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

^^^^^^^^

I hope they make an 'example' of this guy. Because if they don't (if penalties aren't swift and severe), it will surely continue.

Once hog populations are well established....you will pretty much have them forever. It's not something that is easily turned around (or even possible most places). Is should be taken seriously.
 
Flintknapper said:
^^^^^^^^

I hope they make an 'example' of this guy. Because if they don't (if penalties aren't swift and severe), it will surely continue.

Once hog populations are well established....you will pretty much have them forever. It's not something that is easily turned around (or even possible most places). Is should be taken seriously.
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Flintknapper, supposedly here in NM our population of a few hundred wild hogs along the Pecos was exterminated.
 
Hey Flint, been a couple years since I've visited this thread. Good to see it's still going.

As you know, I finished my .458 SOCOM build about 4 years ago, just in time for all my time to be taken up with my (now 3) kids. Unfortunately, the hogs don't let up, and have have over the past year or so taken to tearing up all the trails on my (wooded) property. I get a good pattern on the sounders and boars that stick around, but opportunities to set out on a stand are pretty slim. I'd every once in a while hear them making their way to the tank or towards the feeder, but the density of the woods here puts the advantage to the pigs for a stalking hunt. I have, a couple of times, made my way out when there were pigs out there and attempted to creep up on them, but to no success.

I had noticed on one of the cameras that overlooks the tank that there was a pig in particular that would show up at around dusk and often while it's still light out:

201802daytimesow-scale600.jpg

I made it a habit of taking a look back there (behind the house) if I was going to head outside. One night in early April, I was headed out to the truck to make a run to the grocery store and peered around the side of the house to see this same pig trotting up to the water. I quickly went back inside and grabbed the .458 SOCOM. It was still plenty light out, so I decided getting close was a no-go. Luckily, I'd been working on a ballistic table (this rifle is zeroed at 21/140y with my 405gr SP hunting loads), so I knew I'd be aiming about 3 inches low at the ~100y distance the pig was at.

I decided I'd take the shot prone and aim to punch through the shoulders, in case my ballistic calculations were off. I laid down at the corner of the house and waited for the pig to turn broadside. Sure enough, it did in the same spot as in the photo above. I touched off a round, and the pig dropped right there.

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20180405hogkill-scaled600.jpg

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I was happy to find that I hit right where I was aiming, punching straight through both shoulders. I didn't' hit the heart, but it wasn't attached to anything on the head side, to I'm pretty sure I severed the main vein running in that direction (anterior vena cava). She only weighed 90 pounds, but at least there's one less of them tearing up my place. I cleaned/skinned her, and the vultures had a party the next day with the hide and entrails. I took the carcass to a processor in the city, and ended up with 28 pounds of sausage plus backstrap and tenderloins when it was all said and done.
 
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Good shot John! And good to hear from you. I certainly understand how the 'kiddos' will fill your time (as they should).

Was up around your neck of the woods last month, going to visit family in Austin. Headed back for the 4th of July next month.

Please check in more often here and let us know how you are doing. Keep after those hogs. Love the 405 grain soft point load. It is my staple round in the SOCOM.

Flint.
 
I have been reading a couple pages a night of this thread and finished tonight! I hope you guys keep posting because I have enjoyed reading this thread. No hogs up here in Ohio so I think this is why I have enjoyed keeping up with all your hog stories. Great thread Flint and everyone that contributed. If we ever do get hogs I am definitely ready for them!
 
Blueshep said:
I have been reading a couple pages a night of this thread and finished tonight! I hope you guys keep posting because I have enjoyed reading this thread. No hogs up here in Ohio so I think this is why I have enjoyed keeping up with all your hog stories. Great thread Flint and everyone that contributed. If we ever do get hogs I am definitely ready for them!
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Ohio does have feral hogs, albeit not in great numbers (yet).

http://ohiodnr.gov/feralswine

I hope the population does not grow and spread as it has in other States. I understand the 'novelty' of having something new to hunt, but trust me...they are a scourge and the 'new' will wear off quickly...(especially for Landowners/Farmers).

I don't know alot about Ohio...but many parts of it look to be ideal habitat for Feral Hogs. Crop lands, Waterways and good cover in some areas. If they prove hardy enough to survive your winters...then you'd be in real trouble when breeding populations become established.

