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;void(0))  ;void(0)) ;void(0)) ;void(0)) ;void(0)) ;void(0)) ;void(0)) ;void(0)) ;void(0)) ;void(0)) ;void(0)) ;void(0)) ;void(0)) ;void(0)) ;void(0)) ;void(0))  ;void(0)) Wild Boar Texas Style! Round 2 + Missouri Hog Hunting Info by Matt McAnally Back in mid-February of last year, 2005, our group of bowhunters went back down to the Texas "S" Ranch in Clarksville, Texas to once again bowhunt wild hogs. This was our second time around so we knew there were some big boars down there. As it turned out, we trampled our previous trip in both number of hogs killed, and the number of big, mature boars taken. As a whole, the eight bowhunters in our group harvested six wild hogs over 200 lbs., with several more near the 175 lb. range. We harvested a total of 21 hogs during the two day hunt. The action was fast and furious, bordering dangerous at times. But that's what draws bowhunters from all across the nation to hunt wild hogs, including hunting the Texas "S" Ranch. To find out more, click on their link below, or click over to our WILD HOG MANIA page. In the taxidermy shop, I mount several wild hogs each year. Anytime is a great time to hunt em', and here in Missouri, there are no bag limits, the season is open all year, and no permits are required on state or private lands. Also baiting and hunting over bait is legal. Hog hunting is an awesome experience, and Missouri Department of Conservation officials need our help as hunters. Wild hogs can damage the forest as well as crops at a rapid pace. They also carry various diseases that are harmful to other wildlife, domestic animals, and people. Here's what the MDC has to say about hog hunting in Missouri, as well as a list of phone numbers for more information on hunting hogs. "MISSOURI DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION". The phrase "hog wild" has taken on new meaning for managers of public land in Missouri over the past decade. In that time, feral hogs have gone from a rare novelty to an epidemic. Hunters provide a bright spot in the picture, but even their help is a mixed blessing. At first glance, the presence of a few escaped pigs on conservation areas, national forest and around U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reservoirs doesn't seem like much of a problem. But as Missourians increasingly experience wild hogs firsthand, worries multiply. State officials have been concerned about feral hogs for at least 12 years. In 1992, the Missouri Department of Agriculture (MDA) imposed a quarantine on several thousand acres in Carter, Shannon, Oregon and Ripley counties after feral hogs in the area were found to have pseudorabies. Wild hogs can carry the pseudorabies virus without serious symptoms, but the disease is fatal to many other wild and domestic animals. A team effort by the Missouri Department of Conservation, the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and the USDA Forest Service succeeded in eradicating hogs in the quarantine area. However, in recent years feral hogs have cropped up in several other areas. "The appearance of feral hogs in Missouri is no accident," said Conservation Department Private Land Field Programs Supervisor Rex Martensen. "Misguided people continue to bring various kinds of wild hogs into the state for hunting. If they had any idea of the destruction they are creating, I don't think most of them would be doing it." Martensen said feral hogs' destructiveness takes several forms: Livestock damage -- Besides pseudorabies, feral hogs carry leptospirosis and swine brucellosis, potentially devastating diseases of domestic swine. Crop damage -- Feral hogs feed by rooting in the ground and can plow up acres of crop fields in a single night, destroying crops. Human health risks -- Swine brucellosis can infect humans, causing undulant fever. This can lead to arthritis, urinary inflammation, meningitis, heart inflammation and depression. Ecological damage -- Feral hogs damage native plants and wildlife by rooting up roots and eating anything they can catch, including quail and turkey nests and young mammals, including deer fawns. Indirect damage includes competition for food, such as acorns, and erosion that takes place after hogs root up large tracts of ground. Feral hogs seek out springs, seeps and fens destroying ground cover and contaminating streams with their feces. The growing number of feral hog release sites concerns conservation and agriculture officials. "We are beginning to find feral hogs in northern Missouri for the first time," said Martensen. "That is bad news for conservation areas and farms." Missouri has not had a case yet where feral hogs infected domestic hogs in a confined feeding operation with brucellosis. If that happened, thousands of domestic animals would have to be destroyed, and the cost of the feral hog problem would jump by several million dollars overnight. The state could come under a quarantine that would devastate the pork industry here. "I don't think anyone wants to be responsible for that, and I sure wouldn't want to be one of them when investigators go looking for the source of the feral hogs," said Martensen. The hogs turning up in Missouri's wild places aren't garden-variety domestic swine. Rangy and streetwise, these animals are the descendants of wild "razorback" pigs or Russian boars. The average feral hog weighs less than 100 pounds, but