As you all have already realized I’ve been away from the blog for quite sometime now. I’d like to thank each and everyone one of you for reading this blog and I hope that you’ll continue following the SkinnyMoose Bloggers as they bring you the very latest and greatest outdoor news and entertainment. I will be on and off the blog sporadically from here on out because I am tied up building and maintaining an all new message board called www.carolinasoutdoor.com ,an all new hunting and fishing forum dedicated to North and South Carolina outdoorsmen. Come join us or at least check in often to see what the folks in the Carolinas are doing in the field. Once again thanks for your support.

Sorry for the lack of post lately. I ended up having to go through an unexpected surgery which has had me off my feet for awhile now. I’ve been up and about for a few days now but in all honesty I just haven’t had the brain power to come up with any post that I felt would be worth reading. My surgery also has prevented me from attending the hog hunt I had scheduled near the Pee Dee River here in North Carolina. The rest of my group should be en route today and return sometime Sunday. Hopefully they’ll have a great trip and send some photos into Southern Adventures!!

When folks mention feral hogs the first places to come to mind would be Texas, California and then followed by the southern most states. I’ve covered many stories about feral hogs, wild boar, or whatever you choose to call them but I must say I was a little surprised to find out that North Dakota is not immune to the swine that inhabit other areas of the country. The article is reporting that North Dakota officials are not wasting any time with eradication efforts.

Well, it appears North Dakota is not immune to wild hog problems. It seems two areas of the state have been found to harbor at least small groups of wild, feral hogs. Last summer, state and federal wildlife officials learned there was a group of feral hogs in the southwestern part of the state near Grassy Butte. The other population is in the northern part of the state, in and around the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation.Dr. Susan Keller, North Dakota state veterinarian and the Board of Animal Health issued an eradication order against the two groups of hogs.

I’d venture to say that these hogs are escapees or transplants by hunters wishing to create a local herd for hunting purposes. North Dakota will be very lucky to totally eradicate the population though, but their efforts should be applauded at stepping up and at least trying to get a hold on the hog numbers before it gets really out of hand. I’m a firm believer that total eradication of feral hogs is almost next to impossible and while North Dakota isn’t dragging their feet on the issue, they’ll play hell killing that “last pig”. I’ll try my best to keep up with this developing hog problem and if anyone happens to find additional information in the future of the success or lack there of that this program is having please send it my way. You can read more of the article here.

I was sent this video showing a couple of fellas putting the smack down on some feral hogs at night. The video is just shy of two minutes but they get a chance to lay down several of these porkers tearing this field up. Enjoy!!

With hunting season either over all together or soon to be in parts of the south, I’d like to start on a new project for the upcoming weeks/months. I am looking for harvest photos from across the south. These can be deer, hog, turkey, any small game, coyotes, hunting dogs, trapping photos, etc. Please be sure to include a name and state in which the animal(s) was taken. A brief story to be posted here at Southern Adventures would be awesome if you have time. Once I get enough submissions, I’ll be announcing the week in which I’ll begin to showcase a “Southern Trophy” a day. The contact information can be found at the top of the blog here. Hope to hear from you soon!!

  For those out there that do not have feral hogs to deal with in their area, it’s hard to grasp the horror stories that some tell when talking about the destruction these animals have on an area. Parts of Texas have resorted to using helicopters to help aid them in controlling the hog population. Currently the only means of removal are hunting, trapping, and now the use of helicopters.  The fly-overs in Texas are soon to be winding down, scheduled to end December 31st. According to the report, no decision has been made as of yet whether to try and raise funds locally for another fly over.

One problem pointed out in the article is that if  the hogs happen to be on property that they do not have permission to shoot on, they have to let them walk. One would think that with the money this program must cost and the money lost due to feral hog destruction, all landowners would grant permission for the “helicopter hunters” to fire upon any feral hog spotted in the vicinity of the fly over.

The feral hog issue across the U.S. will only be getting worse as people trap and relocate these animals to areas which currently have no hogs. This combined with at least two litters a year and before you know it, everyone has a hog problem. Feral hog hunting has become a year round event for some hunters across the nation and often times trapped swine are sold to individuals who have no other intentions other than to unload them onto another piece of property in hopes of starting a local population. BAD IDEA.

You can read more about the fly over program here.

I’ve known about this hog for quite awhile now and honestly I meant to write about this beast alot sooner but with deer season in full force, it completely slipped my mind. The photo above is a hog that was taken by Jeffrey Goodpasture of TreeM & BayM Kennel out of Parkton, North Carolina. This hog was taken during a trip over to towards the mountains of North Carolina. Heres a little bit of what “Jeffro” had to say about this hog hunt.

Well the week started off slow till we got some rain on Wednesday. After that it was on. We ran and killed a bear and two other hogs on Wednesday and Thursday, then on Saturday I got the beast. We were heading out of the spot where we were hunting when one of the other guys seen a fresh track goin’ up the hill side. We decided to turn out on it. I dropped my Virginia dog and there was bout 3 or 4 other hounds dropped. Well they took to it, more dogs were packed in after it was goin. I took up a place down on the river. I could here the dogs come’n my way. Then I could here the hog running up the river. I took aim and shot three times with the ole’ shot gun. He started to head to the other side of the river but the last slug I had of the 3 hit him right in the face below his eyes. Dropped in his tracks. What a week. Can’t wait to get back out there. Jeffro

Congratulations to Jeffro on a fine North Carolina Boar. The hog reportedly tipped the scales at 216lbs and I’m sure made for some mighty fine eatin’. Here’s a few more photos of this hog. Thanks to Jeff for giving SouthernAdventures the chance to tell his story.