# Midland County Hogs - I hate 'em!



## johnathan.beebe

We have the same dream then. I grew up watching Shane Jones and teddy Taylor in the first raging boars. I think they would be absolutely amazing to hunt. But I don't want to ranch hunt because I know I won't feel that pride of accomplishment and how do you scout scout and area in say like Georgia for normal hogs. Or even over seas for that matter

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## Whitetail_hunter

So you want an *invasive species* to thrive in michigan just so you can hunt them and be proud of yourself?:banghead3


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## Northwood lures

johnathan.beebe said:


> We have the same dream then. I grew up watching Shane Jones and teddy Taylor in the first raging boars. I think they would be absolutely amazing to hunt. But I don't want to ranch hunt because I know I won't feel that pride of accomplishment and how do you scout scout and area in say like Georgia for normal hogs. Or even over seas for that matter
> 
> posted using Outdoor Hub Campfire


 Well then you should do like I did years ago and schedule your time off to allow you to head down south where they are in a huntable number. It would be fun having the opportunity to hunt them in MI but that's just not gonna happen any time soon if at all.

South Carolina has a ridiculous number of hogs and you wont have anyone begrudging you the opportunity to hunt them on public land. Head down Charleston way to the big tracts of federal land and hunt the inlet edges. Lots of hogs!.

Florida is another Hog haven and central Florida has WMA's that measure 40+ thousand acres that you can hunt hogs on. A few letters to the orange grove associations int he area (with proof of liability insurance) can net you even better opportunity.

Don't wait around till you are too old to get out there. They are super fun to hunt and super good table fare... despite the need to cook it very well. 

I would say to forget about scouting because hogs roam and are rarely in any one place. Best way to find them is to know them. By the time you find sign, they are generally gone.
Pigs cant sweat and that means that you need to look for the thickest area near water. They will lay up during the heat and head to water as soon as they get out of their beds... then they will head after the food. This is why most people that hunt food area's never see them until well after dark.

If you are hunting palmetto swamps then you are hunting an area that will hold hogs. I like to look for a water source against a hardwood ridge where acorns are dropping. If you find an area like this that has super heavy cover between the water and ridge, you have a super good spot. Best to set up against the edge of the thick stuff and water in the early morning before light and then set it out all day till dark. You may catch some in the morning but likely you will hit them at dark as they come in to drink and work the water edge for snacks before heading up to the acorns.

Another good way (mid day) to catch them is to still hunt with the wind in your face. Stalking can be very effective when done this way. Move with the water and trash in front of you and use your nose. You will smell them if they are there. If they are dug in deep and you cant get to them, set up right on the edge and wait for evening.

There's a few tips for you


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## Northwood lures

Whitetail_hunter said:


> So you want an *invasive species* to thrive in michigan just so you can hunt them and be proud of yourself?:banghead3


Oh come on 

I wouldn't mind an overpopulation of hot Asian women in Michigan but that ain't gonna happen just because there are a few Asians in Michigan. 
Let him go and have his dreams. They are not gonna come to fruition up there and you should know that. If you don't know that, then I am telling you that right now. 
Stop being a party pooper. :lol:


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## johnathan.beebe

Whitetail_hunter said:


> So you want an *invasive species* to thrive in michigan just so you can hunt them and be proud of yourself?:banghead3



Yes I do but for the right reasons yes I love hogs ever since I was little watching southern swine by Dan Fitzgerald. And the proud of myself is have you ever worked for something accomplished it then at the end of the day you can't while the smile off your face? Its self pride in doing something for yourself and not having someone hold your hand so to speak. Everyone needs it I even try to teach it to the youth at wrestling practice that I coach. 
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## Whitetail_hunter

johnathan.beebe said:


> Yes I do but for the right reasons yes I love hogs ever since I was little watching southern swine by Dan Fitzgerald. And the proud of myself is have you ever worked for something accomplished it then at the end of the day you can't while the smile off your face? Its self pride in doing something for yourself and not having someone hold your hand so to speak. Everyone needs it I even try to teach it to the youth at wrestling practice that I coach.
> posted using Outdoor Hub Campfire


Well atleast you're not teaching english. :lol:

"Yes I do but for the right reasons" 
[/COLOR] 
Do you care to explain what the right reasons are? Let me guess your personal enjoyment, yeah thats the right reasons. :rant:


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## johnathan.beebe

So it's my dream animal to hunt and it doesn't matter if it's a hog or a deer or a squirrel if it means a lot to you and you work hard for it then how is it not a trophy? I don't hunt so I can call myself a cereal killer because I kill for happiness. No I hunt because my whole family does and ring one with nature makes me feel free and I'm in that place where nothing bothers me. Its true happiness and my trophy is not the same as anyone else's so what you think is a pest I think as something dear to me. And you have your beliefs and I respect that but I ask you to not disrespect mine

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## johnathan.beebe

Northwood lures said:


> Well then you should do like I did years ago and schedule your time off to allow you to head down south where they are in a huntable number. It would be fun having the opportunity to hunt them in MI but that's just not gonna happen any time soon if at all.
> 
> South Carolina has a ridiculous number of hogs and you wont have anyone begrudging you the opportunity to hunt them on public land. Head down Charleston way to the big tracts of federal land and hunt the inlet edges. Lots of hogs!.
> 
> Florida is another Hog haven and central Florida has WMA's that measure 40+ thousand acres that you can hunt hogs on. A few letters to the orange grove associations int he area (with proof of liability insurance) can net you even better opportunity.
> 
> Don't wait around till you are too old to get out there. They are super fun to hunt and super good table fare... despite the need to cook it very well.
> 
> I would say to forget about scouting because hogs roam and are rarely in any one place. Best way to find them is to know them. By the time you find sign, they are generally gone.
> Pigs cant sweat and that means that you need to look for the thickest area near water. They will lay up during the heat and head to water as soon as they get out of their beds... then they will head after the food. This is why most people that hunt food area's never see them until well after dark.
> 
> If you are hunting palmetto swamps then you are hunting an area that will hold hogs. I like to look for a water source against a hardwood ridge where acorns are dropping. If you find an area like this that has super heavy cover between the water and ridge, you have a super good spot. Best to set up against the edge of the thick stuff and water in the early morning before light and then set it out all day till dark. You may catch some in the morning but likely you will hit them at dark as they come in to drink and work the water edge for snacks before heading up to the acorns.
> 
> Another good way (mid day) to catch them is to still hunt with the wind in your face. Stalking can be very effective when done this way. Move with the water and trash in front of you and use your nose. You will smell them if they are there. If they are dug in deep and you cant get to them, set up right on the edge and wait for evening.
> 
> There's a few tips for you


thanks! this may work my friends joined the navy and live in virginia so it may give me some time to hang out with them. kinda kill 2 birds with one stone


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## jafurnier

I have hunted hogs in the south. They are feral swine that are mostly from a domesticated line. I have seen Russians in Tx. Still...even there...most of the hogs are what I would consider domesticated-gone-wild hogs. The hogs that got away in Midland County are mostly Eurasian...not domesticated. If you believe the vet from the USDA...total different adaptations. These animals are built to live in MI.

Based on what I see on the cam, I also do not buy tht they will not establish (have not???) a viable breeding population:

* Three years ago mom had two piglets. They stuck around until spring.
* Last year mom had five piglets. Two disappeared during gun season. Other three left just before we set the trap 8 weeks ago. I assume they are still alive.
* Now mom and presumably one of her offspring have nine piglets.

The most conservative ciphering says...one turned into 12 in three years. I would argue the number is higher. This does not count the boars we get on camera.

You know I hope you are right about them not establishing a foothold? I just am considerably more skeptical.


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## johnathan.beebe

I'm with you on the land is perfect for hogs to thrive. To be honest I don't think there's anything we can do. Like I said we can trap them but soon they will be over populated. But not to bad I believe the Michigan hunters can help in conserving them since we have so many

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## cabledad

I hunt 20 acres near a big wild life area they killed 175 out of a helicopter this year. It is right on Lake Texoma and covered up with hogs. The corp land is so thick and has so many rules you can't think about thinning them out. I have shot and killed 30 or so in the last 2 years. If I had a better lay out.The wind is bad all ways out of the south and spooks them away from my feeder. I do it just to keep the numbers down. We have these people around that want you to not hunt at night not kill hogs just to get ride of them so many people want to only let there bow hunters kill them.Big subdivisions no traps no hunting lots of hogs. Hogs are rough on crops and golf courses. If your a good bow hunter and have the time get on the Hagerman wildlife website and see about taking the course. They have a drawing to bow hunt big deer and if you kill a hog you get to come back next year.Like $50 to hunt. any way at least watch for the bow hunt for hogs that they have been talking about.


