Not again.......! Feral Hog Control in East Texas

Hasaf said:
It all comes down to, is the purpose to get rid of the hogs, or is the purpose to get paid to have the hogs. That particular landowner makes the most rational business decision. the real issue is the externalities. In this case, the neighbouring landowners who have to deal with the reality that someone has come to realize that their business model relies on a thriving hog population.

At best, you are showing that the hogs are not a problem, sure, the appearance of a problem is important, that is part of the shtick. However, the hogs appear to be part of the business model, and if, as a business, it works, then it is not a problem, it is just a business. I am not criticising it, as a business, after all, it looks like an enjoyable business for all involved.

However, if the hogs really were a problem, they could be dealt with as a problem.
Click to expand...

It's not a business practice for those wanting hogs gone, its the simple 'reality' that the hogs are here to stay. Unless neighboring properties also engage in managing the numbers....a landowner will always have hogs if the land is attractive to the pigs in any way.

Eradication is a pipe-dream *using current methods to control population*. Savvy landowners understand this and choose to mitigate the costs of damages done... by charging to have the hogs hunted. Quite separate from properties that WANT hogs for an income, don't confuse the two.

Except for high fenced property with reasonably open terrain....it simply isn't possible to 'hunt/shoot' your way out of the problem.

In the State of Texas...you can no more eradicate hogs....than you can fire ants. You can 'harass' them back and forth onto neighboring properties, but as soon as the 'pressure' subsides, they come right back. 'Swapping' hogs with your neighbors does little to reduce the population. The idea that MORE hunting equals MORE kills....simply doesn't pan out in many situations. The hogs learn...and adjust.

Good numbers can be killed on large properties with open areas that afford multiple shots by skilled hunters/marksmen using semi-autos and thermal optics. But even those properties quickly repopulate. Aerial hunts *on suitable property* is the single most effective method at present...and probably the only method that actually results in keeping numbers in check.
 
Had two sows and a couple of piglets at a feeder this last week and didn't want to move a trap for just a couple, so I used one of my game radios instead.

The game camera at the location also took these photos. The radio is the black box on the PVC pipe (slid over a T post) on the left. The IR sensor has a "pet lens" installed so it won't trigger on small animals. I didn't get notified that these guys even showed up.


IMG_0001.JPG

However, when these came in, the radio powered up and played back the recorded message. Telling me the location where movement was detected.
IMG_0003.JPG

I was little over 1/2 mile away so it didn't take me long to drive within a few hundred yards and sneak my way to them.

IMG_0008.JPG

The photo is a little deceiving as the bahiagrass, between me and them, is taller than they are, so from my position I cannot see them, just the top of the back of the one on the right but I am close enough to hear them all.

IMG_0009.JPG

At that point, just had to stay still and quiet until a sow moved into the narrow lane of beaten down grass so I could make the shot. I only got two yesterday but that's better than zero.
 
Hasaf said:
I have mentioned this before. I am in SW Kansas and I looked into hog hunting in Texas again.

I just can't believe they are a problem for the people whose voices matter. All I have to do is look to see how much is charged to "Hunt" them. If people really wanted them gone, they wouldn't charge a couple of hundred dollars each to kill them, they would pay to have them killed.

I realize they are a nuisance for some, but there are a lot of people getting fat on these hogs.
Click to expand...

Nuisance? Billions of $$ in damages nuisance...and that is in crop damages alone. Never mind automotive collisions, damages to yards, forests, fouling of water supplies, impacts on nature, etc.

Like you said, YOU live in Kansas.
 
I just can't believe they are a problem for the people whose voices matter. All I have to do is look to see how much is charged to "Hunt" them. If people really wanted them gone, they wouldn't charge a couple of hundred dollars each to kill them, they would pay to have them killed.
Click to expand...

I don’t charge anyone I know a penny. That said, I don’t allow just anyone on our land, much less to shoot or hunt. I suppose if I did, I would certainly need insurance and compensation to repair things and pick up their trash etc, so I guess I’d charge too. “People” covers a lot of ground and some, that have zero respect, are just awful representatives for the rest of us.

D803D900-5280-4E1D-A776-3E20296B1C6F.jpeg

Can’t even give them a safe place to shoot or they will turn it into a dump.

FF8CA18B-C74C-46BD-83B1-14FFDD48CADD.jpeg

There are actually feral hog buyers here in Texas.

http://counties.agrilife.org/smith/files/2018/05/Feral-Hog-Buying-Stations-in-Texas.pdf

and you can setup a 2x12 at the gate so they can’t go under the trailer to load them up and haul them to get the money.

