Feral hogs in Texas

[Series70]

Ladies and gents,

Once again, I don't mean this to be a drive-by. I'm a daily reader and occasional poster on TFL, and though not a hunter myself, I've been struck by the discussions on hog hunting.

Almost always there are stories of the overwhelming damage done by feral hogs, and how these critters are getting out of control in areas where they are common. Thought you'd all be interested in the fact that this issue is apparently getting some interest in the media:

http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2011/03/18/f...reas-in-texas/

Looks like the hunters here aren't exaggerating, and that someone's finally paying attention to the problem.

[rickyrick]

thanks for the post.....I dont wanna beat the same drum but what i am seeing is biblical plague type stuff

[thesheepdog]

I haven't seen a dang hog within a 100 mile radius. I wish I could hunt some. Send them over here and we'll make sure the people of my area have plenty of bacon to eat.

[rickyrick]

you have the mutant ninja pigs

[markj]

I would love free pork. Anyone catch em when small and nuter the males then harvest after they get bigger?

[rickyrick]

I wish.... nobody wants free pork at midnite during the work week. everybody says they want the pigs until i call.

[Double Naught Spy]

Looks like the hunters here aren't exaggerating, and that someone's finally paying attention to the problem.

I am not sure about "paying attention to the problem." They have been paying attention for years, but slow to act. "Monitor and advise" seems to often be the status quo.

Almost always there are stories of the overwhelming damage done by feral hogs, and how these critters are getting out of control in areas where they are common.

Quite seriously, anywhere they are not in a pen or dead, they are out of our control and are a potential problem. I have seen signnificant damage by hogs and I have seen areas where hogs are common that don't suffer much damage. It really depends.

2 million hogs in Texas and $52 damage per year. That makes for $25 damage per hog per year. So individually, they aren't that damaging. The problem is the locust-effect when they find something good. It isn't all damage all the time, but can be spotty damage whenever they find something good. Making a significant cut in $52 million in damage, say by 1/10th, means killing 200,000 hogs.

I haven't seen a dang hog within a 100 mile radius.

At my place in Montague County, we call those "stealth hogs."

[603Country]

I just spent about an hour on my tractor repairing the damage to my back pasture. Hogs just rooted it up, and some of the holes are a foot deep. My two hog traps are baited and cocked, but I can't seem to catch them lately. I'm upgrading the bait to sour corn (soured with milk and beer), which smells so bad that I hate to use it. Game cameras show up to 25 hogs eating my deer corn at any one time. Only 3 or 4 years ago, it was rare to see a wild hog on my place (eastern Central Texas, about 40 miles east of Waco). Man, I sure have em now.

[YARDDOG(1)]

"[Anyone catch em when small and nuter the males then harvest after they get bigger?]"

That would make a Bore a BAR & Alot better eating ; )
Y/D

[Steel Talon]

My baby sister and baby brother have large ranches in the Hill Country and it's unbelievable how feral hogs tear **** up. In a 6week period they and two other adjacent familes got together and killed off a total of 300 hogs.And all it did was make room for more...

We aggressively hunt them..And,it's popular in Texas to offer canned HOG hunts.
but it dosn't seem to be working.

[camper4lyfe]

There are times I wish we had hogs up here, but then I read about all the damage they do, and it makes me glad they're not here. Talk about a double-edged sword.

[hornetguy]

doublenaught is right, sheepdog... just head west toward Nocona... you'll be in "hog country" when you get past Denton...
The stealth hogs are the problem. When the weather gets warm, it's rare to see them out during the daytime, in my experience. Sometimes early morning, around sunrise, but mostly they turn pretty much nocturnal. Makes it a "spotlighting" kind of thing.
I used to hunt over in Montague county, and Wise county. Another problem is the type of brush that typically grows along creeks.. almost impossible to hunt through.... at least for an old fat guy..