they can grow to more than 500 pounds. Even domestic pigs will revert to wild type when living wild. Feral hogs know how to survive in the wild and aren't easily intimidated, even by hunters. The Conservation Department advises hunters pursuing feral hogs to use high-powered, repeating rifles or shotguns, so as not to become the hunted. "Several hunters have been treed by hogs," said Martensen. "These animals can be very dangerous. The adults are especially dangerous when they are with their young." The Conservation Department isn't the only agency that has a problem with feral hogs. They complicate the job of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which manages land around its reservoirs for recreational hunting, fishing, hiking and other nature-related recreation. At Lake Wappapello, feral hogs have become such a problem that the Corps coordinates hunting efforts. Lake Wappapello Manager Gary Stilts said his office tracks feral hogs' activity by field observations and reports from hunters. When someone calls to ask about hunting feral hogs, he gets a rundown on area hunting rules and a map of hog activity hot spots. "Since we started this big push to get rid of feral hogs, we have been getting 10 to 15 calls a day from hunters," said Stilts. "I have had reports of people killing six, 12 and 13 a day, and those aren't just verbal reports. They have photos to prove it." Hunters can't possibly kill too many hogs for Stilts' taste. He said he has seen 20-acre expanses of permittee farmers' crops rooted up on Corps land. Hogs have destroyed all the agency's wildlife food plots this year. He said he doesn't know if hunting alone can eliminate the problem. He will be content if hunters can kill 70 percent of the hogs annually--enough to hold hog numbers at their current level. The USDA Forest Service, Mark Twain National Forest, has more than 1.5 million mostly forested acres in Missouri and has had similar experiences with feral hogs. Forest Service Biologist Larry Furniss said the number of hogs in the Mark Twain National Forest definitely is increasing, even with hunters' help. "Hunting is the only reason we have hundreds of hogs on the Mark Twain Forest rather than thousands," said Furniss. "When we find a hot spot, we try to direct hunters to that area. When hunters get the population down to eight or 10 feral hogs, we call in APHIS to trap the rest." Hunting is a two-edged sword, however. As feral hogs have grown more common, cottage industries have developed to provide guide service and hunting dogs for hunters. This creates an incentive for bringing in more hogs. Neither the Forest Service nor the Conservation Department allows commercial guides to operate on their land without special permits. Continued releases of feral hogs make the goal of eradication elusive. Biologists say they have seen new populations of hogs at Lake Wappapello, Pomme De Terre Lake, Fort Leonard Wood, Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park, Table Rock Lake and even north of the Missouri River in recent years. The animals now are found in at least 14 Missouri counties. Releasing feral hogs into the wild is illegal. State and federal agencies have had some success finding those who do so. MDA officials use records of legally imported Russian and European hogs to check on where those animals go. Most end up in fenced hunting preserves, but some find their way into the wild. When MDA discovers that hogs are being released, it works with law enforcement officers in other state and federal agencies to stop it. "I am really concerned about hogs being captured in the wild and moved to new locations," said MDA's Ed Gladden. "For us, it is a security and disease prevention issue for the domestic swine herd. Feral hogs in Arkansas have some disease problems, and that's pretty close to home. "In many cases, the people doing it are just naïve about the law. Some of them actually think they are doing a service. It's critical to get out the message that releasing feral hogs is illegal and could have disastrous results." Gladden said he is encouraged by the cooperation MDA is getting from the Department of Conservation, the Forest Service, the Corps of Engineers and other agencies in combating feral hogs. "This makes it much easier to accomplish something when we find a problem." The Conservation Department defines a feral hog as any hog, including a Russian and European wild boar, that is not conspicuously identified by ear tags or other forms of identification and is roaming freely on public or private land without the landowner's permission. Hunters are encouraged to kill such hogs on sight, but must still observe state and local hunting regulations. Check state and area regulations or call a conservation agent for local information. For more information about hunting feral hogs at Lake Wappapello, call 573/222-8562. More information about feral hogs on the Mark Twain National Forest is available by calling 573/364-4621. The Conservation Department asks hunters to report feral hog sightings and kills by calling 573/522-4115, ext. 3147. More information about feral hogs is available at the Conservation Department's web site, www.missouriconservation.org. Click on "Hunting and Trapping" and then on "Feral Hogs." "Courtesy of the Missouri Department of Conservation".  