Hog hunting in PA

[wch]

I see that there's a problem with feral hogs in Butler County, southern PA, and wonder if anyone has hunted them and might know if private landowners might allow hunting in the area.

[bosterr]

I live in Clarion County and never heard of a hog problem in Butler County. Where did you see that?

[dragon813gt]

Is Bedford in Butler county? The game commission has not officially announced a problem yet. But someone it would be great to hunt them so they put them on their farm. Care to guess if they got out? I don't know if they are a problem. But there is a resident population that's growing.

[quack1]

Bedford isn't in Butler county. I live in Butler county, hunt a lot all over the county and have never seen feral hogs.

[RU shooter]

No Bedford is down along the state line with MD/WVa. From what I gather the game commission wants whatever ones are running around total eradicated before they become a problem. only one county to the east of me

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Map_of_Pennsylvania_highlighting_Bedford_Coun ty.svg

[dg31872]

If you don't have hogs, consider yourselves lucky. If you are a landowner in the South, than they are a real problem. Just my two cents...

[bosterr]

There's a hog farm about 10 minutes from me that has a nice lodge, but far too pricey for me. Also one outside of Eau Claire, Butler County, but it's a pretty small fenced in area. Pick one out, then shoot it kind of place. Not for me either.

[bosterr]

Also wondering... how well hogs would "winter over" in a colder climate like we have. Of course the farms would feed theirs.

[wch]

Yep, pooched that one-Bedford, not Butler.
For info on feral swine, try a google search for "feral swine".
They're a big problem in the South, Texas in particular.

[Freightman]

Getting worse to, if you do not have a hog problem in Texas you will sooner or later. I live in what you folks would consider desert got 11" of rain last year,7" year before and there are hogs in the county where there weren't five years ago. I think those things can survive almost anywhere.

[Antietamgw]

As much as I'd like to hunt them, I hope to never see any feral hogs in my area. Hope you boys get 'em all before they get into Maryland.... Deer damage is bad enough on some of our rented crop ground.

[Roundnoser]

A few years ago, there was a small upstart hunting preserve in Allegheny Twp., Butler County that had wild pigs escape. They were to be shot on sight. Not sure if there are any left running around. Haven't heard of any lately.

[oldfart1956]

Ya know I've been hearing this myth about feral hogs in Pa. but I belong to a coupl'a other Pa. forums and keep in touch with a fair number of sportsmen throughout the state. And I have yet to find anyone that's actually seen one, know someone that has seen one, or even seen an authentic hog track. I'm not saying they don't have an escapee on occasion from hunting (?) farms or whatever ya call em' but I think it's mostly hype. And I'm still on the fence about feral hogs. (pun intended) I hear a lot of whining about all the damage they cause....and then see fees charged to hunt them. Let me see if I understand...you've got a feral hog problem...but you want to charge me to kill them. Do farmers collect taxpayers money to pay for hog related damage? Hmmmm....? I smell a hog in the woodpile. On the upside...they breed several times a year.... have litters up to a dozen....get up to 200lbs. in a few months....they're tasty. Here in Pa. we put a real hurt on the whitetails with overabundant doe tags. We, the sportsmen did that....not the Game Commission. So I'm still not sure hogs are the boogyman some make them out to be. Do they cause a lot of damage? Sure they do. Stop charging hunting/trespass fees to kill them and the problem might be solved. Just my rambeling thoughts for today. Audie....the Oldfart..

[FLHTC]

I believe its a ruse to shut the Tioga preserve down, IMHO

[kir_kenix]

Hogs can live darn near anywhere...and once they get a foothold they are tough to eradicate. I live in Nebraska, and my relatives have popped a couple of little hogs that were going/gone feral in the southern part of the state. They get out, they reproduce and BOOM, they are everywhere. I guess in the next 30 years we will have little piggies all over the midwest and moving elsewhere.