4B855B7F-DE22-487F-8BE9-E34A0DF655F7.jpeg

But once you finally get ahold of one that is accepting any and they tell you they are only paying $0.05/lb over 60 lbs and you do the math on what it’s going to cost you to make the hour and a half drive, one way, to them. Then wonder if the trailer tires are good enough, do I have another spare? Then you just go shoot them and feed the buzzards.

8C64ECF8-9EAD-426A-A7B3-8BBA63270121.jpeg
 
Last edited:
jmorris said:
There are actually feral hog buyers here in Texas.

http://counties.agrilife.org/smith/files/2018/05/Feral-Hog-Buying-Stations-in-Texas.pdf

and you can setup a 2x12 at the gate so they can’t go under the trailer to load them up and haul them to get the money.
Click to expand...

I liked the pic you showed. That guy with the trap isn't selling his hogs. He is just killing them. Can't sell dead hogs at the feral hog buying stations and like you indicate, just wasn't worth his time to sell them.

I hunt for a landowner who trapped nearly 1000 hogs off his property in the summer and fall of 2015. Yep, he made $$, but as he pointed out, it wasn't enough money to compensate him for his time or the fact that it became a 2nd job in addition to his cattle operation. He could spend 4 hours a day checking traps, loading up hogs, and hauling them to the processor which was 45 minutes away...AFTER he got off his property. Pretty soon, he realized like the guy in your pics that it was actually more cost effective to just kill the hogs in the traps because his time was much more expensive than the pittance $$ being made from selling the hogs.

Bottom line, trapping hogs is a lot of work. Not only is it a lot of work, it isn't what most folks would find enjoyable work. Where I hunt, there re trappers. They don't work for free, however. You can hire them to come onto your property and trap hogs which they then sell.

To add insult to injury, those feral hog stations don't buy the little hogs. So unless the person trapping shoots all the little ones on the spot , they will just turn them out so that they can grow larger and be caught later. I don't know of any trappers that keep the dozens of little ones the capture and raise them to breeding size. It can be done, but most don't do this.
 
Double Naught Spy said:
I liked the pic you showed. That guy with the trap isn't selling his hogs. He is just killing them. Can't sell dead hogs at the feral hog buying stations and like you indicate, just wasn't worth his time to sell them.
Click to expand...

That guy was me. From the timestamp on the photos it took me about 45 min to call the nearest 4 places from us and conclude it wasn’t worth it, that time. That’s how I knew what the board was for, at least I didn’t hook up the trailer and load them up before I made the calls.

As the local problems get worse, prices go way down. When no one has problems with them, they bring the most.

I trapped them the night before and would have killed them then, had I known.

A43601E3-42B0-4F15-B472-0A498FD9BC8A.jpeg
 
Last edited:
jmorris said:
I don’t charge anyone I know a penny. That said, I don’t allow just anyone on our land, much less to shoot or hunt. I suppose if I did, I would certainly need insurance and compensation to repair things and pick up their trash etc, so I guess I’d charge too. “People” covers a lot of ground and some, that have zero respect, are just awful representatives for the rest of us.

View attachment 1016938

Can’t even give them a safe place to shoot or they will turn it into a dump.

Can't tell you how many old TVs, radios, coffee pots,broken bottle's, plastic bottle's and just all sorts of cast off junk I've hauled back to town to throw away where I go out to shoot. People bring it out, shoot it up and just leave it! Number of years back, about 30 years or so, found about 6 bags of asbestos thrown into a pile of downed tree's that some removal company removed from someplace, that someone had just thrown in among them. Bags were clearly marked what was in them and the red hazard tape on them. I contacted a local agency about them, and a few weeks later everything was gone, tree's and all.
There is just a general uncaring among some people nowadays. They've had their mother for far to long cleaning up after them, and must expect other's to do the same for them!
Click to expand...
 
alsaqr said:
i know a couple guys who trap and sell feral hogs to processing plants. Large wild boars are in great demand by hog hunting ranches. A 250-300 pound boar with large tushes brings $300-$500.
Click to expand...

And they should....because those are the one's that can be a lot of 'fun' to load into a trailer. They aren't happy about it...and none too cooperative at times.
 
Anyone that purposely populates an area with them should be castrated themselves. That map of infestation since legal (hard to believe invasive animals were regulated to begin with in any State) kind of makes me not want to take them to the buying stations even if prices go back up.

Would be nice to cover costs of keeping them out of the hay meadows but still beats the time and money spent on getting one back they have ruined.
 
I personally will not allow someone to hunt feral hogs on my properties. As feral hogs are very illusive, night hunting and trapping are the primary options. I don't want someone shooting, unless I am with them. At night it is easy to lose bearings and end up close to the house, livestock or buildings. I hunt them and have allowed a few friends to hunt with me, but anyone else is only permitted to trap feral hogs, with me killing them inside the trap. On private property a Night Hinting Notice and Registration is required annually by DNR, with annual kill reports being filed by December 31, of each year. This way I know the reports are submitted and I can continue to work on keeping the feral hog population to a minimum. They can cause so much damage that forgoing the ability to not kill them is not an option.

