Hog numbers are growing, and hogs are expanding their ranges in states across the county. Finding a hunting area that offers a good chance at a wild hog encounter is becoming easier—much to the chagrin of wildlife managers. Below are states with good hog-hunting possibilities, along with website information for the state’s wildlife agency. Always check local regulations before hunting.
Alabama (www.outdooralabama.com) has feral hogs in almost every county. Best bets are in large swamp bottoms, especially in Baldwin, Clarke, Monroe and Washington counties.
Arizona (www.azgfd.com) has hogs on the Havasu National Wildlife Refuge along the Colorado River below Hoover Dam and a growing population, known as the “Dugas Herd,” that ranges from north of Phoenix south to Camp Verde.
Arkansas (www.agfc.com) has hogs in many parts of the state, particularly the Ozark National Forest and the south. On public land, feral hogs may be killed only during open firearms bear, deer or elk seasons with methods legal for that season or zone. On private land, it’s open season year-round.
California (https://www.wildlife.ca.gov) has wild pigs in at least 33 of its 58 counties. Some of the best hunting is in Fresno, Mendocino, Monterey, San Benito, San Luis, Obispo, Santa Barbara and Sonoma counties. A hunting license and wild pig tag are required. Wild hog hunting is open all year, and there is no daily bag or possession limit. Hogs can be hunted on private land with the landowner’s permission and on public land such as national forests, BLM land, and some state wildlife areas. Hogs are much harder to find on public land, but access is usually free.
Florida (http://myfwc.com) is about overrun by feral pigs. On public land, hogs can be taken during most hunting seasons, except turkey. According to biologists, Florida’s best WMAs for hog hunting include: Northwest Region – Aucilla, Blackwater Hutton Unit, portions of Blackwater, Apalachicola Bradwell Unit, Choctawhatchee River and portions of Joe Budd. North Central Region – Andrews, Flying Eagle, Big Bend Hickory Mound Unit, Big Bend Snipe Island Unit, Big Bend Tide Swamp Unit, Mallory Swamp, Steinhatchee Springs and Devil’s Hammock. Northeast Region – Tosohatchee is the best hog area where hunters get to use dogs. In terms of sheer numbers of hogs taken, Three Lakes typically is tops, followed by Tosohatchee, Triple N Ranch, Guana River, Bull Creek, Three Lakes Prairie Lakes Unit and Fort Drum. Southwest Region – Green Swamp has the largest harvest each year, followed by Green Swamp West, Babcock/Webb, Chassahowitzka and Myakka State Forest. South Region – Dinner Island Ranch, J.W. Corbett, Dupuis, Okaloacoochee Slough, Allapattah Flats and Hungryland.
Georgia (www.georgiawildlife.com) swamps in the coastal plain and southern half of the state may have the most wild pigs, but they can be found from the north Georgia mountains to the coastal marshes and the piney woods and bottomlands in between. Fort Stewart in southeast Georgia is a sprawling military installation with lots of public hunting opportunity, and state WMAs for hogs include Ocmulgee, Flint River, Oaky Woods and Riverbend.
Hawaii (http://dlnr.hawaii.gov/recreation/hunting) has excellent hog hunting on five of the six islands, especially Hawaii and Kauai. Only Lanai doesn’t offer hog hunting. If you’re not from Hawaii, the state has restrictive firearms registration requirements for visitors.
Kentucky (http://fw.ky.gov/Wildlife/Pages/Wild-Pigs-in-Kentucky.aspx) wild hog hunting is best in McCreary, Wayne and Whitley counties, but feral pigs are found in localized populations in every county. Hunting is allowed year-round.
Louisiana (http://www.wlf.louisiana.gov) has feral hogs throughout the state and, as in most areas, they prefer bottomlands and swamps. The highest concentrations are in the northwest, Mississippi Delta and coastal areas.
Mississippi’s (www.mdwfp.com) best pig hunting is found along the bottomlands of the Mississippi River and in the southeastern corner of the state. On private lands, baiting is legal.
New Mexico (http://www.wildlife.state.nm.us) has a rapidly growing population of feral hogs on the east side of the state along the Texas border. There are high concentrations of wild hogs around the Pecos and Canadian rivers and in the San Luis, Animas and Peloncillo mountain ranges of Hidalgo County. No hunting license is needed, and there is no season or limits, but night hunting is prohibited.
North Carolina’s (http://www.ncwildlife.org) wild hogs are scattered through much of the state, but the highest numbers and biggest range is in the western national forests and on private lands in the mountains. There are numerous pay-to-hunt operations in the mountains. In eastern North Carolina, local hog populations center around river systems and swamps.
Oklahoma (www.wildlifedepartment.com) has feral hogs in the southeastern part of the state and the Arbuckle Mountains. Numerous pay-to-hunt ranches now offer wild hog hunting.
South Carolina (www.dnr.sc.gov/hunting.html) has had wild hog populations since the 1500s when Spanish explorers released pigs. The Savannah River drainage and the coastal Low Country harbor the state’s largest wild hog populations, but there are hogs documented in all 46 counties. There is no closed season or bag limit on private land.
Tennessee (https://www.tn.gov/twra) has good populations of wild boar in the southeastern mountains and along the Mississippi River bottoms in the west. Blount, Fentress, Monroe, Pickett, Polk and Scott counties are among the top bets. On public land in Region 3, wild hogs may be taken incidental to deer hunts on the following WMAs: Alpine Mountain, Bridgestone-Firestone Centennial Wilderness, Catoosa, Skinner Mountain, Standing Stone State Forest and Tellico Lake. Wild hogs may be taken on any deer or bear hunt on South Cherokee WMA. In Region IV, wild hogs may be taken on any big game hunt on the North Cherokee; any deer or turkey hunt on Kyker Bottoms Refuge; and on any hunt on the Foothills WMA and the entire North Cumberland WMA. On the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area, wild hogs may be taken with a special permit during any deer hunt and by small game hunters after the deer season.
Texas (http://tpwd.texas.gov) has plenty of pigs throughout the state. The western and panhandle areas traditionally had fewer numbers, but those populations are now expanding, too.
