This video is about trying to whack a feral hog for a friend on his birthday. Spoiler alert: without hog-success. It was, however, a great day in the very early spring woods.
We are about the same age and when I was a kid, my daddy taught us that the 12 gauge shotgun is the most effective weapon under 50 yards you can buy. "If you can't kill it with a 12 gauge, you should NOT be shooting....you SHOULD be running!!!". My brother and I always laugh when the tell our sons that. Funny thing is...he was right!!! He also always bought us single shot rifles and shotguns. We use to tease him that he did that because he was a cheap Scotsman but in fact...it was to teach us to be better hunters and better shots. "You don't SQUEEZE a trigger...you stroke it like it was the neck of a beautiful woman." Sure we would laugh but you never never never forgot it....and that was the point. Great video and that is beautiful country.
Enjoyed the outing. Sure was a pretty day for just being out in the wilderness, wasn't it? Nice clean stream of water. Reminds of the streams at home in Pennsylvania hills. Enjoyed a full-watch. 👍🏽🤠 4/26/23
Houndsman One, I really appreciate you watching. Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts. It's inspiring to know there are a lot of good folks out there who enjoy the simple pleasures of the outdoors as much as I do!
Thanks so much for watching, Mike and I appreciate the kind remarks. Glad to know you're a fellow Missourian with an appreciation for the great outdoors!
Russ , I've learned over 40 years of hunting, it's getting out into nature and learning something new It's not about shooting or killing animals, It does your head good and provides food.
I could not agree more, John! When I purchased our property in 1997 one of my main focuses was dear and turkey hunting. I had been an avid bow hunter for several years prior and a lifelong hunter in general/fisherman/outdoorsman. However, once I started clearing brush, "working the land" and preparing to build a cabin/getaway, I lost interest in deer hunting. In 25 years I've never harvested a deer, turkey or even a squirrel off our property (not saying I never will, but haven't so far). I certainly don't have a problem with hunting and the harvesting of game animals; I've just gotten to where I so much appreciate the splendor of wildlife that I lost the desire to hunt anything. That said, I would still shoot a feral hog or two, given the opportunity.
Great video. Feral hogs in Missouri are the only reason I carry a gun when I go hiking. I live in Missouri and go overnight hiking frequently, it scared me when I was unarmed sleeping in the middle of woods and a group of them surrounded my tent.
After watching the video and you said where you were, when I was surrounded by hogs at night, I was in Mark Twain National Forest. Probably kinda close to where you were.
Chris, now that would be enough to scar the heck out of even the hardiest of wood-folk! I agree about always being armed when in the woods..especially way out in the woods. A person just never knows for sure what they might run into.
Thanks for taking us along! I am in Ozark County and the hogs have been thinned out quite a bit by the MDC. 4-6 years ago we had quite a few! Would get 30+ in one game camera pic. Those buggers are cagey!
Wow! Glad they've been getting them under control in your area. I need to contact MDC about setting up a trap on our place. My friend, George, was hunting shed antlers this past Saturday and walked up on a sounder of what he said was at least 30 hogs. Most of them were small but he said there were at least 4 that appeared to be at least a couple hundred pounds. Thanks for sharing that.
Do y’all seriously eat those things? Don’t misunderstand, I grew up eating wild game and I enjoy most of it. But I heard they eat a lot of carrion 🤮. To each their own my friend. Subscribed and 👍
@@wt1370 A lot of folks do from what I understand. I've eaten feral hog a couple of times in south Texas. As I recall I couldn't tell it from store bought. However, I've not yet eaten a Missouri or Arkansas hog. For every person who says they're safe to eat you'll probably find someone who'll say they're not. That said, I asked a life long hog raiser/enthusiast what she thought about it and she responded, "If the hog doesn't smell bad then it's ok to eat." I asked her how would I know if it smelled worse then a wild hog would naturally smell and she responded, "Oh, trust me: YOU'LL KNOW!" I do understand why some folks wouldn't eat a feral hog if you paid them but I'm willing to give it a shot in the event I'm successful in whacking one out here:)
@@reallyridiculous1 I’ve actually heard something very similar to what your friend said with the smell And again, I wasn’t judging with my comment, when I was growing up I got some shocked looks when I would tell someone that Sunday morning breakfast consisted of fried rabbit or squirrel with gravy ,eggs and biscuits . And that we had shot them the day before. I was curious if y’all ate them and did you enjoy eating or do you feel obligated to choke down at least a portion of them ? Being an invasive species would ease my mind about putting it on the table. As I’ve been told and you confirmed that they’re oportunistic feeders, even consuming carrion I quickly lose my appetite lol. I’ve been told the same things about Canadian black bears in particular. Apparently in that area they eat a lot of dead beavers. Hopefully I can continue to be that particular
@@wt1370 I've had the same reaction over the years from several friends who grew up in "the city" and can't imagine eating anything wild. As you mentioned, fried squirrel and rabbit is hard to beat. You're inspired me with what you shared and this fall I may have to go out and harvest a few squirrels off "The Squirrel Ranch" and fry up a batch. If I do, I'll share that on here. Thanks, WT, for sharing your experience and no offense at all taken regarding eating feral hogs. I can see why a lot of folks wouldn't think that roaming wild hog sounds very appetizing:)
Chuck, I think I missed reading your comment from a month ago. I wasn't aware of the APEX brand shotgun shells but pulled up their site and read a little bit about them. Sounds like a great quality choice. Thanks for watching the video and for taking time to comment.
