texas feral hogs

Kudos also to Dennis..Who speaks so calmly and rationally about a subject that is sure to stir the temper of some. I speak as 1 who lives in deep east Texas, And I and my neighbors fight the battle of torn up fields,torn down fence week after week, month after month. We trap them, shoot them, run them down with dogs and stab them with spears and knives..yet the population keeps climbing. Part of the problem is humans themselves. 100's of 1000's of acres of once "public land" in the Cherokee and Angelina counties area (along the Neches river) where I grew up is now gated on access roads with signs that say "XXXXXX Hunting Club, Members Only" The hogs have prime territory only visited once or twice a year by members, to feed and breed. Landowners (like myself) are wary of allowing so called "hunters" on their land because there been too many instances of litter left behind, the ground covered in empty shell casing, blinds or feeders used as targets and animals and even pets killed for no reason. The fact is the lowly 22 LR will go a mile or more, the mighty 50 cal Browning is deadly at 4 miles (yes there are some hunting with perfectly legal 50 caliber semi auto rifles) and the other sad fact is there are TOO many who dont bother to learn or know what a 1/2 mile behind their treestand or blind. (Out here it might just be MY house where MY kids play in the yard.) Now truly, Those who do shoot and hunt...Do you really want your 30-06,308 or 7mm Mag round nicking a pebble and taking a low arc trajectory 2 miles? I dont..I've let deer and hogs walk out of sight without firing a shot because they were not in a place that had a solid backstop behind them. I think this is a band aid approach to a very real issue, that will accomplish very damn little. And let us PRAY (with all our collective might!), that some yahoo does not pull the trigger on a 7mm mag round that ricochets and hits something like a car, house or God forbid, a person...because if it does there will be all hell to pay for every legal,law abiding and ethical hunter in the state. I dont really have a good answer..These hogs are real, they're aggresive, even dangerous..if you hit one with your automobile it will be like hitting a brick wall..We are killing them in large numbers and even processing the meat and giving it away to the poor and elderly by the truckloads...but their number just keep climbing. You that are members or managers of hunting clubs might consider taking non-members or guest hunters onto your leases as a form of "charity" (Guided Hog hunts 1 weekend a month?). I would love to hear from yall,,opinions ect on how the feral hog issue might be approached..our elected leaders plan seems to me to be expensive (heli cost), risky (chance of wounded/lost game, ricochet) and futile (how many hunters can there really be who can afford $500.00 an hour hence number of hogs killed is not even going to dent the breeding population.) I apologize for the long post..I've had 1 truck totaled by a hog collision..saw a 500 plus pounder attack a school bus and saw & helped down a sow that took 3 7mm Mags and 4 .308s before she stopped.
 
I just got back from turkey hunting in TX. When I was checking on the requirements for nonresident turkey hunting, I asked about what I needed to hog hunt while there. It surprised me when I was told I needed a nonresident hunting license, and that a five day licenses would probably be best for me. I figured with what I had heard about how bad the hogs were in TX that they would be fair game with out a license. No license requirement might encourage more to be taken, but then the state would lose some revenue from those license sales. I did talk to two land owners that were surprised to hear about that, and wanted any hogs shot anyway.
 
storl said:
I have a customer that does that. He shoots 1-2 per week on his property and calls local families that come and get the meat.
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:thumbup: That's cool, at least they can be put to use in death. All they do wreck everything and destroy indigenous plant and animal life if left to run free.
 
anrkst puts the problem into perspective much more cogently than my primitive communitive efforts , & as a land owner he certainly expresses the problem we're facing in texas . floridians & other southern states are overrun as well.uninformed do'nt understand that a walk in the brush wo'nt allow the easy dispatch of these vermin. our state biologists credit feral pigs with intelligence greater than a german shepard & a nose superior to any canine. once trapped & if released you will never get that hog to return to a caged trap. we had to rebuild our fences around the deer feeders 2 years back because hogs figured how to defeat the heavy wire by working on the corner joints. a tip from a local rancher made our day, as intelligent as hogs are if one installs the heavy steel wire enclosures in a circle the hogs for some crazy reason keep going in a circle around the feeders looking for a corner joint to tear apart but seldom succeed making an entrance.the state is experimenting along with the u.s.d.a. at present on a program to poison the hogs, this looks like another nightmare in the making. our more northern neighbors will understand the problem better as the hogs move into their fields. snow & ice are cake icing for hogs which florish in siberia & cold european forests. some years back a few englishmen imported feral pigs as a supplement to the hunting game. the hogs broke out of the estates & tore into domestic pig farms mating with females whom then joined the ferals & the biologists commented that from domestic to feral only required one generation [6 months] now the english are gnashing their teeth over the enormous problem.--dennis
 
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A quick note then I'll leave this thread alone, (Thanks KyTurkeyHunter for making me think of this.) For those not from here who might be planning a visit these porkers are smart and usually show no fear of humans. Use the same "food disiplines" like you would in bear country...cook away from your camp if you can, no food wrappers or dishes with food residue left out, put food up high out of their reach. Also, HD Pepper spray (Like Bear Guard) is the best defense if one gets too close or too interested in you....even the mighty 357 Mag or 44 Mag is not a guaranteed stop on these things but a burst of 18% OC will send them running and squealing in the other direction. :)
 
I've been hearing quite a bit about this problem through the forum, plus through news stories and a friend of mine. I think I'd love to come on down for a trip and help lower the numbers. I think it would be good experience. All I'd have to do is hook myself up with some big bang bang.
 
