Caught 4 small feral hogs at a time, this morning

[tacticalturnip]

That is interesting. And pretty cold up there. It may be because someone has made a hunting rental land for profit and transported them there to start. They are really hard to stop, they expand so quickly. I searched "Can feral hogs live in cold climate. " Came up with feral hogs in Canada. Interesting. Tough mean animal. I found this interresting.

Feral hogs build Pigloos to survive winter

That is impressive, and quite frustrating; the only way to control the feral hogs is to cull them.

 

[ljjhouser]

is hunting with guns effective, or even permitted ? I know that they have been thinking about this problem / solution for years.

they must be destroying crops, fencing etc - uggh

all the best

Yes it is, for the 1, 2, or 3 that are killed. But a sounder of hogs usually may have 25-30 members. Gunshots scatter the sounder and those then range further and start other groups, effectively spreading the affected area of infestation. Missouri Department of Conservation had developed/invested in large pen traps to catch the entire group preventing it from spreading. See videos in post #3.
I used to be a pretty good shot. A friend asked me to go on a Hog hunt with him - said he was somewhat afraid of the big boar hogs. I told him - not me and not my dog. Those things are too mean and can spring out of the bushes. And they are fast. Good way to get your dog killed. But those days are gone and we know better now.

Hunting them here on Conservation land is now illegal. Private land is HIGHLY discouraged.

 

[ljjhouser]

I put out corn and bird seed. Usually, the feeding area is filled with birds during the day and deer at night. The hog below showed up for about a week in June.

Looking at that picture, it is hard NOT to think - If I just shoot that thing, then the birds and deer and return. But that hog is part of a sounder -somewhere close by. It is surprising that others did not show up. You did well not to scatter them. Hopefully, they will not return. Shows a lot of patience - good job.
MDC spends about 2 or 3 weeks watching them return until they find the hog leading the group and make sure all are in the pen. The make a record of the hogs trailing that may not go into the pen for a week or two. Eventually, they all will give in and enter the pen. Those things are prolific survivors.

 

[Eagle1]

Yet conservation agents get hunt them from helicopter, not that they kill much that way. Just scatter the sounders.
Trapping is all done by contractors that get paid well, you and I are paying them. BTW still lots of hog hunting on private property around here, since nobody is trapping on federal land and you can't shoot them there, except during deer season. Private landowners like me don't have the funds to pay trappers, plus they taste fine once you learn how to cook them. That and I want to hunt on my property without have to dodge hogs, Had 25 in my cattle pasture last fall. Destroyed 10 acres on my neighbors pasture. Never seen anyone trap around here since the is no STATE property.

 

[ljjhouser]

MDC is not going to be very successful if they don't trap on private land.

 

[alexpops]

That's what AR 10's with high-capacity mags, night vision optics & silencers are good for.

 

[Eagle1]

Or Federal since that is large chunks of forest around here. I live within Mark Twain NF - 3 million acres of which 1.5 million is privately owned. Guess where the hogs are at night vs day time. Had that sounder of 25 charge me while squirrel hunting with a 22 LR bolt gun. Lucky for me me the first shot was true and the rest scattered. My bull had been in several face off with the big boar before I got the sounder to move on. Then they tore up the local golf course for a couple of months.

 

[Eagle1]

That's what AR 10's with high-capacity mags, night vision optics & silencers are good for.

Yup but even a 223 will do the job or any deer rifle. The point is being legal is getting to be more difficult. A few local @$@ ruined it by staking out the hog traps for deer, turkey and hog all year long.

 

[Torvy]

An M-16 is a .223. The AR10 can also come in .223.

To get more of the hogs, you need more hunters, provided they know what they are doing. If you fear the hog, get in a tree stand. Haven't heard of hogs that climb well.

 

[Liquidsilver]

I'm right over by Cherryville and we haven't seen any. Thankful for that. My tractor tire fixer in Bixby said he gave up waiting for the MDC and just shoots 'em.