AZ Strip Wild Hogs: Fact or Fiction?

GlassMaster · May 20, 2020

Hey Y'all,

Been on Nellis AFB for a little over a year, I'm from South Carolina and would love to get on some hogs. I've heard talk of hogs on the strip, but I've also heard it's a myth.

Anyone here killed pigs on the strip recently?

BRUIN4L · May 20, 2020

I've seen them on Mud Mountain while deer hunting about 8 years ago. Cool country to go see but not sure I'd expect pig hunting success there.

Dave · May 20, 2020

I see them every year. On or near mud. Not sure a hunt just for them would be worth the time and cost...

GlassMaster · May 20, 2020

Dave said:
I see them every year. On or near mud. Not sure a hunt just for them would be worth the time and cost...

Got it, but it's encouraging to hear that they are out there! Thanks Dave.

GlassMaster · May 20, 2020

BRUIN4L said:
I've seen them on Mud Mountain while deer hunting about 8 years ago. Cool country to go see but not sure I'd expect pig hunting success there.

Thanks Bruin, this aligns with most of what I hear. 'If they are there, there aren't enough out there to justify the pursuit'

Bluehair · May 21, 2020

I find it very DISCOURAGING that they are out there.

msolocam · May 21, 2020

There used to be a lot of them but they have taken a serious hit the last 5 or 7 years. See a few every year but few and far between. Happy Hunting

GlassMaster · May 21, 2020

Bluehair said:
I find it very DISCOURAGING that they are out there.

Interesting point of view Blue, why's that? For the sake of habitat and resource destruction for other animals, or simply because there isn't a big enough population to justify the pursuit?

GlassMaster · May 21, 2020

msolocam said:
There used to be a lot of them but they have taken a serious hit the last 5 or 7 years. See a few every year but few and far between. Happy Hunting

Thanks Solo! That's interesting, hat has caused their decline? In other states they are like coyotes, they can't do anything to bring their numbers down.

Bluehair · May 23, 2020

GlassMaster said:
Interesting point of view Blue, why's that? For the sake of habitat and resource destruction for other animals, or simply because there isn't a big enough population to justify the pursuit?

My opinion is that they are a destructive invasive species and should be erradicated. Please kill them all.

Blank · May 23, 2020

Right up there with feral cats. If they're not on the front porch, they're targets!

GlassMaster · May 23, 2020

Bluehair said:
My opinion is that they are a destructive invasive species and should be erradicated. Please kill them all.

I'll give it the ol' college try!

GlassMaster · May 23, 2020

Blank said:
Right up there with feral cats. If they're not on the front porch, they're targets!

Couldn't agree more, good eatin' tho, unlike feral cats lol.

AZtrophyhunter · May 24, 2020

I was just on the Strip for the rifle hunt last year & a guy in our camp shot one.

GlassMaster · May 25, 2020

AZtrophyhunter said:
I was just on the Strip for the rifle hunt last year & a guy in our camp shot one.

Reeaaally....? Ha, up around Mud Mtn? I spent a weekend in that area and we saw tons of sign, but I also know there is a healthy population of javelina there too, so I can't be certain which tracks we were seeing.

Blank · May 25, 2020

Javi tracks remind me of small antelope tracks. Hogs are blockier.

GlassMaster · May 25, 2020

Blank said:
Javi tracks remind me of small antelope tracks. Hogs are blockier.
View attachment 7385

I'm familiar with the clover print a hog makes, as I grew up in pig country in Michigan. I have not lived anywhere that hold javelina, so I ASSumed the javelina track would just be a smaller pig track, so I guess everything we saw were indeed pig tracks.

May have to repeat that trip and kill me an AZ pig...

Thanks, Blank!

StickFlicker · May 27, 2020

I don't think there's a healthy population of javelina on the Strip. In fact, I'm not sure there are any?

GlassMaster · May 27, 2020

StickFlicker said:
I don't think there's a healthy population of javelina on the Strip. In fact, I'm not sure there are any?

That's interesting, because if that's the case, as I'm sure it is, we saw A LOT of pig tracks.

StickFlicker · May 27, 2020

Arizona Game & Fish doesn't list javelina among the list of species living in the unit, in either 13A or 13B.