I live in Florida and hike and camp near feral hogs often. Never had one act aggressive towards me or my 30 pound dog. One time she ran right into a large sow with a half a dozen babies. They just scattered. They do tear up the trails but I think perhaps there is quite a bit of hype going on lately about them.
 
squishware said:
253 dead hogs in one day would be quite a bit for nature to absorb. I think the farmers could hunt the population into balance or invite others to on their land.
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Sorry Squish... but your assumption is simply incorrect. You must understand that it is impossible to hunt an animal like the feral pig into "population balance". The facts are clear:

1. At 6-7 months of age a Sow becomes fertile.

2. An average litter ranges from 4-6 piglets.

3. A feral pig can produce 2 litters per year.

4. A feral pig can live up to 8 years of age.



In other words... they breed at a pace that make rabbits look like nuns. As Dennis stated, they are, on average, smarter than a German Shepherd.

Now, I will admit to being a bit enthused when we first discovered pigs on our place... thinking it would be kinda like deer season, but year round! And as a bonus they travel in large packs. I got my AR15 ready to roll. 62 grn fmj's at the ready...

Then reality set in... No matter how large the group you are lucky to get more than one shot. They are fast... very quick. Unless they are in a large field, you may as well have a single shot rifle. When hunted they simply go nocturnal. Wanna spotlight em??? Sure. I have. But they figure that out pretty quick too.

Feral pigs cause damage in the billions. It's possible they are even more damaging than politicians (maybe not). They destroy fields of crops, plow through barbed wire fences as if they are made of spaghetti, and also FK up my deer hunting. If it were possible to hunt them into control I would have done it.

Don't have pigs, yet??? You will... ;) We all will soon.
 
squishware said:
253 dead hogs in one day would be quite a bit for nature to absorb. I think the farmers could hunt the population into balance or invite others to on their land.
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In this day and age no one wants strangers hunting their land.

Also, there is nothing to balance, they are a non-native invasive species.
 
Sounds like fun, I'm not partial to (if you shoot it you eat it ).
Wild hog is delicious.
Feral animals are just that feral.
 
squishware said:
253 dead hogs in one day would be quite a bit for nature to absorb. I think the farmers could hunt the population into balance or invite others to on their land.
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253 hogs in one area is alot for a rancher to hunt into balance.
 
Wild boar are starting to be a serious problem here in England & I would like to make a serious point to this discussion.
In Texas or in most other places in the US, you can shoot them. Ok, doing it from a helicopter might not be the most sporting way, but its prooved to be effective.
Some of you have talked about the risks to hikers etc, on the ground, but if its managed correctly, this should not be a problem. There is probably a greater risk to hikers from the boars, than from stray bullets.
Just this past weekend, I was camping in a wood in Northern England, when I had a frightening close encounter at night with a very big boar, it trashed my tent, but fortunatly I got away. I didn't know there were any in the area & yesterday when I reported it, they just laughed at me & asked me what drugs I'd been taking!!!
We're defenceless here, pepper spray is illegal, so is carrying a spear in public, not to mention firearms.
Now I'm no stranger to dangerous animals, after quite a few backpacking trips in the US & Canada, but this is the closest I've been to getting mauled by a wild animal & it was less than an hours walk from my house.
Just be thankful that you can shoot the ****** things & while you're trying to wipe them out, just remember us poor **** that can't do anything.
Sorry for the rant, I'm just annoyed at the authorities here, who say they aren't dangerous.
 
Gladiator357 said:
I don't shoot it unless I am going to eat it.....to many people in this world going hungry to shoot just to kill for the thrill.
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amen

We have humane helicopter culls of horses and donkeys
There is a fair number of animals who just take a hit and run off to die a week or so later at times

When folk went up and rescued injured shot horses , and others documented the suffering of the wounded ones and their being put down by volunteers it caused a hell of a crapstorm for a while

the solution is to lock out the sections of land being culled till time enough has passed for the wounded to have died .

Its Humanely done , the govt has said it is
 
Feral hog can be quite tasty, provided it is under a 150 lbs or so. For 150 lbs and up it is recommended you place the meet in cooler, keep it iced down for a week, and just let it drain in order to bleed out thourghly. Still, gamey isn't an apt description. To me the meat tastes hideous if you can get past the smell. You definately won't want to cook it in the house and it takes a couple of days to get the odor off your hands.
 
a friend in Highlands County Florida has a 3200 acre ranch and has had over 180 feral hogs removed by a trapper this year...coyotes are decimating his newborns and 3 of his bulls are missing tails from coyote harassment
 
With all the fires in Texas I'm curious how it will effect the hog and predator situation.
 
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