[jbc]

Ya know I've been hearing this myth about feral hogs in Pa. but I belong to a coupl'a other Pa. forums and keep in touch with a fair number of sportsmen throughout the state. And I have yet to find anyone that's actually seen one, know someone that has seen one, or even seen an authentic hog track. I'm not saying they don't have an escapee on occasion from hunting (?) farms or whatever ya call em' but I think it's mostly hype. And I'm still on the fence about feral hogs. (pun intended) I hear a lot of whining about all the damage they cause....and then see fees charged to hunt them. Let me see if I understand...you've got a feral hog problem...but you want to charge me to kill them. Do farmers collect taxpayers money to pay for hog related damage? Hmmmm....? I smell a hog in the woodpile. On the upside...they breed several times a year.... have litters up to a dozen....get up to 200lbs. in a few months....they're tasty. Here in Pa. we put a real hurt on the whitetails with overabundant doe tags. We, the sportsmen did that....not the Game Commission. So I'm still not sure hogs are the boogyman some make them out to be. Do they cause a lot of damage? Sure they do. Stop charging hunting/trespass fees to kill them and the problem might be solved. Just my rambeling thoughts for today. Audie....the Oldfart..

+1000, plenty of whining about hogs. Every time I hear someone complaining about hogs I pipe up and offer to travel with a couple friends on my dime and come help with the problem, and share the young good eating pigs with the landowner. 99 out of a hundred start to stumble and mention "fees" Let the hogs come, we certainly have the habitat for them since the deer population has tanked.

[338RemUltraMag]

I live here in Bedford County, New Paris in fact... If any of yall wanna get together for a shoot I would be happy to help coordinate. As far as pigs, my boss at work is a Game Commissioner (sp) and has yet to say anything to me about a wild pig populace in Bedford Co.

[mpmarty]

When in language school in Monterrey California in the fifties we used to hunt feral pigs in the nearby woods. Climb a tree and wait.... Some guys even used 1911A1s and GI hardball.

[fcvan]

Marty, they still have a hog problem in Monterey county. I grew up in Santa Barbara county, and we would hunt pig further back in the Los Padres National Forest. I never knew there to be much of a pig problem in Del Norte County but we sure had problems with big cats getting sheep and goats around Fort Dick. I would imagine the cats would keep the pigs in check. I worked with a guy from Brookings, OR who guided pig hunts in Humboldt County somewhere near Fortuna. Like others, I have a hard time paying someone for the privilege of helping them with their pig problem. Frank

[Larry D Barr]

We've a big problem with 'em here in Texas, but all you need to hunt 'em is a valid hunting license and there's no season and no bag limit. You can hunt from helicopters...a new growth industry here :) And you can jacklight 'em, as long as you let the possum sheriff know about it first, and subject to some restrictions in known deer areas.

[TXGunNut]

I've paid to hunt hogs in TX many times, it's complicated but well worth it. My outfitter leased hunting rights on neighboring ranches for deer, turkey, quail and hogs and only allowed one hog per day. He paid state fees and carried liability insurance and hunters had to sign liability releases to protect him and the landowners. On top of that he had corn, tires and gasoline to buy. Landowners are very much aware that allowing someone to hunt problem hogs can cause an even bigger problem if someone gets hurt so they are very careful who they allow to hunt. My outfitter probably didn't break even on the fees he charged for hog hunts but his hunters helped control the hog population and created goodwill from the landowners. Hunting as a guest is a priviledge and it must be cultivated, most landowners around here that have hog problems also have a story about slob hunters who shoot up the place and sometimes even kill livestock. Most landowners will let you hunt if you can convince them you won't hurt him or his family and employees, his property and his livestock.

[cjbs2003]

I realize this post is a year old, but I came across it and thought I would clear up some doubt that there are feral hogs running around free range in PA. Trust me, there are!

Our land is in Bedford County, PA. It borders a SGL and is near the Buchannan State Forest. Both are infested with feral hogs. The hogs came from one and possibly two high fence hunting preserves where the hogs escaped. This was back around 2000. Since their escape, they have slowly spread in the area. We got our first photos of a feral hog in 2005, then no more photos until 2008. Then again no more photos until they showed up by the dozens this past year. They moved onto our property and rototilled large areas in and around our food plot. We got dozens of photos of hogs. From small piglets up to 300 pound boars. I even got photos of a boar mounting a sow on camera.

