Wild Boar problem in G.S.N.P.
Comments concerns, experiences, opinions, etc ........
I've never seen a boar in the park, but their presence is easily noted while walking along any of the trails in the south-western part of the park. Just look for trails which are dug up along the sides. I am told that rangers have a shoot-on-site policy. Does anyone know if this is the case?
That's a definate yes. I met a ranger with his 306 or whatever the rifle was at one of the shelters in May.
However, there is more damage from wild boars in Georgia. For those of you that haven't seen it, it looks like someone went through the woods with a roto-tiller.
yes, there is evidence all over GA and the smokies of wild boars.
funny story. one day in 2000, while hiking in the smokies, i felt a little sick. so i laid in the grass a few yards off the trail for a while. along comes 2 rangers, both packing rifles. i waved to them, thinking they would be at least curious about a sick hiker lying alongside the trail. as they passed, they just looked at me and then in unison said, "boar bait". i didn't think it was funny at the time, but now i can see the humor!
The Boar Hunter
I had heard that boars were a problem in the Smokies, but didn't know they were hunted within the park.
While I was staying in Russell Field Shelter in the Smokies, it was very cold and everyone wanted a fire. I got the fire going, and was staying near the fire to feed it more fuel. After about a half hour, I heard a gasp from one of my shelter mates who was looking at the locked door in the fence across the front shelter. I looked behind me and saw a guy standing by the fence, with a semi-automatic rifle cradled in his arms.
LOL-I jumped back from the fence as fast as could. As I did, the guy said(with a very dead pan expression), "Can I come in and warm up?" Well, as one can imagine, no one was about to say no! He came in, relocked the gate and sat down by the fireplace. That's when he started laughing.
He told us that he was one of the guys hired by the GSMNP to hunt the boar. He told us about his gun, his job, how he got involved with the SNP. He said he liked to scare unsuspecting hikers.
There are two or three guys that are out there on a regular basis (mostly at night) to hunt the boar. When they shoot the boars, they leave them where they fall, so that the carcasses are eaten by the other animals (mostly the bears in the area). He said the the boars are very smart and avoid areas where they find carcasses, so the hunters use the registers during hiker season to track the boars, as well as other methods. From what he said, the boars are good at hiding their tracks.
He had a degree in Biology and wildlife management, and was into hunting. That's why he was approached by the GSMNP to hunt these pests full time.
It was really cool to ask him questions, because this was information that couldn't have gotten from a guide book. After about a hour of conversation, he went back out into the cold to hunt for a few more hours.
I've seen several Rangers or park employees in the Smokies hunting boar, which are viewed (correctly!) as invasive, out-of-place, and an environmental threat to the park. These guys are doing a necessary job, and should be applauded---they're also fun to talk to, as they know the Park better than just about anyone else, and can answer any of your questions about side trails, points of interest, etc. Anyway, if you DO run into one of these fellahs, be aware that he's doing his job, and his sole intent is to help the environment in the Park.
Now, if only we can set a coupla these guys up in the White Mountains to thin out the pack of New Yorkers every season, we'd be all set!
So Jack, does that mean that other flat landers are OK, including Massholes?
We spent our first night in the Smokies with a ranger. The guy was a complete goober. Lets just say he was less than responsible about the way he decided to go off and "hunt boar." A hiker had noticed them running through the woods off the trail, down near the water source for the shelter, and pointed them out to the ranger. Without exxageration, the ranger whipped out his pistol and went bounding off into the woods, shouting; "I'm gonna go get me some pigs!" As he ran with his gun out. All I could do was hope it wasn't someone down near the water source in for an unpleasant surprise. The ranger later explained to us that they get so much $$$ per head of boar that they kill for the Park Service. Fine, but a little more restraint and caution would have been appropriate.
"It's a dangerous business, going out your door...if you don't keep your feet, there's no telling where you might be swept off to."-The Hobbit
That yay-hoo won't be around long. Huntin' pigs with a pistol is like huntin' bear with a switch. Hit one and it might get pissed off. And yes, boys, that includes the mighty .44. Ask me about THAT story.
