Stonewall308

Hey all,

I am thinking about trying to hunt hogs and/or coyotes, seeing as they are nuisance animals in VA and thus can be taken year round.

Does anyone have any info or experience doing this? Is it legal to bait nuisance animals? Is heard it is legal to fox hunt at night, what about for hogs or coyotes?

I've never hunted for anything other than deer and small game, so any info at all would be appreciated.

Thanks.

vapahunter

I would check with the VDGIF to get the final word on what is legal or not. No matter what they tell you get it in writing including the applicable statues they give you. That way you have it direct from the horses mouth and not from those here who have no legal standing if by chance someone is wrong. Not saying these guys aren't a wealth of knowledge but always if unsure go to VDGIF for the final word.

flips2

Stonewall,

I don't know of any hogs in VA, excpet maybe for the extreme SW part of the state. The species is not even listed in the game regs. I don't think you can bait nuisance species either but may be wrong on that.

Here are the regs on Furbearer Season from VDGIF Website,
Furbearer Hunting Seasons

Legal Methods and Restrictions

Special restrictions apply to specific firearms use during these seasons. See Legal Use of Firearms and Archery Equipment and Local Firearms Ordinances for details.

• Modern firearms
• Archery tackle (including crossbows)
• Muzzleloading firearms
• Dogs may be used (except where prohibited, see Hunting with Dogs).
• Electronic calls for bobcat, coyote and fox
• Hunting permitted day or night
• Lights may be used as long as the light is not attached to or cast from a vehicle
• Night vision scopes and laser sights may be used.
• No hunting on Sunday, except for raccoons, which may be hunted until 2:00 a.m. on Sunday mornings.

Coyote

Season:

Continuous open season on private lands. Coyote hunting on National Forest Lands and Department Lands is permitted from September 1-March 10 and during the spring turkey season and spring squirrel season on certain areas (see area listings for spring squirrel season).
Coyote Bounty Law

Coyote bounties are not administered by DGIF. Counties have the option of establishing their own coyote bounty system. For more information, hunters and trappers should contact their County Administrator or County Board of Supervisors.
Opossum

Season:

October 15-March 10: statewide
Skunk

Season:

Continuous open season to take striped skunk on private lands. Striped skunk hunting on National Forest Lands and Department Lands is permitted from September 1-March 10 and during time periods when it is legal to hunt spring turkeys. Continuous closed season for taking spotted skunks and the pelts of spotted skunks may not be sold.
Fox

Hunting With Dogs and Firearms

Season:
November 2-February 27
Closed in Albemarle, Clarke, Culpeper, Fauquier (except Quantico), Loudoun, Louisa, and Rappahannock counties.
Dogs May Not Be Used:

To hunt foxes during deer season (with or without a firearm).

• On the Gathright, Goshen, Highland and Little North Mountain Wildlife Management Areas and within the boundaries of the George Washington/Jefferson National Forests.

Hunting With Dogs Only

Season:
Continuous open season statewide unless noted below.
Closed March 1-October 31 on the George Washington/Jefferson National Forests and on Gathright, Goshen, G. Richard Thompson, Highland, Little North Mountain, and Rapidan WMAs.
Restrictions:
To have in possession a firearm when hunting fox outside of the dog and gun fox season. Possession shall include, but not be limited to, having any firearm in or on one's person, vehicle, or conveyance.
Electronic Calls

It is unlawful to take or attempt to take wild animals and wild birds with recorded or electronically amplified calls, except for bobcat, coyote, crow, and fox. Electronic calls may be used on private lands with written permission of the landowner and on public lands (except where specifically prohibited) during periods when the use of firearms is permitted.
Bobcat

Bag Limit

Two per hunting party taken between noon one day and noon the following day. Season bag limit shall be 12 bobcats taken by hunting and trapping combined.
Archery

Season:
October 3-31: statewide
Legal Methods and Restrictions

• Unlawful to use dogs when hunting with bow and arrow or crossbow during the bobcat archery season.
• Unlawful to have a firearm in possession. (See exception for concealed handguns.)

Firearms

Season:
November 2-February 27: statewide
Dogs May Not Be Used:
To hunt bobcat during deer season in the counties of Alleghany, Amherst (west of Route 29), Augusta, Bath, Bedford, Botetourt, Campbell (west of Norfolk Southern Railroad), Clarke, Frederick, Highland, Nelson (west of Rt. 151), Page, Pittsylvania (west of Norfolk Southern Railroad), Rockbridge, Rockingham, Shenandoah, and Warren and within the boundaries of the George Washington/Jefferson National Forests.
Electronic Checking Requirement for Bobcats

