Hog Forum

[bambislayer42]

cna we start a hog forum for anyone that wants to hunt these pests? we could post pics and info for people to hunt them. including laws and regulations. just a thought but i would be interested in learning more....

[OSXer]

Given that this is a MI-focused site, how many hogs are honestly running around that we could talk about hunting them?

There are fair more small game hunters and they are left with the general hunting section, for good reasons as well IMO, but I'd imagine that they keep hogs in the same spot since there is so little to say.

[hunting man]

maybe a exotic species forum for the game farm hunters.

[boehr]

...laws and regulations....OK, I'll post the hunting laws.

The law is _______________________________.

There ya go, there is the hunting laws, seasons, bag limits etc. :evilsmile

[bambislayer42]

OK, I'll post the hunting laws.

The law is _______________________________.

There ya go, there is the hunting laws, seasons, bag limits etc. :evilsmile



i was hoping that you could answer questions like? what type of liscense we would need, shooting hours,can you use a spot light? or can you just go out and hunt them? thanks

[Adam Waszak]

I don't think you will be shootin a lot of hogs on Drummond Island :lol:
AW

[wyle_e_coyote]

OK, I'll post the hunting laws.

The law is _______________________________.

There ya go, there is the hunting laws, seasons, bag limits etc. :evilsmile


:lol: same laws apply to Bigfoot!



I don't think you will be shootin a lot of hogs on Drummond Island :lol:
AW


Adam,
You can do allot of hog hunting at Edie's !

[Adam Waszak]

Wyle, you goin hoggin this weekend are ya :lol: :lol: :lol:

AW

[wyle_e_coyote]

Only if I have to Adam, only if i have to..:evil: .

[boehr]

i was hoping that you could answer questions like? what type of liscense we would need, shooting hours,can you use a spot light? or can you just go out and hunt them? thanks
I did. That is all the laws addressing the hunting of them. None, none, yes and yes. Right there where I posted the laws.;)

[ytlabs]

Boehr, I hate too do this, but it needs to be said.

What you need too hunt the Boar, ( Do nto be confused these are not farm pigs gone wild.) There are Russian Boar that were being raised on an exotic farm that were released through an act of vandalism.

This is comming from the Bay City office, if you do not believe me call them, But warning to anyone who does not adhere too this, you will be ticketed if you do not follow them.

You MUST have a valid small game license for the state of Michigan.
You may use a rifle, shotgun, bow, or other legal means of taking game in the state of Michigan.

You can use bait, but because it is in an area that is also accessible to deer it can NOT be more than the 2 gallons per day limit, it must conform with the baiting laws for the state.

You can NOT repeat NOT use spot lights, The law enforcment division out of Bay City has stated that hand held lights are OK. You can not us any permanent type of lights as it is agains tthe law to shoot game under a light.

There is no bag limits.

Now you know the entire amount of laws and rules you need to consider when you are after them. Good Luck and be careful. There are a good number of people out here looking for them right now, along with others who are useing the forest. Do yourself a favor and be sure to wear orange so you can be seen, and watch for those who are NOT wearing orange, such as skiers and others out enjoying the woods.

[bluekim7]

I don't know how many hogs are still left out in the wild from escaping in Midland, but we shot one in Crump last year during bow season. It dressed out about 175 lbs. Was pretty cool getting one. I will try and scan in some pics of it and post them.

[Wildwood_Deckers]

When I first started reading this, I thought it was a joke......
I'm very interested in finding out more about these hogs.....I would love nothing more than to put some of my dogs on them.

Are they on state land or what..... more info please

[Michigan Hunter]

I have hunted wild Russian Boar in California for six years and scored on two 250lb ones. The biggest has tusks 3 inches and is hanging on my wall. I go out there two to three times a year and have plenty of experience in hunting them. First: You will not get rid of them. California is over run with them and has no closed season. They have 6-10 little ones twice a year. Second: If they don't drop shortly when you shoot them they look for the shooter and will come at you. Their tusks are like razor blades and will rip up your legs so look out. Lastly: To look for them, look for places that appear to have been dug up like a tiller and a huge area. Then watch the gullys and valleys. They tend to follow them. Their tracks are similar to a deer but rounded more. They will travel 10-20 miles a day so don't expect them to stay in the area they have been released from. Do expect them to go all over the state............