Why I don't allow hunting on the properties, comes from my grandfather, father and my own experiences with trespassers and hunters. When I was just starting out hunting, I asked my grandfather why hunting was not permitted on the properties? He told me that he used to allow hunting, but had bad experiences with some hunters cutting fences, leaving gates open, crossing property lines and trashing things, so he elected to not permit hunting. He said he hated to do it that way, as not all hunters caused issues, but a few were enough to push him to not permit hunting. That was in about 1961 or 1962. As I got older and spent more time hunting over the years, I saw my father carry on the same practice. I now understand my grandfather's hesitations even more today, after I inherited the properties and saw how trespassing is an issue, with several being hunters, who did not obey no hunting or trespassing signs. They had not even asked for permission to hunt.

Today with liability issues, a property that is not marked properly with no hunting or no trespassing signs, can be an issue for a landowner. A trespasser or hunter can sue the land owner, for damages, if they get hurt, unless the property is properly marked. Allowing trespassing or hunting is a liability to the property owner and most are aware of the risk and prefer to avoid it.
 
I was watching my father-in-law load pigs on the farm and he had one who decided she wasn't going to market. He, after ten minutes of this game, took a 2x4 to re-educated her. She decided to go in the truck at that point. I would have decided I could afford the meat and shot her in the head. But he actually was a patient man. And he made more money at that point. Be Well, Packy.
 
Man.......sometimes it ALL goes wrong. :(

Have had this group of pigs coming in for several days. Sometimes during daylight, sometimes right at dark. Thought I'd go sit for them today because this spot is very close to one of my pastures...and I don't need them tearing it up.



Headed out about 6:00 p.m. I went to a stand that is only about 40 yds. from the bait site. I haven't been on that stand for several months, preferring to use the 100 yd. stand. The closer stand I reserve for shotgun and pistol work. I took my 458 SOCOM but wanted to be close because I would be shooting a Lehigh 305 gr. Controlled Fracture bullet. My rifle is sighted in for a 405 gr. bullet at 100 yards, but by staying close (40 yds.) I would be OK with the lighter bullet and not have to worry about adjusting for the shot.

Lehigh 305gr_a.jpg
Lehigh 305gr_b.jpg


Anyway, that is why I was going to be so close. So I get to the stand....which is a simple two man ladder stand 14' high. I climb up to the top and notice that squirrels have eaten holes in the fabric of the foam seat cushion. Not a big deal but when I set my rifle up on it...I found out that Fire Ants had taken up residence in the cushion. They came pouring out of the holes. So I took my pocket knife, cut the straps holding it in place and threw it to the ground. Brushed the remaining ants off the stand and went to complete my ingress.

Placed my rifle on the seat portion and climbed the rest the way up. Had just gotten seated when four paper wasps landed on me and started stinging. I failed to notice the small nest on the canopy covering the stand. With nowhere to go (14' up and a little 16" x 48" seat) I started swatting at them.

Finally fended them off. Got hit on the top of the ear, middle of the thigh, one on the wrist and another right above that. Looked up and there was still one wasp on the nest, Buzzing it's wings angrily and looking right at me. I took my ball-cap off and hoped my aim would be good... as I needed to hit both the wasp and dislodge the nest at the same time. That was the ONLY thing worked out well.

I spent the next 1/2 hour watching to see if any of the wasps would return. A little before dark two of them did...but I was able to swat them.

Finally able to relax and start watching for pigs, the wasps were replaced by mosquitoes. They were relentless. I seriously thought about getting down but was already so heavily invested in this fiasco (sweating, ants, wasps, mosquitoes, sitting on bare expanded metal) that I at least wanted to get a hog.

Dark thirty came and went, no hogs. Most of the mosquitoes had gotten their fill and left...so figured I might as well wait awhile longer. About an hour later (my rear end having extruded itself through the expanded metal) I was REALLY thinking about giving up.

Just then I heard leaves rustling and sticks breaking. BUT it was coming from directly behind me. The pigs have NEVER come from that direction. They kept coming and worked their way right under my stand before getting my scent and running back the same way they had come in. Game over!

Back to the house to lick my wounds. I'll just have to keep tabs on the game cameras and see if they come back. Sometimes you just can't win.:uhoh:
 
Last edited:
Flintknapper said:
Man.......sometimes it ALL goes wrong. :(

Have had this group of pigs coming in for several days. Sometimes during daylight, sometimes right at dark. Thought I'd go sit for them today because this spot is very close to one of my pastures...and I don't need them tearing it up.



