we live in eastern Nc and we're looking for feral hogs east of raleigh, preferably public land. any suggestions?
thanks
LM
Sent PM
I'd also be interested in any info. Getting on some hogs is high on my to-do list.
I saw fresh hog sign on the Caswell Gamelands spring gobbler 2004. There are wild hogs on the Neuse River - these have always been there - ignore the talk about hurricaine escapees - stable numbers near lake wacammaw - and hunters are moving them all the time - also some on the great pee dee anson county.
There are plenty of pigs - the only problem no matter where they are is access. You still have to join a club, pay a trespass fee, lease the land if it is available, or access them during a season if it is public land.
similar to how it goes now for you deer , bear or turkey hunting in NC - use that as your benchmark.
For the dedicated bowhunter you would find more opportunities for less money in SC. For those bowhunters who are not dedicated to bow hunting and would be happy to hunt with guns or dogs SC has plenty of that too.
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Luke, we have some on the outer banks, not easy hunting though. There are some (by game commission reports)on game lands over here too.
Shoot me a PM if you'd be interested coming over here.
I also would love to be able to get some hogs in NC but it seems pretty hard to find them on public land unless your a regular and know where to go.
QuoteOriginally posted by Cory Mattson:
I saw fresh hog sign on the Caswell Gamelands spring gobbler 2004. There are wild hogs on the Neuse River - these have always been there - ignore the talk about hurricaine escapees - stable numbers near lake wacammaw - and hunters are moving them all the time - also some on the great pee dee anson county.
There are plenty of pigs - the only problem no matter where they are is access. You still have to join a club, pay a trespass fee, lease the land if it is available, or access them during a season if it is public land.
similar to how it goes now for you deer , bear or turkey hunting in NC - use that as your benchmark.
For the dedicated bowhunter you would find more opportunities for less money in SC. For those bowhunters who are not dedicated to bow hunting and would be happy to hunt with guns or dogs SC has plenty of that too.
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That's the impressive I've gotten from everybody I've talked to. I've got a friend that lives and works outdoors in Anson Co. He say's there's sign everywhere, but nobody will give permission to hunt them.
I have talked to State DNR to get leads on them and they say on the gLs where they are confirmed you need ot hunt middle of the week as pigs are known to be there and everyone is chasing them. If you have boat/kayak go that route.
J
also some years ago - ? 2000 - maybe a little later - I had a map of confirmed wild hog populations in NC. Same as the deer - turkey maps you can download now off ncwildlife website. Generally game population density maps are updated every 5 years - anybody know where to get the latest copy ???
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anyone know weather theres hogs on the roanoke?
luke there are "some" not many tho and its a BIG swamp. Your best bet is to get up with Mark (obxarcher), he is probably talkin about the water tract in corolla
We have some I know on an island down here around browns inlet. You put out the boat at willis landing and go out to the main intercoastal. Just pick a day they are not bombing Browns island as it will be close and LOUD.
I tried these guys once - no they weren't bombing - found tracks and jumped one in the thick stuff and only got a fleeting glimpse but they were a wild hog. I could not tell you the name of the island even if it has one?? just how to get there by boat or google earth.
J
The wildlife dept. had over 500 hogs trapped off Caswell county game lands a few years ago.LCH
Lee - 500 is an amzing number of hogs. For a Gamelands the size of Caswell this would put Caswell equal in hog numbers to the Savannah River National Wildlife Refuge - which is poluted with wild pigs. This number would also mean that NC hunters using Caswell would see Hogs on every deer or turkey hunt.
You live closer to Caswell than most of us so do you see hog news in your local paper, radio ?? stuff like that?
So my question is - do you trust the source of the information? Is there evidence or documentation of such a cull.???
Generally when hogs are that thick WMAs in SC or GA schedule extra hog hunt dates during winter and spring so Wildlife emplyees can manage or trap less.
