helping with the hog problem

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As the son and grandson of butchers I will have to agree that although .22LR will do the job, I'd rather more insurance. I have a .22 cooey that killed 5 pigs and a cow a week for damn near 40 years. They used longs for cows and shorts for pigs and on the floor they worked every time. In the field when you had a runner it was anywhere from 1 to 13 well aimed rounds to stop a running animal.
 
The wild boar problem has definitely been overstated in Alberta. I live in the centre of one of the "problem" areas. We got a letter from the county stating that there was a $50 bounty on them here and that we should shoot them on sight. To date, I don't know if the county has actually paid any bounties out, I haven't seen a pig yet and the only ones that I have heard of being killed were ones that escaped from a farmers land on a Monday and were all shot by the Tuesday. I think the bounties and regs have simply been put in place to allow us to take care of escapees before they get the chance to breed and establish a wild population.

So far as I am concerned there is no problem at all. I used to live in a rural part of one of the counties which declared a problem, and I still spend a lot of time there visiting the family farm. Granted the problem is a newer development, but out of the 100+ years my family has lived in the area they have only seen a hog once, two or three years ago. I only know of one other person who has ever even claimed to see a hog, and this was third hand information.

For comparison, in the same prairie county you are almost as likely to see a cougar as a hog since I also know of someone who has claimed to have seen one. And if you do not believe the cougar story then you are definitely much more likely to see a black bear wandering the wheat fields since I have heard of at least half a dozen sightings over the years, one with clear photographic evidence to back it up.
 
When I was posted east in 2007, I was in the process of scouting out a cow pasture just south-east of Westlock, in an area on the boundary of Barrhead and Lac Ste Anne County. I found a few tracks and winding trails through the nearby bush & I was convinced loose wild boar were there but very nocturnal in thier habits.
Upon returning to Alberta in 2009, I went there again in the early spring for the possiblity of a hunt.
Gone.....no tracks, no nothing. On the way home, I stopped at a rural store in north-east Alberta and asked the guys behind the counter what happened to them all.
They said not only the bounty program was on, but to nip this in the bud early as possible, some rural counties actually hired people to cull them. The payment was twice the provincial bounty for each carcass. The province even passed a regulation saying rural landowners and farmers must allow these county employees access for killing them if they are found loose on private property or access to any crown land.
 
I'd put money on it that the map is as much a figment of imagination, as is the theory that a feral pig is as easy to kill as one that is wondering where the apple it was expecting, is.

Never did see any indication of what the different colours were supposed to indicate. I imagine that most of the folks in the 'affected' areas would be pretty surprised to find out that they are being over-run.

Invisible pigs that have learned to cover their tracks?

"Hold this bag, and I'll chase them your way....."

This thread needs a "children at play" sign in the title.

Cheers
Trev
 
I'd put money on it that the map is as much a figment of imagination, as is the theory that a feral pig is as easy to kill as one that is wondering where the apple it was expecting, is.

Never did see any indication of what the different colours were supposed to indicate. I imagine that most of the folks in the 'affected' areas would be pretty surprised to find out that they are being over-run.

Invisible pigs that have learned to cover their tracks?

"Hold this bag, and I'll chase them your way....."

This thread needs a "children at play" sign in the title.

Cheers
Trev

It's all good buddy......

Either way I came back empty handed. :)

See you soon!
 
While I wouldn't use a .22 for Russian wild boar, just about any decent caliber suitable on deer will work on hogs. Myself - I have taken 4 hogs.

The first, with a .303 (required 3 shots - Hmmm could have been me):redface:.

The second, 1 shot with .375 H&H (didn't want a repeat of the .303 incident the year before;)).

The third, 1 shot with a 30/06 (no problem):)

The fourth, 1 shot with a 30/06 (again no problem):)
 
I am up to 19 kills on our Saskatchewan wild pigs and there is no way in hell I would go after one on foot with a .22lr. I have shot them with a .450 marlin,325 wsm, 300 saum and .223 rem. My prefered rifle for it is either the .450 or .325. These animals are tough and mean. The first one we ever got charged us and a lucky shot from the hip killed it at our feet. When you find a 250lb boar in the bush it will look at you like you owe it money and there is no better feeling than having a large calibre in your hands to make sure that the job gets done. These things do get big, one last fall we guessed at 400 to 450 lbs. That pig looked like a 45 gal drum with legs, and looks awesome on my wall :).
 
I'd like to hunt them with hounds and stick them with a Knife. Seen some of the video's, Pretty wild!!!!.
 
About ten years ago 3 of us were deer hunting in farm country in southern Ontario. We knew that a neighboring farm had lost a Russian wild boar a few months previous. What we didn't know was that this boar got hooked up with a Russian sow that had escaped 6 months prior and were residing in the bushlot that adjoined 4 farms. Opening morning was clear and cold when the two hogs wandered out of the thick bush into the alfalfa field. My freind shot the female first with a 12ga slug and dropped it immediately at 85 yards. This, in hindsight was a mistake because the boar was enraged! It charged him and he shot this boar twice, hitting both times and the hog, although badly wounded continued the assault while my friend frantically reloaded one more round into his 1100. The 3rd and final shot was at 6 feet! The tusks were 3 1/2" long and the boar had every intention of using them.
So, IMO a .22lr will get you killed! I've been there and seen it.
BTW, the meat was FANTASTIC! They also are the UGLIEST animal I have ever seen.

