Hunting & Fishing Kill 'em all?

[hlee]

I started to post this in another thread, but thought better of pissing in another's thread.

We all know that feral pigs are a problem in many of the places they inhabit. In others they are regulated as game species, with little environmental impact (CA, for example). Were they are pests, they should be treated as such. That being said, as hunters the way we comport ourselves (especially publicly, but even while in camp and afield) can- and does- have implications on the future viability of the sport we all enjoy. Wanton disregard and disrespect for the game we hunt tarnishes the public image we should instead be taking great lengths to polish and protect. I've read that ~10% of the American population are hunters and ~10% are very much opposed to hunting. The remaining 80% has no strong opinion either way on the subject. (Lies, damn lies, and statistics- I know) A responsible and respectful image is quite literally all that keeps our sport from going away for ever. Fox hunting didn't die because hunters stopped being interested in foxes. Fox hunting lost public support (or rather, lost public apathy) and was banned. Anyway, I'm stepping off of my soapbox now. Here is what I was going to post...

I like to hunt just as much as the next guy, but carelessly shooting and wounding several animals is a bit idiotic and disgusting in my book. Bragging about it is even worse. I'd rather have taken a single hog with a well placed head-shot than 12 like this.

I'm with SquidHC on this.

By killing all 12 of them he made the ecosystem a better place for deer, turkey, and a number of other species of animals that are threatened by wild pigs.

Yes kill them all for the deer and turkeys. There is no way that pigs can coexist with them...

These videos are from my game camera. While the date is F'ed for reasons that I cannot explain, this video was taken on March 30, 2013...
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/vzfMAI0FPjc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

This was taken the night before (late evening of March 29 or early morning of March 30)...
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/FLeFBvPOqJY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Of course, pigs will make a property completely useless for cattle grazing (early morning of March 30)...
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Kpx48HvxiC8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Before the pig showed up and hung out for a couple of hours, these guys were there for a couple of hours of their own...
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/3H1W1q19AlU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

And before the racoons and rabbit showed this young buck made an appearance late in the evening of March 29.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/2uTjEB6q1BA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

These guys showed up a month ago, and I have a few videos showing that they are growing, but those are not uploaded...
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/7UxG-_K2r8Y" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

The big pig is living on borrowed time. However, except for their presence on the game camera you would be hard pressed to find evidence of (distruction from) the pig herd on the property we hunt.

 

[Dog&Jeep]

Actually, they're a problem in a lot of California as well. Even the bunny huggers out here are begining to acknowledge the problem.

That said, I take your point and agree. How we conduct ourselves in the field is worth some carefull consideration.

The biggest problem is my area is that there are so many safe-havens where pigs can't be shot/trapped/etc. that we'll never be rid of them, let alone make a serious dent in their population.

At least they taste good.

 

[50calibercruiser]

This is not first time and God knows not the last time this discussion will take place. My stance, they are an invasive, destructive, disease riddled plague upon the ecosystem. They should not be treated any different than ants in your kitchen. If Raid made a hog spray, I would use it and dump their bodies in a ditch. If I had and could feed a minigun I would spray lead at them with reckless abandon. I intentionally wound them so as to not have to pick them up. I build traps and shoot them like fish in a barrel.

This is not about hunting or ethics. It's about complete and total eradication.

 

[Southbreeze]

hlee quote Yes kill them all for the deer and turkeys. There is no way that pigs can coexist with them...

Are you retarded dood? There are no natural enemies, they carry shit that can jump to and kill your kids (i.e. anyone susceptible to West Nile virus is also at risk too) They eat everything in site. They are worse than rabbits, they a viable reproducers at 5-6 months of age; can drop two to three litters a year and what 6-12 pigs per dropping. So no, nothing can coexist with feral hogs. They are four legged locusts, they eat the baby deer when the run across them, they eat any bird eggs they come into contact with and if the birds aint flying they'll eat them too, not mention decimating the rabbit population by eating the young.

Just because you live in world bambi and thumper still coexist in harmony, get ready dood yo shit fittin' to get turned upside down. When you wake up and realize there's a problem.....it's too late.

Is it so hard to imagine that it could be worse somewhere else? When they're fucking up your Farm & critters, lets see how you feel. You sit in your little neighborhood and have your little lease out in the country with a game cam.....man, you are davy crockett.

Come to my little house and see what these NON-Indigenous species is doing. Until then, continue lay & commune in with your beloved hogs.......

Breeze

While I'm on this piss ripper. How do you feel about DDT? It made the bird eggshells thin. we bettter stop using it.....we had fucking malaria beat around the world. Google, malaria deaths each year, then google children deaths from malarial complications. So we saved the birds to kill the kids, Sorry Bobo, fuck the birds, I'll take the kids every time. So think outside your perfect little box every once in while.

 

[swagbrdr]

Invite me out. I'll help deal with the pig problem...

 

[Southbreeze]

This is not first time and God knows not the last time this discussion will take place. My stance, they are an invasive, destructive, disease riddled plague upon the ecosystem. They should not be treated any different than ants in your kitchen. If Raid made a hog spray, I would use it and dump their bodies in a ditch. If I had and could feed a minigun I would spray lead at them with reckless abandon. I intentionally wound them so as to not have to pick them up. I build traps and shoot them like fish in a barrel.

