Anybody hunting feral pigs in BC? School me!

[popcan]

Thinking about launching a feral pig expedition sometime... but never hunted them before.
Looking for your wisdom on how what where etc. as I know little about these critters.

Best tool for the job.... Rifle or shotgun? Slugs or shot? Bolt or Semi? Calibre choice?
Technique: Bush beating or sneaky Pete? Treestand? Quad?

And whatever else you can come up with!

Thanks!

 

[Splatter]

Excellent questions.

I sure hope there are some folks that can give us the info.

 

[popcan]

I do know that they're smart, wary, semi-nocturnal, and can be dangerous....

sounds like fun so far.

 

[Mudzbogger]

Well had some yesterday at the annual fish and game dinner.. nuff said I wanna know more now too.

 

[Suther]

I am unaware of any reported feral pigs in BC.

They are becoming a problem in Saskatchewan and Alberta, but I am unaware of any making it west of the rockies as of yet.

 

[LuckyOnes]

Delted (double up)

 

[LuckyOnes]

I am unaware of any reported feral pigs in BC.

They are becoming a problem in Saskatchewan and Alberta, but I am unaware of any making it west of the rockies as of yet.

I haven't heard of any either,but I'm ready for em!

 

[burnt_servo]

fields that are tore up by pigs / hogs are very distinct .

I've seen some sign last fall while trying to fill my moose tag .

when the snow disappears I'm going to drop some bait in the areas and see what comes out to feed on it



take a look at some of these pics and remember anything that stands out to you .

https://www.google.ca/search?q=fiel...TdoASkoIL4Bg&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAg&biw=1415&bih=732

 

[burnt_servo]

btw don't the germans basicly push them into other hunters , and from the video's I've seen the 9,3x62 in a semi auto seems popular .

myself more than likely i'll be using a 9.3x62 improved on a Husqvarna 1600 action

 

[Expendable Nate]

Saskatchewan eh hmmm just a couple hours away

 

[passengerseven]

We've been hunting hogs for a while now and I can tell you from first hand experience they are surprisingly tough and very fast. They rarely come out from cover except at night where they root the crop fields looking for feed. You need to scout where they have been feeding and set-up a stand. Their sense of smell is second to none and they will wind you before you even have a chance to get crosshairs on them and then move into cover.

From experience, unless you head/neck shoot them they run. Through and through double lung shots and they will still go an easy 500-600 yards before they bleed out. After being hit they go for dense cover......and then you're looking for a wounded hog. Much like looking for a wounded bear in thick brush.

Make no mistake, they can be vicious. The boar hogs will charge and gore you if given the chance and the cutters on them are razor sharp.

We use .308 semi rifles shooting Hornady 150 gr GMX's. Most shots are between 80-200 yards. Here are a some pics from our last few outings.

 

[the spank]

Never hunted them but from researching the subject on youtube I would say a helicopter, a semi 223 or 308 with a large capacity magazine and unlimited ammo supply are your best tools and tactics!

 

[maple_leaf_eh]

Ask the game department if they have any reports of wild boar/feral hogs in BC. You might get a clear answer (or not). If you can't get an answer, try the game departments in adjacent US states. Finally, I'd try a third line of questioning through the local agriculture office. Farmers might have reported loose hogs as part of their due diligence for invasive species, and the word not filtered up within the provincial departments. You might get in on a Shoot-Shovel-Shut Up hunt.

If you are very serious about shooting pigs, be prepared to listen to a lot of deniers. After all, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources says there are no cougars in Eastern Canada, despite very suspicious wounds on a horse near Ottawa and a farmer coming nose-to-nose with one in his barn earlier this winter.

 

[FLHTCUI]

I do know that they're smart, wary, semi-nocturnal, and can be dangerous....

sounds like fun so far.

If nocturnal means after 10:15 in the AM then I'm a bit confused....

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There are a couple of threads posted last week of a couple of pro shooters at driven hunts using a pretty bolt action rifle and an aimpoint doing very well.

Driven hunt vrs spot and stalk hunts here in BC are two different games.

This feral pig was near Nazko two years ago and there was a Pig farm that went by the wayside before that and it appears the pigs are doing well in the beetle kill deforested areas.

Then there is the Christian Valley where they have been talked about for at least ten years that I am aware of and before that stories from Cub Camp in the Harririson Valley area the previous 40 years.

You got Game?

Tight Groups,
Rob

 

[Gatehouse]

There are not many in BC. Shoot them if you see them, but unless you get kniwledge of s herd, not much point looking specifically for them

 

[Russ]

You could try over bait, but then you would only be "shooting" them....Not "hunting"

WHAT!!!! to soon???

Russ...

 

[Suther]

http://wildboarcanada.ca/

Not much going on in BC according to this site. There was a decent amount of activity a year ago, but most of those sightings come from the same two days across the whole province, that seems very odd to me...

One reported kill of 3 sows, 3 males, 9 pups just north of Kamloops.


On the note of what those pigs have done to the grass, its looks like most of greater Vancouver... There is a European Chafer Beetle outbreak, and crows and raccoons are tearing up the lawns to get the larvae underneath. Its pretty rediculous, and doesn't seem like its going away any time soon.

https://www.google.ca/search?q=chafer+beetle+damage&hl=en-CA&biw=1298&bih=707&site=webhp&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=KvUFVa3FEpCaoQT2v4GwAg&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