Any hogs close to East TN?

[miller1buc]

I went on my first hog hunt in GA last year and really enjoyed it. I was wondering if there was anywhere within a couple hours of the Tricities area(Johnson City) to hunt hogs. I know they probably arent plentiful like GA, but just looking for something to get out and do on a weekend. I have read on here about Catoosa but it sounds like they are getting thin in that area, especially without dogs? Are there any in Western NC?

 

[Smokin45]

Subscribed because I am wondering as well

 

[stik]

we are no longer allowed to hunt hogs with few exceptions(Catoosa,cherokee, big south fork)

 

[Winchester]

Plenty of hogs in East TN, just not allowed to hunt them anymore.

 

[miller1buc]

Not allowed to hunt them??? There must be a silly story behind that. I guess I need to read up more on the subject. I thought they were considered nuisances everywhere.

Is all of the Cherokee National Forest open for it? If so is it year round?

 

[cecil30-30]

Not allowed to hunt them??? There must be a silly story behind that. I guess I need to read up more on the subject. I thought they were considered nuisances everywhere.

Is all of the Cherokee National Forest open for it? If so is it year round?

A quick read through the hunting regulations would have got you informed on the subject.

 

[fredfred]

Plenty of hogs in East TN, just not allowed to hunt them anymore.

Its comments that I deleted that cause problems. With a profession dealing with the public every day I am sure you can appreciate this.

 

[miller1buc]

A quick read through the hunting regulations would have got you informed on the subject.

Yep, will do that tonight.

 

[miller1buc]

I went ahead and Googled it:
http://www.tn.gov/twra/wildhogs.shtml

This seems absolutely ridiculous.

In 1999, TWRA made an attempt to control the expansion of the wild hog population by opening a statewide wild hog season with no bag limit. Unfortunately, it was during this period of unlimited hunting that the wild hog population expanded the most.

I guess they think hunters chasing made them breed more or something?

So I guess I am out of luck here then. Anyone know if Western NC or somewhere close has any(that you can actually hunt). I tried searching on that and seems like there arent many over in the mountains but there are more out in the middle/eastern parts

 

[fredfred]

There's a couple WMAs that allow you to kill them. I don't remember exactly which ones right off though.

 

[miller1buc]

Yep, but most say you can only take them while hunting other big game looks like.

 

[PickettSFHunter]

You can kill all the hogs you want, pretty much any way you want to kill them, if you just own the land or get on a landowners permit.... if they will send you your permit on time anyway.

 

[stik]

I guess they think hunters chasing made them breed more or something?

"hunters" were/are putting hogs where they wanted to hunt them, spreading the problem to where it didn't exist.

 

[BigGameGuy]

You can kill all the hogs you want, pretty much any way you want to kill them, if you just own the land or get on a landowners permit.... if they will send you your permit on time anyway.

^^^^ THIS - except that the permit is instantaneous, they issue it over the phone.

There are more opportunities for people to kill hogs in Tennessee than ever before in the history of the state. The regulations have been relaxed so much that you can now use methods that were illegal just a few short years ago. We have even expanded the opportunities to use dogs in an effort to kill more hogs but that does not appear to help. The only thing "odd" about the regulations is that TWRA does not promote hunting since it has been proven to increase the rate of spread.

 

[stik]

it over the phone.

There are more opportunities for people to kill hogs in Tennessee than ever before in the history of the state.

IF you are a landowner or know somebody. there are hogs where we hunt in morgan county but the landowner is not interested so I have NO opportunities to shoot these pigs.

 

[fredfred]

BBG how are dogs not effective? Any hog killed is a hog gone

 

[SES]

it over the phone.

There are more opportunities for people to kill hogs in Tennessee than ever before in the history of the state.

IF you are a landowner or know somebody. there are hogs where we hunt in morgan county but the landowner is not interested so I have NO opportunities to shoot these pigs.

Go to North Cumberland and shoot them. Open year round. Plenty of pigs up there.

 

[stik]

Go to North Cumberland and shoot them. Open year round. Plenty of pigs up there.

not according to what I'm reading.

 

[BigGameGuy]

it over the phone.

There are more opportunities for people to kill hogs in Tennessee than ever before in the history of the state.

IF you are a landowner or know somebody. there are hogs where we hunt in morgan county but the landowner is not interested so I have NO opportunities to shoot these pigs.

Stik - Do you leased that land?