I'm with you on that Terry. I've never had a run-in with a feral hog(s) but if I ever did I think I'd like to have a 12 gauge with appropriate loads. Thanks for watching and for taking time to comment. Russ
Lacrossed55, up until recently, the Missouri Department of Conservation had a literal "open season" on feral hogs. They used to publish on their website "...feral hogs can be taken year round by any legal means, day or night..." (that's a close paraphrase as I remember it) and that included spotlighting, which is of course illegal for most game animal hunting. By "legal means" they meant if you have a license to own and shoot a fully automatic weapon, dynamite, flame-thrower, Sherman tank etc, then you can hunt feral hogs with it (that might be a little hyperbole but their point was that they wanted help in "eradicating" (they actually used that word) feral hogs from the state of Missouri. It's now my understanding from some folks who are more knowledgeable on the subject than me that the MDC prefer landowners to contact them regarding setting up large hog traps in an attempt to capture the entire sounder of hogs instead of maybe just getting one or two. Everything I've read about hogs, domestic, feral, or wild, is that they are very smart and retain what they learn. If they see one of their own get shot/killed, they'll run off and remember not to come back to that exact spot. Which just results in making a very minor dent in the local population. Anyway, probably more info than you wanted but thanks so much for watching and commenting.
@@reallyridiculous1 We are on the same page. Shooting them was good until it wasn't. I was interested in hunting them but put it out of mind based on the current stance.
So.....why dont farmers fence their crops ? It cant be about the cost ! If hogs take out two acres of corn after its planted....... thats the cost of planting... plus say two acres of corn x 150 bushels per acre x times 5.00 per bushel equals 1500 dollars that is lost. And year after year this happens ? Id say fencing is rather cheap ! The bigger question ?? People say fences wont stop hogs. If thats true then why are hunting ranches allowed if they cant contain the hogs they have if its fenced and the hogs dont stay behind fences ????
I don't have the answer to that question, Jerry. With your question about fences in mind, I'm guessing deer might eat more crops than hogs (a lot more deer than feral hogs). Between the two species, I bet the annual crop loss is significant. Maybe someone who knows more about farming/fencing will run across this and weigh in. Thanks for the question and for watching the video: much appreciated! -Russ
name = too many brands to say small = .410 (four ten) *make sure ammo is available before you buy one cheaper = used / single shot home protection = something that holds more than a single shot female can handle? All the women I've known absolutely hate shooting any shotgun I recommend new shooters start with a .22 before moving on to other guns.
Thanks for the input, JackA55six. You made some good points. A .22 rifle is a great place to start for anyone new to firearms, shooting sports etc. Another important thing to consider overall, regardless of what kind/style/caliber/brand etc of gun a person choses, learning to safely handle, load, shoot, unload, store etc a firearm is critical. I personally know a lot of gun owners who take these things for granted. If a person (homeowner) doesn't' know how to handle the firearm, it's not going to be much use to them.
Normally I would have taken a rifle but on this particular day I knew I was going to mostly be in the brush. I figured if I was going to get an opportunity it would likely be at short range. Also, because the hog(s) would likely be on the run trying to get away from me: in that situation I would have had a better chance with a shotgun. That's a good observation Jerry. Thanks for question and for "tuning it"! -Russ
I lived in Greene County for a few years in the late 1960s. Nice part of the country for sure. Hard to creep up on game when the ground underfoot is so crunchy and dry. Better luck next time.
The leaf covered ground in these hard woods makes it close to impossible, Jim. That said, a friend of mine walked up on a big sounder of hogs a week after I gave it a shot. He said he was about 25-30 yards away from them when they jumped up and took off. He had his head down looking for antler sheds and was very surprised when he nearly walked up on them. With hogs, that probably doesn't occur very often. Thanks for the your comment Jim.
I loved this video especially the beautiful background and scenery with the blue skies and fluffy little clouds. All the way from the UK where only criminals can carry guns I'm not allowed to own a firearm to just shoot paper targets God bless America 🙏 🇺🇲
Otto, it's an honor to know you watched this video all the way from the UK (many of my friends and family have visited your country and really enjoyed it). I honestly cannot imagine what it would be like to not be able to legally purchase, own, possess, shoot, etc., firearms. My high school graduation present from my parents was in fact a 9 shot .22 magnum pistol manufactured by a now defunct firearms company called, High Standard. I still have it and think about that fact every time I get it out of my gun safe. Thank you so much for your very kind comments and observations. I hope you continue to "tune in" to the Squirrel Ranch: it's all just for fun and folks like yourself continue to inspire me to post more short videos:)
Absolutely Nickodemus. Every time I think about hog hunting I fondly remember a super fun night-hunt in south Texas with you: one of my most fond hunting memories.