[stillwaiting]

Called the DNR up in Midland to confirm these posts. The officer was very friendly and very helpful. Yes, you do have to have a small game license and hunter orange. They are asking if you get one to please contact them and let them know the sex and weight.

Officer further stated approximately 200 got out, but have gone in different directions, and are getting some complaints from private land owners. Further stated they don't really want them to breed this summer.

As far as hunting with dogs, did not ask that question.

If anyone has any further experience please let us know, like to read the posts. Going to try between Christmas and New Years for one of these. Have only had experience on game ranches with boars, so this should be interesting. Not saying I'll get one, but just trying is something new.

Good luck to anyone who goes.

[Wildwood_Deckers]

Now this is getting me excited.....

When did these hogs get loose?

[Bwana]

This sucks. Non native species cause too many problems. The Farmers think the Deer are problems, wait until a couple of rooting and rolling hogs take to their freshly planted fields. Wait until the Hogs find your great foodplot that you put how much money and time into? These Hogs will be fun to shoot, but they are going to be more trouble than they are worth if a breeding population establishes itself. The only type of Hogg'in that should be acceptable to Hunters is wyle's style; provided it only involves wyle or Adam and the hogs(s)! :lol:


Btw also, hearing of escaped Hogs in the Marquette area.

[ytlabs]

This happened a year ago or so. When they were released.

If anyone is interested in where I am getting my information, I know Adam Bump. ( DNR Biologist out of Bay City ) This is who you should contact if you manage to shoot one of them. The report will be greatly appreciated by him.

I have an interest only because I went to the meeting for Midland countys land managment plan and he discussed the boars with me and the possibility of interesting me in the idea of helping to eradicate them.

So I did some major homework and then contacted him and have tried to stay in contact about once a week to get updates and too update him as things go. I also know Midland county's Co's so I also get help from them on info and such too.

I will help anyone out that I can, I simply will not tell you where I am working them at, ( at this time ) When I do manage to get into a group of them active I will gladdly pass the information on to everyone. At this time I am useing another persons blinds and such that I have made arrangments to use and keep out. That is the only reason I am not passing on locations to anyone. This is also the location this family has hunted for deer for about 25 years. Since it is a good area for deer also I just do not want to turn people on too the area and possibly make it so they have an influx of people during deer season in the future.

The one tip I will give out though is this Disreguard the idea of looking for ravines out here. Look for Knolls, Oak Ridges and even islands and when you find where they have been be prepared as they do not follow a schedule and they will not be detered. Do not bother trying to bait them into an area. If you use bait place it in the area they are already useing. It will keep them comming back. They will continue to feed in an area until it is fed out. Then they move on. The do not technicaly bed. They like farm pigs only nap. They may nap for 15 minutes or 3 hours then jump up like they were shot and take off too go find more food again.

Man a year ago I knew next to nothing about these things in the past three months I have talked to professional guides done research and god only knows what all. I swear I know more about boars now than I do about bears. :dizzy:

[Alpha Male]

As for the inability to utilize lights other than the handheld kind, you are better served with a good, bright scope anyway.

Although hogs are primarily nocturnal, their eyes do not reflect light like a deer, dog, or possum.

If anybody was really serious about getting rid of these things, they would have dropped dogs on them already. You cannot control a feral hog population with deer hunting tactics only. Hunting them with dogs, the use of traps, and night shooting must be employed until every pig is dead. It's the only way...besides maybe, poison truffles. :)

[swampbuck]

My deer hunting group is interested in getting in on this. can someone give me an area to try, just a township or around a particular town or something like that will do.

we are in roscommon county and we hunt the deadstream. and we are very good at it, so I dont care what the terrain is. you mentioned islands, are you talking about islands in a swamp, because thats our specialty.If we can locate the right area, we will find and kill some. we can bring watercraft if needed.we have an airboat ready to go.

