Trad Gang

Did anyone spot any wild hogs while hunting in NY this past season?

I hunted NY for many years, mainly middleton, rosco, LI and never saw any... Wish they did......

Did you see any?

hogs?  in ny?  in the northeast?  WHERE????  that would be AWESOME!!!

Some guys I know went over to the Cortland/Homer area and saw sign but no hogs.  Apparently several escaped from a farm over there.

There were 2 different pigs spotted at my gun club last year.  I didn't see them and don't know if they were wild or escaped domestics of some kind.  The club is in Chenango County.

I'll be watching this thread with interest.  Just want to do my part to solve the problem...  :bigsmyl:

I had some hogs on my property this past fall they rooted around and moved to the next farm.  Local farmer says they eat her corn as fast as they planted it last spring.   I hope to try and bait some in when the snow goes away.   DEC wants them gone because of damage they do. Two were hit by cars last year 1/4 mile down the road.  All black and Russian looking.

QuoteOriginally posted by maxwell:
I had some hogs on my property this past fall they rooted around and moved to the next farm.  Local farmer says they eat her corn as fast as they planted it last spring.   I hope to try and bait some in when the snow goes away.   DEC wants them gone because of damage they do. Two were hit by cars last year 1/4 mile down the road.  All black and Russian looking.

wow ...... !

Did you guys see the "season information" in the NYS hunting booklet?

Seems to me that they wouldnt put that in there unless there were issues...

And no Jim....none spotted down here yet.

I read some reports last year of a few that were shot. Same as Maxwell said, they were all black ones.

I kind of want them to come, but all I hear is bad from people that have them in their areas. haha

my sincere apologies to farmers and home garden growers ...

BRING ON THE PIGS!  :thumbsup:

I know the farmers here make short work of any loose hogs---they are a true nuisance critter that can root up a whole field in no time at all.

No question some are running loose in n.y. and it seems like only a matter of time before a lot of us have 'em in our areas.They're nuisance alright but might as well make the best of it and make some pork.Bring 'em on!

Woods without pig sign seem empty to me....RC

Hey Bill,
         There is a store over in sempronius that has hunting pics up on a bulletin board from last year and this year.Supposedly some of them were taken from the area that I hunt.  They are definately here. Weather or not it's good or bad remains to be seen.  I do know from talking to some of the local farmers that they aren't too happy about it. They dammage an awful lot of crops and crop land in short order!

A buddy of mine shot one in Cortland two years ago with his wheelie bow. He had pictures of them on his trail camera on and off, one big one two litle ones. He shot the larger one. Have'nt seen any pictures of them since. Jim drove around your area today must have seen 200 deer and 50 turkeys !

Yep, they are here in the Northeast.  Last year the PA Game Commission Director signed an executive order allowing hunters to kill them.  I personally haven't seen one or know anybody who has.

I've never hunted them anywhere, and although it looks like a lot of fun, I'd really hate to see them become well established in the Northeast like they are down South with all the habitat damage they can do.  If I ever do see one, I'll definitely be launching a broadhead (or round ball from my muzzleloader) it's way.

QuoteOriginally posted by jsweka:
... I've never hunted them anywhere, and although it looks like a lot of fun, I'd really hate to see them become well established in the Northeast like they are down South with all the habitat damage they can do.  ...

hogs are a blast to hunt - for me, way better than deer and pork just tastes better to me than venison.

i can't see hogs being more established up here than down south - if they do, they'd probably be lots more tougher and ornery 'cause of the harsh winter survival factor.  just a guess.  bad news for farmers!  good news for trad bowhunters!

They say they can have a few litters of piglets a year with 8 to 12 in each one.And from what I here they eat like crazy,acorns,apples,crops,you name it.I sometimes think it would be fun to have some other big animal to hunt in western N.Y.,but not if they will overun the deer and cause havoc on the land.People that have them say,you don't want them around.

http://newyorkoutdoors.wordpress.com/2009/11/09/feral-pigs-invading-allegany-state-park/

They have 3 litters in two years.They may have 10-12 but probably only 3-6 survive to 20 pounds. They eat acorns and crops But in woods full of crabapples down here I`ve never seen a pig eat an apple.Oranges yes.In really big remote areas they can get hold and not be killed out but in areas like farm land, rural wood lots..etc you can kill them to the last one with dogs.
  More fun to hunt than deer for me and they taste better as well if you leave the rank boars out.