[jeepster11]

hog hunt? and how much do people charge for them? i am sure their are plenty of people that are willing to hunt them just not for the huge price people want to charge for it. i some day will get to go on a hunt for hog but since its so expensive i cant. i cant wait to bust me a couple of hogs

[Art Eatman]

Rumor has it that there are now some feral hogs here in the desert. Supposedly, a few miles north of me, but on Terlingua Creek. Lots of mesquite thickets along the creek. Could be; they've been seen in the barren canyon country north of Big Bend National Park.

If a fella wanted to camp on my place and try his luck, I wouldn't object at all. It's pretty much a walking-hunt style...

[Fat White Boy]

You mean like this one?

[rickyrick]

FWB,
Looks like that pig is in the shop for maintenance LOL


603,
Since you know where they are at and when, just wait for them, they will stick to their schedule until a disturbance causes them to adjust. I still run my traps ... but I have been getting way more by just waiting in the shadows for them to show up. I can hear them coming for 20 minutes sometimes.

[cookhj]

One of the problems with hogs is everyone with more than an acre of land charges people money to hunt hogs, then they complain when not enough are killed. I would love to do more hog hunting, and hell, I'll help repair fences, etc but unfortunately I don't know a lot of people with land.

[aaalaska]

Exactly, look at maps , not just Texas , land open to public hunting may have hogs but not hog problems, private land no access, hog problems! Hard to imagine,I've heard it over and over So many hogs ,so much damage, but if you want to kill a few it's XXX dollars. An don't tell me it's because of the danger of law suits, just cause someone is paying doesn't rid a landlord of legal action, these things have been addressed in many states, just a tweak in the law covers it, and if hogs are such a problem that would have been done.
Alex

[Steel Talon]

Rumor has it that there are now some feral hogs here in the desert. Supposedly, a few miles north of me, but on Terlingua Creek. Lots of mesquite thickets along the creek. Could be; they've been seen in the barren canyon country north of Big Bend National Park.

If a fella wanted to camp on my place and try his luck, I wouldn't object at all. It's pretty much a walking-hunt style...

VIVA Terlingua!

[Steel Talon]

what is a canned

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hog hunt? and how much do people charge for them? i am sure their are plenty of people that are willing to hunt them just not for the huge price people want to charge for it. i some day will get to go on a hunt for hog but since its so expensive i cant. i cant wait to bust me a couple of hogs

Basically "canned" paid hunt. depending on season and ranch 250-500 ++ may have limit on one pig or multiple may have trophy fee or not...

Doesn't include ,state liscence, gratuity, or gutting and skinning fees

Can include lodging, meals and guide. Stand ,blind spot and stalk.

[Double Naught Spy]

A canned hunt certainly may be a paid hunt, but canned hunts usually end in success of some sort because the animals are most often kept in a confined area. They aren't "canned" because they cost a fee, the general outcome is known. It isn't a truly candid hunt.

[rickyrick]

Many people pay to have hogs removed but the pros remove them alive. It's hard to just let people you don't know on somebody's farm. The best way is to somehow build the farmers trust...if the farmer truly has a problem he wants a pile of dead ones.

[Fat White Boy]

We use a guide service in King City, Ca., about 50 miles south of Monterey. They have leases on two different 50,000 acre ranches in the area plus a couple of smaller properties. It's all fair chase.

[markj]

I wish.... nobody wants free pork at midnite during the work week. everybody says they want the pigs until i call

If Iwas close to ya, well I would just tag along I can do a hog fast.

What I hate is folks like a guy Itook to my Dads place for deer. He shot it then didnt want it didnt want to clean it nothing. So I did it and kept all the meat

Do you skin them or boil and scrape? I have a bit of expirience wit hhogs and farm animals, we butchered 2 steers and several hogs every fall. I also know how to make hams and the bacon, old family recipes.

[cookhj]

Quote:
I wish.... nobody wants free pork at midnite during the work week. everybody says they want the pigs until i call

I work midnights and my days off are during the week. If you're within about 2 hours or so from san antonio I would come shoot hogs with you.