[ytlabs]

People interested in knowing more about where, and everything else, Please PM me and or email me. I tend to check this forum usually once or twice a week. I will help everyone out who wants, I also will offer my corporate discount for those from out of town needing lodging at a local hotel.

I spend most ofmy time elsewhere and it will be a lot easier for me to respond to you in a timely manner, because all my PMs are set to send me a notice of it in email.

Thanks Guys.

As for area, I already mentioned that in a previous post, but again. We are talking North East Midland County, North West Bay County. South East Gladwin County. City would be Midland, Towns include Bentley, Crump, All Bright Shores, and others.

Islands are islands in marsh yes no boats needed its winter. Come warmer weather boats are needed but you will not have access too the area. This forest is closed during the summer to all vehicular traffic.

[mich buckmaster]

There are a couple of fallow deer and a red stag running our parts also near Marcellus. There is a game breeder down the road and a few escaped. We were told by our farmer to get rid of them if seen and the owner is the one telling people to dispose of them if seen. They dont want them to breed in Michigan with anything else, but man that sure would be cool to take a red stag with a bow!!

[swampbuck]

we made 2 trips too the hog area this week. we did not see any hogs, but we located some sign. we found tracks in several spots,the tracks are hard to tell apart from deer tracks. while we did find several large tracks that we are confident were hogs because of size, shape and stride, the only tracks that we considered sure thing were tracks that matched the description and included belly drag marks. of these we found 3 spots that had obvious piglet tracks and a couple spots were larger hogs had drug there belly in deeper snow on vegetation.these trails looked like they were furrowed out, kind of like small animals would make in snow.

we also found hog scat in one location.confirmed by matching it to photos printed from internet, and the hoofed tracks.

also we found where someone had drug one out. while the gut pile did not provide solid clues. the drag marks did not look like the drag marks from a deer and we have drug a lot of deer. in particular there was no marks from the lega along the drag marks and it was obviously a short body length animal. we are pretty sure they were from a small one.

we did not have good snow either trip that would have helped. we plan on sending up a spotter next week. hopefully they will show up good from the air then he can guide us to them by radio.

as far as location there are 3 peices of swamp that are ausable state forest on the north side of midland we found some apparent sign in each. one area was obviously better. thats all I can give now.

GOOD LUCK!!!

[bambislayer42]

thanks for the update....love to hear more from anyone else...my hunting buddies and i are planning on going up the second or third weekend in jan...

[Spardon]

In Today's (12/27/05) Saginaw News

http://www.mlive.com/news/sanews/index.ssf?/base/news-17/1135696818108930.xml&coll=9

[Hamilton Reef]

GONE WILD

http://www.mlive.com/news/bctimes/index.ssf?/base/news-8/115909302782020.xml&coll=4

Sunday, September 24, 2006 By CRYSTAL HARMON TIMES WRITER
894-9643 charmon@bc-times.com

PRUDENVILLE - Howard Alburtus strolled among the poplars and birches, through fields of rye, across a pretty piece of state property near his Prudenville home. It was a bright May day, perfect for scouting blackberries for future picking.

But something was wrong.

Everywhere Alburtus looked, he saw rough-dug holes, overturned patches of sod, huge clods of dirt and old stumps shredded to pulp.

''The ground looked like it had been turned up by a Rototiller,'' Alburtus said. ''Hundreds and hundreds of acres, tore up and turned over like you wouldn't believe. I knew right away what did that.''

He knew, because he'd seen it in Alabama, where he spends some winters: The havoc came from wild boars. He'd soon have a freezer full of the proof.

Wildlife and agriculture officials are scrambling to get a handle on an emerging and serious problem: Hundreds of boars roaming the state, with confirmed sightings in at least 13 counties, including Bay, Midland, Saginaw, Ogemaw, Roscommon and Gladwin. The exotic beasts threaten the environment, livestock, crops and even humans.

But boars fall into what bureaucrats call a ''gray area'' and until just recently have not been on the radar screen. There are more questions than answers. Are the boars escaped livestock or exotic wildlife? Can people shoot them? Why doesn't anyone license or inspect ranches that stock boars?