 Our swamps down here got lots of hogs and they stay in the swamp. Up in middle Ga. Where the blocks of timber are smaller they are really rough on the farmer.They are survivers. I`ve seen pigs in pine country down here with zero oaks or farm land be butterball fat...and sassy.RC

All right now can someone push the a bit to the east in NY so I can get a shot at one.

Most all the pigs that are in and around Homer are on private property - DEC is asking all land owners not to give permission out to hunt their lands . Because the hunting pressure will just push them all over hell and then that wouldn't be good for eradication efforts . I've heard that people from all over are coming to the area to try and find them - a real problem -because of the fact that they are holding up on posted property . Time will tell - not a good thing -just another evasive species to deal with .

I know a guy that saw four in the same year a few miles from me, I have never seen one but I'm hoping to some day. I think pork would go good with some venison   :thumbsup:  I know the DEC wants them gone but I'm hoping they stick around, maybe a little pig action will open up some hunting grounds.

QuoteOriginally posted by Stone Knife:
I know a guy that saw four in the same year a few miles from me, I have never seen one but I'm hoping to some day. I think pork would go good with some venison    :thumbsup:   I know the DEC wants them gone but I'm hoping they stick around, maybe a little pig action will open up some hunting grounds.

+1  :thumbsup:

How much cold weather can pigs handle?

One of the old local guys here in mid Maine told me a story (not sure if its true) about some Black Russian Boars that were imported here to a private hunting "sanctuary"      :(      by some rich old European in the early 1900's.  Seems he wanted to bring some of the animals he hunted in "the old country" over.   He died, the place went to hell, but the hogs still have to be around.  Probably just an "rural myth"[/i], but I am always looking for sign. None yet.

      As for hogs and cold, I am not sure?  The Russians seem to handle the cold well in the native land?  I am thinking that is the deep snow, more than the cold that would hurt them?

   If anyone has seen them or seen sign in Maine. I'd be interested to hear.

No hogs in NY is fine with me!! They are a pest and do more harm than good to our habitat!! If ya want to hunt hogs, head south 10-12 hours, it is cheap and they can keep them!! I hope we never get an established population here in NY!! Shawn

You guys should watch "Pig Bomb" on one of the discovery or NG channels. It has a lot of info regarding pigs-their breeding potential, history of introduction, and future range. It also shows a lot of "fluff" and "fill", but a lot of good info IMO...

QuoteOriginally posted by Shawn Leonard:
No hogs in NY is fine with me!! They are a pest and do more harm than good to our habitat!! If ya want to hunt hogs, head south 10-12 hours, it is cheap and they can keep them!! I hope we never get an established population here in NY!! Shawn

:thumbsup:  What he said.  If the DEC thought they were a good thing, we wouldn't be allowed to kill them day or night by just about any means necessary, with a small game license.  Believe me, I'm no DEC cheerleader, but hogs will annihilate turkey/deer habitat.  Hunting is mediocre in many parts of this state already and adding a prolific breeding invasive is NOT a positive thing.  Sure I'd like to hunt them, but to eradicate only.

Wether you're for 'em or against 'em, it's up to the pigs.   :readit:  Good luck hunting!

Like silver and bighead carp in the Mississippi River drainage; just because they are fun to shoot doesn't mean they are good to have around.  Invasive/feral species sometimes seem to be a good idea at first, but always turn out to be a disaster.

The only good wild pig is a dead one.

Like every other invasive species, if there here they are here to stay so you might better enjoy them.

if they were here i would hunt them however i REALLY WOULD HATE to see them move in! could they survive the winters here? i here constantly of how much damage they can do. i just could not see them surviving in the mountains where i hunt.

Hey maybe our New York Mountain Lions will love a slab of pork.

QuoteOriginally posted by Rob DiStefano:
my sincere apologies to farmers and home garden growers ...

BRING ON THE PIGS!   :thumbsup:  

Be real careful what you wish for.

QuoteOriginally posted by Shawn Leonard:
No hogs in NY is fine with me!! They are a pest and do more harm than good to our habitat!! If ya want to hunt hogs, head south 10-12 hours, it is cheap and they can keep them!! I hope we never get an established population here in NY!! Shawn

I feel the same way about pigs in IL, and Rick's comment about carp mirrors my thoughts on the matter. As much as I like bowfishing, I'd just as soon prefer that those things never invaded our waterways.

I love hunting pigs, but I'm glad they're not here.

