Western tactics for whitetails

[woods89]

So we're off on a bit of a tangent here but I certainly don't mind. I'm curious what you guys think about hogs in a place like southern Mo where we have a few populations getting started but not an infestation yet. Is a infestation inevitable? Are there any game depts that are successfully controlling hog populations?

The MDC talks in their magazine about trapping but it seems like its always on private land at the request of landowners. We have a lot of private land in my area but I would estimate we have at least 200-300,000 acres of public land within a couple hours drive. Most of this is rough, remote country with an average visibility of 50-75 yds. If these populations get a foothold in these public areas it seems like no matter how much they trap on the outskirts the big woods populations will keep hogs moving out to more ag type land.

This bothers me a bit because in a year like this with a minimal acorn crop the deer have a tough enough time finding food till spring. The last thing we need is a voracious acorn eating invasive species to move in.

Enlighten me!

 

[Poser]

If you have hogs and aggressive measures are not taken, you will eventually have an infestation. If your state game agency jumps out ahead of this, they can keep an infestation from happening, but you need a lot of cooperation from landowners. I understand that in TN it is costing about $600 a hog for the state to remove one. Tactics are largely based around trapping, but they have done some helicopter shooting using federal money, too. That tactic is not nearly effective in a state like TN where there is so much cover, though. One big thing that is key is having legislation for punishing people who transport and release hogs. In TN, that now results in a $5000 fine. Another problem is farmers who have been known to turn their domestic hogs lose if pork prices plummet. The vast majority, if not all of the hogs I have personally seen look to be of domestic stock recently turned feral. I do see pics from East TN that look to be more Russian variety or what you might think of as true "wild hogs", but I have yet to see one like this myself. Big woods hogs are really difficult to root out without dogs. They tend to stay holed up in impossibly thick cover and are mostly nocturnal. If you have a lot of open farmland, they should be easier to kill/eradicate.

 

[woods89]

Thanks Poser!

My gut feeling here is that they're doing too little, too late. And I can't say that I blame them because its expensive and difficult work but I certainly hate seeing what they do to the landscape.

One thing is for certain, anyone who releases pigs has no vision of or respect for a properly functioning ecosystem.

 

[rayporter]

got to say yes to all the above.

private land it is still anything goes here.

about 10 years ago the buffalo was loaded with them. really loaded. then one spring they were just gone.

it seems that the feds had a meeting and were gone for a week. dogs were brought in and they put the hurt on them.
now they are bouncing back.

and yes the squirrels are worth a trip. i have went several times in the fall.

 

[camping1601]

Nice thread. Not many wt guys doing this style of hunting.View attachment 34306

 

[cwoods]

Great thread guys! I have yet to set up a spike camp to hunt whitey's, No Sunday Hunting on Game Lands in NC, but I do quarter deer up and haul them out with my trusty SG solo pack. Using the pack is a HUGE plus in urban areas where some folks frown upon hunting. It keep the deer out of sight out of mind.

 

[woods89]

Never thot about packing meat out being good for the urban guys! It would keep most people from figuring out what your doing! Lol

 

[Bubblehide]

So we're off on a bit of a tangent here but I certainly don't mind. I'm curious what you guys think about hogs in a place like southern Mo where we have a few populations getting started but not an infestation yet. Is a infestation inevitable? Are there any game depts that are successfully controlling hog populations?

The MDC talks in their magazine about trapping but it seems like its always on private land at the request of landowners. We have a lot of private land in my area but I would estimate we have at least 200-300,000 acres of public land within a couple hours drive. Most of this is rough, remote country with an average visibility of 50-75 yds. If these populations get a foothold in these public areas it seems like no matter how much they trap on the outskirts the big woods populations will keep hogs moving out to more ag type land.

This bothers me a bit because in a year like this with a minimal acorn crop the deer have a tough enough time finding food till spring. The last thing we need is a voracious acorn eating invasive species to move in.

Enlighten me!

Here in Ca, where the pigs are established, they compete with deer for the food supply. What has resulted here is that the deer do not build up those healthy fat reserves, thus significantly lowering the viability of does, reducing the number of offspring, and significantly lowering the fawn survival rate. In short, in means significantly lower deer numbers in areas with established pig populations. From the research I have read, there are 2 effective methods of controlling the pig populations, sterilization and large scale trapping, baiting and trapping the whole herd at one time. There are a couple places here in Ca in the very recent past where the forest service has hired professional hunters, to shoot pigs from helicopters. This method according to the research is not a viable method, due to the continued costs to maintain such a program.

On the good side, my freezer is always stocked with plenty of wild pork.

 

[jivetrky31]

Has anyone had luck doing spot and stalk with whitetails?

 

[justin davis]

Has anyone had luck doing spot and stalk with whitetails?

