Hello All
Seems that the Oregon Dept of Fish & Wildlife has reclassified feral pigs as a "predatory game species" meaning that the pigs can be hunted on public lands.

Anyone know anything about this?

ZM

What do you want to know?

Norseman,
I wasn't even aware there was a feral pig proplem in Oregon until I read in the local paper down here that feral pigs had been reclassified. I did some research on the web but came up with scant information. I would like to know where the pig population is the largest, or maybe where they are the biggest problem.
I did find that the feral pigs in Oregon can be either domestic stock that got loose or European/Russian wild pigs that escaped from a game ranch and bred with domestic pigs. Big tusks and a bad attitude were also mentioned.
Might be an interesting change of pace from shooting tin cans.

ZM

Zeke,go to the sportsman show at the expo center next month and look up Dave Fisher of the Fisher Ranch in Mitchell Ore. I think he has a booth there.He has 12,000 acres, and good knowledge of that area.Have heard reports of wild hogs there. Might be a good lead,hope this helps.

[This message has been edited by Hutt (edited 01-06-2002).]

Zeke, What has had happen was that these european pigs and some farm pigs escape a private hunting preserve and that this hunting preserve went belly up. So the reasons for reclass status is that the United State department of Agiculture/ USFS complained to ODFW/USFW that these pigs were eating most of the mushroom harvest, destroying tree roots and that the hippie's were making no money. Mostly these wild pigs hang around the northeast area of Paulina. I've also been told that these european pigs eat a fawn deer. I've known about this for the last three years and I have only seen 4 and still have not had a chance to shoot one. There use to be around 100 or so hanging around and now there only maybe 20 to 30 left in this area according to the biologist. In case you did not know, but there are wild pigs just southeast of Astoria and 10 to 15 miles east of Tillamook. One of the reasons why I bought a Drahthaar was to hunt these wild pigs.

Zeke and Norseman:

To learn more than you know or may need to know about feral hogs go to Texasboars.com (note, that's boars, not bores ). Follow the various links, particularly "hunting the elusive wild hog".

As far as seeing them goes, unless you are specifically targeting them, you will not see them very often. I had seen 4 separate sightings on my ranch in the last 5 years, starting looking and am overrun with them. We have killed over 15 in the last 2 months. Trapping is next. They are very nocturnal, but will sometimes move on cloudy days, etc.

Great fun to hunt, great eating, and year round, what more could you ask? Finally, they breed like rats(at least 2 litters of 4 a year, beginning at 6 months), are very destructive to deer, etc habitat (directly competitive) and are almost impossible to get rid of, as they will move miles and miles on being pressured. They have no home range. I dunno about Oregon, where you might be able to have them cornered in some area, but in the woods of Texas, they are everywhere and basically impossible to shoot or trap out. Good hunting.

I could and will, if requested, go into more detail but what works here might not be legal in Oregon, etc.

[This message has been edited by Gatogordo (edited 01-07-2002).]

Gatogordo, I'm open for more details, cause whatever you do in Texas is perfectly legal in Oregon because there are no restriction or harvest methods on feral pigs including spotlighting as well.

Norseman:

Well, most of what I do or variations of it is on that site I mentioned above, but first, remember hogs are pigs. Meaning that they love food and the easier the better, so baiting them with corn or other attractants works well. I use corn, since it is readily available and, in 1000 pound quantities, is about 60% of what Walmart charges for deer corn. Check with a feed store, or a local farmer, that caters to farmers in your area. They will almost certainly have it. 3 55 gallon barrels nearly full equals 1000 pounds of corn. If you have access to private land, or some remote spot on public, you might put out deer feeders with corn in them, but I find that going out and finding a well used trail,with wallows if possible, which is usually obvious if there are many pigs in the area, and then spreading 25 pounds or so of corn around, checking it daily until they find it, and then setting up to hunt is the easiest way to bring home the wild bacon. Unlike what you will hear, they are not nearly blind, but don't see all that great either. However they hear fairly well and have great noses.

Once they are on the bait, they will usually return daily until you shoot a few. Setting up is easy, just use a dove bucket or a portable tree stand(safer) and set up 20 or 30 yards DOWNWIND from the baited area. Just like in any hunting, you need to pick a spot to bait that gives you some reasonable field of fire. Unless the Oregon hogs are different, you can almost bet that, if they come in daylight at all, it will be in the last few minutes or dark. You can shoot them by moonlight quite successfully.

A couple of other points that come to mind. Particularly if hunting alone, I would carry a pistol of decent caliber as backup(44mag or fairly hot .45 Colt). It doesn't happen all that often, but if you shoot a pig and it starts squealing Mama may come visit you, and it won't be a social call. Reason I say a pistol, which is not essential, is that you will often be cleaning or whatever that hog in the dark, so a light in one hand or the ability to shoot quick up close may be handy. Second, and this sequed well, is carry a flashlight, you will be hunting at dark. Matter of fact, except for really cloudy or rainy days, you can hunt just the last hour of daylight and that will give you plenty of time to shoot one or not. Have heard of boars coming back but have not seen it. Don't ignore your surroundings until you are sure that the hogs have left. Except for a lone boar you will usually have a herd of them there, could easily be 25 or 50. But they are quick and you will normally only get one shot or at best 2 if you are lucky, unless you can catch them out in the open somewhere. Hogs are easy to kill, actually, just put a decent deer type round with some penetrating ability into the front 1/3 of them and they will roll over. But hit them in the back 2/3 unless you get lucky you will have lost a hog. But, that is not all that bad, remember these are VERMIN and our normal ethics are not applicable. Any dead pig anywhere is a good result, in hand is better. Do NOT use a shotgun, unless with slugs. The fat layer soaks up buckshot and, again, unless you get lucky, it will not anchor one.

I don't know your situation, but if you can hook up with a rancher or farmer in the area, you will have the best hunting since you can control the scene, so to speak.

Have to take my kids to school. Hope this helps, and I will try to answer any more questions you mighr have. good luck CAT

First, I know this is nearly a 12 year old thread, however I was going to ask virtually the same questions that were in this plus a couple more. Anybody have RECENT experience hunting wild pigs in Oregon? (I mean last couple years, not last couple decades...lol)

I want to get into it and have spoken with the ODFW person in charge of Feral Swine in Oregon. He gave me some advice, however he also told me he hasn't hunted them for several years.

How long ago did you hunt them?
Where did you hunt them?
What techniques did you use?
What techniques worked, which ones didn't?
What would you try the next time?

Thanks,

Mike