Where are they?

Where are the hunting clubs that are overrun with hogs?
Or, heck....even have a healthy population??

I know that Caleb, Bayedup, made a post recently looking to join a Club that would allow him to run his dogs in the 'offseason'. And, I have been searching for years!!!
And, I am not talking about wanting to hunt for free, or a reduced amount....a full membership.
I have decided that they are nearly non-existent!!

We have killed 325 off of our club over the past 27 months. That is shooting and trapping. And by no means have we killed them all but we are dang sure keeping them beat down.

I work some of the clubs that have a lot of hogs. Many simply don't like the dogs on their properties. I work some that allow hog doggers to work their properties right along beside me. Sort of take turns so to speak.

I understand that some people dislike dogs on their property.
However, there are many people who do not mind, also.

Are the Clubs so good that they never have openings?
Or, they are so 'exclusive' that there is just no way to join them?
Or, are there just not many real Hunting Clubs that have problems with hogs?

It just seems odd that some people, our DCNR, State Govt and Federal Govt are all offering financial assistance to people to help with their hog problems. But, they will not take a hunters money to actually hunt and kill them. And, from the numerous posts on the subject, that goes for gun hunters as well as dog hunters!

I am fortunate to have access to some prime private properties!
But, I would like to have a place to do all types of hunting. They are HARD to find!!!

You are correct some don't mind dogs and some do.

I would guess that most are pretty darn exclusive.

If they are any good, there is a waiting list or you can only get in upon invitation.

I would say that "hunters" are their own worst enemy most of the time. Most want to go out and shoot a pig or 3. Landowners and hunting clubs with hog problems want large numbers killed and they want it done without a lot of folks on the property.

Most clubs have a lease contract that forbids them subleasing hunting rights or allowing guests without members being present.

Yep, I agree with all of that!!

You and I are in the same boat, ya know.......

Without access to land with viable hog populations, there is very little we can do!

It also hurts when you are good at what ya do.
It is a lot easier to kill your way out of a spot than advertised!

We had a small group of 7 move in on my FNL's land a few weeks ago. I went one morning and dropped the dogs out behind the camp at the feeder they were hitting. It was not long and they found em....and a coupe hours later, 6 were dead. Dogs killed 1 in a clearcut that I could not get to them in time and I stuck the other 5.
No sign of a hog since!

We set up a trap on our club the day after deer season ended. We have caught 23 hogs in it already. Eight mature sows included. It took about 2 hours to set up the trap. Not bad for time invested.

You are at the mercy of your neighbors there.......

Another case of exclusive rights and restricted access harboring high numbers of hogs.

Agreed. This location is on the very corner of our lease. No doubt we are catching hogs that spend very little time on our club.

I have some new panels that do not require t-posts to be driven into the ground. It sets up in less than an hour. I am going to unleash it onto our club when it dries out some. I know you know a lot about our property since you hunted it before. It is about 7 miles tall and about 3/4 mile wide on average. I am going to go right up through the middle this summer and try to eliminate as many as I can.

Once I do that, I will start on the edges again.

It will make a difference!
Once you get all the scragglers caught, call me and let's take the dogs and catch a couple of those big ones that like to walk the roads after a rain!

I thought you hated hog dogging that property! LOL

I do!!!!

But, my love of catching those big, old, wise hogs is stronger than most allmy other emotions! LOL

I think I have told you before, some of the most enjoyable places I have ever hunted were also trapped hard. They caught most of the sows, shorts and pigs and got them out of the way!

Makes sense.

How many acres do you need to have to turn the dogs loose?

I have caught a bunch and never got off a couple hundred acres.
But, I like to have around 800-1000 acres to be sure not to get off it.

One of my clients built a 750 acre high fence for deer about 6 years ago. He thought it would be a good idea to put 30 barr boars in there for some extra hunting. They killed all but 6 of them and those 6 tear up everything in the pen from feeders to roads. I told him he needs a couple of good dogs in there, but he doesn't want them scaring the deer. I told him those hogs were probably killing a lot of his fawns and he almost changed his mind. Those 6 are extremely hard to get a shot on.

I understand if he does not want dogs I there.....period.

But, I can assure you, I hunt in some of the highest deer densities around and have zero problems with my dogs bothering them. We caught12 or 13 this past Sunday on a place that is loaded with deer. We literally see 25-50 deer every time wehunt there!

$6000-$7000 a year won't get you in one of these so called hog damaged properties. I have offered it numerous times because I like to hunt by myself or with a couple of friends to cut down on traffic. Its not because of a bad rep because I have a good reputation for treating the landowners and adjoining landowners with nothing but respect and always calling before I go so everyone knows that I'm the one hunting. The problem is that these big land owners and clubs don't mind having hogs. It gives them something fun to shoot year round. As far as farmers go it's mostly a front. It's the same as planting a field that you know is going to flood. He will claim twice the seed he really planted, the water or hogs will move in, and the government will pay him for it. If he really wanted to make a crop to sell he would use the so called money lost and build a fence around the field or he wouldn't plant a field that has consistently flooded year after year. It's all a big SCAM.

I am sure beginning to believe it!

Most people want the hogs 'controlled'.

But, I don't think near as many want them GONE as people think. They enjoy hunting them.

Nothing wrong with that, though.
It just contradicts the message spread by many!

It has become popular for people who have never even seen a wild hog in person to repeat what they have read in magazines or saw on a tv show.

Now, THAT is an absolute FACT!!!!

