Texas Hog Hunt!!!!!!!!

gstoneberg · 12-13-2008, 08:34 AM

There are people who do neuter the young boars they catch and then release. After that they are called Barrs. They then grow much larger bodies and larger teeth. There is a scoring system for wild pigs and there are separate catagories for boars and barrs as well as seperate catagories for whether they were taken in the wild or inside a high fence ranch. http://www.brutalboarcreations.com/o...ng-system.html.

It is hard to envision the damage that pigs do if you haven't seen it. 10 acres of ruined wheat or peanuts a night is pretty common with a large herd of pigs. When they're done the field looks like it was plowed with a tractor. Any living small animal they encounter is eaten as well. In some areas they've wiped out all the ground nesting birds.

I also suspect that the pile of pigs in the picture were trapped. Here in Texas you can hunt them any way at any time and even the guys with night vision scopes on their rifles have trouble taking more than a few in a night and one or two is much more normal. Where I hunt there is no way you could drive around with a rig like that and kill a pig. It is way too thick. Also, pigs are extremely smart. If they weren't such...well, pigs...about coming to a feeder they'd be almost impossible to hunt without dogs. The good news is that they taste just like domestic pork as long as you treat the meat right, something that definitely wasn't done in that picture.

George

azboo · 12-13-2008, 09:49 AM

I would think from a practical as well as financial stand point, neutering the males would be the way to go..... sorry guys, just how it is.

I know how much damage they are capable of. If you cut the number of breeding males WAY down, eventually it would almost have to make an impact on them.

gstoneberg · 12-13-2008, 10:44 AM

Boo, it would if there was a way to reduce the adult boar population and if their breeding patterns were different. The dominant boars do most of the breeding and are the smartest, most nocturnal, highest on the food chain beast in the woods. Most won't go in a trap, and are very hard on dogs that try to catch them. The only time they come to a deer feeder is if a sow in heat is there. We've got 3-4 trail cams watching feeders full time and we have exactly one set of photo's of a really big boar in the last year. He was trying to climb on a small sow. If you do catch and kill or neuter one of the big ones, there's another ready in the wings. If even one boar was missed in a large area, all the sows in that area would get bred. They can have up to 3 litters a year and begin breeding at 6mo of age. Where we deer hunt we're just trying to keep the population from expanding so much the deer are moved out. After deer season we'll probably put one or two permanent traps in place (which we'll set only when we're there to tend them). There's no way to get rid of hogs. Birth control can't be administered effectively in the wild. It's a boon for hunters like me that love to hunt them, but they're an ecological nightmare.

And, sorry Boo, the biologists say controlling the number of females is the only way to keep the population down. Trappers can now only sell live boars in Texas to hunting ranches. Sows must be killed, either immediately, later (only if held in a state approved holding pen), or taken directly to a hog buyer/processing plant to be killed there. There are stiff fines for non-compliance. The state is serious about hog control.

George

azboo · 12-13-2008, 10:51 AM

Sounds like they reproduce like cats.. another big problem. And I completely understand what your saying. Again, another problem caused by the negligence of man not keeping good husbandry practices and allowing animals into the environment to reproduce uncontrolled.

BlackHornet · 12-14-2008, 08:47 PM

well also, hogs can survive anywhere pretty much because they will eat anything. They also produce like rabbits, no lie, i mean like was said earlier...they can have up to 3 litters a year. Thats dropping out piglets every 4 months and then in 6 months those that just dropped are ready to breed every 4 months. Now for the neutering the males could be a problem because some of the males' "coinbag" stays on the inside of their skin, making it not possible to just cut them off. My family has a ranch in Crockett and we shoot every hog that we see because they are so destructive. We dont hunt feeders, we have food plots that we plant and after weekend after weekend of countless hours of work, you dont want some animal just coming in there and ruining your work for the season before the stuff even begins to grow. So needless to say, I dont have any sympathy for hogs because once you kill one there are plenty more already in the oven and making their way out.

gstoneberg · 12-14-2008, 10:47 PM

You know Boo, I agree that there was some poor husbandry there. Some early settlers believed you could run hogs free range like you can cattle or chickens. They aren't quite as easy to get back as the other 2 are, and a whole lot more destructive. Lots of people thought they could relocate them for hunting purposes and keep them penned in. However, hogs are probably the most difficult farm animal to keep penned. Their basic design defeats almost every fence that isn't buried or reinforced at the bottom. They're very hard to keep in with electric fence too. They learn that for the price of a little pain they can have freedom, really a smart animal. Once they were introduced into the US in 1539, it was only a matter of time. Certainly foolish things were done that made it worse, but just like the English sparrow, starling and carp, they just don't have effective predators to keep their numbers in check, other than us (and arguably we aren't that effective either).

