For the past several years ive known that MDC wanted people to shoot feral hogs if they came across them.....I have never seen one in MO.  And then with the policy change last year i "heard" that MDC wanted people to not shoot them because it interfered with their trapping attempts.  Fast forward to this last week.  I got the MO Conservation Magazine and read the article regarding piggies.  They made no mention or claim that shooting them interfered with trapping.....rather.....that being able to shoot them encourages MO residents to artificially spread the population for more hunting opportunities.  So what is it........are we ruining their professional attempts to control the population, or are we not trusted to keep from spreading them for hunting?

That is what I originally believed......just wondered why their recent publication omitted that info and just blamed Dewayne from the sticks for capturing them and realeasing them elsware to shoot.

Because the MDC is as screwed up as a soup sandwich.

Which is a shame, because they were once something worth being proud of.

In my experience, hunting has no effect on what hogs do.  Hogs do what they want to do, when they want to do it.  About 11 years ago, a man I knew had a 800-acre farm next to the Big Piney River and he had a serious hog problem.  My son and I hunted them hard for three years before they decided to move on.

No money to be made if we hunt them. They are considered an exotic species so they can’t sell tags. They can stilll be hunted on private property.

Interesting that MDC baits with corn.  Pigs like corn.  Deer like corn.  How do they keep the CWD infected deer from eating the corn?
Don't hunt within a mile of one of their bait piles.  Get accused of hunting over bait.

Is it still ok to hunt feral hogs on national forest land?

"Releasing hogs is illegal. The take of feral hogs is prohibited on conservation areas and other lands owned, leased, or managed by the Conservation Department. It is also illegal to transport hogs without the proper paperwork and illegal to hold them in a pen without a permit, proper fencing and paperwork."

"Hunting is an effective tool for managing populations of wildlife. However, feral hogs are not wildlife and the Department should not manage them, the goal is to eliminate them. MDC asks that the public report feral hogs instead of shooting them. When hunters shoot feral hogs, it complicates efforts to remove these pests. Hogs are social animals that travel in groups called sounders. Shooting one or two hogs scatters the sounder and makes trapping efforts aimed at catching the entire group at once more difficult, because hogs become trap-shy and more wary of baited sites. With their high reproductive rate, removing one or two hogs does not help to reduce populations. Feral hog hunting also creates incentive for illegal releases. Anyone who observes a feral hog or damage caused by feral hogs should report it to the Conservation Department rather than shooting the animal so we can work together towards elimination."

All that aside, and my hunting has been largely be limited to Lawrence and St. Clair County, I have never seen one in MO.

Washington and Iron counties have hogs with some regularity.

MDC don't want us to shoot the hogs since that makes them harder to trap so they say  but they and the Mark Twain National Forest are going to shoot them from the air in a few places.

https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/mtnf/news-events/?cid=FSEPRD604794

They should line up 20 guys with AR's and push the hogs to them with the helicopter.   Then BBQ later that night

Interesting video. But how many wide open areas like that will be in the wilderness areas that have been selected for eradication?

Reynolds, and Shannon counties are hit hard with them.  I've had them on my property destroying my pasture.  I have game camera pictures but have yet to see one myself.  I do always carry a rifle when on the property just because of the hogs..... I will dispose of them all if given the opportunity.

Texas County has a large number of feral hogs, especially along the Big Piney River.  Almost all of the hogs I have killed were in fields next to that river

www.sos.mo.gov/adrules/csr/current/3csr/3CSR.ASP

Chapter 7...
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3 CSR 10-7.410 Hunting Methods

(1) Wildlife may be hunted and taken only in accordance with the following:

[...]
(G) Firearms. Firearms may be used to take wildlife (except beaver, mink, muskrat, river otter, turtles, and fish) during the open seasons, with the following limitations: For hunting game birds (except the crow), pistols, revolvers, and rifles may not be used. Except for hunting deer, any shotgun having a capacity of more than three (3) shells must have the magazine cut off or plugged with a device incapable of removal through the loading end, so as to reduce the capacity to not more than three (3) shells in magazine and chamber combined. Fully automatic firearms are prohibited;

(H) Special Firearms Provision. During the November portion and the antlerless portion of the firearms deer season in counties open to deer hunting, other wildlife may be hunted and feral hogs may be taken only with a pistol, revolver, or rifle firing a rimfire cartridge .22 caliber or smaller or a shotgun and shot not larger than No. 4, except that waterfowl hunters, trappers, landowners on their land, or lessees on land upon which they reside may use other methods as specified in subsection (1)(G) of this rule;

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3 CSR 10-7.433 Deer: Firearms Hunting Season
[...]
(4) Feral hogs may be taken in any number during the firearms deer hunting season as follows:

(A) Hunters must possess a valid small game hunting or unfilled firearms deer hunting permit and abide by the methods of pursuit allowed for deer as well as any other restrictions that may apply on specific public areas;

(B) During the November portion statewide and the antlerless portion in open counties

1. Firearms deer permittees may only use methods allowed for deer;

2. Small game permittees may only use pistol, revolver, or rifle firing a .22 caliber or smaller rimfire cartridge, or a shotgun with shot not larger than No. 4; and

3. Dogs may not be used;

(C) During the youth and alternative methods portions

1. Deer permittees may only use methods allowed for deer; and

2. Small game permittees may only use methods allowed for small game;

(D) Resident landowners and lessees on qualifying land are not required to have any permit and may use any method to take feral hogs throughout the year.

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3 CSR 10-7.455 Turkeys: Seasons, Methods, Limits
[...]
(7) Feral hogs may be taken in any number during the spring firearms turkey season and youth spring season only by the holder of a valid unused turkey hunting permit and only by methods and times prescribed for taking turkeys. During the fall firearms turkey season, feral hogs may be taken only by the holder of a valid, unused turkey hunting permit or a small game hunting permit and only by methods prescribed in Chapter 7 for taking wildlife and without the use of bait. Other restrictions may apply on public lands. Resident landowners or lessees as defined in this Code may take feral hogs on their own property at any time, by any method, and without permit.

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103 hogs killed by the aerial hunt. Suppose this was just a drop in a bucket of the total population?

https://www.columbiamissourian.com/news/state_news/roundup-from-the-sky-kills-feral-hogs-in-missouri/article_d8c9249c-0679-5999-97b7-d0dc8954a7bc.html

That's not a bad take I guess...wonder how much money was spent on that hunt?  That article said they shoot them and leave them.  Almost 8k hogs shot/captured this year on public/private lands.  I wonder what type of rifle they used or if they used something belt feed?  Do we have a member that works for MDC?

Well, I sure wouldn't mind going on a hog hunt if anyone has a place to go.

I remember reading that an AR-10 in 308 was being used for helicopter work by MDC.

A letter to the editor in todays Post Disgrace suggests instead of spending huge sums on helicopters and trapping, offer hunters a bounty.
I like that idea.

Theres half a dozen guys working for the state shooting them at night in the Glade Top area.