J dog - I have not seen hog sign anywhere on the Roanoke - but I have only looked while striper fishing so I could have missed them - is the island you describe in the lower roanoke river ?
also a heads up that the Savannah River National Wildlife Refuge has a 10 day wild hog hunt in March. This refuge is managed better than ANY private land within 100 miles of the refuge. Hogs are plentiful. Only need the short term NR license - no big game - no wma - shotguns allowed but still probably the best 'off season' hog hunt available to you since this is a no rifles - no dogs hunt (last time I checked) --- the drive is about the time and distance for me to go to the northern outter banks. Motels, campgrounds - easy. Take a johnboat and you OWN that hunt.
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No the Island I speak of is on the intercoastal waterway off the backside of Swansboro.
Have to chec out that Savannah WR hunt in March. SOunds like fun now that I have gotten myself outta having to go be a cop. I would bring my kayak.
J
Glad I stumbled onto this thread today, as I spent the better part of yesterday afternoon googling public land hog options, and was pretty well discouraged by the lack of options after Jan-Feb.March would be a great time to get the old pop-up out of the barn on back on the road, too.
Kevin
Cory- any fishing opportunities that time of year there? Thanx
If anyone wants to team up next year, I would be interested in this.
I googled Savannah River Ntl. WR and got this info:
Hog Hunt
March 12-20, 2011
Hog hunting will be permitted March 12-20, 2011 in all
areas designated on the attached refuge map.
A hunting license is required to hunt feral hogs.
Only hogs (no bag limit) may be taken.
Only shotguns with slugs, muzzleloaders, and bows (no
crossbows), in accordance with state regulations,
I used to hunt there a lot, Paul, a few years back (mostly for pigs), and I'll tell you that you need to be prepared for two things (besides snakes 'n gators- LOL) 1. MUD! Take Mud Boots (or plastic snow shoes) with you at all times - I mean you can sink in up to your never-get-outs if you don't. 2. Unbelievable Tide Shifts. I've never seen a place where the difference between high tide and low tide can leave you stranded with your boat (actually) hanging in mid-air like it can in the Savannah River area. It can sink an improperly tied up boat while you are in the woods - trust me. Been there, done that!
There are a lot of stories and pics in the early Journal and Gallery (lower numbered ones) pages of my personal web site re hunts in the Savannah river National WR area and related problems (and fun) - a great place to hunt though as long as you are prepared and careful. There are some solid ground parts but they are in between the swampy, deep mud areas and not easy to get to even after you learn the way. I quit going there (and started going to Sumter, SC area. - then quit that too just as i was switching to Trad bows. You'll find interesting reading about it.
http://residents.bowhunting.net/bsdunn/index.htm
You can go to the Howell Woods website to book a hunt with them down near Holt Lake in Johnston County. They have feeders hung year round if i'm not mistaken. I haven't been there but a guy at my work has been several times.
Kevin - Fishing: The Savannah River is an amazing place to fish and bowfish - access just up or downstream from the refuge will put you on everything from redfish and seatrout to redbreast and Catfish. The place is thriving. April is better though for Fishing.
Friends - that Savannah NWR Hog hunt is a great opportunity for those looking for a "free" hunt over the counter on public land.
Howell Woods: I'm only going to say this one time. DON"T DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Our daughter and son-in-law live in the Charlotte area. The wife and I were think of going out to see them this fall and I was going to take my bow and do some hog hunting. I may even try for a deer, have never hunted for Whitetail, we do not have them in Utah. Thanks alot for the info it will be very useful.
Sorry - I forgot the slants on my web page link in the post above. I corrected it now and checked it.
Oh - one other thing about Savannah River area - Check the maps closely. Much of it is SC on one side and GA on the other side (of the river/reserve) - make sure you buy and carry the right state license for where you want to hunt, unless you can afford to carry both, and don't get caught on the wrong side. I always did the SC side, but I heard (back then) GA had a lot of pigs.
From what I see on the website, access on the GA side is almost entirely from water, and I was thinking about taking my 17 foot coleman gut-bucket canoe if I go...Would love to shoot or catch some redfish, if hunting time allowed. Since it seems you could do this on a generic non-resident hunting license, does either GA or SC offer a week long tag at a reduced price?