BOWHUNTIN' WILD HOGS!!!! To say I was nervous on the trip down to Texas "S" Ranch to bowhunt hogs in Clarksville, Texas was an understatement! There were a thousand things going through my mind as we made the nine hour journey from east-central Missouri. I'm sure the other five hunting friends of mine along for the trip were thinking about the same things as I was. Did I have the right set-up for this crazy breed of hog gone wild? How well do they really see and smell? Are they as aggressive as everyone says? These are just a few questions I pondered as my brother drove the full size Chevy Suburban onto the gravel road leading to the Texas "S" Ranch. Let me start from the beginning. My brother Brad and I have been bowhunting whitetails in our home state of Missouri for years. We had talked about going after wild hogs locally, but none of the ranches panned out into our plans. Now I had taken three wild pigs in southern Missouri with a rifle a couple years before, and to be honest, I was hooked! The hunt was great, and they tasted great! Only after a group from our local archery range, Six Gold Archery went to the Texas "S" Ranch, were we convinced that this would be where we booked our hunt. After contacting Merle Smith, the ranch owner/operator, and lining out the details, the hunt was set. We were to arrive on Thursday night, and hunt all day Friday and Saturday. So now there was nothing to do but practice, gather anything we might need, and wait. The group of six that would be going were as I mentioned before, my brother Brad, myself, Chuck Hahn, Joe Boyer, Jason Cain, and Jason Papek. All had experience with taking deer and turkey with a bow, except for Papek. He didn't know it yet, but his bowhunting life would change after this trip! I'll tell you about that later though. I was the only one that had taken wild hogs, and my experience was minimal at best. I talked with folks at the archery range that had hunted wild hogs in various places, and I compiled all I heard into a couple basic ideas. From what I gathered, wild hogs smell as good or better than a whitetail deer, but lack good vision. These two things would help in planning our hunting tactics, and they proved in the end to be true and useful. The other tip we received from most everyone was more disturbing! If you corner a wild hog or wound one, get ready! The famous wild boar charge was mentioned more than once. About the only thing I changed on my Mathews bow was to crank down the poundage to a max of about 72 pounds, and go with stiffer, larger easton aluminums. I left the thin, light carbon arrows at home. I did however, opt to keep the same broadhead I use for whitetails, a 100 grain NAP Shockwave mechanical broadhead. This may have been a risky move, but I felt confident in the quick kill ability of this mechanical blade, as I have seen it work many times. We also talked to a few other archers who had taken wild hogs with mechanical broadheads, and all said they performed fine. Getting back to the hunt, we arrived there about 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, and after meeting Merle, and throwing our gear into the cabin (which was more than we had hoped for!), we were told we could walk around the ranch and "scout" a little before the hunt the following morning. We weren't however, allowed to bring any weapons with us. This is a bowhunting ranch only, and even those were off limits the first night. About five minutes into it, we bumped a couple coal black wild hogs off of their beds. One looked like a huge boar, running at full speed but with a slight limp in one of his front legs. We would later go on to name him "Front Leg Limper." Some of the guys out of our group would have an encounter with him later on, and let me tell you, that limp didn't slow him down one bit! So after watching those two hogs disappear into the brush, we walked across a long, narrow open field. It was probably 80 yards wide, and a quarter-mile long. As we reached the edge of the field, I realized this was a corner of the property, with thick brush choking the edge of the field. Trying to get a game plan together, my hunting buddies and I stood there and chatted a minute about our strategy. Although there were several tree stands set up on feeders, Merle informed us the feeders hadn't been used in a while. So with no one wanting to take a chance on sitting in a stand all day, the general plan for all six of us was to spot and stalk, with occasional drives if we needed to. Honestly, I don't think any of us had a clue what to do, but we sure acted like it! Wanting to check out possible sign (tracks and other stuff!), we ventured into the thicket a little further. All of a sudden, I caught movement and saw two wild ragin' boars headed straight at me! There was only one thing in my favor, Chuck was between them and me, only about fifteen yards away! It happened so fast. Next thing I know, Chuck had barely got out of the way of the one boar, as the other one headed at me. The brush was thick, but there were no large trees to climb or hide behind readily available. As I stood there waiting to take the hit like a dummy, the 250+ pound boar veered off at the last second. Whoh! close call! what a bluff! That was all I and the rest of the group needed to see, and we were back at the cabin and inside in a half hour. I know those of you reading this that have bowhunted these things on the ground can understand what I'm saying. Those of you that haven't, have got to try it! The adrenaline