John's Journal...

How to Have All the Hunting Land You Want to Hunt

Click to enlargeHunt Feral Hogs and Define a Landowner’s Problems

Editor’s Note: Do you want to have all the land you need to hunt and even more? Instead of you looking for land to hunt, how about if farmers and ranchers call you to come hunt their properties? Predator hunters often enjoy these kinds of perks. When coyotes, raccoons, bobcats, foxes and/or feral hogs create problems for landowners, deer hunters and turkey hunters, anyone who can remove these predators generally has an open-ended invitation and a warm welcome awaiting him to hunt new property. Predators kill and eat newborn livestock, including calves, lambs, goats, deer fawns, occasionally adult deer, poultry, Click to enlargedomestic pets at times and turkey poults. They also destroy turkey nests and the nests of songbirds. In years past, trappers have kept predator numbers down. However, with the decrease in fur prices for many years, the predator hunter has replaced the trapper in many areas as the way to keep predator populations in check. Therefore, to have all the hunting land you want to hunt, become a predator hunter.

Most of us never may have considered hogs as predators. However, a feral hog like a possum will eat almost anything. Hogs have very-keen noses with a more-acute sense of smell than white-tailed deer. Therefore, in the spring, when livestock give birth to their young, often hogs will kill and eat the newborns. Hungry hogs also will eat deer fawns and turkey eggs. Too, if you want to see a cornfield, a watermelon patch or any type of agriculture destroyed, turn a pack of hogs loose in it for Click to enlargeone night. Generally when hogs first move into a region, many hunters get excited about having new animals to hunt. However, within a year or two, they realize that the hogs compete with native wildlife for food, destroy green fields, often root-up roads and make a general nuisance of themselves. More hog calls, cover-up scents and lures have appeared in the marketplace in the past few years, and more states than ever permit hog hunting over an extended time. Alabama, Florida, Texas, South Carolina and other states have designated certain portions of their states with no closed seasons and no bag limits on hogs. In many states, hog season runs concurrent with predator Click to enlargeseason.

Define a Landowner’s Problems:
Yes, as predators like coyotes, foxes and bobcats as well as feral hogs have become more of a problem for landowners, farmers, deer hunters and turkey hunters, the sportsmen who will come in and remove these nuisances often will find the welcome mat out for them to hunt deer and turkeys later on those same lands. Bob Wosniack, a friend of mine from New York, a place where hunters often have a tough time locating land to hunt, explains that, "All you have to do to find plenty of good deer and turkey hunting land to hunt, often for free, is to solve the problems of the landowners. Whatever problems they have, if you define those problems and solve them, often they’ll let you hunt the deer and turkey on their lands along with the predators. I’ve gained permission to hunt on land that everyone has sworn nobody can hunt by solving problems for that landowner.”

Tomorrow: Find Land to Hunt


Check back each day this week for more about "How to Have All the Hunting Land You Want to Hunt"

Day 1: Hunt Predators – One of America’s Fastest-Growing Sports
Day 2: Understand That Predators Aren’t Easy
Day 3: Use New Decoys
Day 4: Hunt Feral Hogs and Define a Landowner’s Problems
Day 5: Find Land to Hunt

 

Entry 353, Day 4