Anyone interested in puting together a Tradgang Hog Hunt on Savannah Wildlife Refuge in March of 2012?
Short term NR licenses - Yes
Paul - too farout for me to commit - but if you guys do go - I will probably swing by - I hunt in March down there anyway. One of my favorite places.
I'd like to see someone hunt this year 2011.
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Cory,
I would have this year, but I will be in Texas after Javis at the Texasshootout.com
O.K., boys, Now I just need to talk my buddy (and co-gas tank filler) into going! By March, I'm grinding my teeth, and really wanting to shoot something. Besides, after years of raising pigs on the farm here in Indiana, I got scores to settle!
Kevin
Got the go ahead from the Missus last night, so plans are in the works for this March...Now I just need to get my ducks in a row. I spoke to Danny Dupuy today, who is familiar with both the refuge and Fort Stewart hunting options, man I'm pumped about pulling this off. Any one else want to go?
Kevin
Hey Blacktail, I would be interested. I could possibly get my pops to go too. A little far out to commit 100% but I'm a good 90% right now. You in state or in Oregon?
I know I used to use SC NR 3Day licenses, (except for one year I was given a annual Big Game License for my Birthday by a hunting buddy).
As Cory stated, there are short term license options for both SC and GA. I might buy both, and hunt both sides of the border as the piggys lead...thinking a pushpole with a duckbill attachment might be a really good thing to bring.
Bernie, you've hunted there before, would you think a muscle powered canoe is adequate, or should I bring something with an outboard?
Kevin
Been lurking lately... I'm In if anyone wants to go... its only 1 1/2hrs for me so lets just find some times that work for everyone and go!!!
I agree with Cory on the Howell woods hunt. I hunted it three times several years back. I shot a 175 lb. boar with my recurve the first hunt. Hunted it one more time that year and again the next year with no luck. The first year or two was good hunting but I wouldn't recommend it now....
I'm game for Mar 2011 or 2012. How long would we be hunting, the weekend or week, possibly 5 others to join on a weekend or on returning weekends
QuoteOriginally posted by LongbowGuy83:
Hey Blacktail, I would be interested. I could possibly get my pops to go too. A little far out to commit 100% but I'm a good 90% right now. You in state or in Oregon?
I'm in Oregon, but I like to travel. I will be in N.C. later this year hunting with my friend Lee Busque. Lee is a pro bull rider that I met while hunting Ohio with Leatherneck and Co.
KDdid, A canoe could/would work fine if it is a stable one (with a small keel) and the paddler(s) are strong/competant. Those tides can be wicked fast moving, as well as super high/low. We thought about building a rack on one guys boat (did it) to carry my canoe so we'd have both with us. We tried around here/home and it worked well. Get to a jumping off place fast then anchor and use canoe for short hauls in narrow/shallow places. We never did get to try it down there though before our hunts switched to Sumter and then fell apart (stuff happens). Stories and pic of that rig are on my pages also. Safety first always with a canoe but even more so in the lower Sav River. A great place when things (tides) are right but it can turn real scary, real fast if you loose track of the time. We fared best with a utility boat - check the pictures. Oh, Make sure you have plenty of gas/extra tank on small boats - you can use a lot more fighting the tides.
http://residents.bowhunting.net/bsdunn/index.htm
(It's a non-commercial, personal web site - LOL - and worth checking out for info and entertainment.)
I'm going to spend some time studying the tide charts, just want to see what I'm facing current-wise. I'm familiar with paddling and poling both upstream and down, but really want to best utilize my time hunting, and not fighting current.
Whats the hunting there like? Is there any higher ground, like sand ridges, or is it all grass? What kind of stalking opportunities could a guy expect?
Thanks, Kevin
QuoteOriginally posted by BlacktailBowhunter:
QuoteOriginally posted by LongbowGuy83:
Hey Blacktail, I would be interested. I could possibly get my pops to go too. A little far out to commit 100% but I'm a good 90% right now. You in state or in Oregon?