Then in bear season, we put together a large drive and killed 1 80-100 pound boar. We also busted out a sow with a litter of piglets. We couldn't get a shot at the sow, but did capture one of the piglets alive.

The hogs seemed to disappear from our game cameras just before bear season. I thought maybe they had moved on. Never saw any during deer season.

Then after deer season, we got more photos of some hogs on our land. Then just last week, my dad was out setting a trap line on the adjacent SGL when he initially thought he saw a flock of turkeys. Ended up being a sounder of 14 hogs. Unfortunately, he only had his .22 revolver with him and was unable to shoot any as they never came any closer than 100 yards.

Some photos for your enjoyment and proof...

2005 Hog Photos
http://i484.photobucket.com/albums/rr208/cjbs2003/Pig3_zpsdb61a297.jpg (http://s484.photobucket.com/user/cjbs2003/media/Pig3_zpsdb61a297.jpg.html)
http://i484.photobucket.com/albums/rr208/cjbs2003/Pig4_zpsbf2cc8ae.jpg (http://s484.photobucket.com/user/cjbs2003/media/Pig4_zpsbf2cc8ae.jpg.html)

2008 Hog Photos(may I add this is a HUGE boar!)
http://i484.photobucket.com/albums/rr208/cjbs2003/Pig1_zps4ac28cb1.jpg (http://s484.photobucket.com/user/cjbs2003/media/Pig1_zps4ac28cb1.jpg.html)
http://i484.photobucket.com/albums/rr208/cjbs2003/Pig2_zpse88190b4.jpg (http://s484.photobucket.com/user/cjbs2003/media/Pig2_zpse88190b4.jpg.html)

Photos of hogs from October and November of this year
http://i484.photobucket.com/albums/rr208/cjbs2003/PRMS0105_zps9b9e860a.jpg (http://s484.photobucket.com/user/cjbs2003/media/PRMS0105_zps9b9e860a.jpg.html)
http://i484.photobucket.com/albums/rr208/cjbs2003/PRMS0046_zps912841dd.jpg (http://s484.photobucket.com/user/cjbs2003/media/PRMS0046_zps912841dd.jpg.html)
http://i484.photobucket.com/albums/rr208/cjbs2003/PRMS0654_zpsd748de39.jpg (http://s484.photobucket.com/user/cjbs2003/media/PRMS0654_zpsd748de39.jpg.html)
http://i484.photobucket.com/albums/rr208/cjbs2003/PRMS0882_zps07066daa.jpg (http://s484.photobucket.com/user/cjbs2003/media/PRMS0882_zps07066daa.jpg.html)

[cjbs2003]

Bear Season Hog Kills
http://i484.photobucket.com/albums/rr208/cjbs2003/SGLHog_zpsebb835d6.jpg (http://s484.photobucket.com/user/cjbs2003/media/SGLHog_zpsebb835d6.jpg.html)
http://i484.photobucket.com/albums/rr208/cjbs2003/SGLHog2_zps351ecc1c.jpg (http://s484.photobucket.com/user/cjbs2003/media/SGLHog2_zps351ecc1c.jpg.html)
http://i484.photobucket.com/albums/rr208/cjbs2003/SGLPiglet_zps16c0aec6.jpg (http://s484.photobucket.com/user/cjbs2003/media/SGLPiglet_zps16c0aec6.jpg.html)

Post Deer Season Photos
http://i484.photobucket.com/albums/rr208/cjbs2003/PICT1068_zpsa78f707e.jpg (http://s484.photobucket.com/user/cjbs2003/media/PICT1068_zpsa78f707e.jpg.html)
http://i484.photobucket.com/albums/rr208/cjbs2003/PICT1072_zps0208ff9e.jpg (http://s484.photobucket.com/user/cjbs2003/media/PICT1072_zps0208ff9e.jpg.html)
http://i484.photobucket.com/albums/rr208/cjbs2003/PICT1080_zpsf9a0d72b.jpg (http://s484.photobucket.com/user/cjbs2003/media/PICT1080_zpsf9a0d72b.jpg.html)