"Species within this unit:

Antelope, bighorn sheep, merriam’s turkey, mule deer, quail, feral pigs"

elkchaserreturns · May 28, 2020

Hello Stickflicker, It has been a long time ago now but, I remember a time when the AFGF swore, after multiple reported sightings from multiple, reliable sources, "there are no elk on the North Kaibab". Now they have a "limited success" hunt there for elk! I have seen Javelina in Unit 8 on Lookout Mtn on the Army depot @ 7500 ft elevation. I have personally seen Javelina (and Elk) in places where I would have bet (& lost) they would never be.
Remember the picture in the AZ Republic of a wild, free ranging Bull elk, standing in an irrigation canal down by Gila Bend?
My point is that, just cuz the AZGF web site says it ain't so, don't mean they ain't there!
Just sayin!

elkchaserreturns · May 28, 2020

Sorry to hijack the OP's thread. I too have heard there are Wild Hogs on the Strip. Just don't want to shoot one bad enough to justify the expense of a trip up there. From what I read, they are a major pain in the azz in other states. Sure would hate to see them get out of control here in AZ.
AZGF says the Mexican Grey Wolf is not expanding their range across the Mogollon Rim either. Read the same thing about the wolves up in Wyoming, Montana, & now Colorado too! Glad to hear that too! Sure would hate to get in trouble for shooting a big, short snouted coyote!

msolocam · May 28, 2020

As far as javelina go on the strip, I’ve never seen them. There’s a big canyon and river that I think prevents them from making it up there. Could be wrong.

StickFlicker · May 28, 2020

elkchase, I understand and agree with your point that there could be odds and end species almost anywhere. I've seen Javelina in Unit 9 all the way up against the south side of the Grand Canyon. But like msolocam stated, I just can't see them crossing the Canyon and all that country to get to the Strip. It's not like they could come from Utah, like the elk did.

Ed · May 28, 2020

With a million cams on the strip I wanna see some javelina pics?

GlassMaster · May 29, 2020

Thanks all, a lot of great discussion. With me being only two hours away from the strip, I may just have to make a weekend trip over there. Hopefully I can harvest a wild pig and settle this discussion! Also, I will have my camera with me, if I see Javelina I will shoot some pics of them!

BOHNTR · May 30, 2020

I’ve seen wild hogs there.....never Javelina.

GlassMaster · May 30, 2020

BOHNTR said:
I’ve seen wild hogs there.....never Javelina.

Thanks, Bo!

Homer · May 30, 2020

well there must be trail cam pics of wild hogs then......anyone??

GlassMaster · May 30, 2020

Homer said:
well there must be trail cam pics of wild hogs then......anyone??

When I was there last, someone had two trail cams set up over a bait site that was full of tracks. Maybe we'll get lucky enough to have him/her stumble upon this thread?

Franklin82 · May 31, 2020

Time and date were not set on my camera but here ya go

GlassMaster · May 31, 2020

Franklin82 said:
Time and date were not set on my camera but here ya goView attachment 7643

Thanks a lot, Franklin! Have you been able to put your hands on one yet? What do you hunt most often on the Strip?

Bohunr · Dec 19, 2020

Hopefully the Mt Lions are keeping them in check up there! While glassing for bucks in 2017 early archery hunt in 13B we did see 1 while watching some bucks. I sat a waterhole in the same area for 12 days and seen lots of deer, lions, coyotes and jack rabbits but no hogs came in day or night on camera.

OutdoorWriter · Dec 23, 2020

Back in the 1980s, there was a preserve located right next to the Virgin River near Mesquite that was owned by Jimmy Huges, the mayor. It's now closed, but it offered hunts for pheasant/chukar and a few exotics, such as blackbuck and wild boar. So if there are feral hogs on the strip, this joint might have been the guilty party.

I hunted birds there a few times and also killed one of the hogs and a blacbuck. More importantly, I swapped a M19 S&W for a German shorthair puppy with the ranch manager. Ginger was 8 weeks old and became a key family member and hunting companion for the next decade until I had to put her down because of pancreatic cancer.

The hog is in the upper left corner and the hide on the end table under lamp is the blackbuck. Why it, the lion on the chest, blacktail on lamp shade and bears hanging in the corner and covering a chair in lower left didn't get mounted is a long story.

