Dangers of Hog Hunting

April 1, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Outdoor Life receives information about injured hunters for their “This Happened To Me” series. Over the years, bears are #1, deer, elk, moose are #2, and pigs and mountain lions tie for #3 in terms of frequency of injured hunters. There are far fewer pig hunters than deer/elk/moose hunters, so I suspect the % of hunters injured by their quarry is far higher for the pig hunters. This year alone in Colorado at least 3 hunters were injured by bears.

 

A few years back a friend of mine was attacked ny an elk while bow hunting. He was able to kill the elk before getting seriously hurt, although it was close. Your statement that you’re “a hunter that realizes what a fallacy this dangerous hunting shit is” indicates a high level of ignorance of the facts. We raised pigs, both sets of grandparents raised pigs, my father-in-law raised pigs, and everybody else around us raised pigs. Several of the farmers and more than one dog was injured by them. Trust me, I know a bunch about pigs.

 

Have shot several domestics with a 16 gauge shotgun at extreme close range (5 feet or less, muzzle to pig). One of them, after being shot right between the eyes, still nearly took my buddy’s leg off. This whole thread, which you responded to, was about a pig hunter who lost an ear, a testicle and, IIRC, other body parts. Ask him if pig hunting is dangerous. Dad just sent me an article out of Forbes, about boar hunting in Hungary (“High on the Hog”, pages 78-83, don’t know the issue except that it is recent). The article quotes the guide talking about how dangerous boar hunting can be.

 

The family of one of my co-workers owns a vineyard in California. They allow guided pig hunting and the guides lose dogs on an all to frequent basis. For you to suggest pig hunting isn’t dangerous is like suggesting hunting Cape Buffalo isn’t dangerous. Not every Cape Buffalo hunter is killed or injured, but anyone with an open mind knows hunting Cape Buffalo can be quite dangerous. Same with pigs. Both animals can and do injure quite a few hunters. BTW, the difference between a domestic pig and a feral pig is often only the fence that separates them.,

 

I’ve seen many, many hog hunting shots on the various hunting TV shows. Enough to know that the danger of hunting hogs is a part of what makes it so much fun. If they were out snipping the pigs at 300 yards, it might still be fun, but it certainly would not be like any hog hunting *I’ve* ever seen or heard about. The *vast* majority of hog hunters I know do so on the ground at short range (either with a handgun or bow). Yet others do it by “pig sticking”, ie. using a knife or spear. Perhaps you think that doing this is not “responsible”? (note: answer this question carefully)

 

In another message, your argument seems to stem from the definition of the word “dangerous”. Is hog hunting a life-threatening type of danger (ala hunting for cape buffalo)? Almost never. Can it be the type of danger that can cause physical harm, even to the point of being serious? From what I’ve seen, certainly. Thus to deny that hunting hogs is not dangerous is more than just simple ignorance (defined: missing some facts); it is foolish (defined: ignoring known facts).

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Hunting on a private land

April 1, 2012 By Leave a Comment

You wishing to hunt on private land or a hunting lease is you wanting to legally trespass on the land in question. The landowner is not selling anything but the right to trespass on the land under his(her) control. In effect you are paying a trespass fee, nothing more. The issue of the landowner owning or selling game or hunting rights is moot. The landowner does not own the game or hunting rights, just the land.

 

All of the arguments in favor of lease hunting are based on the idea that the l andowner owns the game on his land. If that’s true, are you prepared to argue that when it moves off his land it’s no longer his? Whose is it then? The next landowner’s? Our Texas correspondent says Texas law asserts the deer belongs to the state, and he’s correct. If that’s the law, how can the landowner own i t? If he doesn’t own it, how can he legally sell it?

 

The idea that TP&W suppor ts lease hunting is ludicrous; they don’t actively oppose it because it’s so lu cratuve to so many people that they would instantly lose their authority and fu nding if they argued against it. They are an arm of the state government, and the Texas government isn’t about to make enemies of really rich and powerful l andowners. TP&W (and in other states, the equivalent agencies) keep their mout hs shut because they know what will happen if they don’t. Sure, there are hunting leases in other states, and the spread of them is evide nce that the practice, because it means income, is going to continue to be popu lar.