[hound-1]

I also know for a fact that they are in Bradford co. near Warren Center along the NY boarder. I have a friend who shot one in 2011 in the Game lands there. I heard the game comm. had some guys with dogs hunt them and set traps , from what I heard they killed/trapped something like 19,dont know if that's true or not you all know how the rumor thing goes. I've hunted grouse in those GLs and never saw a pig, but I did find a big grassy area that looked like it was half arsd tilled. The farmer who I asked about them told me they show up when the "milk " is in the corn, then disappear again.

[nekshot]

with your deer herd in as bad a shape as it is in , between the coy dogs and these pigs you guys are screwed.

[338RemUltraMag]

Where you at CJ? I would love to meet some local booliteers.

[dkf]

The PGC is just going to lumber along and do nothing until it is too late. (The PFBC likes to do the same thing) Hogs should be fair game any time, 7 days a week 24hrs a day. No license required no restriction on rifle used (ARs allowed) Get rid of them before it was too late. Put a bounty on each one if they have to. The hogs should have never been allowed in the state in the first place. Going to a "preserve" to "hunt" is not hunting, it is going grocery shopping.

[dragon813gt]

There is no shortage of deer in the SE or in Pike county. I saw more deer than I ever have at my cabin in Pike county this year. And at home, even w/ pretty much no limit on doe tags, the herd gets bigger every year. There is a reason they are allowing the amount of tags they are. The population is going to be a problem for the deer if it isn't cut down. The herds aren't small everywhere.

[dkf]

What I have seen with the deer is they are being pushed into private land and in small areas at that. They do not spend much time in the game lands. They go where the food is and where they are not going to get bothered. I will agree the Southeast has a good population of deer, a lot of which are in small areas fairly close to houses.

[TXGunNut]

The hogs seemed to disappear from our game cameras just before bear season. I thought maybe they had moved on. Never saw any during deer season. -cjbs2003

Hogs do that, they either hole up in inpenetrable brush or simply wander off. They can an often do cover long distances at night so staking out fresh hog damage is no guarantee of a return appearance. Shoot all you can, those big sows will make more!

[Old Caster]

Tennessee no longer allows hog hunting except in fenced areas. Their idea is that people are letting hogs loose in various areas to make sure there is a population to hunt and by making it illegal to hunt them, people will no longer release them to the wild. I don't know if the game commission people are making a concerted effort to kill what is around or not but I would imagine so.

[histed]

My brother lives on the border between Bedford and Blair counties. You name it, he hunts it. I wanted to get into some fresh pork this fall, but he claims the only hunting is in private preserves. Couple of years I can retire - think I'll spend some time in Texas.

[Shooter6br]

Is there a season on the hogs?

[dragon813gt]

No season because according to the Game Commission they aren't in the state. There was a small section about them buried in this years hunting manual. I will try to find it today.

[Teddy (punchie)]

I recall reading that it was Like Coyote , hunting or trapping license you can hunt them. Not planted by PGC , not native no closed season.

I'll double check on this.

Teddy

[Teddy (punchie)]

HB 723 (Baker) Amends the definition of “wild animal” in Title 34 to provide that the definition shall not be construed to include a species or variation of swine, pig or boar that is held in captivity.
Status: Final Passage in the House (Vote Y: 101/N: 100); referred to the Senate Game and Fisheries Committee.

[cjbs2003]

There is no specific hog season. The PGC encourages people to harvest hogs when out hunting other big game such as deer, bear or turkeys. They may also be hunted outside of these seasons so long as you follow specific rules. No baiting, no hunting at night, using legal firearms for big game, etc. It makes it really hard to effectively hunt them as they are almost completely nocturnal and smarter than a dog! The PGC will admit there are hogs in the state. They were not surprised when we gave them a phone call to report we had killed two during bear season...