This is not about hunting or ethics. It's about complete and total eradication.

I like it...hog spray! Big50 how about a big ass magnifying glass? Think they'd pop like popcorn? Or the Archimedes Death Ray with all the mirrors and stuff?

Breeze

You have to admit, It is kinda handy they taste so good. A couple gotta go in da freeza!

 

[RonA]

I wish we had more of them in Northern CA. Lots of turkeys and some deer, but very few pigs for the most part.

 

[hlee]

It is always interesting to see what part of a post really fires people up. In my initial post I concede that feral pigs can be environmentally problematic.

We all know that feral pigs are a problem in many of the places they inhabit.

And, I further stated that they should be treated as the pest that they are, where they are a pest.

Were they are pests, they should be treated as such.

However, the main thrust of this thread is not about pigs, it is about hunting- more specifically how we as hunters project ourselves to the larger population. Let us not forget that there is a ideological battle going on now that has been waged in this country since it's inception. "They" want to ban [this], "they" want to take [that] away. It is lucky for "us" that for the most part- and regardless of the [this] or [that]- "they" represent a small percentage of the larger population. Recall my earlier statistic of...

~10% are very much opposed to hunting.

Unfortunately for us, "we" also a minority population. It is that group in the middle- the sons of dads that hunted but never got into it, the daughters that eat meat but are grossed out by blood, the neighbors that accept the offered backstrap after the season but are quite content to buy food from the store- it is by the leave of these people that we retain the ability to hunt. Let us not forget that this guy would gladly have us turn in all of our firearms...

And, it is worth noting that many in the shooting community see hunters as this guy...

Unfortunately, more and more the hunting community is being portrayed as this guy...

The antics displayed by those engaged in pig extermination generally put hunters in the worst possible light. Intentionally wounding animals so that you don't have to pick them up is abhorrent. Not only are you causing undue pain to an animal- the antitheses of good hunting ethics of swift clean kills- but you are also shoveling your problem on someone else. You might as well be saying "I throw all my garbage in my neighbor's pool. That way I don't have to pick it up..." This is exactly the sort of stuff that a vocal majority will latch onto, and the (up to now) silent majority will listen to, when they are bringing the ban hammer down on our sport.

Exterminators are professionals...
[ing]http://media-cache-ec6.pinterest.com/avatars/orkin-97_600.jpg[/img]

If you are going to "go Rambo" on your pig problem, please follow the three S's rule (Especially the last S)- any hunter from Cali will know what I am talking about. Speaking of Cali- did you know that mountain lions are endangered in California? Yep, their population is growing across their expanding range in North America, but they are endangered in Cali. And, until they were listed hunters harvested between 300 and 400 animals annually. Today it is very much illegal for a hunter to shoot a mountain lion, however, 300 to 400 animals are still harvested annually- legally. The vocal minority got a proposition to declare mountain lions endangered on the ballot and the silent majority stood up and said "Yes, protect this species" and mountain lion hunting was banned in California. Now the Department of Fish and Game shoots the animals to keep their population in check.

As for me, I don't consider myself a "Fudd" and I am surely no "Rambo." I'm just a guy that fills his freezer every year with the spoils that nature provides, enjoys every minute outdoors, and cares passionately about our sport of hunting. I'm this guy...

And, with any luck I'm a guy that this one can emulate...

 

[50calibercruiser]

hlee: blah blah blah...

That's nice



Edit:
I wish my neighbor had a pool so I could throw my trash in it. I really don't like them.

 

[Southbreeze]

I'll give you that you did show some maturity go another thread......Thank you for lessons in Piousness and enjoy your view from your ivory tower.

This isn't hunting, it's killing.

That youngin' in your pix, how would you feel if he picked up Brucelosis from that deer he's handling without gloves? the bug the that deer caught from the pigs in your above photo pissing in his water supply. You know the invasive species. Then how would you feel? Take a blood borne pathogen course sometime soon before you accidentally contract a bug and leave your little hunter with without a Papa. Real world shit dude.

Be noble great hunter, somewhere else.

 

[NorthWinds]

I think what he's trying to say is be responsible. I could personally never shoot an animal or spray into a group of animals with the intention/chance of wounding them. If you want to, I will never codone it, but I'm not going to pretend I can tell you how to live your life. With that said, fueling the oppositions fire by bragging about this sort of thing makes ALL hunters look bad (even as some stated they are doing this to kill not "hunt", and that's okay) because the opposition doesn't see that distinction. Pictures that people find disturbing wind up on the wrong computer and suddenly some soccer mom with nothing better to do tries to ban hunting of any sort because it goes against her "morals". You don't feed your enemy ammunition in a gunfight. Please be smart out there guys.

 

[jcfd2201]

The big pig is living on borrowed time. However, except for their presence on the game camera you would be hard pressed to find evidence of (distruction from) the pig herd on the property we hunt.

I would say you are not looking in the right spots if you haven't seen any destruction!