Yea that's how I have killed whitetails here in Colorado. It's pretty open country and some tags are good for Mulies or whitetails. So depending on what you glass up you just go for it! My best whitetail was a 140" buck. Stalked and shot him at 17 yards right thru the heart!


You can spot and stalk any animal out there in my opinion. If you can spot and stalk a coues deer than an eastern whitetail is even easier in my opinion.

 

[Tony Trietch]

This past year I didn't hang a single tree stand or brush in a ground blind.
I hunted KS and MT for wt with archery using only spot and stalk methods.
It works.
I'm putting together an article about it as we speak.


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[sasquatch]

I started packing my kills out 2 years ago. If you still dragging your killing yourself for nothing!


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[jivetrky31]

Tony I'd love to see that. I've been a tree stand guy up until now but I've got a large piece of public land in going to start hunting that is mostly canyon/river bottom. I think spot and stalk would be a better approach.

 

[sodaksooner]

Grew up spot and stalk hunting wt's in western SD. 35 years later, still don't prefer the treestand, although I do use it.

 

[elkyinzer]

Yea that's how I have killed whitetails here in Colorado. It's pretty open country and some tags are good for Mulies or whitetails. So depending on what you glass up you just go for it! My best whitetail was a 140" buck. Stalked and shot him at 17 yards right thru the heart!


You can spot and stalk any animal out there in my opinion. If you can spot and stalk a coues deer than an eastern whitetail is even easier in my opinion.

Maybe you can spot and stalk any animal, but it's all about having the right country to do so. It would be next to impossible where I hunt, only a fool would try. Clearcuts and mountain laurel so thick you can't get through it. More open country in the midwest sure, it's a great tactic.

 

[jivetrky31]

Maybe you can spot and stalk any animal, but it's all about having the right country to do so. It would be next to impossible where I hunt, only a fool would try. Clearcuts and mountain laurel so thick you can't get through it. More open country in the midwest sure, it's a great tactic.

I'm curious how you handle that. Do you use stands?

 

[elkyinzer]

I'm curious how you handle that. Do you use stands?

Yes, for sure. Yes it's boring. But it kills the bucks. I posted on this thread back a couple months about my methods. Scout a lot, find deer concentrations, and sit on travel areas during the rut. I still hunt/run and gun/call occasionally, but that is more to relieve the boredom of sitting in the stand after a few monotonous days. I can't say I've killed anything that way, but had a couple close calls. I love my trips out West because it's a different kind of hunting, but those tactics just don't fly here. I still love hunting the whitetails I grew up hunting though, and continue to learn from them every season. I like hunting the big woods whitetails even more, call me a sucker for pain. I didn't get a deer last year and it was one of my best seasons ever.

 

[camping1601]

Maybe you can spot and stalk any animal, but it's all about having the right country to do so. It would be next to impossible where I hunt, only a fool would try. Clearcuts and mountain laurel so thick you can't get through it. More open country in the midwest sure, it's a great tactic.

Aint that the truth. I know the PA State Forest system pretty well.

 

[camping1601]

I'm curious how you handle that. Do you use stands?

If using a rifle still hunting can work well if you wait for the right conditions. Rain, snow, or high winds. I learn the best areas for a chance at success and concentrate on them. I just beat feet from one spot to the next.

 

[Bar]

I've had the experience of hunting the east and the west. My dad taught me to still hunt in Mass where I was born and brought up. Always in thick timber, or as easterners say, the woods. I've hunted Colorado for 60 years. We came to Colorado to hunt muley's and elk while still living in Mass. We moved to Calif when I was 15 and I hated it. My only escape was when we went to Colorado to hunt. I knew I would move to Colorado someday and when my dad died I did.
In all the years of hunting I used nothing but still hunting. Even when conditions were at the worst. Like very crushy ground. I've refined it to a much higher level than what my dad taught me, but when you do something for over 60 years you learn new stuff. It's the most enjoyable way to hunt for me and wouldn't consider hunting with any other method. I hunt whitetails, muley's, elk and bear with the same method. It's way more than a slow walk in the timber. Much more. Actually, when done right, it's not a walk at all.
I'd like to say something about hunting the west and i'm only speaking of Colorado. Other western states have terrain that could be different. Just like eastern hunters are steriotyped to always use treestands. Western hunters are steriotyped to always hunting open land and taking long shots. Of course both are not true. They are that way if that's what you want to do, but it's not the only option. As I already mentioned. I hunt the thicker dark timber exclusivley, and we have a lot of it. So, if like hunting tiber by still hunting. Don't think you can't use it in Colorado. The only difference is we have millions of acreas. So, finding the game is a bit harder. This is why you need to scout a lot. I scout 250 days a year, but I have the time to do it and I love it. I don't expect others to do the same.

Here's some pictures of where I hunt. Lots of timber.






Old mountain man cabin