What biologists know is that boars, with their voracious appetites, destroy wetlands plants and bird-nesting areas, devour small animals and compete with native species for food. They can carry a host of diseases, posing a potential threat to domesticated swine. Boars destroy croplands, too, and can even harm people, by causing accidents on the highway or in rare, but not unheard of, attacks.

''If someone out there tried to corner a feral pig, a person could get hurt,'' said Peter Butchko, state director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's wildlife services. ''It's an image of a 'hogzilla' kind of thing.''

Once the boars get a hoof-hold, they're as obnoxious and tough to get rid of as a drunken guest at a cocktail party.

''Feral pigs are obviously very, very successful in getting established,'' Butchko said. ''I don't know that there's any state that has, 'eradicated' them, but we're in the early stages of pigs getting established. I wouldn't concede defeat yet.''

How Howard got his hog

Alburtus wasn't about to concede defeat, either, once he set his mind to bagging a boar. His wife, Sheri, said her husband became obsessed.

Howard Alburtus figured the boars came from Vaunderosa Ranch, a game ranch on M-55 that abuts the state land that displayed signs of boar activity.

After gaining permission from ranch owner Chuck Vaughn to shoot the animals, Alburtus began his research. He identified a feeding area and, night after night, climbed into the scrubby pine and waited, his camouflage overalls protecting him from swarming mosquitos while making him uncomfortably warm.

One late June evening, just before dark, he saw something big, black and hairy emerge through bright-green ferns. He leveled his 12-gauge shotgun.

''I shot it in the head and it went right down,'' Alburtus said.

He gutted the 250-pound sow before hauling it to his home on James Lake. He planned to dispose of the innards when the sun came up in the morning.

''I went back the next day,'' he said, ''but the guts were all gone.''

Boars, indeed, will eat just about anything they can get their snouts on: Mushrooms, fruit, roots, worms, eggs, birds, rabbits, fawns, carrion, their own young, even their own excrement.

For a creature of such foul eating habits, the boar's meat is quite tasty, as Alburtus has found during an ongoing feast of lean pork chops, loins and hams.

Boar ranches not regulated here

Their tasty flesh and evasive nature make boars a popular target for sportsmen, some of whom are willing to pay dearly to harvest them from an unknown number of Michigan ranches. At Ted Nugent's Sunrize ranch near Jackson, for example, the upcoming ''Pork Slam'' wild boar hunt, at $1,500 a head, sold out quickly. Hunters don't need licenses to shoot game on ranches.

Neither do ranchers need any type of license in Michigan, unless they stock ''cervid'' animals - members of the deer family, including whitetails and elk. Those regulations are in place to help prevent the spread of disease to wild whitetail deer.

Michigan has 980 registered cervid ranches or ''production facilities,'' Michigan Department of Agriculture officials say, and of those, 135 allow animals free-range in fenced areas. The total is higher than any other state, according to the National Wildlife Federation. But nobody knows how many of those operations stock boars, or how many other ranches have boars but are unknown to the state since they have no deer.

Experts agree that Michigan's wild boars have escaped from several ranches, and are now breeding in the wild.

Chuck Vaughn, owner of the Vaunderosa Ranch, said boars can have litters ''every three months, three weeks and three days.'' He notes that he's managed to capture several of the boars that may have escaped from his ranch with live traps.

When vandals cut a lock on a pen at a Midland County game ranch in the summer of 2004, an untold number of boars escaped, prompting Midland County Animal Control to issue a warning that ''boars can present a significant risk for domestic animals, wildlife, habitat, crops, and landscape.''

Last year, state and county officials consulted with that ranch owner before declaring open season on boars in Midland, Bay and Gladwin counties, and at least a dozen of the beasts were killed by gunshot or car crashes in the area.

A Crump man bagged a 400-pound boar on opening day of firearms deer season last year as it terrorized the swine on his family farm.

Agencies don't agree on hunting.

But this year, just a week before the opening of bow season on deer, there's no such consensus on whether boars are fair game.

The Department of Natural Resources considers the animals ''escaped livestock'' and says it's illegal to shoot boars without permission of their owners, even third- or fourth-generation offspring of escapees.