All hunters or trappers who kill a bobcat are required to report the kill within 24 hours through the Department's electronic harvest reporting system. Bobcats can be checked with a touch-tone telephone (a rotary phone will not work) by calling the toll-free number 1-866-GOT-GAME (468-4263). Bobcats can also be checked online.
Before using the telephone or Internet checking system, you will need your hunting license number, a pen, and a piece of paper to record your confirmation number. If you are exempt from purchasing a license, you will need your driver's license number or the last four digits of your social security number. At the end of the check-in session, you will be provided with a confirmation number that is a letter followed by ten digits. Write this number down and store it in a secure location where it can be retrieved to prove compliance with the checking requirement or to request CITES tags. If your telephone or Internet session is cut off before you get a complete confirmation number, start the session again and continue until the complete confirmation number is obtained. If you have more than one bobcat to check in, you will have the opportunity to report additional animals at the end of the session. You may get the same confirmation number for multiple animals.
If you plan to take the bobcat to a taxidermist, you must securely attach written documentation to the carcass that includes the full name of the hunter or trapper, date of kill, and the harvest confirmation number.
Bobcats legally killed by landowners outside the season and road-killed bobcats that are legally possessed are not required to be checked in using the electronic harvest reporting system.
CITES Tagging Requirement For Bobcats

Bobcat pelts that are sold, traded, transported out of state, or shipped out of state must also have a CITES tag affixed to each animal. A valid confirmation number will be needed to obtain a CITES tag. No CITES tag is needed to have a bobcat mounted by a Virginia taxidermist or to ship a bobcat pelt outof- state for tanning purposes.
To obtain a CITES tag for a bobcat, contact our Customer Service Center at 1-866-721-6911. If you cannot reach Customer Service, you can contact your local Conservation Police Officer or the nearest Department regional office). Make sure that you have a valid harvest confirmation number for each CITES tag requested. Tags ordered from our Customer Service Center will be mailed directly to the hunter or trapper, along with instructions for tagging. All bobcat pelts required to have a CITES tag must have them affixed by April 1.

I hope this gives some insight.

flips2

I stand corrected on hogs being mentioned in the regs. This is what I found with regards to Nuisance Species,

Nuisance Species

The following animals: house mouse, Norway rat, black rat, coyote, groundhog, nutria, feral hog, European starling, English sparrow, mute swans and pigeon (rock dove) are designated as nuisance species and may be taken at any time (except on Sunday) by use of a firearm or other weapon and on some public lands during certain time periods, see National Forest-Game Department Regulations.
Feral hogs (also called wild hogs) are classified as nuisance animals in Virginia and it is illegal to release hogs to the wild in Virginia. However, several populations of feral hogs exist in the state and DGIF encourages the harvest of as many of these animals as possible. Feral hogs damage wildlife habitats and crop fields and can transmit diseases to other species, including humans. To hunt feral hogs, a hunter must have a hunting license and landowner permission. There is no closed season or daily bag limit on feral hogs, although hunting is not lawful on Sunday. Also, on Department-managed and national forest lands, it is unlawful to have a bow or gun which is not unloaded and cased or dismantled except when it is lawful to take bear, deer, grouse, pheasant, quail, rabbit, raccoon, squirrel, turkey, waterfowl, or migratory game birds.

flips2

This is what I found in reference to baiting under the general hunting regulations,

Unlawful Methods

Penalties may include hunting license revocation for one year to life and forfeiture of firearms.
A person found guilty of a violation a second time within three years of a previous conviction shall have their license revoked by the court trying the case.
It is unlawful to:

Occupy any baited blind or other baited place for the purpose of taking or attempting to take any wild game bird or wild game animal or to put out bait or salt for the purpose of taking or killing any wild game bird or wild game animal, except for the purpose of trapping furbearing animals.

coolbrze0

Can't help w/ hogs but I've got a few farms where we can fox hunt when they're in season (inc. spotlighting at night w/ written permission). I shot a coyote 2 weeks ago coming in on my rabbit dawgs when they were running a bunny. I had one dog attacked 3 years ago, then shot one 2 weeks ago, & saw another at 95/Rt. 1 intersection last week on our way to work

beagleman28

The hardest part of killing coyotes is finding them. If you have their location pinpointed it will make you much more successful. Predator hunting eats up a bunch of land. You can never have too many places to hunt. You can't call the same places over and over. They will get educated to your calls or to your presence. I have had a ton of success on fox over the years. Grey fox are fun to call. They are a very bold animal for their size. I have only called in a few coyotes but I don't hunt areas that have a big population. I do most of my calling at night with a light. Predator hunting is a lot of fun but it also very frustrating. One night you can call for hours and not see a set of eyes. The next night you call one in on every stand. Here are a few pictures from my season.

vadeer

VA does have a hog problem, mostly in the southern part of the of the state all along on the North Carolina border. I've heard reports of wild pigs in Fauquier Cnty.

Stonewall308

What kind of call do you recommend beagleman?

flips2

I have hunted in Fauquier for almost 20 years and have never heard or seen a wild hog. Not saying it they can't be there, but I have never personally seen them.