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High power hunting rifle bullets

April 1, 2012 By Leave a Comment

I believe that more deer are killed under 100 yards than over 100 yards in most parts of the country. This falls right into the effective range of most 12 gauge slugs and .50 caliber muzzleloaders. It’s a safety factor. Many hunting areas have too many people or buildings close by. High power rifle bullets travel too far and constitute a hazard. Shotgun slugs, muzzleloader bullets and arrows can all make a VERY clean kill if the shooter has the skill that he is expected to have before going hunting.

 

As a lifelong Virginian, the division between rifle couties and shotgun only counties has been a given since I started hunting. To the poster who alluded to the shotgun only county regulation as “alarmist” — this couldn’t be further from the truth. It has to do with topography and foliage density. In parts of Eastern VA the land is very flat, coastal plain and in the tidal marshes of the dismal swamp area, you wouln’t ever need a rifle as much as you’re in shotgun range.

 

There is also a great deal of smaller scale agriculture and more densely populated counties toward the East — it’s still permissible to hunt in those counties and the rifle prohibition makes it a safer and sounder option for hunters, farmers and everyone. There is also the Eastern tradition of drive hunting deer with dogs which seems to be more of a shotgun oriented pursuit. While it is an inconvenience and I don’t agree that as clean a kill can be made with a scattergun, it is far preferrable than a stray bullet

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How does a person learn deer hunting?

April 1, 2012 By Leave a Comment

I live in Orange County California. I am 39 years old and have been target shooting and bird hunting all my life. I would like to know how a person would go about learning how to hunt mule deer. I have read a book on the subject and read part of the incredibly complex procedures you need to go through to get a tag. However, it really seems like the type of thing that you need to do with a knowledgeable person or group that can show you the ropes.

 

I have never dressed a large animal and would not want to try it without some help at first. Are there hunting clubs, groups, or organizations I could join that would put me in touch with others to get involved with deer hunting? I’m sure there are hunting clubs, etc. around, but I would think that if you just ask around your friends, relatives, co-workers — you will find a fellow hunter. Most hunter I know are pretty willing to help out a new hunter and even include them in the group.

 

I think it is great that you have become interested in hunting Mule Deer. I have been hunting all my life ( I am 36) and truly enjoy hunting mule deer. I have a group of friends that hunt to gether every year for the desert mule deer in the Trans Pecos region out side of El Paso, Texas. It seems to be much more chalenging than whitetail hunting because it is a spot and stalk type hunt, plus the fact that you must be in pretty good shape in order to make your way around the mountains not to mention if you do take one of these grey ghosts from the top.

 

The fun is over and the real work begins. I guess if you can not find any friend with the same interest it would be adviseable to use a hunting guide for the first go around for a learning session. The very best thing you can do is find a mentor. First step is to join a club, and show up for all the meetings. It is very likely you will find someone who has gotten to the level in the sport where they want to help someone start. They will probably give you tons of assistance. They may even take you hunting. Probably not their hot spots but some public land or something like that.

 

Let them know you want some experience in tracking and field dressing a deer and you may get a call some day next season to help find a downed deer and learn more then you really wanted to about the process. Also if you are not week of stomach, you may as about helping to process a deer. There are some videos on field dressing and processing a deer. They are not as good as the hands on stuff, but much better than nothing. Many pro shops rent videos. Many clubs own and borrow out videos.

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Which season is Suitable for Hunting?

April 1, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Ducks and geese still stop over in the spring when the only unfrozen water is the Saguenay but the only birds who stick around are the non-reproductive Canada geese like those in the large cities like Toronto. They are cute to look at but actually worthless and even a nuisance because they agressively chase away any nesting ducks. There is a hunter the Quebec Provincial Court in Roberval right now being charged for unlawful discharge of a firearm.