Like BlackHornet said, they are prolific. I just read that a single sow will result in 1000+ pigs in 5 years. Holy cow. And sadly, for every one you see during the day there are probably 100 running around at night.

George

azboo · 12-14-2008, 11:28 PM

I really see the problems you're dealing with. Again, like feral cats, they breed endlessly and all the babies have more babies. It's almost impossible to make a dent in the population. I wish you guys luck. I don't think I'll ever look at a pig quite the same way again.

gstoneberg · 12-15-2008, 09:54 AM

Boo,

The only bright side to this problem is that they taste so darn good and are fun to hunt too. Last spring I sat (on the ground behind a bush) with my bow along a road we had spread corn on. The ranch manager asked me to take a ewe sheep if I saw one and I did that pretty early in the afternoon. I kept sitting there and later I saw a huge sow coming in with her big litter of piglets. Then, with the 6th sense the big ones seem to have, just before she got in range she cut into the brush and circled downwind behind me. She was probably 15' from me when she winded me and snorted. The hair on the back of my neck stood straight up though I didn't move. Really an adrenalin rush. 20 minutes later a group of smaller hogs came in (like they were supposed to) and I shot a nice sow.

Guess, in the long run, that's 1000 less hogs for Texas (and one less sheep). Really good eating.

George

Fishing Dude · 12-16-2008, 06:51 AM

Have heard that a coal pile works as bait for hog not sure though.

azboo · 12-16-2008, 07:24 AM

What kind of a sheep is that?? It doesn't seem to have any hair, or fur or wool.

12-13-2008, 08:34 AM	#11
gstoneberg Gone Wild Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Dallas, TX Posts: 251	Re: Texas Hog Hunt!!!!!!!! There are people who do neuter the young boars they catch and then release. After that they are called Barrs. They then grow much larger bodies and larger teeth. There is a scoring system for wild pigs and there are separate catagories for boars and barrs as well as seperate catagories for whether they were taken in the wild or inside a high fence ranch. http://www.brutalboarcreations.com/o...ng-system.html. It is hard to envision the damage that pigs do if you haven't seen it. 10 acres of ruined wheat or peanuts a night is pretty common with a large herd of pigs. When they're done the field looks like it was plowed with a tractor. Any living small animal they encounter is eaten as well. In some areas they've wiped out all the ground nesting birds. I also suspect that the pile of pigs in the picture were trapped. Here in Texas you can hunt them any way at any time and even the guys with night vision scopes on their rifles have trouble taking more than a few in a night and one or two is much more normal. Where I hunt there is no way you could drive around with a rig like that and kill a pig. It is way too thick. Also, pigs are extremely smart. If they weren't such...well, pigs...about coming to a feeder they'd be almost impossible to hunt without dogs. The good news is that they taste just like domestic pork as long as you treat the meat right, something that definitely wasn't done in that picture. George

12-13-2008, 09:49 AM	#12
azboo Super Moderator Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Pluto Posts: 20,472	Re: Texas Hog Hunt!!!!!!!! I would think from a practical as well as financial stand point, neutering the males would be the way to go..... sorry guys, just how it is. I know how much damage they are capable of. If you cut the number of breeding males WAY down, eventually it would almost have to make an impact on them.

12-13-2008, 10:44 AM	#13
gstoneberg Gone Wild Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Dallas, TX Posts: 251	Re: Texas Hog Hunt!!!!!!!! Boo, it would if there was a way to reduce the adult boar population and if their breeding patterns were different. The dominant boars do most of the breeding and are the smartest, most nocturnal, highest on the food chain beast in the woods. Most won't go in a trap, and are very hard on dogs that try to catch them. The only time they come to a deer feeder is if a sow in heat is there. We've got 3-4 trail cams watching feeders full time and we have exactly one set of photo's of a really big boar in the last year. He was trying to climb on a small sow. If you do catch and kill or neuter one of the big ones, there's another ready in the wings. If even one boar was missed in a large area, all the sows in that area would get bred. They can have up to 3 litters a year and begin breeding at 6mo of age. Where we deer hunt we're just trying to keep the population from expanding so much the deer are moved out. After deer season we'll probably put one or two permanent traps in place (which we'll set only when we're there to tend them). There's no way to get rid of hogs. Birth control can't be administered effectively in the wild. It's a boon for hunters like me that love to hunt them, but they're an ecological nightmare. And, sorry Boo, the biologists say controlling the number of females is the only way to keep the population down. Trappers can now only sell live boars in Texas to hunting ranches. Sows must be killed, either immediately, later (only if held in a state approved holding pen), or taken directly to a hog buyer/processing plant to be killed there. There are stiff fines for non-compliance. The state is serious about hog control. George