Here's how they're hunted in Australia. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOfCTWy1Xlc
 
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I'd like to hunt them with hounds and stick them with a Knife. Seen some of the video's, Pretty wild!!!!.

thats not hunting thats just food for the anti's

having pit bulls hold a hog there and you stab them not right if you want to hunt it with a knife or spear do it with out the dog's

theres easyer ways to kill them more humane and with out risking dog's lives


i see people in AB hunt cougar just about the same way thay have dogs run it up a tree then shoot it

my native blood will not let me hunt that way i like to get a quick kill im even sporting it up a bit by changing all my hunting guns to antique classed guns

my choice for russian bore would be my martini henry for spot and stalk as thats more of a trophy hunt

for these wild hogs id just use a shotgun with buckshot in a tower blind and a feeder about 30 yards away
 
Man & dog have been hunting partners worldwide for eons so your native arguement holds no water except in the Wonderful World of Disney.
I noticed you've stopped endorsing rimfire but you're happy to wound them from a tower blind with buckshot. Heavy and copper plated/buffered buckshot might work okay for a clean kill at 5-7 yards, but I notice you have an aversion to ranges like that.
Finstr, PSE and tdbtp have related real experiences and again you continue to ignore thier advice.
You have something against knives but want to sport it up with antique firearms??
Sport it up some more, I suggest a sharp knife with ample blade or a spear.
No! I forgot you're high up in the tower dis'ing those with dogs and pointy things..........:rolleyes:

Now that's really food for the antis.

Your scenarios I predict this: from the tower a terrible wounding of many animals, using the shotgun with buckshot, with only one piglet down or your ground stalk ends badly when you're rushed at close range from differing angles in the close bush, multiple targets and a 120 year old single shot rifle.

my two cents
 
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Use a knife to harvest hogs? Hell yah! ;) The only problem with it is that it's not overly efficient if you are trying to eliminate a large number of feral pigs (which is what the OP was talking about).
The accepted techniques are: trapping, aerial shooting, judas hogs and hunting with dogs. All in a days work! :D
Gloryshot.jpg
 
Use a knife to harvest hogs? Hell yah! ;) The only problem with it is that it's not overly efficient if you are trying to eliminate a large number of feral pigs (which is what the OP was talking about).
The accepted techniques are: trapping, aerial shooting, judas hogs and hunting with dogs. All in a days work! :D
Gloryshot.jpg

Sweet pic!!!!. What brand of sticker is that, Is it a custom?. I hear Greg Lightfoot a custom knife maker out of Alberta makes some wicked ones.
 
Well after killing 185 boars in 4 winters I can guarantee that there is a problem with these animals. You guys do the math they can have up to 4 litters /yr at 6-10 per litter.
Just because you don't see them during the day doesn't mean that they aren't there. Around here they are nocturnal. They are amazingly fast and have far greater endurance than a deer. You can't effectively hunt them at a bait as you get one shoot session and they move on. "Pushing" them on to waiting shooters is the most effective way
For those of you who want to hunt these with a .22lr have at it; make sure you wound a piglet and then wait the action to begin with the sow. I would love to see the video of you defending yourself with a .22lr in your hands against a 350 lb sow.
Seriously though the small ones drop fairly easy, under 100 lbs, but the large boars have upwards of 1" of hide and hard gristle on their shoulders and ribs. This one guy thought it would be great to use a .204, after we finished it off,I dug out a .204 ruger bullet from this boar that was hit behind front shoulder from less than 50 yards and it stopped up against a rib; didn't even slow him down.
If you see a pod of them wipe them out before they multiply and split up.
 
I hear a tale of wild pigs aound my area. Me and my buddy are going to try hunting them. He is a butcher and uses 22 mag fMJ to kill domestic pigs, cows etc. He is my hunting partner as well:D

After a short discusion on what caliber to use he suggested the biggest caliber we had.

Some good info on this thread, then there is the others :rolleyes:

22lr, buckshot? :HR: good luck boys.

My choice will be 300 win mag, or 308 semi auto, nothing less
 
223 with 75 gr bthp, in the boiler room works every time, if you need to finish it with a hand gun make sure it's a 357 sig loaded to the nuts.
 
I use a 30-06 or my 7 mag as they are my favorite guns. They are quite the creatures in the winter as they literally pile on top of each other to keep warm as they sleep. It is exciting after the first shot as the pile explodes with animals running in every direction. They go from 0 to 180 in a split second. hahaha As you learn their habits you find out quickly that they are not just a stupid pig. They "educate" very quickly when you make mistakes on them. Yes they can be quite aggressive in the right situation.
 
I use a 30-06 or my 7 mag as they are my favorite guns. They are quite the creatures in the winter as they literally pile on top of each other to keep warm as they sleep. It is exciting after the first shot as the pile explodes with animals running in every direction. They go from 0 to 180 in a split second. hahaha As you learn their habits you find out quickly that they are not just a stupid pig. They "educate" very quickly when you make mistakes on them. Yes they can be quite aggressive in the right situation.
Yes in my meager experience I found where there is one lying in the snow with the top of the head and ears showing, there's sure to be more right there.
One archery wounded big fella made a fool of us. We broke one cardinal sin of tracking (stay on visible spoor!) & he alluded us for hours. I can't believe he convinced me to do that! Shame on me....
 
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