Opening day of general gun productive for local hunter

It didn’t take long on Nov. 26 for local hunter, Randy Humphreys to successfully bag two feral hogs within a few hours along Bruce Creek. Randy said he didn’t have to go far from the boat launch before he spotted the two hogs.  Randy has been hunting most of his life and lives in Niceville with his wife Angel.

General gun season is Nov. 26-29, 2009 and Dec. 12, 2009 – Feb. 17, 2010.

Click here for a map of the Choctawhatchee River Wildlife Management area.

FWC reminds hunters to be careful cleaning wild hogs: Click here for information

About wild hog:
The wild hog, (Sus scrofa) also called the wild boar or feral pig, is not a Florida native, and may have been introduced by explorer Hernando DeSoto as early as 1539.   They may weigh over 150 pounds, and be 5-6 feet long.  They travel in herds containing several females and their offspring.
Wild hogs occur throughout Florida in various habitats, but prefer moist forests and swamps, and pine flatwoods.  They are omnivorous (eating all kinds of foods, both plants and animals, indiscriminately) and feed by rooting with their broad snouts.  They may cause great damage of the understory and leave an area looking like a plowed field.
Exclusion of hogs is not usually possible except in small areas around yards and gardens. Nuisance hogs may be trapped using pens with trap doors and baited with acorns or old corn.  Trapped animals may not be released on public land, and only on private land with the landowners permission.
Wild hogs are legally defined as wildlife and may be taken only during specific seasons in most Wildlife Management Areas.  In most of Florida, wild hogs that are free-roaming and cannot be claimed as domestic hog in private ownership may be hunted with landowner permission, year-round and with no license requirement. There is no bag limit or size limit for wild hogs on private lands.