 

He didn’t like the idea of hikers in his hunting territory so he shot in their direction. I worked for 10 years as a conservation officer and 10 years as a dispatcher for the provincial police and every day during hunting season we get calls from people who got threatened by hunters. The situation is getting worse. I got calls every day because someone heard gunshots and was afraid of a stray bullet. If it was so safe, why are you not allowed to shoot pigeons with a 28 gauge shotgun loaded with no 9 shot in downtown Montreal. No one would get killed.

 

You are a landowner and yet you accepted that hunting from the road be banned in your municipality even though it is permitted by federal law. Sure it does not bother you. What will they do next to chip away at your liberty? So you are a landowner now. This means you are now the enemy to the everyday hunter who can no longer hunt on the territory you bought. If the municipality wanted to ban hunting inside their boundary they can do it. Actually they ban “discharging a firearm”. This means, you cannot even target practice on your property.

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The Difference Between Culling and Hunting

April 1, 2012 By Leave a Comment

” It simply isn’t true that ‘culling’ is a euphemism for ‘sport hunting’, as has been explained to you repeatedly. Not is it the case that those who are involved in culling would neccesarily hunt for fun.The problem is that the perpetration of the practice of ”hunting”, e.g. on ‘shooting estates’, means that the need for ”culling” is never significantly reduced (stuff is always escaping into the wider countryside). If management could be achieved without shooting deer then I think this would be a situation preferred by most, but it just isn’t going to happen without a radical turn-around in the way such animals are managed.

 

The word culling isn’t used because it is more acceptable – it’s not like people (in the field) don’t know what it means – it’s just an attempt to…. um…. to demonstrate?, no…. a way of informing the public of the difference that exists between running around shooting everything in sight because it is such good fun, and the selective removal of pest (usually introduced) species to enable sustenance of a more biologically diverse ecosystem.

 

If you mean farm animals, I am not in favour of killing them but am realistic enough to realise that as the majority of the country are meat eaters it is probably unlikely that this would be banned. Although, interestingly, since BSE and F&M many people are reconsidering their eating habits and the slaughter of these animals in future may be considerably reduced. But hunting wildlife is a different story altogether. Hunting for fun and the attempt at respectablising it by calling it culling in the name of conservation, is the next in line for banning after foxhunting with hounds and is an achievable aim. A softer target, if you like; and I make no apologies for attacking it.

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Why Hunting/Fishing is Better Than Going to Safeway?

April 1, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Why not wait for someone to hit one on the highway? It takes me all night to dress one out. I get lots of good meat, and some bruised meat that the dogs get. I may not hunt, but I get lots of fresh, blood dripping meat without having to kill any during hunting season. I’m just making use of a resource, much like you are doing. I was surprised to find out that many of these animals don’t live as long as one would suppose due to the simple fact that their teeth wear out.

 

For instance I know that deer don’t live much beyond eight years, and their teeth end up looking much like ours… all flat, with the incisors worn all the way down. The difference between a human and an animal predator is that typically a human will either choose the first animal they see, the largest, or the best. It results in reverse evolution, whereas an animal predator will take the weak, old, young, or diseased and leave the strongest or best.

 

It seems like the cars will cull out the ones that were not smart enough to stay away from cars. Probably one of the things that is good about sportsmen is that they take the time to learn about Nature and how the whole picture works. Plus part of the cost of ammo and such goes directly back to the support of wildlife. I suspect that if people had to process the meat they use, either they would appreciate it more or they might use less of it.Is it science-fiction to wonder that maybe there is a machine somewhere that makes meat and that it really doesn’t come from animals at all?

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Safari hunting industry

March 31, 2012 By Leave a Comment

A carefully controlled and limited harvest of bull elephants in national parks by the safari hunting industry, on the other hand, will provide local people with a hundred-fold more money from the legal market than they could ever hope to realize through the black market. Thus the black market in ivory would be out-competed and would disappear altogether. On top of the hunting of the largest bull elephants by the safari industry, the culling of inferior bulls and entire family groups in national parks still will be necessary.

 

In this regard, hunters must never project the idea – nor must they ever labor under the misapprehension – that safari hunting is a substitute for culling. It is not. Hunters who persist in trying to justify this argument, therefore, will not have the support of professional wildlife managers. Hunters and professional wildlife managers must fight the anti-hunting movement together. With the proper socio-economic and ecological ammunition, we will win because our cause is just and our argument is sound.