In training for the Chappaquiddick Triathlon "Drink - Drive - Swim"
OK, tell us the story about the boar that shrugged off a load of .44
Bullcrap
The boar that shrugged off a 44 is crap. I spent two years guiding boar hunters in South Carolina. I've personally killed over a hundred hogs, of all types, shapes and sizes - and let me assure you, when the 44 talks - EVERYTHING listens.
Man This Post Is Old
Yuh huh, chief. Whatever you say.
In training for the Chappaquiddick Triathlon "Drink - Drive - Swim"
How many have you killed? I've seen hogs killed with everything from a 22lr to a 50 BMG. Overall, the bigger, fatter the bullet, the better they work on hogs. Hollowpoints are BS. A 320 grain hard cast solid pushing 1600fps worked wonders.
Do tell Dave, tell me all about the big bad pig that laughed at a 44 slug. Tell me about all the hogs you've caught in cage traps, snared with 1/8" aircraft cable, raised from piglets and caught barehanded after being run to ground with bay dogs. Tell me how to bait hogs, tell me about their vision and sense of smell and show me a few dozen pics of you and dead hogs.
You do that, and maybe I won't think you are FOS. Till then, whatever yourself, chief.
Heres an interesting fact, Wild boars eat anything,including venemous snakes!! Though last Id heard they havnt figured out if the pigs have a natural immunity or that its just because their skin is so thick the snakes' fangs cant penetrate it. There are hunters in FLa (prolly other states too) that hunt wild boars with knives(single handedly),so dont try to convince me that a 44mag wont stop one!! If you cant kill a pig with a 44 it just means you cant shoot!! Streamweaver
P.S. They hunt them with bows also.
"Theres is no real hope of traveling perfectly light in the mountains.It is good to try,as long as you realize that,like proving a unified field theory,mastering Kanji,or routinely brewing the perfect cup of coffee,the game can never be won." Smoke Blanchard
boar, bores, boar-ing!
yes..this forum is an OLDIE...but a GOODIE!
wild boars (non-native to the Smokies region) eat/destroy everything they come in contact with. Park Rangers carry 30-30 or 30-06 rifles now & have night patrols to rid the park of some of the "varmints".
Bang! Bang!
Let's have a Bar-B-Q!
Bang bang let's have Bar-B-Q. Don't. They taste like they look. Slow cooked doesn't help much, gotta be really really hungry.
"you ain't settin your sights to high son, but if you want to follow in my tracks I'll help ya up the trail some."
Rooster Cogburn.
I saw a group of boars on the trail while hiking through the park. I also ran into a wildlife biologist named "Bill" and chatted with him for a while. He had a rifle with flashlight attached to spot them at night. I think the boars bother me more than the bears do.
Howdy MDSHiker.
Never seen a boar. Would be interesting I think. I hear they are mean, and don't back down much. I think I'd rather meet up with a bear any time over a boar, from what I have heard. I didn't know about the hunting thing. Interesting. I think if I ever heard a gun go off in the GSMNP I'd freak -- knowing they are illegal there. (Sure that some wild-eyed redneck had shot some guy for sleeping with his gf or something.)
Sounds exactly like the bores that are all hanging out in the threads about politics and religion. Since it's the political season we should be able to shoot them, right?Originally Posted by TownDawg
Out on the Duncan Ridge Trail in Georgia (it's blue blazed and near the AT but it ain't no shortcut) I was actually wondering who had hauled a mechanical tiller, like a Troy-Bilt or something, to the top of some pretty remote mountains and tilled some clearings. Being the bright guy I am and all, I figured it out all by myself a day or two later.
They can do an incredible amount of damage. Boars, that is. The bores are mostly harmless.
You never turned around to see the frowns
On the jugglers and the clowns
When they all did tricks for you.
* smiles *
On politics: Lots of "bores" around. There are plenty of self-proclaimed political experts. I'm not one of them.
On DRT: Never done it, but hope to include it someday. I liked hiking Georgia, the parts I've seen.
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