I'm in Oregon, but I like to travel. I will be in N.C. later this year hunting with my friend Lee Busque. Lee is a pro bull rider that I met while hunting Ohio with Leatherneck and Co. [/b]
Ok, I gotcha.
I've actually found a guy in state that has a hog problem on his deer lease. He's letting hunters go in for fairly cheap. All I know is they are baited stands with motion lights as of now. I am going next week with some guys from work. Not taken the bow as I don't know the setup yet. If it seems feasible with bow and arrow or if he will allow stalking/still hunting, I will post to here asap. Then we can get a group up and go out.
great information :thumbsup: if my knee gets better I'll be there !!!
Wally - good to see you - been toooooo long Dude!
Kevin - this is a tidal area - but it is deeper river channel as oppose to open bays and flats - so tidal yes it will flow both directions - but definately stronger flowing downstream when the tide has dropped.
A canoe could get you hunted - certainly better than no boat but still on the dangerous side in my opinion ------- Kayak would be better - easy glide no matter the tide - only slightly dangerous --- a boat with a motor is best - for all the obvious reasons - not the least of which is that you are there to hunt - NOT excercise.
Hogs are sensitive to motor noise - so be careful - this is the only thing that puts a kayak into the "plus" category.
Friends there WILL be other hunters and they WILL be using shotguns - still our best option in my opinion if we are looking for public land - minimal cost.
Ft Stewart: Look I would only recommend this to a very experienced hog hunter - meaning you need to be hunting at least once a month - less I think it is unrealistic to think we can just pop over to Ft Stewart and bag some hogs in Winter. Ft Stewart is a very good property - but it has been shot hard with rifles since October. If you insist try looking into "bow zone" units - there are some - next would be the largest swamps - but it is chancy - I like Ft Stewart Sept, Oct, May, early June. When I hunted GA in the 90's it was not legal to hunt hogs during turkey season which gave the hogs a break.
Safe Travels and Good Hunting
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Cory' Thanks for all the info. I've got a ton of questions, not the least of which involve the type of cover to be hunted...is it all tall grass, or are there some timbered/palmetto thicket kind of areas? And as far as the boat goes, is it likely to be a problem getting it launched again after the tide drops? I'm leary of bringing a motorboat for that reason.
Let me know if you'd like me to PM you on any of these questions. I'm just trying to see if I can pull this off with less than 60 days lead time.
Thanks, Kevin
Also, I'm thinking of posting something over on the PBS site, to see if any PBS'ers would be interested.
Some of just about everything, depending on where you go/are - large reed areas, Palmettos, high ground, low ground, swampy areas, hard wood stands, some high dike areas with trees beside river and streams, rather deep tidal slews that fill up (and/or drain) quickly, Mud flats, mud banks, a few small islands. I still say go look at the pictures in my early Gallery pages and you'll see a lot of the river and land areas we hunted that may help you form some pictures in your mind. Robert Hogue, owner of Bowhunting.net, once said on his (huge) site that visiting my personal site was like going on a ten day vacation for him - FWIW LOL. We went to the Sav River Refuge a lot of times to get to know it the way we did back then, as well as studying a lot of topos on the internet. I have no doubt that Cory probably knows it even better than we did - but I forget a lot of stuff now at my age - LOL.
Habitat: March we focus on two things - river cane and crayfish - often in the same area. This is where I would begin my scout - and you can glass long distances of river cane - look for spots that are nocked down - looks like it has been burned - mudholes - whatever - this is usually hog rooting sign. Stare at it - might find hogs.
In general hogs hate sand - stay in the river cane.
Oaks are done by then - but thick cover is always attractive to hogs - but the cane is where its at - some will be pushed by shotgun dudes - you should be able ot walk dykes or skid trails to get back a distance - just a few hundred yards - slow down and listen.
Boats stuck: Ya know this happened ot me all the time in the 80s & 90s sometimes 20 yards from the waterline when I got back if the tide dropped - this was near the ocean - not up in the refuge - tide drop would be l;ess severe - and I don't think you will get stuck - you can wiggle a boat and slide it over mud - UNless your boat is large - if so stream anchor or tie off to a post or tree.
