Page 70 - South Mississippi Living - November, 2018

SPORTS & OUTDOORS this little piggy
THE story by Frank Wilem photos by Wesley Martin
ogs are a problem here in Mississippi. I’m not talking about the slang term for Harley Davidson bikes but the type that we enjoy for breakfast. If you own hunting or farming land, then you are quite familiar with this issue.
Wild hogs are not native to North America and
are classified as a nuisance species, not as wildlife. Since humans are their only effective predator, the problem is quickly growing. They have one to two litters per year with eight to 10 piglets in each litter and have a lifespan up to 10 years. Host to more than 60 diseases and parasites, they cause erosion by disturbing the soil and vegetation, and consume up to five percent of their body weight each day with
a 250-pound hog eating more than two tons of food each year! Nationally, wild hogs cost us $1.5 billion annually.
So, it comes as no surprise that most landowners want to harvest them whenever possible and find trapping to be the most efficient method. With the use of modern technology, trappers can monitor the trap remotely and decide when to spring it. Though trapping might be more productive, hunting hogs is more sporting. Last year, Mississippi hunters harvested nearly as many hogs as deer.
My daughter, Brittany, has been fishing since she was six but only recently became a hunting enthusiast. When our good friend Carol Clark with Kidz Outdoors offered to hook her up with Barry Estes, who handles hog management for 50 landowners, Britt jumped at the chance.
She and Wes Martin met up with Barry, thinking the game plan was to scout during the day and then hunt for a couple of hours that night before heading
back home early the next morning. They were surprised to learn that he intended to hunt from dusk to dawn.
Their daytime scouting turned up signs of hogs but no actual sightings. So, with dusk approaching, they geared up and set out to hunt. Using a thermal scope, they began searching at 7:30 p.m. As midnight approached, they had spotted coyotes, rodents, and some 300 deer but not a single hog. Finally, at 1:30 a.m. they spotted their first hogs.
Britt was accustomed to targeting game during the day when it’s easy to spot deer at a distance with the naked eye. But the thermal scope added a new set of challenges as she found it impossible to see the hog until the animal’s image appeared in the scope.
Barry and Britt each tracked the hogs as
they meandered through the trees until
they both had a clean shot with their
AR-15s. Barry whispered a count down
after which they both fired. Britt held her
breath as they made their way across the field, then was thrilled to find she had bagged her first hog; one shot — one kill.
They continued to hunt and about an hour later came upon a group of 15-20 animals. Britt went on to take her second hog with Wes and Barry each taking one as well, the largest two pushed 150 pounds. As the sun peeked over the horizon, they headed back to dress their kill and catch a short power nap. It was a long night and both hunters were exhausted, but they were bringing home the bacon...literally.
70 SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living • November 2018
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