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## johnathan.beebe

Hagerman comes up as texas stuff

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## VstarBR

Look at where he is from, it says texas. he is saying, if you can get there to hunt, yo have a good chance of getting a hog.


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## Whitetail_hunter

johnathan.beebe said:


> So it's my dream animal to hunt and it doesn't matter if it's a hog or a deer or a squirrel if it means a lot to you and you work hard for it then how is it not a trophy? I don't hunt so I can call myself a cereal killer because I kill for happiness. No I hunt because my whole family does and ring one with nature makes me feel free and I'm in that place where nothing bothers me. Its true happiness and my trophy is not the same as anyone else's so what you think is a pest I think as something dear to me. And you have your beliefs and I respect that but I ask you to not disrespect mine
> 
> posted using Outdoor Hub Campfire


Im not an anti-hunter, you dont have to explain to me what is a trophy and why, its still stupid that you would wish they would thrive just so you can hunt them. We know what they do to crop land, maybe you missed the OP?

They are out there right now, on public land in southern michigan, I have found a dead one while deer hunting and know someone who shot one all in the same area. So if you wanna realy be proud and have a true trophy go out and hunt one down. I feel you want them to thrive so they will be easier to kill, its just like the APR guys and there need to kill big bucks, the big bucks are there but you just want the easy way out.


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## johnathan.beebe

VstarBR said:


> Look at where he is from, it says texas. he is saying, if you can get there to hunt, yo have a good chance of getting a hog.


Ici i coule accord italien i would

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## johnathan.beebe

johnathan.beebe said:


> Ici i coule accord italien i would
> 
> posted using Outdoor Hub Campfire


Alertness under French if I could afford it I would

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## johnathan.beebe

Whitetail_hunter said:


> Im not an anti-hunter, you dont have to explain to me what is a trophy and why, its still stupid that you would wish they would thrive just so you can hunt them. We know what they do to crop land, maybe you missed the OP?
> 
> They are out there right now, on public land in southern michigan, I have found a dead one while deer hunting and know someone who shot one all in the same area. So if you wanna realy be proud and have a true trophy go out and hunt one down. I feel you want them to thrive so they will be easier to kill, its just like the APR guys and there need to kill big bucks, the big bucks are there but you just want the easy way out.



And for you why must you hate and open your mind? Every hog in a litter will not get killed so the population will increase so that means more hogs and once you learn to accept that we cannot stop them all and that there will be more and more. Then you will still have a problem with them. How ever hard you try you will only bring pain upon yourself. And the Apr thing I get they want to do their thing but the only problem I have with them is forcing it on others. If you want to do your own thing hey more power to you I won't support it but whatever floats your boat. So until you learn that the world doesn't revolve around your beliefs and it's ok to have your own but like the APR GUYS LET ME FEEL THE WAY I WANT TO AND QUIT THINKING YOUR IDEAS SHOULD BE THE SAME AS OTHERS


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## Whitetail_hunter

johnathan.beebe said:


> And for you why must you hate and open your mind? Every hog in a litter will not get killed so the population will increase so that means more hogs and once you learn to accept that we cannot stop them all and that there will be more and more. Then you will still have a problem with them. How ever hard you try you will only bring pain upon yourself. And the Apr thing I get they want to do their thing but the only problem I have with them is forcing it on others. If you want to do your own thing hey more power to you I won't support it but whatever floats your boat. So until you learn that the world doesn't revolve around your beliefs and it's ok to have your own but like the APR GUYS LET ME FEEL THE WAY I WANT TO AND QUIT THINKING YOUR IDEAS SHOULD BE THE SAME AS OTHERS
> 
> 
> posted using Outdoor Hub Campfire


Calm down a bit with the caps would ya? I never said they can be eradicated but its still stupid to want pigs to thrive so you can add another trophy to your list. You need to learn that the world doesnt revolve around you and stop waiting for this pig explosion and simply go out in the woods and find them, maybe start with the DNR map that has kills/sightings on it. I was going to offer some advice on places to find them to you, if you would chill out a bit. BTW I have a very open mind. :lol:

I think we would all enjoy having a bunch of pigs running around, but not at the cost of the deer and the farmers.