Cool to email or call - No problem
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Well, i'ts all falling together, got the vacation days scheduled, and my Cuz cleared his work for the week of the 14th of March.Now just trying to decide if we'll be camping in the pop-up, or finding a motel, either way, should be fun.
Kevin
with all this hog talk goin on I'm gonna go to obx next weekend and see if I can find the ones I used to hunt over there. Its been about 5-6 years since I hunted over there. If'n I find any I'll report back. I would be game for any TG group hunts for our state.
nc - Look forward to your report - how many miles/hours will that drive be?
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about 2 hrs each way Mr. Cory
nc , let me know if you head over here. I live in Kitty Hawk we can team up.
So...What's an OBX?
Outer Banks NC abbreviation
Hey guys. Found a place in the piedmont to hunt hogs. We went this past week with a slightly louder weapon, but the rain messed us up and only 1 of 6 got a hog. 180#. This guy is a real standup kind of guy. Said we can come back on his dime since we didn't have better luck. He's in the beginning stages of running this hunting setup. He also has a log cabin that he said he will do overnights stays in. Not real sure on the overnight deal. He said that he will move blinds and stands to accomodate the hunter and weapon choice. I have his info if anyone wants it. We're going back in a couple weeks and I'm going trad. See ya'll around
Guys name wasn't Johnnie Dale was it? Don
No sir. Greg Lynn.
Yall come on down to Texas. We got more hogs than you shake a stick at. Checked my trail cam a month ago and had over 91 vids of hogs. We even got them in our neighborhood.
Mark I dropped you a line, I'm goin sunday my daughters got a basketball game saturday. You can give me a call tommorrow after noonish we can workout the plan.
Longbowguy-If you don't mind would you PM me that guys info. Thanks, LCH
well I picked up some useful info a few minutes ago. The game warden called back a few minutes ago and told that the hoggin grounds on the beach aren't huntable on sundays. Theres a permit required, but its free and one can be picked up anytime in Kitty hawk woods.
Well, it looks like a group of 4 of us are heading down to Savannah to hunt the refuge in March, for the special 9 day hog hunt. I think we'll be staying at the state park campground at Skidaway Island as of now...anyone want to meet up to do a Trad Gang hunt?
Now, if I can only figure out how to haul the boat and trailer, along with the pop up camper... gonna have to do some creative loading.
Kevin
PM'd you KDdid
QuoteOriginally posted by LongbowGuy83:
If it seems feasible with bow and arrow or if he will allow stalking/still hunting, I will post to here asap. Then we can get a group up and go out.
Hey Caleb you know I'm in right?!!!
I'd like to have that info too, if you don't mind. I've got pigs on my brain now, and I just can't shake it.
QuoteOriginally posted by madness522:
QuoteOriginally posted by LongbowGuy83:
If it seems feasible with bow and arrow or if he will allow stalking/still hunting, I will post to here asap. Then we can get a group up and go out.
Hey Caleb you know I'm in right?!!! [/b]
Of course Barry. We're going back next saturday. I need to ask him about the stalking still. He hunts many different small farms and they all don't connect but I'll ask him anyway. He will move the blinds and stands to accomodate us that can't shoot as good as you, Barry. I'll let you know asap. Hope to see you at the feb shoot.
pm back atcha, Caleb.
Kevin
well I stomped around on the beach today and did get to see a couple of hogs 3deer and a horse. I forgot how dang thick that place was! Of course I had one of the deer get within 10ft of me without a clue I was on the planet.....why does that NEVER happen when I'm deer hunting. A good day all and all. Note to ya'll thinkin of goin there the sheriffs deputy said the fed. game warden has zero sense of humor and is strictly by the book. The boundry between the refuge and te water track is unmarked so becareful as you can not to stray across the line.
any more reports - some hogs should have hit the ground by now ???????????????????????
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I'm going Saturday. Hope to have some good news.
any more on this ??????? and did the group go to SRNWR ?????????
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