 

Society must be taught that African wildlife will not survive unless it is given the chance to compete economically with domesticated livestock and cultivated crops. This is the reality of Africa. There would be no danger to the elephant if this approach should be adopted. Given an uncompromised market, the elephant will easily out-compete any kind of conventional agriculture in the remote and arid regions of the continent.

 

The key to solving the problem is to make sure that the profits from elephant utilization practices whether from hunting or the sale of ivory – are returned into the pockets of the local rural people. There is no other solution. Unless these people benefit from “their” elephants, they will continue to view elephants as competitors to their agricultural pursuits and they will continue to kill elephants … even for no reward at all. There is no doubt that utilizing the African elephant as a wild product of the land for the benefit of Africa’s rural people is the only way to save the African elephant from extinction. There also is no doubt that the most lucrative way to use the African elephant is by way of the hunting safari industry. The real winners will be the African elephant specifically, African wildlife in general, and overall, the indigenous people of Africa. We, as hunters, can bring this about!

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Different Principles of Hunting

March 31, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Ordinary hunters everywhere have an even more important role to play in interpreting the principles of elephant management for the public everywhere. Hunters, when they understand the principles, must be prepared to stand up and be counted. They must be prepared to act as disciples for a cause greater than their own hunting pursuits. They must promote appropriate wildlife management practices in Africa so that rural people benefit just as much as does the wildlife – for that is the only salvation for Africa!

 

To be able to project the facts about Africa’s elephants, however, hunters first must understand the population dynamics of the species. The first fact to appreciate is that elephants do NOT wander all over Africa as one huge, interacting group. They don’t do it today, and they never did in the millennia past. Elephants always have lived in discrete populations. They are born, grow up, live out their lives and die within finite areas. This means that when one population is hit by a poaching outbreak, none of the other populations are in any way affected.

 

Indeed, negative or positive pressures exerted on any population have a good or bad effect only on the population concerned. Thus, when Kenya’s elephants were being so badly poached in the 1980s, the elephant populations of Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa – to name but four range states – were totally un-affected by the poaching activity. In fact, all four of these countries, at that time, had an overpopulation of elephants that required urgent culling. What must also be understood about Africa’s recent elephant poaching pandemic is that it was not all bad. In 1987, for example, I visited Zambia’s Luangwa Valley (South) National Park.

 

I was employed as a consultant to a British television company who had come to Zambia to shoot a documentary film on the poaching of elephants and black rhinos. The local scientific authority told us that he had calculated that 15 elephants per day had been killed by poachers in the Luangwa Valley over the previous 10 years. This was inclusive of the birth rate calculated over that period. I won’t – and still do not – dispute those figures because it was known that the Luangwa’s elephant population had been reduced over the previous 10 years from an estimated 60,00070,000 animals to a “mere” 18,000.

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Guiding bear hunts

March 31, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Guiding bear hunts has become big business, with more guides getting into the act each year. Some are very good and some just want your money. It’s important that you contact those with whom you are thinking of hunting. Ask for references and check them out thoroughly. Ask for names and phone numbers of their hunters who did not get a bear. They will probably give you a more honest evaluation of the bear camp than someone who did fill their tag.

 

A good bear guide will probably not guarantee you a bear, but should provide you with at least one active “day bait”. By “day bait” I mean a bait that the bear is hitting during hunting hours and not in the middle of the night. Trail timers will assure that. Either way you go bear hunting, I’m sure you’ll be hooked and go back for more every year.Anyone who thinks bear hunting is such an easy explotation of an animal should try it sometime even if you don’t kill the animal.

 

Take hunting over bait for example. Sit there for days on end through the black flys, mosquitos, fluctuating temperatures (from 60 in the afternoon dropping to freezing by dark), rain, snow , wind and everything else. Sit there MOTIONLESS for six to seven hours each evening for possibly six in a row (and then maybe to go home without even seeing a bear much less shoot). You must remain perfectly still, perfectly quiet, and pray that the wind doesn’t betray your scent.

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