Peggy waiting for Norm's arrows.

[PaulSpain]

Oink, oink!!
I don't know if I'll have enough patience to wait for Norm's arrows. I'm biting my nails...

A week ago the rain gave me a break and I changed the area feeder. It is set with corn, 3 minutes at 19:00, and they are already "eating from my hand", at 19:10 they come running like crazy.
The two females in the photo and a primal are entering. One female is bigger than the other. The large female has a very good size.
The leader is very intelligent, she enters the feeder with the wind in her favour, but first she takes a small detour right through the area where I thought to put the stall... My theory is that if I leave it a little longer, maybe it will go where it interests me (because of the wind), it will trust itself and not detour.
Placing the stall at another point is very risky due to the type of wind, it can easily catch me.

Which one would you shoot with the highest priority being to reduce population?
Opinions and criticisms are accepted.

[Normous]

Peggy might be preggy , hence , large and incharge.

The two times I have successfully hunted Russian boar I was intrigued by their choice of approach direction . Their keen noses do not not betray them.

Hopefully your Post delivery service delivers ontime next week.
Happy New Year Hog Hunting!

[mr meat]

Think I would shoot the first one to give me a shot

[PaulSpain]

[PaulSpain]

Peggy might be preggy , hence , large and incharge.

The two times I have successfully hunted Russian boar I was intrigued by their choice of approach direction . Their keen noses do not not betray them.

Hopefully your Post delivery service delivers ontime next week.
Happy New Year Hog Hunting!

Very good observation, that idea had not crossed my mind.
On the one hand, "I would kill two birds with one stone", but on the other hand, I feel sorry for killing a pregnant female. What a dilemma!!

Yes, they have an incredible sense of smell. And when that's coupled with experience and survival instincts it's pretty hard to fool them. They also learn quickly, in the areas where I have killed one, they do not step on them again or if they do it is with great caution.

Thanks Norm, I also wish you a year full of harvests.

[PaulSpain]

Think I would shoot the first one to give me a shot

Mercilessly!!
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush?

[robertyb]

A wild sow either has a new litter of pigs with her or she is pregnant. She might even have a litter with her and also be pregnant.
Kill her if you can.

[janesy]

Peggy might be preggy ,

Very good observation, that idea had not crossed my mind.
On the one hand, "I would kill two birds with one stone", but on the other hand, I feel sorry for killing a pregnant female. What a dilemma!!

Funny, around here it's Coyotes. Lots of hunters refuse to shoot pregnant dogs. How would they know tho during the winter months if the dog was pregnant or not?

But the part I laugh at is every single coyote hunter I know does it for "population control". So wouldn't shooting the preggers make the most viable sense?

I don't mind admitting it. I know I can't control their population, science says that not how it works. I just like hunting and shooting them. That's all.

[longbow joe]

So sick of shooting deer...a pig sounds nice right now

[PaulSpain]

Funny, around here it's Coyotes. Lots of hunters refuse to shoot pregnant dogs. How would they know tho during the winter months if the dog was pregnant or not?

But the part I laugh at is every single coyote hunter I know does it for "population control". So wouldn't shooting the preggers make the most viable sense?

I don't mind admitting it. I know I can't control their population, science says that not how it works. I just like hunting and shooting them. That's all.

I'm new to this, I still have to define myself and know what kind of hunter I want to be. I don't intend to judge anyone or give morality lessons, I'm just learning.
I didn't mean to offend either.
I appreciate your point of view, but I think you have misunderstood me.
I guess I expressed myself badly.

[janesy]

Funny, around here it's Coyotes. Lots of hunters refuse to shoot pregnant dogs. How would they know tho during the winter months if the dog was pregnant or not?

But the part I laugh at is every single coyote hunter I know does it for "population control". So wouldn't shooting the preggers make the most viable sense?

I don't mind admitting it. I know I can't control their population, science says that not how it works. I just like hunting and shooting them. That's all.

I'm new to this, I still have to define myself and know what kind of hunter I want to be. I don't intend to judge anyone or give morality lessons, I'm just learning.
I didn't mean to offend either.
I appreciate your point of view, but I think you have misunderstood me.
I guess I expressed myself badly.

No offense taken, or intended at all

I understand the moral dilemma, I just don't understand why it's a moral dilemma. I assumed the species of hog you have is similar to the coyote population we have here. Highly intelligent and nearly impossible to control by predation. But we hunt them anyway, under the guise of population control.

[PaulSpain]

Funny, around here it's Coyotes. Lots of hunters refuse to shoot pregnant dogs. How would they know tho during the winter months if the dog was pregnant or not?

But the part I laugh at is every single coyote hunter I know does it for "population control". So wouldn't shooting the preggers make the most viable sense?

I don't mind admitting it. I know I can't control their population, science says that not how it works. I just like hunting and shooting them. That's all.

I'm new to this, I still have to define myself and know what kind of hunter I want to be. I don't intend to judge anyone or give morality lessons, I'm just learning.
I didn't mean to offend either.
I appreciate your point of view, but I think you have misunderstood me.
I guess I expressed myself badly.

No offense taken, or intended at all

I understand the moral dilemma, I just don't understand why it's a moral dilemma. I assumed the species of hog you have is similar to the coyote population we have here. Highly intelligent and nearly impossible to control by predation. But we hunt them anyway, under the guise of population control.

I'm glad, as I write badly I thought I could have been misinterpreted.

I also love the adrenaline of killing and I enjoy killing with a crossbow, because for my taste it combines a perfect balance of safety and closeness with the animal, I do not deny it and I respect people who are consistent with their actions and ethics.

I had never hunted before and I have to discover myself in this "killer" facet, ALL your comments are very useful, valid because I like them more or less, first, I respect them, second, they give me a vision of what it could be worth to me or not me.

My dilemma is very clear to what it is due to, it comes from the education my parents gave me and the society in which I live. That I have to be honest with myself? Yes, sure.

I slaughter sheep and cows with my hands to eat at home and I don't feel sorry for it, but when I slaughter a pregnant female without knowing it I get a lump in my throat, I can't help it, educational...

Thanks for your sincerity.

[PaulSpain]

Think I would shoot the first one to give me a shot

Mercilessly!!
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush?

This was not a mocking laugh either, I just find the sincerity and the absence of taboos amusing in the comment, quite the contrary, I like it.

In fact, my first three kills were like this, stalking, seeing the first one and shooting without thinking, and I really enjoyed them.
The fourth was waiting in the feeder, the animal chosen in the photos and I also enjoyed it, but in a different way, I enjoyed both the planning and preparations and the shooting.

[PaulSpain]

So sick of shooting deer...a pig sounds nice right now

Well, here in my mountainous area it is one of the few that remains. Wild boars and badgers, the toughest animals in the area. They are immortal!!
We no longer have deer or rabbits... (bears and wolves became extinct here long ago) in the high mountains we do have wild goats, but they are "protected" and only people with plenty of money can pay for that.

I don't know if I'll ever get tired of shooting wild boars... But now that I've discovered the hobby, I'll make sure to keep them at bay but try to keep hunting them every year and not put too much pressure on them.
As long as the meadows and crops respect me a little, some damage is assumed as normal.

[PaulSpain]

A wild sow either has a new litter of pigs with her or she is pregnant. She might even have a litter with her and also be pregnant.
Kill her if you can.

Thanks for the info.

She doesn't have a litter or she lost them, I don't know, so you're probably right and she's pregnant.
The little who goes with them must be at least one year old, I think.
I understand that the wild boar here only has one pregnancy a year. They are pure wild boars, they are not hybridized with pigs, and it is an area that lacks winter and summer food.