Man...I wish. I saw the piece in the hunting license guide about feral swine always being in season in NY and that there are no limits but that's the first i even heard of them being in NY. I would love to hunt them.

No...its up to people, VTer.

They can control themselves and NOT release pigs into the wild.

If you do not have a 10 or 11 month growing season, you CANNOT afford to have pigs.

They will absolutely destroy your habitat. NY and surrounds cannot recover from them in the short 5 or six month growing season you have up there, once they get a toehold.

i dunno HOW a *serious* pig population could thrive in the nor'east.  this environment is *nothing" like the carolinas, georgia or florida.  they'd hafta be sum kinda super pigs, and if so, THAT would be really Really scary.  i can just see the call out for the national guard to protect the farmlands.           let's get serious.

so, yeah man - bring 'em on! (tongue planted firmly in cheek)   :D

If someone saw one in the wild in Westchester, it would make headlines in the Post!

Rob,

They thrive in Russia in country with 20+ feet of snow and below zero temps for months at a time.

They will destroy a car if you hit one. Remember the natural law that says the farther north a specie lives, the larger it gets. Your hogs would by necessity need to be a lot bigger than ours to survive- and survive they will...even if you have an all out war against them...you won't win.

They'll live off your farmers and destroy their farmland...they'll go totally nocturnal and come after homeowner's yards, big wetlands that are your bread and butter duck lands will be destroyed- in short, pigs are your worst nightmare.

Ray is spot on. As much as I would love to hunt them locally they are not worth the devestation they would bring.

i hear ya, ray.  i still don't see it happening around here 'cause it wouldn't blossom overnight and would be monitored and controlled faster'n you could say 'hog heaven'.  same deal as with the scare of an over abundance of coyotes and wolves in the nor'east raising havoc with livestock.  just hasn't happened, and most likely never will.  the nor'east farmlands are pretty well secure, imo.  and the thought of hogs around these parts is pretty much just a thought.

While in college a few years ago, I hauled waste milk to a place that had well over one hundred russian boars.  It was near Bridgeport, north of Syracuse by Oneida Lake.  It was a pay to hunt deal.  Those hogs could get big and nasty. They easily survived in winter by getting into a pile like a nest.  They would hear my milk truck backing in and head over to the troughs all steaming and warm and running about in the 3 feet of snow.  I'm not sure how they would do over in Ken's mountains, but I am sure they would migrate to flatter terrain if needed!  I know several of the hogs escaped the "loosely" kept fencing around this hunting preserve.  Some of the local farmers where I also delivered the waste milk used to see them running loose and yell at me to tell the guy I was working for to do something about them, but he never did.  They bred so much he lost all track of how many he had.  He told me that he had the number 3 record for the biggest boar taken, ironically by a DEC official.  Not sure how true that was, but I'm pretty sure he contributed to the feral hog population that is now being noticed.

By the way, there was a pretty substantial fence between me and the hogs that came in for the milk.  A lot of the bigger boars didn't come in to eat, I was told.  They lived off the land and pretty much tore it up.

I have raised pigs for several years, and they are hearty creatures and will do well in all but the most extreme climates.  I raised them through the beginning of winter so the cool weather would aid them in putting on weight.  Once they are large enough to root around successfully they do well and won't fall prey to our local predators.  New York's farming population is already in dire straights the last thing these family farms need is another blight.  Seeing what they can do in their own pasture and in compost, I would not wish them on any one and I would shoot every one I see.  I lived in the area where there have been many reports of siting and they could do well enough to spread to all the other temperate spots of our state, I say with no remorse "shoot on sight"

Ray, they've already got a toehold, and you drove home my point about it being "up to the pigs" beautifully!   :thumbsup:

There are 2 preserves where the DEC has been  desperately trying to readicate(don't know for sure from which they got loose , so niether are in any trouble ) the loose hogs , like Ray has said they will and are thriving with no problem . I also believe that they would have no problem in the Adirondacks - they are multiplying at an alarming rate here . I have a friend that waits till there's enough snow on the ground and then they gun them down while chasing them on sleds - but like I said in an earlier post -most all are on private land . Another friend who lives down the road , was coming home one night , around a sweeping curve doing 55mph - he runs over several piglets - he didn't realize until later . He says in the spring and summer you can see their destruction driving by fields that have been just all torn-up ! A DEC official said -be careful what you wish for , because if you want to hunt pigs that's fine , because that might be all we may have the most of , they compete with all other wildlife . So deer and turkey numbers may decrease  , plus like Ray also said our growing season's are short so you can't compare what might happen up here with say where Ray is in Georgia or other parts of the south.