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## johnathan.beebe

Pig explosion? it's a dream dreams don't always come true. I will administer. Its a long shot to have it come true and deer and farmers? The deer herd won't be affected for awhile and the farmers will be just before that. And the farmers will learn to adapt to everything like they always have

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## Whitetail_hunter

johnathan.beebe said:


> Pig explosion? it's a dream dreams don't always come true. I will administer. Its a long shot to have it come true and deer and farmers? The deer herd won't be affected for awhile and the farmers will be just before that. And the farmers will learn to adapt to everything like they always have
> 
> posted using Outdoor Hub Campfire


:banghead3:banghead3


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## 9

SND said:


> Thanks. I'll keep looking around for info also. I sent a note to the author of the "Midland, The Way We Were" book to see if she had some info. I'll post what I find out.
> 
> Also, count me in the 99 out of one hundred that didnt know about the Hubbard circle. I found some info on it and (think) I can even see a feature of the plot on google earth. Very interesting.
> 
> Good luck on the trapline and thanks to all for letting me take this thread in a different direction for a bit...


Yes, the Hubbard Circle can still be seen at least in part with Google Earth or it was some years ago.


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## 9

midmichman80 said:


> I have been following this thread for some time and would also like to know more about the subject. Luckily, I live in midland and might have the upper hand in research. Ill share any findings with ya. Good luck in your hunt.
> 
> Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Ohub Campfire mobile app


it's an area off the end of Deer Rd.


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## limige

I've hunted the area quite a bit over the last ten years. Just the north side of the flooding. I haven't seen a hog yet. About 6-7 years ago they were being seen/shot. Been quiet for awhile. 

Yes I known the "camp" your talking about. Back when I was young those trails were off limits to all but the biggest baddest 4x4's out there. State decided to make a road so nice suzie soccer mom was using it for a short cut...

Midnight drunken poachers and off roaders coupled with thieves have ruined the area. Deer numbers have plummeted.


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## 9

limige said:


> I've hunted the area quite a bit over the last ten years. Just the north side of the flooding. I haven't seen a hog yet. About 6-7 years ago they were being seen/shot. Been quiet for awhile.
> 
> Yes I known the "camp" your talking about. Back when I was young those trails were off limits to all but the biggest baddest 4x4's out there. State decided to make a road so nice suzie soccer mom was using it for a short cut...
> 
> Midnight drunken poachers and off roaders coupled with thieves have ruined the area. Deer numbers have plummeted.


Having been born, raised, and lived in Midland Co. all my life as well as living in Hope Twp for 25 years, close enough to the Flooding, I could hear the shooting every opening of duck season, I totally agree with your assessment!!!

Whenever you make something available for folks to enjoy, you make it available to destroy! Because we're human, there will always be a faction who crap in their nest.


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## Okie Hog

> Get trapping materials for a corral trap, get informed on how to proceed, do it right, and trap first.


^^^This^^^^

i'm a serious hog hunter and trapper. Hunting alone will not control the wild hog population. There are two effective methods of controlling wild hogs; shooting from the air and trapping. i often hunt on Ft. Sill, OK. West range and Quanah Parker renge were over-run with wild hogs for years. A few years ago Ft. Sill began a concerted effort to trap wild hogs. Last year they shot about 450 wild hogs from helicopters. The cost was about $130,000. That's nearly $300 per hog. Good news is there are very few hogs on those ranges at the present time. This past year my friend and i trapped over 200 wild hogs at a cost of about < $20 per head, including bait and fuel. 

The only effective way to trap wild hogs is with a corral trap. Corral traps often catch the entire sounder. Portable traps catch a few hogs: Others in the sounder see them get caught and become trap shy: Trap shy hogs will almost never enter a hog trap. 

Hogs are smart. At one location we discovered hogs were somehow getting out of our traps. Game camera photos showed pigs using the root doors as ladders and forcing their bodies through the 6" holes in top of the trap.