rush is unbelievable! I'm not talking about sitting in a tree stand with a rifle, or taking a 300 yard shot through a scope, I'm talking about being face to face with 200+ pounds of ticked off muscle wanting a piece of YOU! I didn't realize how small and vunerable my little Mathews bow and I were until then. After a good nights sleep, we all awoke excited and ready to hunt! A quick bite to eat and we were off. The plan initially would be that as a group of six, we would pair up and have one on one drives. Three of us would go out in front of the group, and the other three, after an hour wait, would stalk towards their direction, trying to push some hogs in front of them. The first one to let an arrow fly was Jason Papek, or Pap as we call him. He had only been in position a few minutes when a couple hogs headed his way. The first arrow hit home on the hog in the lead, but Pap put a couple more in the sow for good measure. I wasn't too far down the ridge from where the action took place, and I heard him shoot. After talking to him on the two-way radio, he confirmed what I had thought, he had taken his first wild animal with a bow and arrow. To say he was excited would be an understatement. As the morning went on, the hunt just got better and better. The game was everywhere, with plenty of hogs, and also exotic deer and rams. Although the hogs were in the area, stalking them without being detected is something else. We worked our tails off to try to get within bow range, only to be busted by one or two hogs in a particular group. My brother Brad was successful in stalking one that first morning, as was Joe Boyer, but most of the hogs taken that first day were from putting on drives. A couple hunters would take stand in a funnel or around the edge of a pond and wait, while the other hunters would push towards them. Wild hogs are like any other wild game, as in they use the terrain to their advantage. They take the easier paths, use funnels and edges of fields, just like whitetail deer. So read the woods correctly, and put your standers in the spots that look like they have been used, or just look right to you. The drivers need to take it slow, so they don't spook any hogs that might be in the area. A stampeding hog traveling at full speed is fast and dangerous, let alone almost impossible to hit with a bow! We finished the first full day of hunting with 9 hogs, and spent the afternoon skinning and cleaning the animals. After packing most of the meat in coolers and ice to take back to Missouri, we kept out a very small hog and boned it out. Then Jason "the chef" Cain prepared the smoker and set out to smoke some fresh wild pig. That night we all sat down to eat, and I'll tell ya, that was the best smoked pork I've ever had. A lot of people don't realize it, but wild hogs are great tablefare. After a great meal, we all sat around that night and swapped stories, watched videos of past hunts on the ranch (the cabin has a TV/VCR with great tapes of some hunts on the Texas "S" Ranch), and tried to come down from the adrenaline rush from the days hunt. The second day of the hunt was just as awesome! My brother and I went huntin' at daybreak and we stalked up on a group of hogs, and he put a nice hog down. In two days Brad took three hogs over 200 lbs. Not bad, huh! On the other hand, in the same two days, I took two nice hogs, and neither one broke 175 lbs! Oh well! We had a few more hogs taken that morning, and then Merle decided to let the group take a shot at a particularly rowdy boar. The boar weighed about 215 lbs. We nicknamed him "Mad Max". He was what they call a rare blue boar, and he was mean. The hunt would go like this. Merle had a few baying dogs for hogs like "Mad Max". The kill dog was a good lookin' male Pit Bull, and the chase dogs were a couple of Curs. Heck, he even brought his house/front porch dog along. A few of us would handle the dogs, and let them loose after "Mad Max" on Merles command. Brad and Joe videotaped the hunt, and Jason Papek would do the huntin'. By the way, he was going to try to take the hog down with a bowie knife. That's right, knives. No bows. No arrows. Just about a 10" knife. Well when the dogs caught up the the hog, he was headed into about a three acre lake. "Mad Max" took all four dogs into the lake, including Merle, and his friend Jim. Both Jason's were taking stabs at the hogs vitals, and after alot of commotion, and most of us taking a swim in the lake, "Mad Max" finally expired. Merle lost his knife in the water, I ruined my camera (but later saved the film), and some other items were water soaked. It was an amazing hunt from the start. We also got the whole thing on video! I could fill up an entire issue with individual stories from this hunt. This article is just the tip of the iceberg. As a taxidermist, I mounted a few of these hogs, and alot of others from the Texas "S" and other places. If you have a wild hog you want mounted, and preserve the memory of your hunt, check out our website at www.whitetailworks.com , or call WHITETAIL WORKS TAXIDERMY @ (636) 452-3744 or (314) 578-2637 or e-mail at 4mcanallys@netscape.com. To contact the Texas "S" Ranch call (903) 427-2110 or visit their website www.texas-sbowhunting.com written by Matt McAnally | Return Home | Taxidermy Shop | Hunting Photo Gallery | KIDS TRAIL! | Wild Hog Mania! | Fishing Photo Gallery | |
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