Headed out about 6:00 p.m. I went to a stand that is only about 40 yds. from the bait site. I haven't been on that stand for several months, preferring to use the 100 yd. stand. The closer stand I reserve for shotgun and pistol work. I took my 458 SOCOM but wanted to be close because I would be shooting a Lehigh 305 gr. Controlled Fracture bullet. My rifle is sighted in for a 405 gr. bullet at 100 yards, but by staying close (40 yds.) I would be OK with the lighter bullet and not have to worry about adjusting for the shot.

View attachment 1023235
View attachment 1023236


Anyway, that is why I was going to be so close. So I get to the stand....which is a simple two man ladder stand 14' high. I climb up to the top and notice that squirrels have eaten holes in the fabric of the foam seat cushion. Not a big deal but when I set my rifle up on it...I found out that Fire Ants had taken up residence in the cushion. They came pouring out of the holes. So I took my pocket knife, cut the straps holding it in place and threw it to the ground. Brushed the remaining ants off the stand and went to complete my ingress.

Placed my rifle on the seat portion and climbed the rest the way up. Had just gotten seated when four paper wasps landed on me and started stinging. I failed to notice the small nest on the canopy covering the stand. With nowhere to go (14' up and a little 16" x 48" seat) I started swatting at them.

Finally fended them off. Got hit on the top of the ear, middle of the thigh, one on the wrist and another right above that. Looked up and there was still one wasp on the nest, Buzzing it's wings angrily and looking right at me. I took my ball-cap off and hoped my aim would be good... as I needed to hit both the wasp and dislodge the nest at the same time. That was the ONLY thing worked out well.

I spent the next 1/2 hour watching to see if any of the wasps would return. A little before dark two of them did...but I was able to swat them.

Finally able to relax and start watching for pigs, the wasps were replaced by mosquitoes. They were relentless. I seriously thought about getting down but was already so heavily invested in this fiasco (sweating, ants, wasps, mosquitoes, sitting on bare expanded metal) that I at least wanted to get a hog.

Dark thirty came and went, no hogs. Most of the mosquitoes had gotten their fill and left...so figured I might as well wait awhile longer. About an hour later (my rear end having extruded itself through the expanded metal) I was REALLY thinking about giving up.

Just then I heard leaves rustling and sticks breaking. BUT it was coming from directly behind me. The pigs have NEVER come from that direction. They kept coming and worked their way right under my stand before getting my scent and running back the same way they had come in. Game over!

Back to the house to lick my wounds. I'll just have to keep tabs on the game cameras and see if they come back. Sometimes you just can't win.:uhoh:
Click to expand...


Not sure if I should like this? Except for the hogs and fire ants, been there done that with the mosquitoes and yellow jackets and it's not fun. Maybe have a sympathize button!
 
Well the hogs came back about 4:00 a.m. that next morning and again last night about 8:00 p.m.

Wind is wrong for either stand today so I think I'll just set up a trap down there for them.

They don't seem to be going anywhere as long I keep the corn out. So we will see.

The hog with no ears...from our property across the highway is now over here with this group. I just noticed from the video it has no tail either, so hog doggers probably did that to it. :fire:
 
Well....the hogs beat me to the draw. I starting setting up a pen trap yesterday (entry door first), but it was getting late in day and I knew I wouldn't finish before dark. It takes me a couple of hours or so to set this trap up, because it doesn't use portable panels.

Trap1.jpg

I wanted to cut a small path through the wooded area they've been using in an effort to 'steer' them toward the trap. So I did that yesterday afternoon instead of working on the trap any further.

Trap2.jpg

I've been hand broadcasting corn each day back in the woods, hoping to keep them there long enough for me to get the trap set up. That usually works, but this group (or possibly another) decided to go wreck a small area of pasture last night. Happens to be the same spot I just repaired about a month ago. :fire:

Trap3.jpg

I wonder if Timber Wolves could survive in Texas? There must be something that can kill these things (other than me).
 
East Texas was the historic domain red wolves and gray wolves. No doubt they would do a good job with the hogs. The problem is that every goat, cattle, and chicken rancher would have conniptions if the wolves were present. Bear and mountain lion populations are not much help in this regard, either. The lions are far too few and the bears are only part time carnivores, and also quite few in number.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

C
  • Locked
Feral Hogs as Food
2 3 4
Replies
77
Views
9K
MCgunner
M
M
  • Locked
What gun for feral hogs?
2 3 4
Replies
86
Views
8K
BigMustard
B
D
  • Locked
Texas' wild hog numbers lead country
Replies
7
Views
3K
Greybeard
G
C
  • Locked
Feral Hog hunting
2
Replies
25
Views
3K
blkbrd666
B
M
  • Locked
Feral hogs in Texas
2
Replies
44
Views
6K
JohnKSa
JohnKSa
Back
Top