I am of the "kill them all" party myself. They are in fact a disease carrying, destructive, prolific, pest. There is a reason even pig farms have signs that read "Disease control area" and employees are required to shower before going from one barn to another or home for the day. They can destroy a water supply in a single day and a field in a matter of hours.

I do agree that how we conduct ourselves in the eye of the public, both the non hunters and even the environuts, is importnant. While I have no problem shooting as many hogs as possible without concern of shot placement I would not video tape it to post on a forum, youtube, or social media site where it can be viewed by the general public.

 

[hlee]

There are some areas where you can see the effects of rooting. Hogs rooted up about an acre of pasture right in front of our cabin last year. It looked like someone took a root plow to the area. The effects of that rooting can be seen this year. That area is greener and has thicker grass than any other spot on the property. I admit that our place is somewhat unusual for a pig infestation. It is ranch land- not crop land- and it is in the middle of the "post oak savana." As such, there is a TON of annual mast for wildlife to eat. Last year we were growing corn under our game feeders because there were so many acorns on the ground (and the deer weren't visiting the feeders). I raised the fence panel specifically to let the hogs in to my pen so that they could clean up the corn. The other hunters are praying for drought to put a dent in the acorn crop (at least half-seriously)...

In this area the pigs have been part of the ecosystem so long- with apparently limited impact- that the local highschool mascot is a hog.

But, were they are a pest, treat them like a pest...

And, in case anyone is wondering...
The 3 Ss... (S)hoot, (S)hovel, (S)hut up.

 

[ArmaHeavy]

When the American public sees a video of of a half eaten corpse of a deer fawn, from wild pigs no less, like I witnessed, then I'm sure they will understand our most uncompromising of positions, and stop pretending like the world is sunshine, and talking Disney animals.

 

[ArmaHeavy]

This is not first time and God knows not the last time this discussion will take place. My stance, they are an invasive, destructive, disease riddled plague upon the ecosystem. They should not be treated any different than ants in your kitchen. If Raid made a hog spray, I would use it and dump their bodies in a ditch. If I had and could feed a minigun I would spray lead at them with reckless abandon. I intentionally wound them so as to not have to pick them up. I build traps and shoot them like fish in a barrel.

This is not about hunting or ethics. It's about complete and total eradication.

That's it? That's all you can think of?

What about mortars? artillery? Claymores?

If helicopters are legal to hunt pigs with, then AC-130s are too.

I would be more than willing to design a civilian prop job to accommodation the same concept of hardware for an AC-130. Thermals, plus ballistics correcting software, all pulled together into one sweet computerized matrix.

Also if anyone wants to know, I can kill any hog, anywhere, anytime, and I'd do it for free if I didn't need the money. The above is just a sample of my train of thought.

 

[jcfd2201]

That's it? That's all you can think of?

What about mortars? artillery? Claymores?

If helicopters are legal to hunt pigs with, then AC-130s are too.

I would be more than willing to design a civilian prop job to accommodation the same concept of hardware for an AC-130. Thermals, plus ballistics correcting software, all pulled together into one sweet computerized matrix.

Also if anyone wants to know, I can kill any hog, anywhere, anytime, and I'd do it for free if I didn't need the money. The above is just a sample of my train of thought.

Oh how I like how you think Arma!!!

 

[BERTMAN77MK2]

+1 for ArmaHeavy you just gotta live where the hogs are and witness the first hand destruction of property and wildlife to really know what you're talking about----
they are truly out-of-control

 

[Southbreeze]

I'm liking that thought pattern there Arma-honky! PUFF the magic dragon style!!! Shit how bout a chain gun? find an old b29 or something!

Those little hsits are cannibals as well, as I was stinger tapping earholes in a pen, the little turds were busy slurping the blood coming out of their bretheren's heads.

Ever since I watched that nighttime hog control at JAGER PRO, I started me a little Thermal Sight piggy pank. I'm going to go thermal. Just gotta stop buying all the other shit long enough to get something!

 

[50calibercruiser]

That's it? That's all you can think of?

What about mortars? artillery? Claymores?

If helicopters are legal to hunt pigs with, then AC-130s are too.

I would be more than willing to design a civilian prop job to accommodation the same concept of hardware for an AC-130. Thermals, plus ballistics correcting software, all pulled together into one sweet computerized matrix.

Also if anyone wants to know, I can kill any hog, anywhere, anytime, and I'd do it for free if I didn't need the money. The above is just a sample of my train of thought.

I don't feel comfortable talking about too much more.

Pigs in a trap are like a fucking pinball machine

pigs in trap - YouTube

 

[Jerrrrstanley]

Hlee, do you use mouse traps or rat poison? They can injure and cause undo pain. Or do you shoot the mice in the head for a quick clean kill?I don't agree with leaving hogs laying in a ditch to rot either. I know it can be aggravating any time consuming picking them all up but someone could use the food.
I once made a bad shot on a doe and left her overnight. The next morning both of her back hams were gone thanks to coyotes. I was gonna a leave her laying but I checked her in and the first person I came across in town wanted her. The look on his face made it worth all my effort. Even if he didn't need it he was very appreciative of it.