How many times have you seen "Trophy BOAR Hunting" advertised! Those folks don't shoot sows...don't kill the baby boar makers!

I'm surprised you cant find something to get in around Camden/Miller's Ferry. Most of that land is private property as well, so shouldn't be restrictions on dogs unless landowners just refuse it.

I hunted with a buddy at his club this year in in Pine Hill and they absolutely hate hogs. I believe Barry traps on this club as well. I killed 2 sows the first afternoon and they had 5 piglets with them.

One thing puzzles me. Why would anyone pay big money(or little money for that matter)to join a club that has hogs on the property? The presence of hogs ruins all other hunting. No deer, no turkeys, no small game, no food, nothing but a barren wasteland once the hogs show up.

I all but stopped watching the so called "Hog Control" shows. They talk the talk but then turn around and shoot a bunch of big boars or they target boars only.

I agree about the 'Talk the Talk' part!!!

The Shame Game propaganda has made people refuse to admit they simply ENJOY hunting hogs. Yes, they kill them.....some of them even kill a bunch of them! But, at the end of the day, they really do not want all of them gone. They would then not have them to hunt!

As for me, I readily admit that I LOVE to hunt them!!!

I love to kill them as well. But, I can honestly say I would be a happy man if they were all gone from this earth. I could easily find something else to hunt or I could fish.

I enjoy other hobbies other than chasing a nasty hog around, but I will ground check one if I get a shot at it. Y'all have fun and be safe.

For me, it is more about the Sport and the dogs than anything else.
I just happen to be good at it, have a way with dogs and catch/kill a bunch of hogs.
The fact that there are already other animals and fish available kinda shows a preference towards the enjoyment of specifically targeting hogs.
I just enjoy it!

Let me fix that for you. LOL

Of course, I am hell on coyotes, beavers, and coons as well. LOL

Every property I have ever set foot on that had a huntable population of hogs had a very high number of deer. Turkeys numbers didnt seem to be affected either.

The things that you have seen and experienced have no bearing on this subject. Read any article or ask any expert and they will support my claim.

My previous post was in response to tfd1224, not Hogwild.

Not only this....but most of the time the property has THE most premier hunting, though grossly exclusive, in the entire area!
The fact that the property has a big population of hogs has almost NO bearing on anyone except that property's immediate neighbors. Many people drive right by these places on a regular basis and have no idea that there are even hogs there!!!

But, what do I know?
I have only been hunting them about 30+ yrs.......
I don't get all those fancy magazines and news articles detailing the mass destruction of the State by feral hogs!

I am working several properties that have seen dramatic drops in deer and turkey numbers over the past few years. The hog population exploded on these properties over the same period.

So not all properties with lots of hogs are not near the Nirvana ya'll claim they are.

Are they better than the 'average' surrounding properties?
Because the deer and turkeys have declined all over South AL and we both know that there is WAY more land without hogs here than with.
Maybe the hogs are just filling a void?

Most of these properties have seen the turkey populations drop hard. Not as much for the deer.

Not saying the hogs are solely responsible at all. No doubt the other predators play a large role as well.

We have our best turkey crop in our 3 years on our club in Wilcox. But, that was after hammering the hogs, coyotes, and coons.

Most all of the places that I frequent in SW AL, with and without hogs, have seen a marked decline in the turkey population.
I am not making a blanket statement that hogs have no impact on turkeys, I honestly do not know!!!
But, there is some kind of problem, that I am sure has a complexity of causes, that is plaguing the turkeys.

I've been saying the same thing for 20 years Danny, but "the experts" in their offices say different.

I think besides predators and habitat loss, another thing that affects turkeys, quail, and rabbits is fire ants. They're EVERYWHERE! Sit down in the yard during the summer, and you won't be there a couple minutes before ants find you. A young bird that thinks an ant bed might be a good place for a dust bath...he's done inside of thirty seconds or so.

DoA, fire ants kill a lot of small fawns each year also. The fawns survival technique is to lay still and the ants will swarm it.

Once bitten the ants give off an odor other ants use to find and attack the fawn.

I found a small fawn one time near a road that hollered out as I drove by. She was covered with fire ants. I cleaned all off her and set her down across the road, came back two hours later and she was covered again. Cleaned her and moved her across a closeby creek...two hours later I just picked her up as she was covered again. She would of died if left out because the smell of the bites attracted any fire ants nearby.

Obviously not. Why would real world experience overrule what some dude writes in a magazine. The experts also say you can't wear polyester blend pants or contact lenses while fighting structure fires but I've been in well over a hundred and never had my pants or my contacts melt to my body or my eyeballs.

Danny,

I do believe there is something else in play as far as turkeys go. It is not all hogs and predators.

Was there anything conclusive about the spreading of chicken litter on fields possibly carrying diseases that turkey poults are being killed with?

I believe that in the areas I have lived and hunted in west central Al the problem is habitat destruction by clearcutting HUGE areas of hardwoods, esp river bottomland.

When I lived in Hale and Greene counties I'll bet there were more than 10,000 acres of river bottom land cut in Hale Co along the river. Different landowners and different years, but damn near 10,000 contiguous acres along the river over maybe five years. You cannot tell me that did not negatively impact turkeys in that vast area. I know it did. and there were no hogs in those areas either.

I think that habitat has played a huge part of the decline also.
Along with the increase in predators due to the collapse of the fur market.
Fire ants, more birds of prey, increased chemical application to the land, etc.

Complex to say the least!