AZMIGHTYMULIES · Dec 26, 2020

Areas where I can almost guarantee you being successful in killing one of these pigs is Tweeds point . These pigs love eating the grasses that have been taking over areas from wildfires . I'm out there regularly , and yourself and a friend could just walk along each side of the deep draws/canyons that have juniper trees and you'll bump them out as they seek refuge during the day to sleep in these draws/canyons ! This year i had almost 20 pigs in 1 picture at a water catchment on Tweeds point . So many pigs that the deer no longer showed up . They pushed the deer out completely!!

tmessner · Jan 28, 2021

I am heading to AZ in Feb and March of this year and would like to do some hog hunting without going to a guided hunt. Can you help me out? I tried to find Tweeds point on Google and did not have any luck.

AZMIGHTYMULIES · Jan 31, 2021

tmessner said:
I am heading to AZ in Feb and March of this year and would like to do some hog hunting without going to a guided hunt. Can you help me out? I tried to find Tweeds point on Google and did not have any luck.

Feel free to give me a call man , id be glad to dial you in on success .
435-216-8126
Mike Foote

DonMartin · Feb 26, 2021

GlassMaster said:
Reeaaally....? Ha, up around Mud Mtn? I spent a weekend in that area and we saw tons of sign, but I also know there is a healthy population of javelina there too, so I can't be certain which tracks we were seeing.

I've hunted on the Strip for many years and have NEVER seen a javelina there. Used to see feral pigs on Mud too, but not anymore..
Don Martin
Arizona Wildlife Outfitters

Dabeakster · Mar 29, 2021

Any ideal if there are still Hogs there? I am a local in AZ and looking to fill my freezer if possible.

msolocam · Mar 29, 2021

I’d go to Tweeds Point. Mud too, pocum cove and Ide Valley. Very low density but there’s pigs in all of that stuff.

LongRange300 · Apr 6, 2021

GlassMaster said:
Hey Y'all,

Been on Nellis AFB for a little over a year, I'm from South Carolina and would love to get on some hogs. I've heard talk of hogs on the strip, but I've also heard it's a myth.

Anyone here killed pigs on the strip recently?

Did you have any luck? We live up in UT and we head down to the strip every year. We’ve seen sign, but haven’t had any luck. It seems every time we go, we get closer to finding them. Learning to hunt these hogs is a talent when they are sparse. Feel free to text me if you need any help, or want some local info. 760-576-6266 Jarrett

GlassMaster · Jun 21, 2021

LongRange300 said:
Did you have any luck? We live up in UT and we head down to the strip every year. We’ve seen sign, but haven’t had any luck. It seems every time we go, we get closer to finding them. Learning to hunt these hogs is a talent when they are sparse. Feel free to text me if you need any help, or want some local info. 760-576-6266 Jarrett

Hey Jarrett, as I'm sure you can imagine life got a little hairy over the past year and with all my tagged hunts taking priority I haven't made it back out there yet. I'm ready to get out there anytime now, though. I'll shoot you a text and maybe we can get after it?

GlassMaster · Jun 21, 2021

tmessner said:
I am heading to AZ in Feb and March of this year and would like to do some hog hunting without going to a guided hunt. Can you help me out? I tried to find Tweeds point on Google and did not have any luck.

Any luck out there bud?

23rdtag · Jul 21, 2021

OutdoorWriter said:
Back in the 1980s, there was a preserve located right next to the Virgin River near Mesquite that was owned by Jimmy Huges, the mayor. It's now closed, but it offered hunts for pheasant/chukar and a few exotics, such as blackbuck and wild boar. So if there are feral hogs on the strip, this joint might have been the guilty party.

I hunted birds there a few times and also killed one of the hogs and a blacbuck. More importantly, I swapped a M19 S&W for a German shorthair puppy with the ranch manager. Ginger was 8 weeks old and became a key family member and hunting companion for the next decade until I had to put her down because of pancreatic cancer.

The hog is in the upper left corner and the hide on the end table under lamp is the blackbuck. Why it, the lion on the chest, blacktail on lamp shade and bears hanging in the corner and covering a chair in lower left didn't get mounted is a long story.

View attachment 20813

Cool story!