Feral hogs in Indiana

[jlwest1213]

Cool, let us know the outcome. I'm only about 35 min from Seymour

Tell that to the guys in Seymour who are buying the metal cages and trapping them weekly, 2-3-4 at a time. Saw some video of them and my buddy just is going to set out his cage this weekend. They are definately here.

 

[teddy12b]

Tell that to the guys in Seymour who are buying the metal cages and trapping them weekly, 2-3-4 at a time. Saw some video of them and my buddy just is going to set out his cage this weekend. They are definately here.

Please send me a message with the contact info to "these guys". I will gladly contact them and offer my hunting services free of charge. I'd also be willing to bet that nothing ever comes of it. I don't doubt that they exist, but let's not try and pretend that we're like texas that's just full of them with plenty of places for normal guys to go hunt them.

 

[Bersalover]

not trying to say we are infested like Texas, only respsonding to your post calling hogs in Indiana a myth. They are here is all the message was.

this link is similar to the original video he showed me http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=piAse5ksK_o

when I get a response back I will post the video he has. I could not believe it when I saw it either.

 

[teddy12b]

Don't get me wrong, I'd love to hunt hogs in my own state, but after years of getting hopes up only to have them crushed has turned me bitter. I hope the feral hogs don't become a problem in our state as much as I'd love to love to eat a few and have some cheap hunting.

 

[Faine]

They gather 4 times a year at the fairgrounds here in Indianapolis. FIF TEEN HUNERD!

Sorry about that, I saw the thread name, checked and no one said it yet and I do believe someone had to stoop to that level in this thread, my work here is done have a nice day.

 

[Twangbanger]

I think part of the reason you may not "hear" much about the feral hog issue, is that the knowledgeable folks who are involved in eradicating them really don't want "average guys" knowing about it.

The folks who put on the hog seminar related that the preferred technique is to set up corrals and bait them in, then shoot them en-masse. In addition to not wanting the PETA pansies to know about this, they don't want "ama-toors" horning in and messing up their set. This is an ambush technique, and you have to kill every animal in there for it to work. They've had people setting up tree stands around the corrals, taking pot-shots, etc...and once the hogs have been shot into and escaped, they will never fall for that trap again.

In addition, well-meaning "average guys" looking for a cheap source of hunting entertainment have proven detrimental to eradication efforts in states that have bad problems. You get a little "cottage-industry" going on where guys make a souce of income from setting up hunts, and then you start seeing people transporting hogs around, etc., basically trying to keep the population thriving to support their source of income. The seminar presenter basically stated that once you get this profit-motive established and a sport-hunt cottage industry gets set up around this hog population, it becomes harder to really eradicate the hogs, because there are people who now have an interest in keeping it going, and view eradication as a threat. The farmers' interest in this goes beyond just not wanting "yahoos" on their land. They want the shooting done by people who are there to "finish" the threat, not people with a "harvest" mentality who want to perpetuate it.

I mention this, because already on this thread, we see evidence of posters who are pining for hogs to shoot, professional hunters commenting, etc....so it's apparent the human-nature phenomenon the presenter was talking about is very much present any time this issue is discussed.

 

[AGarbers]

Twangbanger pretty much hit the nail on the head. Here's the issues:
1. All or almost all of the hogs are on private land, owned by folks that don't want people they don't know and trust on their property.
2. Since the population is small they can find all the food they need so Texas tactics won't work well or at all.
3. Hogs here are nocturnal. Since few folks see them most don't believe they have any on their property.
4. They have a nose that can smell you better than any dog and are second only to a bear.
5. Since they can smell you long before you ever get close, and since they live in habitat that makes sane men crazy, they can sneak away long before you ever get close.
6. They are smart. If you trap part of the sounder the rest will most likely never be fooled by that type of trap again. If you bait them and shoot one over a pile of corn, they associate corn with danger.
7. Since they are so few in numbers in Indiana, they can move away from any hunting pressure. In Texas they have no place to move too because there's already another sounder living there.
8. The USFWS biologist feels that the Indiana population is getting ready to explode. In the past the population has had little pressure so they have stayed put but with more hunting pressure bigger groups are breaking up and moving away from the pressure which establishes them in new areas with great food and no pressure. But, not hunting them would achieve the same results.
9. The best tactic is to trap all of the family by not setting the trap for a period of time. After the hogs have been going in and out of the trap repeatedly with no issue, then set the trap.
10 All hogs trapped have to be killed. None can be set free again or transported alive as per Indiana law. This includes the cute stripped babies.

By my estimates using conservative numbers far less that what you will see listed elsewhere, Indiana's wild hog population could reach one million in 16 years, if nothing changes. Few things will stand in their way. They have been documented swimming many miles to barrier islands along the southeast states so rivers mean nothing to them.
I hear from people that say they have no effect on game, that hunting is still good where they are established. Those that say that most likely don't know what it was like before the hogs came. I have talked with people that have seen hog get established in their lifetime and they say the deer hunting went drastically downhill. But to new hunters that don't know what it was like before, the deer hunting is great! Can any of you remember what Indiana was like before multiflora roses were introduced? I read in an old Outdoor Indiana magazine that they were introduced from Korea and as late as in the 1950s they were telling folks to plant all they could to make good quail habitat and living fences for livestock. If that was the case then I should have quail up the butt! Now I can't walk through my woods without getting torn to shreds because of what someone thought was a great idea! If someone was to come back from a hundred years ago, I doubt he would think it was an improvement.

 

[Jason R. Bruce]

Twangbanger & AGarbers,

Interesting information. I agree with the vast majority of your observations but still have my own reservations about the feral hogs in Indiana. The points about a hogs intellect, senses and private land hideaways are valid… but if their populations were fairly strong and widespread I’d be stumbling into them consistently in my coyote work. I cover over 50 counties, nearly 100,000 acres of private land, and growing. I refuse to believe a guy can call up thousands of coyotes over 15 years in legitimate “feral hog country” and never stumble into one. The methods and tactics I use for coyotes are far more intensive and effective than any hog hunters I know across the country. I’ve hunted plenty of hog country in OK/TX and stumbled into them like every other non-target critter. This leads me to believe their populations in Indiana are VERY concentrated and far between.

Perception and human nature are obviously at play. I can’t tell you how many “wolf” complaints I’ve had over the years or how many times I’ve heard guys tell me about watching 50-60 coyotes walk out into a field together. One story like that gets manipulated through the grapevine and before you know it, there’s an “epidemic” in the region. Don’t get me started on the 9’ coyote a guy killed on one of my farms! LOL!

I just heard there was a “contest” last Saturday for feral hog hunters in Southern Indiana. Coyote, fox and skunk were also included although at reduced point values. The winner came in with 3 skunks, worth ½ a point a piece. No hogs were spotted. The pressure is imminent, so if the pressured dispersal is going to grow the population… it’s coming. It's been screwing up a lot of my coyotes for years.

I wish I’d made it to the gathering in Medora. I hunted coyotes in the area all night/morning before that event but just didn’t have the energy to hang out until noon. Hunting feral hogs doesn’t get my blood pumping but I agree they’d have a terrible impact on our agriculture and native species. I worked the “Predator & Wild Hog Extravaganza” in Georgia a couple years ago and made some contacts in the hog-trapping business… even picked up some designs and quoted fabricating them for the guys down there. I guess if I find a landowner with a legitimate feral hog issue, I’ll try to do my part. The DNR just turned another Medora resident my way last week with a coyote problem, no mention of hogs yet.