tear up peoples’ yards and gardens nightly. My garden has been destroyed several times, and I spooked 3 rooting in my yard just before dark one evening. I was 50 yards from the house and the guns were all IN THERE...not one in my hand...and 3 hogs between me and the house...one of them at least 200 lbs. I got lucky, they ran the other direction into the woods.
And that’s before you consider the Javelina, not actually hogs at all, but absolutely vicious if surprised or cornered. Fortunately not anywhere near as overpopulated as feral hogs. And they tend to range far south of where I live.
If I were to go after them, I’d take my .243, or maybe get some loads for the .50 cal muzzle loader. Thinking about selling it actually, I’ve never decided to shell out the money to get all the bullets, primers and powder to fire the thing. Only down side is one shot...better make it count, you won’t get a chance to reload...
If you can get a good shot, there is a method used in meat packing plants. Trace imaginary lines from each ear to the other eye. (right eye to left ear) Where those lines cross on the forehead is where they would hit hogs and cattle with a hammer years ago to kill them. I’m not sure what is used today, but 30 years ago a friend worked at a slaughterhouse, that was his job at times. Theoretically, if you can hit that specific spot, a .22 rifle will do the trick.
On the other hand, I once shot a domestic hog about 250lbs with a .41 cal revolver, 5 shots in the face and it was still standing. (We wanted to butcher it) Didn’t know about the ear to eye thing then, just put my 1st shot in the corner of the left eye against the nose. Should be an open hole there, straight to the brain. Still standing and grunting at us, and pissed. 4 more shots before he finally dropped. In a pen, 10 feet away. No way I could miss, at that time I could easily hold a one inch group at that distance, 2 inch group at 20 yards every time. (I was using playing cards for target practice) These days I’m lucky to hold a group twice that size...still, I can keep 12 shots in a group the size of a softball at 20 yards with the 9mm semi, about a baseball size group with the .22 revolver. I haven’t gone downhill with age that bad...but I’d want some real firepower to go against feral hogs, not sure I’d want to rely on the 9mm...those guys are tough to kill.
IF there is ONE, there are at least 100.
Watch “Hogs Gone Wild” on TV.
Those beasts are NASTY!!!
In my opinion sausage is about all the big ones are good for. I’ve shot a bunch of yotes eating on dead hog’s, shot a bunch of hog’s eating on dead hog’s also. There’s no threat of me running out of either!
Not sure a Javalina will range that far, they seem to like the warmer weather. We’ve got a bunch of Javalina’s on the ranch but we don’t shoot them. They don’t cause any problems.
I’ve carried both the AR-10 and the 5.56’s, I stick with the 5.56 and the heavier rounds, 60 grains and up. The AR-10 are just to cumbersome, I’m running a SIG ROMEO red dot and I keep it to ten round mag’s. Most of my shooting is from the truck and the longer mag’s get hung up on everything when you’re trying to quickly get the rifle out the window. Kind of like welding leads.
“ Gestation is 113 days for pigs.”
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Yeh, you’re right. But, doesn’t change my basic premise that it’s difficult to terminate them as fast as they reproduce.
Come to Texas and you can hunt hogs from a helicopter with a full auto for around $800...
Wild pigs are not common where he is. He thought it might have belonged to a neighbor.
“Come to Texas and you can hunt hogs from a helicopter with a full auto for around $800...”
Can confirm it’s a HOOT! Nothing like putting the aerial smackdown with a three stamp toy...SBR, FA, and Suppressed now that’s some good ole Texan fun. While.hanging out the side of a help rigged in Aussie style from behind it’s like flying and shooting at the same time. I like to listen to Vietnam era rock in my digital earplugs go all Man flashback n stuff.
I think the main point is that we haven’t had feral hogs reported in eastern Idaho...until now!
Fair enough. The question becomes is that one part of an invasive herd or an escapee from a farm?
That is my question...the fact the rancher found the hog snoozing in a corral makes me suspicious.
I would think that our winters might not be great feral hog environment?
Our hog operations in Idaho have indoor facilities, plus the feed is very good. Not sure how many would survive at -25, and all feed stocks frozen and dormant.
Maybe they would migrate south like our robins???
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