There is no closed season on Feral Hogs in Ohio and hunters are encouraged to shoot any that they see. I'm sure your Department of Natural Resources understands the threat this invasive species poses.
 
I am off to Texas in a couple weeks to a location about 2 hours south of Austin. I will be on the lookout for hawgs when driving.
 
On the Okla guy, sure , he should pay for breaking the law, but I am tired of sensationalist writers and Leo exaggerating in their stories. Same thing they do to to gun crimes to make the gun look more deadly or the ownership of a weapon particularly nefarious. I am referring to the comment that he was putting his pits in a trailer with a hog for a fight to the death. I will bet he was using the hogs to train his dogs to catch , it does him no good to have hogs killing his catch dog prospects. This is a tactic often used to portray hogdoggers as “fighting”dogs vs pigs when in reality, your bay dogs bay em, your catch dog holds em, you hurry post haste to stick em
 
In 2015 an OK man was arrested for bringing 117 wild hogs from TX.

"ODAFF officials received a phone tip Sunday indicating that three men had been at a hog hunting facility in Texas and were en route to Oklahoma with three stock trailers filled with feral swine, which would be transported to a “high-fenced hunting area” in the state, according to a probable cause affidavit filed in McCurtain County District Court on Tuesday."

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/crim...cle_5011a947-05f6-536f-9886-591da0402098.html
 
G'dale Mike said:
On the Okla guy, sure , he should pay for breaking the law, but I am tired of sensationalist writers and Leo exaggerating in their stories. Same thing they do to to gun crimes to make the gun look more deadly or the ownership of a weapon particularly nefarious. I am referring to the comment that he was putting his pits in a trailer with a hog for a fight to the death. I will bet he was using the hogs to train his dogs to catch , it does him no good to have hogs killing his catch dog prospects. This is a tactic often used to portray hogdoggers as “fighting”dogs vs pigs when in reality, your bay dogs bay em, your catch dog holds em, you hurry post haste to stick em
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http://www.houstonpress.com/news/ho...n-texas-but-is-it-also-animal-cruelty-9894012
 

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I don't have the time to read this all, but are hogs really that big of a deal down there? If so, I will be headed through there traveling in a couple weeks with a bow and .243 in the truck. Anyone who wants a visit, let me know. I have never hunted them before, but you all make them sound like the worst vermin ever. Snagging some pork to take back and helping someone would be awesome.

My daughter and I are camping our way back from my course in CA to NC and will have a dirt bike with us too. Just an offer. She flies out in a couple weeks. Maybe I should have her bring the 45-70 with her. lol
 
Flintknapper said:
Good shot John! And good to hear from you. I certainly understand how the 'kiddos' will fill your time (as they should).

Was up around your neck of the woods last month, going to visit family in Austin. Headed back for the 4th of July next month.

Please check in more often here and let us know how you are doing. Keep after those hogs. Love the 405 grain soft point load. It is my staple round in the SOCOM.

Flint.
Click to expand...

Thanks, Flint. The 405 is certainly capable. I wish it had been a bigger hog (or two) so I could see how it did stretching its legs a bit before hitting the mud. It didn't look like it got much chance to expand before it exited that pig; it just punched right through. Next time, hopefully.

My youngest is out of the baby stage, so hopefully I can reclaim a little time and do the needful. I had my eye on a nice tall-tine 10-point buck this past season, but ultimately didn't have the time to set out for him. Luckily, not much sign of hogs in a couple weeks, so the big sounder that was hanging around seems to have moved on. There will be another along shortly, I'm sure. Summer is certainly here, so they'll be hitting the tank and wallowing more frequently, increasing my chances to see them from the house and make a shot like this one.

For a while last year, I had another sounder tearing up my front yard (as close as 3 feet from the house) early in the morning. Sometimes on my way to my truck to drive to work (around 5:45 am) I'd find a yard full of hogs making their exit. Of course, they'd make it to the trees before I could clear the house and truck and get a shot off with my Hi-Power. :cuss:

Good to hear from you, and I'll make sure to stop by here more regularly.
 
gdcpony said:
I don't have the time to read this all, but are hogs really that big of a deal down there? If so, I will be headed through there traveling in a couple weeks with a bow and .243 in the truck. Anyone who wants a visit, let me know. I have never hunted them before, but you all make them sound like the worst vermin ever. Snagging some pork to take back and helping someone would be awesome.