12-13-2008, 10:51 AM	#14
azboo Super Moderator Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Pluto Posts: 20,472	Re: Texas Hog Hunt!!!!!!!! Sounds like they reproduce like cats.. another big problem. And I completely understand what your saying. Again, another problem caused by the negligence of man not keeping good husbandry practices and allowing animals into the environment to reproduce uncontrolled.

12-14-2008, 08:47 PM	#15
BlackHornet Gone Wild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Austin/Willis, Texas Posts: 627	Re: Texas Hog Hunt!!!!!!!! well also, hogs can survive anywhere pretty much because they will eat anything. They also produce like rabbits, no lie, i mean like was said earlier...they can have up to 3 litters a year. Thats dropping out piglets every 4 months and then in 6 months those that just dropped are ready to breed every 4 months. Now for the neutering the males could be a problem because some of the males' "coinbag" stays on the inside of their skin, making it not possible to just cut them off. My family has a ranch in Crockett and we shoot every hog that we see because they are so destructive. We dont hunt feeders, we have food plots that we plant and after weekend after weekend of countless hours of work, you dont want some animal just coming in there and ruining your work for the season before the stuff even begins to grow. So needless to say, I dont have any sympathy for hogs because once you kill one there are plenty more already in the oven and making their way out.

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12-14-2008, 10:47 PM	#16
gstoneberg Gone Wild Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Dallas, TX Posts: 251	Re: Texas Hog Hunt!!!!!!!! You know Boo, I agree that there was some poor husbandry there. Some early settlers believed you could run hogs free range like you can cattle or chickens. They aren't quite as easy to get back as the other 2 are, and a whole lot more destructive. Lots of people thought they could relocate them for hunting purposes and keep them penned in. However, hogs are probably the most difficult farm animal to keep penned. Their basic design defeats almost every fence that isn't buried or reinforced at the bottom. They're very hard to keep in with electric fence too. They learn that for the price of a little pain they can have freedom, really a smart animal. Once they were introduced into the US in 1539, it was only a matter of time. Certainly foolish things were done that made it worse, but just like the English sparrow, starling and carp, they just don't have effective predators to keep their numbers in check, other than us (and arguably we aren't that effective either). Like BlackHornet said, they are prolific. I just read that a single sow will result in 1000+ pigs in 5 years. Holy cow. And sadly, for every one you see during the day there are probably 100 running around at night. George

12-14-2008, 11:28 PM	#17
azboo Super Moderator Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Pluto Posts: 20,472	Re: Texas Hog Hunt!!!!!!!! I really see the problems you're dealing with. Again, like feral cats, they breed endlessly and all the babies have more babies. It's almost impossible to make a dent in the population. I wish you guys luck. I don't think I'll ever look at a pig quite the same way again.

12-15-2008, 09:54 AM	#18
gstoneberg Gone Wild Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Dallas, TX Posts: 251	Re: Texas Hog Hunt!!!!!!!! Boo, The only bright side to this problem is that they taste so darn good and are fun to hunt too. Last spring I sat (on the ground behind a bush) with my bow along a road we had spread corn on. The ranch manager asked me to take a ewe sheep if I saw one and I did that pretty early in the afternoon. I kept sitting there and later I saw a huge sow coming in with her big litter of piglets. Then, with the 6th sense the big ones seem to have, just before she got in range she cut into the brush and circled downwind behind me. She was probably 15' from me when she winded me and snorted. The hair on the back of my neck stood straight up though I didn't move. Really an adrenalin rush. 20 minutes later a group of smaller hogs came in (like they were supposed to) and I shot a nice sow. Guess, in the long run, that's 1000 less hogs for Texas (and one less sheep). Really good eating. George

12-16-2008, 06:51 AM	#19
Fishing Dude Gone Wild Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Slums of Lake Erie Posts: 3,721	Re: Texas Hog Hunt!!!!!!!! Have heard that a coal pile works as bait for hog not sure though.

12-16-2008, 07:24 AM	#20
azboo Super Moderator Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Pluto Posts: 20,472	Re: Texas Hog Hunt!!!!!!!! What kind of a sheep is that?? It doesn't seem to have any hair, or fur or wool.