400-pound hog captured in melbourne,fl

[leopard6.5]

Here's a story in the local paper I thought might be interesting to the forum.

Unfortunately, they are capturing them instead of letting us hunt them.
Of course, some of them are in somewhat populated areas but the ones farther out they could at least let the hunters take care of the problem.

Here's the link:

http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20120107/BREAKINGNEWS/120107003/400-pound-hog-captured-Melbourne

That one was huge.

Lee

[elkbow]

thats a good hog, but doesn't look 400lbs

[justified]

You need to figure out where he releases them.

This is the biggest hog I've heard of: 1,100-lb. Feral Hog Shot in Fayette Co

http://www.gon.com/article.php?id=1017

[elkbow]

You need to figure out where he releases them.

This is the biggest hog I've heard of: 1,100-lb. Feral Hog Shot in Fayette Co

http://www.gon.com/article.php?id=1017

I wouldn't call that feral, it has floppy ears, so obviously a domestic hog, it may have been living for awhile in the wild, but not very long

[Mutt]

Of course they're floppy ..... those ears are about the size of one of my wifes throw rugs ..... LOL. Something that big's bound to flop .... LOL.

No seriously, I've read and heard on tv that hogs can go completely wild only after like 3 months in the wild. That is one big piggie though either way.

I think this is a huge bad idea on FL fish and game. By not allowing hunters, those things will have completely taken over before anyone can even have time to complain.

[Texas Sheepdawg]

They will get bad enough to start taking out vehicles on the highways before they figure it out. Here in TX, we can use helicopters to hunt them. We can hunt them 24/7/365 with just about anything. When a cop car or a cop on a motorcycle collides with one, then you might see some changes.... Let's hope they see it our way before something tragic happens.

[stokesrj]

Wild hogs have been here in Florida for a very long time. The Spanish Conquistadors were responsible for the first ones when they let domestic pigs go at St. Augustine, the oldest city in the United States. I used to persecute those pigs heavily on my friends quail hunting ranch, I would kill over 200 a year and there was a never ending supply, still is. I hunted them with dogs, blue ticks, walkers and bloodhounds for trailing followed by black mouth curs for catching. I killed my fair share with pistols, .357 mag, .44 mag, and 45 ACP, .22 LR, .22 mag, and rifles, 30-30, .270, 30-06, 22 LR, .22 mag and .44 mag. That is where I learned that no handgun is a stopper except brain or spine shots, Rifles are more effective but only a sure thing with brain, spine, or heavy skeletal bone shots once they are worked up. A 12 ga with 00 Buck is 100 % at close range.
Unfortunately the people that own the place now won't let red necks like me take care of them, they also hire professionals. I some times hunt them with my bow near Arcadia but no longer hunt them with guns.
Bob

[hm2 clark]

And I bow hunt pigs in a grove just down the street in Gardner Flordia. Hogs can be Gods own rototiller and just destroy a orange grove or garden overnight. They do take out cars and pickup trucks. But still, I'd rather not see a redneck flying around in a hilicopter over public land using a AR to conduct "recon by fire".

[QuadCam]

And I bow hunt pigs in a grove just down the street in Gardner Flordia. Hogs can be Gods own rototiller and just destroy a orange grove or garden overnight. They do take out cars and pickup trucks. But still, I'd rather not see a redneck flying around in a hilicopter over public land using a AR to conduct "recon by fire".

Agreed. i understand population control, but helicopter hunting is going to far. The purpose of population control is to reduce the number in a safe, effective, and humane way. Helicopter hunting probably only covers "effective."

[stokesrj]

They are even rooting up our rifle ranges, here in Florida. We have "progressed" to the point in our knowledge of safe gun handling, that no one will shoot them for fear of being kicked off the club, so we have trappers come and take them off the rifle range. Go figure. The problem is that the hogs are smarter than the trappers after just a few get trapped. You have to remove three out of every four you see just to keep the herd from increasing. And they are failing to keep up the pace.

I live in a preserve area called Brooker Creek Preserve. They won't let anyone hunt deer even with a bow but pay professionals to come in and reduce the deer herd. I'll give them credit, they do it right, bulldoze up a berm, fill it with corn, set up a tower with lights, and head shoot them at night into the berm with suppressed rifles. It cost $180,000 to remove 165 deer this way. By allowing archery hunting, they could gather revenue instead.

Bob

[Sniper20]

I hear you guys on the "professional removers" vs the "hunters". However, there are people that do stupid stuff, and you don't know who to fall back on if they do. With the Pro's, then you have someone that you know is responsible and wont harm anything else. How would one go about getting on a crew like that??? Here in IA, we don't have that problem, but if we did, I would definitely be getting into that business. Paid to hunt all the time... What a life.

[bwaites]

I hear you guys on the "professional removers" vs the "hunters". However, there are people that do stupid stuff, and you don't know who to fall back on if they do. With the Pro's, then you have someone that you know is responsible and wont harm anything else. How would one go about getting on a crew like that??? Here in IA, we don't have that problem, but if we did, I would definitely be getting into that business. Paid to hunt all the time... What a life.

When was the last time you heard of an archery hunter shooting someone accidently? I understand not wanting to allow firearms hunting, but archery hunting would be an easy answer, plus raise money instead of waste it. That disposal rate is more than $1000/deer. That's good wages!

[Sniper20]

Just the other day, I heard that a guy in CA shot a kid in the stomach with a cross bow... I don't think it was accidental, but that brought that back to mind. The kid was throwing rocks down at cars on the freeway as they passed, so they went back and shot him... People are just crazy no matter what.

[ZuluSafari]

I hear you guys on the "professional removers" vs the "hunters". However, there are people that do stupid stuff, and you don't know who to fall back on if they do. With the Pro's, then you have someone that you know is responsible and wont harm anything else. How would one go about getting on a crew like that??? Here in IA, we don't have that problem, but if we did, I would definitely be getting into that business. Paid to hunt all the time... What a life.

Haven't you seen how much they paid that crew to thin the herd in Iowa City? Cedar Rapids lets Archers take a proficiency test and allows hunting in the city, but Iowa City does not. They paid a professional team to hunt them at night with suppressed rifles and night vision technology. IIRC, they used the meat at a local food pantry, and the processor was in trouble for processing the venison on the same equipment (though different batches with tear downs in between) as his normal inspected meat.

[kbarnes12]

Haven't you seen how much they paid that crew to thin the herd in Iowa City? Cedar Rapids lets Archers take a proficiency test and allows hunting in the city, but Iowa City does not. They paid a professional team to hunt them at night with suppressed rifles and night vision technology. IIRC, they used the meat at a local food pantry, and the processor was in trouble for processing the venison on the same equipment (though different batches with tear downs in between) as his normal inspected meat.

I am curious as to where deer are processed during regular deer seasons if they have to use different equipment from inspected meat.