I am sure there are parts of PA where the deer herd has taken a beating. Where some of my friends and family hunt, in Blair and Clearfield Counties the deer there were knocked pretty good with the increase in doe tags. However, where I am in Bedford County, the deer are doing just fine. There are far less deer than in the 90's, but the numbers are now closer to what a healthy carrying capacity is. My father and I both harvested 2 adult does each and my cousin took one as well. We have gotten 7 different antlered bucks on camera after the deer season was over. 3 of which would have been legal to shoot, even with antler restrictions. We also got over a dozen adult does along with another dozen or so young of year deer. So there are plenty of deer left for next year. Our property is a quarter mile or less from a major SGL parking lot. So it's not like these deer aren't on public land. Most of the deer hunting I do, is on the public land. You just gotta walk in a ways and be willing to hunt the thick stuff where it is steep... The deer sign and hog sign in those areas is amazing. However it's 3/4 to a mile away from the nearest parking lot and some spots are no where near a trail or road at all. So it means huffing through woods. Makes the going rough. But that's where the deer go after they pounded the first day...

[histed]

cjbs2003 - can't argue with your pictures. I now live in Juniata County and haven't been in your area for nearly 20 years. I could go for the free pork, but I've seen the pictures from Texas. That kind of problem we don't need.

[TXGunNut]

Tennessee no longer allows hog hunting except in fenced areas. Their idea is that people are letting hogs loose in various areas to make sure there is a population to hunt and by making it illegal to hunt them, people will no longer release them to the wild. -Old Caster

Problem with that is that most hogs in the wild escaped from fenced areas, walk any game fence long enough and you'll find where they dug under.

[Old Caster]

I agree. It doesn't seem like the smartest move. Instead there should be an enormous penalty for releasing hogs into the wild but nowadays there is no telling what you can do and not go to jail. On television you often see it mentioned that a person has a rap sheet two pages long and I always wonder why they aren't in jail.

[luvtn]

Tn terms hogs a nuisance animal with no hunting season. If a farmer is needing to eradicate them he must get a permit. Dumb.
lt

[yukondog]

We have plenty of them in FL. what ever you do DONT wish for them as you might just get them. At one time they had to have a shoulder height of 15' now it just KILL them.

[Bullshop Junior]

Also wondering... how well hogs would "winter over" in a colder climate like we have. Of course the farms would feed theirs.

They did just fine in Alaska until the state issued a bounty on them in the early 90s since they were tearing up miles and miles of timber, moss and perma frost.

[bbs70]

A bounty on feral hogs, I like that idea.
Pay x amount of dollars per hog harvested instead of hiring professional hunters to get them, saves tax payers money.
Butcher said hogs into bacon, chops, pork steaks, sausage. and give to people on welfare instead of food stamps, saves tax payers money.
Keep the land from getting torn up by the gogs, saves farmers, ranchers, tax payers money.
Whats not to like,
Oh Yeah!, I forgot if there is money involved politicians will get their greedy mitts in on it and screw it up.

[Ron in PA]

No Hogs in Springdale,Pa[smilie=1:

[TXGunNut]

No Hogs in Springdale,Pa[smilie=1:


.........yet.

[dragon813gt]

.........yet.

Exactly. No one that lives here should be happy about a breeding population. They need to be wiped out now, which is already late. I'm fine with not hunting them. There are plenty of other animals to go after.

[smokesahoy]

I would love to have a hog "problem" or any other meat animal for that matter. Hunting season is so short here, and supply so low you hardly ever see anything. I think poaching might have something to do with it but not sure.

[hog]

Let me continue this thread in saying that feral hogs have brought me back to hunting and sparked my interest.

[badbob454]

welcome aboard ...hog nice name for this subject.. ha ha

[merlin101]

Here in NY we don't really have a hog problem yet (that I know of) But the state DEC is on it just in case! Yes siree, if we see a hog we can CALL AND REPORT IT! We can't shoot it , thats left to the pro's. What a waste of time and money. I can see some guys doing the ole shoot shovel & shut up.