I wouldn't hesitate to shoot one given the opportunity.  I would love to hunt them but dont want them thriving here.

Anyone know of some populations in the state let me know, I've always wanted to kill my own pork!

I have a small farm just a few miles from the Saint Lawrence River in northern New York.  In the fall of 2009 I saw hog tracks running the edge of one of my cornfields.  The dew claws had that distinctive right angle to the toes and it sank deeper into the earth than the comparable deer tracks using the same route.  I HOPED it was a stray pig off another farm and not the vanguard of an invasion.  I have not observed any this year.

QuoteAnyone know of some populations in the state let me know, I've always wanted to kill my own pork!  

Me too   :pray:

The area with the preserves is near Homer. One of the biggest problems the landowners are having is people wanting to hunt them - more so then the damage. When they see evidence, they go out to kill them all. Anyone that they do know who hunts there land for pigs has to show up with real firepower and reach out can kill any they see. Most taken are incidental kills - the farmers/landowners are not looking to provide bowhunting opportunities.

I can speak to the "urban myth" of the escaped hogs. A few years ago in SW PA a guy owned a pay to hunt preserve and had hogs on there. The classic "guy died and hogs escaped" story. We had guys telling us they had seen the hogs running loose and I saw, with my own two eyes, the farmer right down the street with a hog strung up on the front of his front end loader for pictures and with a crowd gathered around. Great big black hog that was one of the escapees. So I can see how a population could get established.

MAN!!! i read about how much damage hogs do....
but.... bring on the hogs!!!!!
 :knothead:   hahah i'll do my part to put some pork on the ground!!


gaff

I have never seen one, nor know anyone who has. But I'd sure like to.

I did see an Emu once though running through the woods.   :)

We always find sign in these two parks, but lots of other people go here looking and few find them, many that are killed are on nearby private land during the deer season.
http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/8198.html
http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/61680.html
You can also do a web search of the syracuse newspapers and find a few articles about them simaliar to the link on one of the earlier posts.

ok now let me get this straight IS THERE A SEASON in NY now?? or is it a see it shoot it all is legal???

They can be shot at anytime as long as you possess a small game license.

No season - shoot anytime with any weapon with small game tags as SK said.

Philly - I am about 5 miles from Bear Swamp - 10 from Hewitt. I know people who have seen and taken a couple from each. Hewitt actually backs up to one of the preserve's. All the sitings and kills have been incidental. Several have gone both places hunting them with no success.

I wouldnt mind shooting one, My mother in law lives in Hendersonville NC, wonder how close the hog hunting is around there?

Pete

How many farmers and other country folk that raise domestic porkers, loose them to the cold?  There are pig farms in the midwest, and it gets a bit chilly there.  Pigs can handle the cold, they're omnivores and will eat anything that gets in front of them-plant or animal!!  While the hunting opportunities sound exciting, you don't really want wild pigs in your favorite hunting area!

got to tell ya if i EVER catch them in the mountains here be it arrow, lead ball or cold steel they will be in the pan in a blink of the eye. late fall/winter there is not enough food for deer and turkeys much less hogs!

I'm with you, Ken.  I am always looking for them when I am out scouting.  The food is scarce over here in the winter as well.  Shoot straight, my friend!
Ron

ADK...my understamding from the license guide is that there's no closed season and no limits...I read that as shoot on sight and shoot often...maybe I'm wrong.

Send em north guys! Hogs are the one invasive specie that I keep hoping for. Heck we've survived zebra mussels,comorants,possums,purple lustrife(SP)bigheads are on thier way. Hopefully hawgs are on thier way. You guys in NY can drive em north and makem swim - please. I'll even corn our side of the river   :thumbsup:

We had 5 boars behind my house that nobody seemed to wanna claim ownership of,escaped domestic they looked like.After they starting doing alot of damage to yards fresh planted tree's and gardens they started getting shot.One of those is my only hog and I shot it with my bow outta the yard.

I'd rather travel to hunt them than have them in my backyard they do alot of damage

Rob D i thinking living in bergen county has your mind in a fog!  We have prime habitat down here in south NJ for hog...it is identicle to the woods i grew up roaming in Florida.  Give it a few years of not controlling it and you will be sorry.

You want hogs do as terry said and MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE!