My daughter and I are camping our way back from my course in CA to NC and will have a dirt bike with us too. Just an offer. She flies out in a couple weeks. Maybe I should have her bring the 45-70 with her. lol
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Yes, since you didn't take the time to read the thread I will tell you hogs are devastating to agriculture and wildlife alike. It isn't a game we're playing here. We killed 146 pigs on my place in one day with helicopters. You think you can do better than that?
 
So, I've been watching this boar come in to my feeder a little after 8pm for several nights. Ain't even dark yet and he's been there. So, I went and sat out tonight. Kinda rainy, hot, humid, ran the thermocell 'cause the skeeters were bad. Sure 'nuf, this boar come trottin' down the sendero right on time, starts to turn toward my feeder about 30 yards out and I put a 154 grain soft point from my SKS high in the shoulder, broke the spine, and exited. That boar had a heckuva gristle plate on him, too. He wasn't a huge tusker, probably about 180 lbs on the hoof. Man, that head and skin was half his weight! I couldn't pick him up after I gutted him to put him on the ATV, so I drug him back to the house. I told the wife, tough as the hides are on those things, I could drag him 5 miles down Hwy 90A and not hurt his hide. I got him on ice about 10:30 and am cooling off now, drinking some iced tea before taking a shower and hitting the rack. I tried to get a picture, but that cheap phone's camera must have gone out, couldn't get it to work. Oh, well, just another pig.
 
Our pastor has been out to the house a couple of times. Both times he's seen the herds of pigs that often cross the road coming in or going out. He was impressed. He's often mentioning it, must have made an impression. In his pastoral prayer last Sunday, he thanked the Lord for all the rain saying, "The pigs out around Jack's house really needed it." LOL
 
MCgunner said:
Our pastor has been out to the house a couple of times. Both times he's seen the herds of pigs that often cross the road coming in or going out. He was impressed. He's often mentioning it, must have made an impression. In his pastoral prayer last Sunday, he thanked the Lord for all the rain saying, "The pigs out around Jack's house really needed it." LOL
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Whether Pastor is angling for it or not, you might be puttin' on a roast pig feed soon.:D
 
Road kill is a good way to see animals. I saw my first kangaroo down under as road kill. I'll be back in Texas before too long. Was supposed to be in San Antonio this week. Trip was cancelled.
 
JeffG said:
Whether Pastor is angling for it or not, you might be puttin' on a roast pig feed soon.:D
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Well, he does like his food. LOL! I made 9 lbs of chili (not venison, didn't have enough meat left) for a NWTF Colorado County chapter meeting a couple of weeks go and we had a dinner and bell ringing on July 4th at noon. I had a few pounds of it left over and took it to church and heated it up. I think he got three helpings. :D We STILL had a little left over and polished it off the next evening for supper.
 
dh1633pm said:
Road kill is a good way to see animals. I saw my first kangaroo down under as road kill. I'll be back in Texas before too long. Was supposed to be in San Antonio this week. Trip was cancelled.
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We live off Hwy 90A which is a major big truck route in the oil patch. It parallels I10 which is to the north. The truckers are always hitting wildlife on that highway and there's either dead pigs or deer along it from Sugar Land to Sequin. One night coming home from the wife's aunt's place 9 miles east of Seguin off 90A, it was about 12AM, a deer was standing in the road. When I saw it, I swerved to the other lane to miss it. It never moved, was almost like a deer mannequin. That did wake me up, though, and I stopped into Bucee's for gas, coffee, and to relieve myself. :D

Big trucks can't swerve like I did. They just WHACK whatever's in the way. Some of those little hill country roads don't have much 18 wheeler traffic, so lack of road kill big animals might reflect THAT vs lack of animals along the route.
 
MCgunner said:
Well, he does like his food. LOL! I made 9 lbs of chili (not venison, didn't have enough meat left) for a NWTF Colorado County chapter meeting a couple of weeks go and we had a dinner and bell ringing on July 4th at noon. I had a few pounds of it left over and took it to church and heated it up. I think he got three helpings. :D We STILL had a little left over and polished it off the next evening for supper.
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