Do I need to get a license to hunt invasive pigs? Also, does the silly magazine capacity limit apply? Planning to use my LR-308 on em.

We have invasive pigs? where.......I want bacon

http://www.huntwildpig.com/state-specifics/oregon-pig-hunting/
Hmm

I would love to get an ARF hog hunt going!

I'd be down for that

I notice it says it's illegal to charge for hog hunting in Oregon. I'm guessing because if people profited theyd promote the reproduction of the pigs, rather than exterminating them? I've known about there being hogs in Oregon for a while. Personally, I wish they would catch on and multiply. I grew up on California's Central coast and there were pigs every where and a guy who had a few acres could make a living doing guided hunts. 20 years ago it cost $300 plus for 1 hog. There was a whole industry around hog hunting. Wealthy people from southern California would come up for a hunt and stay in motels, eat at restaurants, use local meat cutters and taxidermists...
I think it'd be the best thing to happen to Oregon's economy in a while.

Thanks! Looks like I'll need the license.

And no night hunting.

I'm OK with that Gunny, no NV here. :)

I could not disagree with you more.

You are 100% wrong on this, feral hogs are one of the worst things that can happen to an ecosystem.

How in the hell is hog hunting going to help the economy? Have you seen the damage they do to the land and game species?

Sorry for such a strong response, but that is a load of crap.

I grew up on the CA Central coast as well and am 100% in agreement with you.  They are vermin.

I would be as well.

Wow...dogs and bait are OK...understand why but I thought that was voted a no-no back in the 90's early 00's?

Looks like fun, have a friend who has done it...Gary Lewis Outdoor Adventure

The article:
Feral Swine Hunting in Oregon

Feral swine are listed as one of the 100 most dangerous invasive species in Oregon. According to Rick Boatner, ODFW's invasive species wildlife integrity coordinator, Oregon is at a crossroads relative to this animal classed as invasive predator.

"There are two main populations of feral swine that we know of. One along the California border and another in central Oregon, a little south of Madras, north up to Maupin and east to Condon and back down roughly to the Prineville area."

Boatner thinks it may be hard to eradicate pigs in southern Oregon. They come in from California, a state that boasts between 200,000 and 500,000 animals. They gave up trying to control them long ago.

"Now, California has pigs in every county but one. In the 1950s they had about 5,000 pigs in eight counties. We are at the spot they were in the '50s. It's a pivotal point and we can go either way right now."

Boatner is reluctant to estimate the number of wild hogs. "It's hard to get estimates on them because they go nocturnal and they're so good at hiding and they don't take pressure."
To keep track of the animals and find out where they go, a few pigs are radio-collared.

"One pig with a collar on it heard us start our ATVs and ran eleven miles. Another pig we have collared, her home range is 10,000 acres."

"Hunters by themselves can't shoot enough to make a difference," Boatner said. But baiting is legal and dogs are legal.

Hunters can help. In fact, the Oregon Hunters Association has provided money for trail cameras and trapping programs and other efforts. OHA recently awarded $3,060 to ODFW to provide traps and technical assistance to assist in removing feral swine from properties in Wasco, Jefferson, Sherman and nearby counties.

ODFW is taking a multi-pronged approach – monitoring, trapping (currently on five properties in central Oregon), aerial shooting and sport hunting.

One of the best tools is a rifle in the hands of a good shot.

"I would go with a 30-30, 30-06, 308 or 270. You want to use your deer gun. They will take a lot of lead and shot placement is critical on pigs. People can get hurt if they go after wounded pig."

"They are tearing up the riparian zones big time," Boatner said. "That affects the forage for deer, elk and antelope which reduces the carrying capacity of the land, and also promotes invasive weed growth. So far we haven't found any, but pigs carry 35 known diseases, thirteen of which can be transmitted to humans."

They eat everything from acorns to alfalfa, to rattlesnakes and bird's eggs. And they multiply. Starting at six months old, a sow can produce piglets at the rate of two litters per year.
"If hunters see damage or see pigs, I would like to have that information," Boatner said. He can be reached at [email protected]. "If hunters want me to give them a place to hunt, I can't help them though. And I used to keep a list, but it ran to over a thousand names."

"Most of the pigs we know of are on private property and right now we have no landowners seeking assistance from the public, but we are running into some trespass issues." The animals move on and off of the BLM land and some hunters have connected by being in the right place at the right time.

One place where hunters might find pigs on public land is in central Oregon.

"We believe there are populations in the northwest Ochoco National Forest, northwest of Prineville and southeast of Ashwood," Boatner said.

Landowners are obligated to keep watch.

"If a landowner or manager knows there are pigs on the property they are required by law to contact ODFW and start a removal plan. If we have funds, we loan traps out and implement other tools," Boatner said.

Too many Oregon oinkers have made the jump from farm to feral. Call him swine, wild pig, predator or pulled pork, he is a cagey quarry. But he is out there. You can hunt him year-round and there is no limit.

http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_1_5/1927932_5_pigs__6_seconds_with_bolt_action_.html

"We believe there are populations in the northwest Ochoco National Forest, northwest of Prineville and southeast of Ashwood," Boatner said. 


What's it like up in there?  Has anybody hunted in there?  Any advice, info?   Ive never hunted hogs, what are the odds you'd spot one if you hike in for a day or two ?

we saw pigs on the north side of the John Day river, near mule shoe camp/rest stop.

Yeah, in TX right now they are supremely destructive, with estimates of them causing $50m in damage to the agriculture industry there annually.  Sure, in the post-Obama era $50m doesn't sound like much when the federal budget and deficit are orders of magnitude higher, but spread that $50m out among a couple hundred farmers who have a feral swine problem.  When you're lucky if your annual profit has two digits before the comma, your share of that $50m is enough to put you under after a year or three.  It's no joke.  


That being said, YouTube videos of guys driving around at night on a side-by-side and killing them by the score (search YouTube for  "Insane Feral Hog Eradication Footage - 70 Hogs Down in One Night
' ) or guys leaning out of a helicopter to shoot fleeing pigs with an AR like they're going in hot over Da Nang in the late-60's has its appeal, I won't lie.  I'm just not willing to trade some guys in Central Oregon working their asses off for the off chance that I might make it over there some day to kill a dozen pigs in a weekend.  I say that if they can control them using any means possible before we wind up with six-digit populations, they should do it RFN.

There are lots of YouTube videos of people blowing hogs up with tannerite. Not sure why, I want the bacon!

The tannerite videos are disgusting. I want 'em dead but there's no reason for them to suffer like that.



Thanks for the tip!

There are not many out there on public lands. They seem to prefer the private land (crops for foraging, etc)


I have a customer with a couple of thousand acres near the Ochoco Ranger Station.

I was skunked on my elk hunt with him two years ago, but we killed a couple of really fat boars. He says he knows they are there (damage) but rarely sees them.

Sausage was made!

They are categorized as “Predatory Animals” not Game Mammals.

So just like hunting coyotes.  You need a license but there is not really other laws.  And if you're on private property, you don't even need a license.

http://www.dfw.state.or.us/resources/hunting/small_game/