i bet he's glad he had a .308

[geronimotwo]

This hunter in NC bagged a 500lb wild boar!  I didn't realize they were getting that big in the states. 

http://news.yahoo.com/giant-hog-boar-hunter-caught-500-pounds-133815315.html

[Brad Johnson]

"Why did you use a .308?"
"Because I didn't have a .50."

Brad

[charby]

This hunter in NC bagged a 500lb wild boar!  I didn't realize they were getting that big in the states. 

http://news.yahoo.com/giant-hog-boar-hunter-caught-500-pounds-133815315.html

Feral pigs get huge if they can find enough food and stay alive, older boar can easily get to 500-800 lbs.

Market hogs are 230-250lbs and only 6-7 months old.

[Balog]

If that dude was sitting any farther behind that hog he'd be in a different time zone.

[Jocassee]

If that dude was sitting any farther behind that hog he'd be in a different time zone.

Haha, yep.

[fifth_column]

If that dude was sitting any farther behind that hog he'd be in a different time zone.

He's not sitting . . .

 

[Boomhauer]

I know they are getting bigger and the population is exploding here in SC.

I almost hit one a couple of weeks ago while I was going home to visit my parents. It was a large one, would have *expletive deleted*ed my truck up pretty good. I jumped out with the AR and tried to get it but it was in the tree line and gone before I could pull the trigger.

We need to be hunting these things from helicopters with machine guns. Normal hunting isn't even putting a dent in their population.

Also the people commenting on the article and whining need to die in a fire...

[Bigjake]

Also the people commenting on the article and whining need to die in a fire...

Yup.

Makes you think.  I can't imagine trying to ride that monster down with a spear, on horseback.   

[RoadKingLarry]

Feral pigs get huge if they can find enough food and stay alive, older boar can easily get to 500-800 lbs.

Market hogs are 230-250lbs and only 6-7 months old.

I've gotten 300# in that length of time.
Most of the wild pigs are domestics that have escaped or been set free on purpose and gone feral so not surprising to see them getting that big.

[MechAg94]

A friend I used to work with used his deer feeder to keep a big group of hogs fed on some land he hunted.  We would occasionally shoot one of the smaller ones at 150# or so.  There was a big male he had on his game camera that was at least 500 pounds, likely bigger. 

[cambeul41]

Also the people commenting on the article and whining need to die in a fire...

How about just giving them an opportunity to pet the nice piggy?

[MillCreek]

Until I read the comments in that article, I had no idea about the scope of the feral pig/boar problem in the South.  Holy Moly, that is a lot of pigs that lay waste to everything in their path.  I am surprised there is not some sort of bounty on them.

[AJ Dual]

Until I read the comments in that article, I had no idea about the scope of the feral pig/boar problem in the South.  Holy Moly, that is a lot of pigs that lay waste to everything in their path.  I am surprised there is not some sort of bounty on them.

They're entrenched for sure.

It's been a problem going on 500-ish years +/-.

The Spaniards who reached Florida and the Gulf intentionally let pigs go, knowing how they'd breed, and be a ready food/hunting source for future expeditions.

[Balog]

Given how difficult they are to kill and how fast they breed, I doubt even a good sized bounty would result in their eradication. Not exactly buffalo placidly waiting to get shot.

[Viking]

Given how difficult they are to kill and how fast they breed, I doubt even a good sized bounty would result in their eradication. Not exactly buffalo placidly waiting to get shot.

We managed to do it here in the 18th century (more or less, they were officially wiped out). Then they were re-introduced several times, first on the island of Öland in 1723, but after complaints, they were once again eradicated about 3 decades later. Then they were re-introduced in the late 19th century in a small private game preserve, which is where the current population comes from after many of them escaped in the 1940s, and a decision by the Riksdag back in the late 1980s that wild boars were to be considered a natural part of the fauna once again. There's an estimated 200k-300k wild boars here. I've seen varying numbers regarding how many that are shot each year, ranging from 50k to as many as 160k.

[Balog]

We managed to do it here in the 18th century (more or less, they were officially wiped out). Then they were re-introduced several times, first on the island of Öland in 1723, but after complaints, they were once again eradicated about 3 decades later. Then they were re-introduced in the late 19th century in a small private game preserve, which is where the current population comes from after many of them escaped in the 1940s, and a decision by the Riksdag back in the late 1980s that wild boars were to be considered a natural part of the fauna once again. There's an estimated 200k-300k wild boars here. I've seen varying numbers regarding how many that are shot each year, ranging from 50k to as many as 160k.

Sweden is a lot more inhospitable than the South. 

[Viking]

Sweden is a lot more inhospitable than the South. 

Considering Southerners have more guns than we do, both in real numbers and per capita, they could make it real inhospitable for piggies if they wished.

[RoadKingLarry]

Given how difficult they are to kill and how fast they breed, I doubt even a good sized bounty would result in their eradication. Not exactly buffalo placidly waiting to get shot.

A reasonably healthy sow can easily drop 2 litters a year with a dozen pigs not being out of the ordinary. And that litter being pretty much sefl sufficient in 4-5 or so and the females from that batch being ready to breed in less than a year. It's easy to see how they can get out of hand fast.

[MillCreek]

So do these feral hogs have a fear of humans?

[Zardozimo Oprah Bannedalas]

Dayum. IIRC, 5.56 is generally sufficient for pigs... but for a 500lb model? Not so much.

[Boomhauer]

So do these feral hogs have a fear of humans?

Not if you are near them and they feel threatened

[Boomhauer]

Until I read the comments in that article, I had no idea about the scope of the feral pig/boar problem in the South.  Holy Moly, that is a lot of pigs that lay waste to everything in their path.  I am surprised there is not some sort of bounty on them.

Considering Southerners have more guns than we do, both in real numbers and per capita, they could make it real inhospitable for piggies if they wished.

A major problem is that the game managment agencies treat hogs as game instead of pests, so you have a limited season and lots of restrictions (no NVGs, lights, suppressors etc) and so on. Kind of hard to eliminate a pest when you have one hand tied behind your back because the idiots think its still a game animal. Same goes for deer down here, too. Huge overpopulation not enough killing.

[mtnbkr]

A major problem is that the game managment agencies treat hogs as game instead of pests, so you have a limited season and lots of restrictions (no NVGs, lights, suppressors etc) and so on. Kind of hard to eliminate a pest when you have one hand tied behind your back because the idiots think its still a game animal. Same goes for deer down here, too. Huge overpopulation not enough killing.

They're not game animals in VA.  In NC, they're only game animals in the western (mtn) part of the state IIRC.  Ergo, it's open season year round.  From what I recall, lights and such are legal in NC.  I haven't checked into that for VA.

Dunno about other states, but the deer season is pretty long in VA.  Gun season alone runs late Nov through early Jan on public lands (WMAs, more restrictive on National Forest lands).  Private land hunters in Northern VA, where the population is the most troublesome, have a season that runs till mid March (does only).

BP and bow doesn't run any longer, but starts earlier.  Bow hunting will let you hunt from Sept to March if you have access to private lands and can take advantage of the special NoVA regs.

Chris

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

and no license to hunt your own property in va. plus can check deer on the internet. i know one guy who went triple figures. and suspect several others did.

[MechAg94]

They are not game in Texas and there are almost restrictions on them.  You can shoot them out of helicopters.  I think they are considered an invasive species. 

Some people shoot them to just kill them, but many shoot them for meat.  Considering they are also nocturnal, where I might see them, you have to go looking for them.