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## Fabner1

Okie,

Thanks for the photos and well worded post.
You and your buddies are real pig getters!
Sounds as if you were over run with pigs!
Is there a way to get your money back (selling hogs) ?

Old Fred


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## Okie Hog

> Is there a way to get your money back (selling hogs) ?


There is a market for live hogs here in OK: The hog hunting ranches that contribute greatly to the hog problem in this state. We refuse to go there. Our trapped hogs are killed and, with few exceptions, given to folks who need the meat. Exceptions are a few skinny hogs and small pigs. The meat of a skinny hog is not fit to eat. It can be ground with added hog fat and made into sausage. 

The smaller pigs are raised in a big cotton boll wagon that is fully enclosed. There are hay bales, food and water in the wagon. When someone wants a barbecue big they get one from the wagon.


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## jafurnier

The trap we have is a corral style circular trap with 5' tall sides. We have video showing four pigs in the trap...running just off camera...and two coming back. Somehow 2 climbed out.


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## MildBill

re: Hubbard Circle. A Google search will show a short history of the Hubbard Circle in Ghost Towns of Michigan (plat map dated 1892). I drove around the Hubbard Circle many times (quite some time ago), and my younger brother had a friend who lived on the circle. Over 50 years ago I was talking to an old timer (who was probably well over 70 at the time) and he told of playing organized baseball on a regular basis on a field at Hubbard Circle. That would indicate that probably 100 years ago it was still fairly populous.

Even 50 years ago it had declined to being just a local oddity. There were only a few farmhouses around it. I think that I can see signs of the old baseball field in recent imagery of the area.


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## 9

MildBill said:


> re: Hubbard Circle. A Google search will show a short history of the Hubbard Circle in Ghost Towns of Michigan (plat map dated 1892). I drove around the Hubbard Circle many times (quite some time ago), and my younger brother had a friend who lived on the circle. Over 50 years ago I was talking to an old timer (who was probably well over 70 at the time) and he told of playing organized baseball on a regular basis on a field at Hubbard Circle. That would indicate that probably 100 years ago it was still fairly populous.
> 
> Even 50 years ago it had declined to being just a local oddity. There were only a few farmhouses around it. I think that I can see signs of the old baseball field in recent imagery of the area.


Great feedback Bill on one of my County's oddities and thank you for spending your time doing the research! One of my trapping property owners lives on or in the "circle" today. My brother-in-law now deceased, worked on a surveying crew after he graduated from high school, spent quite a bit of time surveying the "circle" area before enlisting. He spoke of the layout quite often as he was born and raised in Midland as well and understood how time erases oddities like the "Hubbard Circle".


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## MildBill

Thanks. If anyone reading the questions about the Hubbard Circle is puzzled, it was not a "traffic circle". It was a road that was a perfect circle around a large area that was intended to be a community park. In the late 1890's and early 1900's almost any community of consequence had a baseball team - many semi-pro. The baseball field mentioned above was inside the circle. The area around the circle was platted to have a large community. The community failed, and eventually the land was acquired by farmers in the area. Because the farmlands are mostly separated by a regular 1 mile road pattern - with roads as straight as an arrow - the circle became a curiosity. It was probably about 1/8 mile in diameter, or a bit less than a half mile around, and there was no obvious sign of the old community park. The circle was maintained by the county road commission as part of Midland County's road system. The intersecting roads were not major roads, so one generally did not encounter the circle by accident, and it was probably costly to take out the circle. It is also close to the edge of where the farmland gives way to the north "woods", so it was probably easy to ignore. (The closeness of the woods also meant more cover for varmints that would come out under cover of darkness to snatch a chicken or feed on crops. Hence the connection to trapping.)


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## 9

Those of you who are curious, Goggle Earth or Fetch will show what's left of the Circle by looking at the uniqueness of the Hubbard Rd/Ehlers Rd. crossroads.


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## MildBill

43 43 11 N, 84 10 38 W or 43.719817, -84.177102


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## gohlsn

Here is a little info and copy of original subdivision survey. Neat


http://larkintownship.org/downloads/the_village_of_hubbard_1.pdf


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## wallduck

I know this doesn't help your problem, but it might make you smile.


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## oldrank

Awesome Video !!!!!


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## Quaker

Any pics of hogs shot in Michigan?


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