There are hogs in the most southern part of NJ and they have opened it up to gun hunters the past few years to make sure they dont make it any further north.  The good ol boys have been doing a fine job keeping the population under control for years but they spread to fast.  This state isnt that dumb to let them get carried away...we do just fine keeping the bear population at bay down south them hogs wont stand a chance with us out there!

QuoteOriginally posted by Ray Hammond:
big wetlands that are your bread and butter duck lands will be destroyed- in short, pigs are your worst nightmare.

I didn't spend 5 years and thousands of dollars training my prized lab to let him waste away with hogs.

No sir we'll shoot em all dead!

QuoteOriginally posted by Rob DiStefano:
i hear ya, ray.  i still don't see it happening around here 'cause it wouldn't blossom overnight and would be monitored and controlled faster'n you could say 'hog heaven'.  same deal as with the scare of an over abundance of coyotes and wolves in the nor'east raising havoc with livestock.  just hasn't happened, and most likely never will.  the nor'east farmlands are pretty well secure, imo.  and the thought of hogs around these parts is pretty much just a thought.

Umm the yotes are out of control and have devistated many of my honey holes in zone 2 let alone our farm up there.  We have access to shoot them year round and we still can't keep up with them and I lost 2 deer to them last year because they got to my kill within the hour and wouldn't leave the carcase even after shooting one.

Secure...???...what with barbed wire?  Them hogs will get through bulldoze and shred anything you put in front of them.  You cant make your barn fort knox sorry.

2 years ago down south I counted 14 different yotes in one hunting trip...thats 13 hours of sitting and 14 yotes.  How many deer?  NONE!  You dont see a problem with that?

The yotes will get pushed to your backyards when the hogs run them off when the hogs eat all that food you will have them both in your yards and garbage.

If you guys handle the hogs like you handled the bears all these years this state is plum a$$ed out of luck!

QuoteOriginally posted by Rob DiStefano:
way better than deer and pork just tastes better to me than venison.

You apparently have never gone to my charity benefit dinner...my father and I could change your mind on that subject.

Sorry but the pigs would not be controlled and regulated here in NY. Our DEC cannot even control and regulate our deer herd, a pig population would be a huge disaster. I feel if anyone is caught releasing hogs into the wild they should be dealt with by the harshet punishment the law would allow. It is a no-brainer and sorry but for guys who would want this well, again no brains. Not being mean or anything but really look into it and you will see, pigs in NY are a bad idea! Shawn

Rob, I don't know where you live but our farmers ecspecially the sheep and goat guys have a big problem with coyotes killing there stock. Our coyotes have also gotten bigger over the years, some say do to breeding with wolves way up north and the strain keeps getting farther south. I am sorry as I said but look into what you are saying, pigs would do well here but at the exspense of our deer and turkeys and crop damage and on and on!! I know guys like to hunt hogs but again be careful what you wish for, it will bite ya in the butt!!Shawn

I'm with Shawn!  Pigs escaped near a friends farm in WI.  They tore hat place up.  It was a harsher environment than here and they flourished.  My buddies uncle shot 11 in one afternoon over his bait with his 22.  No deer and 11 hogs. He traded them for booze.

I think any unnatural species should be kept out.  No offense to you pheasant hunters or carp fisherman.  I'll enjoy any outing even if I am targeting invasive species just dont think we need to upset anything by introducing things that dont belong.

I have little confidence pig populations here would be properly regulated. Once the DEC sees there could be money to be made, they would put a big price tag on the pig licenses and allow populations to go unchecked. (no offense to the guys who have confidence in our state's management skills.  I am pessimistic about their management skills to say the least).

Enjoy what we have and travel to enjoy what others have.

just my .02

Browns and rainbows too? Its a tough call but I agree with you Charlie, all exotics including pheasant make for a less than healthy ecosystem.

It will be survival of the fittest, and only time will tell if their numbers will be enough to have a good huntable population. I would love to bow hunt them on my own land and will if the day ever comes.

Pheasants are not really an exotic, I mean I know they were bought here from China, but whitetails were transplanted from all around the country to make sustainable populations. Pheasants cannot be compared to hogs or whitetails. Pheasants are a great thing and I know of a few spots in NY with a wild population, hogs are no good for any of us and Jim, really do some research before ya hope for hogs on your land. I really don't think you have looked into them fully! Shawn

What makes the having hogs in Ny any worse than other states? State that have them alongside deer, still have good deer hunting? Is it a habitat issue, or adding them to our coyote problem?