''Just as it would be illegal to shoot someone's horse or cow that has escaped, it would be illegal to shoot a feral pig, unless the owner has signed a release of ownership,'' said Mark R. Boersen, a Department of Natural Resources wildlife habitat biologist based in Roscommon.

So it's understandable why Joel Neubecker was almost sheepish about discussing the silvery, 65-pound boar-piglet he blasted in the spring east of West Branch. He said at least a dozen others have harvested hogs from the area.

''Then there was an article in the Ogemaw (County) Herald with the DNR saying anyone who shot a boar was going to get cited,'' said Neubecker, 29. ''We didn't know if they'd come from the ranch in Midland. There's (a ranch) up in Rose City, too. The one I shot, I think it was born in the wild.''

The West Branch resident is getting ready for bear season, and would like to know whether it's legal to kill a boar if he meets one.

''From what I understand,'' said Mark Wilson, a biologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Division, ''as long as they have a valid hunting license, hunters are within their rights to shoot the boars. I hope people will take the opportunity to harvest them.''

Pressed for a definitive answer, DNR acting press secretary Ann Wilson said hunters should ask their county prosecutors whether they will face charges for shooting boars.

But State Sen. Jim Barcia, D-Bay City, is unequivocal when asked what hunters should do if they see a boar.

''By all means,'' he said, ''shoot it.''

Barcia's got a stuffed boar in his home, one he shot with a bow and arrow in the Florida wilds in the 1980s.

''In Florida, you can shoot any feral pig on sight, and I would like our state to develop a similar policy,'' he said. ''And maybe we need to look at regulating some of these enclosures (on game ranches), because these boars do pose a threat throughout the state.''

Bridgett Patrick, disease liason coordinator for the state Department of Agriculture, said a statewide team is coming together to, so to speak, grab the boar by the tusks.

''It's very new to Michigan,'' she said of the boar problem. ''For a long time, people thought it would be too cold in Michigan (for boars to survive the winter).''

She expects guidelines for hunters will be released before the firearms opener on Nov. 15. In the meantime, officials ask folks to report boar sightings to the USDA or the DNR.

On the trail of razorbacks

Thom Famularo, a Midland outdoorsman, has been plotting a campaign against the elusive boars since he heard of the 2004 escape from the Midland-area ranch.

''One gal told me her family killed two while deer-hunting,' he said. ''Another person told me about a guy who caught one rooting up saplings behind his house and plugged it from his back porch. Two more people said they hit boars in their cars.''

Famularo ordered videos, trolled the Internet, joined chat rooms and went out looking. The first hint that he'd hit boar country was a plowed-up northern slope along the Kawkawlin River floodlands.

''It looked like the area had taken an artillery strike,'' he said. ''Big, deep, wide holes, big chunks of earth thrown around.''

Famularo, 58, and a buddy have scrawled notes on their topographical maps of the area over the past year, marking such features as ''Hog One,'' ''Hog Two'' and ''the Triangle.''

When hunting, Famularo spreads out grain soaked in ''Nuclear Blueberry'' attractant and masks his own scent with dabs of vanilla.

''It smells like I'm in a bakery out there,'' he said.

Even if he hasn't yet gotten a bead on a boar, Famularo's zeal is fueled by an eerie cacophony of whinnies, oinks and barks that wafts his way now and then.

''I've probably seen 150 deer while hunting hogs,'' he said, ''and I've only seen one hog.''

''This is probably the greatest challenge I have ever had in Michigan woods in 40 years,'' he said. ''They're seriously wild and are purported to be the second-smartest creature out there, besides us, with the 'besides us' being arguable.''

[fishin' fin]

Please NO hog FORUM....Please!:16suspect

[bucketmouthhauler]

Boy I bet there are going to be a lot of those swines shot this season. They said they have been sighted in 13 counties? I gave them heck last year trying to kill one, but this year it sounds like the population has really blown up. this might be my year. I know of one that got hit by a car last fall right outside my neighborhood. Its too bad that they are going to screw up our native species and woodland plants. I sure plan on doing my part to help eradicate all that i see:D.

[dugfish]

oh yes ,they are still around:rant::rant::rant:
doug

[Steve]

No hog forum.