Pigs are not a game animal in Nevada and you don't need a license but there arent many there. Wild hogs you can hunt in arizona and don't need a license and there isn't a season on them you can hunt year around.However there is the collared peciary that is a game animal and you do need a license and there is a season. When ever you go to hunt anywhere in Arizona take plenty of drinking water and water for your radiator. I live in St George and have hunted on the Virgin River and down to mesquite and found no sign I am an experienced hunter I have hunted hogs in The Everglades in Florida and in Southern Carolina and I tell you i found no sign but I think now that I was a little to far north if they are there they would be south of Mesquite on the river as they need water.I hope this helps.
Since generally there is a fair amount of BLM land around there, I think. ( I have not checked my maps yet). I am wondering if they have an opinion on shooting hogs on their (our) lands.
Maybe someone could contact the local BLM office just to be sure hog hunters have a clear shot.
Helung
__________________ "..the Right in question, is individual." Parker vs Dist. of Columbia, March 9,2007 p. 20
Since generally there is a fair amount of BLM land around there, I think. ( I have not checked my maps yet). I am wondering if they have an opinion on shooting hogs on their (our) lands.
Maybe someone could contact the local BLM office just to be sure hog hunters have a clear shot.
Helung
Late 2008 I talked to the BLM guy responsible for the area up there and he told me he has seen signs of them but has not seen them. He said he was thinking about hunting them as well
I have taken a walk about below mesquite along the river and seen many cattle but no pigs. Several of us are going to make some more trips up there and scout around.
I'll keep ya'll posted.
Edward, the Nevada Department of Agriculture does not authorize the hunting of feral pigs.
If I'm not mistaken the Nevada Department of Agriculture does not authorize the hunting of ANY animal. That is purely the domain of the game department. In other words you are unlikely to be confronted by a DOA agent over a pig kill. They neither authorize the hunting nor do they regulate it.
My younger brother has hunted the pigs for years. I've seen his kills and am planning to hunt them this winter. There are some great techniques and strategies to getting them. We are also pretty certain as to where they go in the summer (much more difficult to get them in the low lands in the summer).
I may be wrong about the DOA issue. I guess I'll let you know if we get a special ticket from a DOA feral hog agent.
It should be noted that while we've found (from personal experience) that neither Nevada nor Arizona seem to care at all about whether or not you take a Russian Boar along the Virgin River, Caliente, etc., there are important hunting regulations in both states that go beyond pig hunting.
For instance the method of the hunt is very important. We know hunters who snare the pigs with traps made from airline cable. This type of hunting is illegal in both states as it can result in both game and nongame animals being trapped, injured, and/or killed. I would stay far away from illegal hunting methods as proscribed by both states, as each has very strict regulations in this regard.
As a final note, these animals are omnivorous and destructive not only to landowner property but to native wildlife habitat. They will eat any young or small animal they encounter that cannot get away from them (newborn deer, mountain sheep, desert tortoises, ground birds, snakes, etc.) and they completely decimate any terrain they frequent. They are a pestilence. It is doubtful that any landowner, treehugger, or government official will complain at the death of one of these things ... Just make sure that your kill method is legal.
And as a DOUBLE FINAL note ... I wouldn't use anything smaller than a .243 to take one of these things, and I would always go for a single-shot kill (below and behind the ear, or a heart shot). Why? If you get into a bad spot with one of these things, with it charging you, you could have a freaking cannon and it wouldn't penetrate its head in a straight-on shot. At that point hand your slowest hunting partner a knife and run like hell. Go clean up his gear later. You won't stop the thing ... Remember these aren't traditional Arizona feral pigs. They're black Russian boars that have the thickest, most sharply angled skulls you can imagine. They're huge. They're mean. And they will eat you, given the motivated opportunity to do so.
I'm headed out to Mesquite next week to see some family. I plan on heading to the gun club and any other places I can think of to get some more info from the Mesquite locals. I'll let you know what I find when I get back.
Today the Virgin River is cresting worse than 2005. I just moved here in mid 2009 and have heard about the pigs that roam the river. I took advantage today and walked the outside of the river in search of these boars. After reading your remarks about how tough and aggressive they are I'm glad I didn't run into any. I left my .223 bushmaster in the truck and was carrying only a S&W 5906 9mm.
The locals here say that you can take one first light as they are nocturnal.
Stumbled across this forum and glad I did!!! Has anyone on here had any luck in Mesquite with the Hogs? I would Love to take a trip up there and set up some hog hunting.
If fish and game doesn't classify them as wildlife, then there shouldn't be any problems. In texas they arnt considered wildlife either but are covered in the hunting guide. Since they arnt game animals they can be taken anytime by any means. But I believe you still have to have a license as with any nongame animal. There's even farmers around here that will invite people out or charge like 25 bucks a weekend just cuz they want them gone. As for caliber I've heard people using everything, most popular out here is a 3030, second would be a 223. Anything you can get a quick follow up shot with is best, in case it charges or its buddies decide they want a piece of you. Not uncommon for people to get multiple hogs in one trip.
I haven't been back up that way for awhile and since the wife and I had our first child it isn't that easy for me to get out and go hunting. I would love to get back out there since the weather is perferct for hunting. It is no fun when it is 100+
I too live in Vegas, I did a little research on some other forums and have decided to go up the River to the Littlefield AZ. Area from us it's only 5 miles farther. I am definately going to head up there on Saturday. If this is something you'd be interested in let me know.
as much as I would like to go my wife has other plans for me this weekend. Maybe we could get together another time and plan a trip up that way before it gets warmer. I have hunted from Hwy 170 & I-15 all the way up to the AZ border. One of the operators on a job I was working on a few years ago used a drift boat and was floating down the river hunting ducks. He said he saw several pigs that way. They started at the border and floated down.
We have a problem here in Alabama with hogs and it is getting worse by the day. We are trying to get the State to stop considering the hogs as game animals, with all the restrictions attached to that classification, and make the a public nuisance so we can go after them without any restrictions.
__________________
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We have a real problem here in TX too. We can trap them, however, I have caught deer in the trap before. If you can get to the deer in time, you can let them out. However, if it's dead of summer they will dehydrate if they get caught and you aren't checking the traps daily, or the deer freaks out too much and break their neck trying to get out... The idea of the trap is that hopefully you will catch 8-10 or more choates and possibly a sow. Usually it works...
You need a license to hunt them, but not specifically a feral hog license. Any legal hunting license will do as long as it's not expired. Bird, small game, deer, whatever.
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