I heard a rumor that there were some seen near Hancock (on the NY-PA border), but no first hand knowledge.  I'm pretty sure I'll see a hog here before the mountain lions people have "seen".

My cousin has them on his property near the Texas border and say's their very distructive so I'd hafta say their bad in other states too.I've seen first hand what 5 can do running loose for a few months...again I'd rather see them someplace other than my place and I,m pretty sure I can speak for most of my neighbors on that subject too    :bigsmyl:

Hogs in NY are just going to make things worse.  I can only imagine how hard it is to be a farmer in these economic times and to slap some hogs into the mix would be devastating.  On top of the economic impact they will destroy native flora and fauna causing all sorts of problems for local ecosystems.  I just can't see any pros to having pigs in NY when if you want to hunt them you just have to drive a few hours south.

I heard yesterday that the situation down in Homer is all but done , the numbers are down next to nothing - hope it's true . I'll be down that way pretty soon , talk to some friends who live down in the area  and check some spots out for myself .

Mr. Leonard and I don't always agree on some topics but here I have to say he is 100% correct. Hogs would compete for natural foods that deer and turkey need to survive. Then they would go after farmers cash crops and do real property damage. Folks I have talked to where there are pigs really would like to see them gone. There is a reason alot of states have no season and no limits....they what them gone to. I would love to down to Ray Hammond's some time. Hopefully in the near future. And Shawn is right about the DEC, they can't regulate birds, fish or deer, so I bet they couldn't do pigs either.

One stop shopping for those who want to learn about feral pigs.  http://www.berrymaninstitute.org/pdf/managing-feral-pigs.pdf

invasive Species cost far more than people realize. As someone in charge of a large invasive species eradication effort (nutria in the Chesapeake bay area) it is far more costly to fix the problem after the damage is done than it is to nip it in the bud. I am always amazed that there are hunters who would put their personal interest in killing a pig over their concern for native wildlife and habitat and the landowners who protect and conserve it through farming etc. I am encouraged by the number of people who expressed a voice of reason in my home state. But one thing I've learned is that one person with a bad idea can cause a lot of problems for the rest of us!!!

We have had feral hogs in California ever since the first Spaniards and Russians settled. Yes, too many in an area and they can party hard-Elk are destructive too. And yes, farmers gripe-have you ever met a farmer who did not complain given the opportunity?
Deer populations are not affected much by hogs in California. Coyotes and Mountain Lions take their toll on deer here.
If hogs decide to stay in NY you might as well learn their habits, and if you are fortunate figure out some fav recipes too.

What Steve Kendrot said.

QuoteI am always amazed that there are hunters who would put their personal interest in killing a pig over their concern for native wildlife and habitat and the landowners who protect and conserve it through farming etc.  

Steve, I have nothing to do with the fact that there might be a huntable population of pigs in NY some day nor does anyone I know. If they are here then they are that fact is not debatable it's just fact. All I'm looking to do is find out if there is a huntable population in NY if so I'm going to try to shoot one with my bow. If they are here they are here to stay if the conditions are right, nature will see to this and I will not help in any way. But if they do stay around I will be glad to do my part in killing as many as I can, I'm just testing the waters to see if there are any numbers in the state, I appreciated any and all info on the subject.

Jim,
   if you can find any sign or sightings i would love to stretch the legs a little bit and go scouting, have bow will travel! that being said i DO NOT want to find them! like you said if i can find them i will do all in my power to kill them. give me a hollor if ya want to go on a scout.

To answer Jim's question about a huntable pop in the Homer/Scott area.

Are there some wild,escaped hogs there?
Yes - a few.

Is there enough with access to justify a trip to scout and bowhunt the area? Not for me (and I live 10 miles away and have private access) since pop is low and moving, and landowners for the most part are not eager to let people on for what is mostly a futile chase. If you want a walk in the woods on the nearby stateland, go for it - but your chance of seeing a hog is not much better then your back yard.

Not sure but any farmer I talked to would love it if you killed every Whitetail that raids his crops.

Jim. My responce was directed towards the "bring on the hogs" mentality expressed by some respondents. I did not read that in your inquery. I too would love to shoot a pig! However, were hogs introduced in my area I would favor a quick and agressive rapid response to eradicate them rather than risk development of a hunter constituency that would lobby to protect them as a huntable resource. It's happened before.