[dragon813gt]

I can see some guys doing the ole shoot shovel & shut up.
That's what you should be doing. There is no native pig population in the north east. There is no reason the game commissions should be regulating their hunting. They are going to react to slow and by that point the pigs aren't going away.

[hog]

That's what you should be doing. There is no native pig population in the north east. There is no reason the game commissions should be regulating their hunting. They are going to react to slow and by that point the pigs aren't going away.

I agree but they see dollar signs. In the begining they said feral hogs were farm animals with no restrictions except getting permission to hunt on private land. Now they see the interest its gaining and they are probably going to restrict it with 1960 antiquated laws that we are bridled with now. We need new blood in the PGC and lobbyists to bring our game laws up to date.

[5 called flyers]

No hog sightings in Elk Co. Elk numbers now getting under control. Of concern to me is the dwindling numbers of deer hunters that get the deer moving in the Big Woods.

[Drphilwv]

I noticed in the pics those are Russian hogs. That's what we have in WV in the southeastern part of the state. They don't breed as often as the feral swine. Also - not as much year round mast as they have in the south. I heard of hogs within 2 hours of here in VA now. It's just a matter of time now.

[hog]

The pic. is a stock shot, taken on one of the pay to hunt high fence hog places. The hogs that got away are all Eurasian stock or Russian hog, they are very very territorial and agressive. My hunting buddiesand i have been treed many times. There aren't as many as there was but we still have a huntable population in my opinion.

[Orchard6]

I've heard of some pockets of wild pigs in Michigan but have never run across any myself. The state outlawed the Russian boar pen hunts which I think was a good move. If they aren't here they can't escape! The department of natural resources (DNR) wants all wild swine to be shot on sight, all you need is any valid hunting license, small game, deer, bear etc. if a farmer has pigs escape his farm yard he has a certain amount of time to recover them, after that they are considered fair game.

[hog]

There is some talk and sabre rattling in the Pa Legislature that Pa may do the same thing. I think they will bluff there way into regulations by way of season limits and a ever so popular tag for feral hogs. They have never turned down a free meal ticket yet.

[cjbs2003]

Killed two more hogs in bear season this year. Didn't get them near as much on game camera. I think with all the acorns on the ground this year, they don't have to go far to find food. Last year the hogs had a little bit of grapes in their bellies. This year, the hogs stomachs were packed full of acorns.

http://i484.photobucket.com/albums/rr208/cjbs2003/PB250004_zps61f3f476.jpg (http://s484.photobucket.com/user/cjbs2003/media/PB250004_zps61f3f476.jpg.html)

[dkf]

Good job cjbs2003. Should get a few pieces of bacon out of them.;)

[Irascible]

Interestingly, in NY we don't have a problem YET, but there are some here, so more are coming. DEC told us not to hunt them, but kill them if we saw them? Now they are saying not to shoot them as it will scatter the rest all over, starting new colonies??

[dkf]

Interestingly, in NY we don't have a problem YET, but there are some here, so more are coming. DEC told us not to hunt them, but kill them if we saw them? Now they are saying not to shoot them as it will scatter the rest all over, starting new colonies??

That is the poopoo they tried to feed us here in PA. They move around regardless. A dead hog can't breed and make more hogs. A guy under the screen name Flintknapper has a good blog like thread on THR. He shoots and traps several and the ones he don't get end up coming back.

[Minerat]

Colorado DOW says there are non in Colorado kinda like Sargent Schults. But if you look at the maps of known locations they are in the very northwest pan handle of Oklahoma. DOW classifies them as escaped livestock and so do not regulate hunting them. If you kill a hog running wild you have to answer to the owner according to the official line the Game and Fish Officers give out. Had one tell me off the record that they were probably in the SE part of the state but he could not give specific confirmation because it was not sanctioned by the powers that be in DOW. I too refuse to pay to hunt hogs, either they are a problem that I help to control or they are a cash crop that are using to make money. They can't be both. Clank, that we me falling of my soap box.