 

[BigGameGuy]

BBG how are dogs not effective? Any hog killed is a hog gone

Good question. No one is saying you can't kill a hog with dogs. They are a very effective "hunting" tool, however, they are counterproductive when it comes to eliminating or reducing the number of hogs on the landscape. For example, you have 15 hogs using a drainage, you can absolutely kill a couple of those hogs using dogs. The problem is the remaining hogs are now spread out over multiple drainages so it may actually maybe hindering our ability to get rid of the highest number of hogs.

 

[fredfred]

BBG I see your logic. You don't have the resources to be everywhere all the time. I may be wrong but as I remember it the state only controlled 3% of the land. If everybody waited on TWRA to come trap there hogs then they would be running out our ears. It cost too much and is too time consuming for a lot of people to trap them there selves also. Plus a lot of these old farmers don't want anybody telling them what to do on there land.

 

[stik]

it over the phone.

There are more opportunities for people to kill hogs in Tennessee than ever before in the history of the state.

IF you are a landowner or know somebody. there are hogs where we hunt in morgan county but the landowner is not interested so I have NO opportunities to shoot these pigs.

Stik - Do you leased that land?

it is owned by a holding company that allows hunting.

 

[348Winchester]

Big South Fork has hog hunting opportunities.

 

[stik]

Big South Fork has hog hunting opportunities.

and very little success

 

[SES]

You can kill hogs on north Cumberland on any hunt, big or small game. No hunting from March 1 through 4th Saturday in August except for turkey season.

 

[miller1buc]

Thanks for the replies guys.

I do however disagree with a couple things that have been said.
1. Not "promoting" hog hunting isnt going to prevent people from transplanting hogs.
2. The argument that dogs are counter-productive is absolute nonsense. You can bust up a group when hunting them whether you are stalking and shooting or using dogs.
3. There obviously arent as many opportunities to hunt hogs if it is restricted to landowners or has to coincide with other hunts in certain WMA areas.

 

[Jmed]

Any sane landowner who has pigs, would be an idiot not to allow hunting/trapping. These things will reduce property values. As these pigs spread, you will have landowners begging hunters and trappers to help.

Many of you guys just dont understand that hunting these pigs is not a very effective way to control pigs. I have pigs on my 1000 acre lease, bad! Between 6 hunters we only killed 15 pigs throughout deer season. Yet, I have pics of up to 50 pigs at a feeder. They can have up to 12 babies at a time, 3 times a year. You do the math, 15 a year and gonna slow em down. These things are smart! After you shoot at them, they get smart and hard to pattern. Dogs will get you a pig or two, but it busts up the sounder group and has the potential to push them into areas that they are not already established. With help from TWRA, we are beginning a trapping program and plan to catch 15+ pigs at a time.

I didnt understand the new pig laws until I spoke with TWRA, and began trying to harvest these things. Your not gonna walk through the woods and effectively "hunt" these things. I applaud TWRA in taking a stance that gos against the grain and as time goes on, and more of you guys get pig infestations, you will understand the new restrictions as well.

 

[fredfred]

Why don't you trap them yourself?

 

[Jmed]

Why don't you trap them yourself?

We are. Setting our trap around an existing bait pile this weekend. Got a group of pigs on the bait every night.

 

[Anonymous]

Any sane landowner who has pigs, would be an idiot not to allow hunting/trapping. These things will reduce property values. As these pigs spread, you will have landowners begging hunters and trappers to help.

Many of you guys just dont understand that hunting these pigs is not a very effective way to control pigs. I have pigs on my 1000 acre lease, bad! Between 6 hunters we only killed 15 pigs throughout deer season. Yet, I have pics of up to 50 pigs at a feeder. They can have up to 12 babies at a time, 3 times a year. You do the math, 15 a year and gonna slow em down. These things are smart! After you shoot at them, they get smart and hard to pattern. Dogs will get you a pig or two, but it busts up the sounder group and has the potential to push them into areas that they are not already established. With help from TWRA, we are beginning a trapping program and plan to catch 15+ pigs at a time.

I didnt understand the new pig laws until I spoke with TWRA, and began trying to harvest these things. Your not gonna walk through the woods and effectively "hunt" these things. I applaud TWRA in taking a stance that gos against the grain and as time goes on, and more of you guys get pig infestations, you will understand the new restrictions as well.

Is your lease close to White Oak mountain