Feral hogs can offer big excitement close to home

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For those with family or friends in rural areas of Oklahoma, hunters can always go the do-it-yourself route. Many farmers and ranchers want the animals gone from their property because of the damage even a small number of hogs can cause.

However, the increase in popularity of hog hunting does have some people keeping their private property pig hunting for themselves, while other groups lease large tracts of land to shoot pigs from helicopters and then leave them where they drop.

This is not the most sporting tactic in some minds and is becoming a hot topic of debate in parts of Oklahoma.

Hog Wild advertises that they try to do their part in conservation by gathering these animals from the land they are damaging and offering them to hunters. They say this ads to the challenge because the pigs on the preserve are already “problem animals,” and are some of the “biggest and smartest animals in the state.”

In Kansas, there is no season to hunt feral hogs. Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism officials said feral hogs are covered by the state livestock commission and the only provision to harvest one is by land owners with a special depredation permit.

Officials from both entities said they have been very successful so far at keeping the population at a nearly nonexistent level in Kansas.

One former resident of Cowley County, Wayne Stackhaus, said he recently spent several months working in Osage County, Okla., and has seen first-hand the damage caused by the animals.

He is grateful for the efforts of outfitters and hunters in the area to keep the population in check.

“You think it’d be a lot of fun to have them around to hunt — until they tear your pasture or hay meadow up,” Stackhaus said.

According to many biologists, any domestic pig can revert to a wild state in a short amount of time — even physically changing by growing long hair, thick plates of armored grizzle and tusks.

The first-generation of piglets born to the escaped animals are then truly-feral. Couple the lack of natural predators with the high reproductive rate of these porkers and the problem can quickly escalate.

“I’m all for these guys hunting them,” Stackhaus said. “The meat is pretty good too ... at least something good is coming out of the deal.”

Hog Wild even recommends hunters bring coolers with them for the meat that many do enjoy. Several popular recipes are available, including mixing wild pork sausage with ground venison to make a deer burger that will stick together well enough to throw on the grill.

Feral hogs offer Kansas hunters a unique opportunity without traveling to far from home or being required to mortgage their home to pay for.

Top the fun-factor off with helping conservation and putting meat on the table and the situation is akin to make lemonade out of lemons.

By Cody Griesel

For the majority of hunters in this state, the prospects of going on an African safari, Alaskan bear or Colorado elk hunt are far off dreams. The time and money required for such an endeavor is beyond the means of most.

If you think a little closer to home, there is a big game animal that is not so expensive to hunt and can offer some very exciting action — wild hogs.

A number of outfitters in Oklahoma and Missouri offer hunts for hogs, including those with European wild boar genetics. The hogs are not fat, placid farm animals, but large pigs with tusks that offer the potential for a memorable hunt, a trophy for the living room wall and meat in the freezer. They often reside in thick, wooly country with dense vegetation and have senses that rival a whitetail deer.

Arkansas City resident Bob Powers has been on a few of these outfitted hunts, taking Russian boars in Missouri and and feral hogs in Oklahoma, most recently with Hog Wild Outfitters and game preserve, near Purcell, Okla.

Hog Wild gathers problem feral hogs captured from across the state and dumps the animals on its ranch near Oklahoma City. Powers said this makes for a group of big, snarly and hard-to-hunt pigs.

“They’ve got a good sense of smell and sight,” he said. “They are not the easiest thing to hunt, especially on foot.”

Powers said he saw several hogs in the 400-500 pound range during the hunt and that the ground was heavily damaged in the areas frequented by these animals.

However, the brush and vegetation was still extremely dense, making for an interesting hunt. The website for the outfitter even describes the critters as “Oklahoma jungle pigs.”

Powers spent the first few days of his February 2016 hunt in an elevated stand using a Marlin 336 chambered in .30-.30 Win., topped off with a vintage 4X Leopold scope — a combination he has dropped several hogs with on different hunts.

“A lot of time you’re in thick brush and shots can be close and fast,” Powers said. “That .30-.30 has taken a lot of game for me over the years.”

Preferring to stalk game on foot, Powers ditched the stand and made a successful stalk the last of his trip, dropping a 250-pound hog with one shot. He said while he did see much larger animals, they proved difficult to get in close enough for a good shot.

On another hunt, in Missouri near the the Mark Twain National Forest, he had a wild hog charge multiple times, stopping a mere 30 yards away, growling and snorting at him and the guide. That hog is now a shoulder mount on Powers’ wall.

“If you wound one you better be able to get off a quick second shot,” Powers said.

Overall, hunting feral hogs has been a great experience for Powers and his friends who have accompanied him on such hunts. He said the trip to Oklahoma was affordable and didn’t require taking more than the weekend and an extra day or two.

That’s somethings that can’t always be said about other hunting trips.

“It was really great and doable,” he said. “It was a totally different game to hunt, and it can be very exciting.”

Hog Wild offers a variety of hog hunting options, from firearm and archery hunts — to the “wilder” option of using dogs and a spear or knife. That may not be for everyone, though, and the guides say that they can tailor the degree of challenge to fit everyone from the experienced hunter to novice.