Feral hogs

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Re: Feral hogs

Post by GasGuzzler »

You're asking for a plague if you want one of these mongrels released within 1000 miles of you.
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Re: Feral hogs

Post by Wyowind »

Last I heard Texas was pretty much all you could shoot and no bag limit but you had to pay for the bullets and if you used it the helicopter rental / fuel was also something you had to pay for.

It's been a couple years since I looked into it but seems like everyone wanted dollars to hunt on their ranches. There's not much public land in Tx. So private land is the only way to go. I Think they could put a good dent in their problem if access to places to hunt was either free or very minimal.
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Re: Feral hogs

Post by Ranch Dog »

Wyowind wrote:It's been a couple years since I looked into it but seems like everyone wanted dollars to hunt on their ranches. There's not much public land in Tx. So private land is the only way to go. I Think they could put a good dent in their problem if access to places to hunt was either free or very minimal.
I will be the devil's advocate here in that I'm a landowner & hunter.

For the landowner, the feral hog is a pest but it is also a resource that the land provides so like any "crop" the landowner decides what the benefit should be. Most of the helicopter hunting, by a huge percent, is done on a commercial basis on the large ranches. Hogs are killed for their meat and exported out of the country. It is conducted to make a profit for the ranch and has been done for decades. The recent law changes allows the hunt to take place with "paid" hunters. You won't find many resident hunters willing to pay the high fees.

There are a lot of hogs in Texas but there is a lot of land as well. I think for those coming to Texas and hunting hogs there is an expectation of being run over by them. Nothing could be further from the case. In that hogs have been hunted for decades on most farms and ranches, they are often harder to hunt for than a mature whitetail. They definitely have a better learning curve than a whitetail deer.

Hunting success for hogs is also a lot lower than you might expect whether it is public or private land. There are some public hunts for hogs on Texas Parks & Wildlife properties but the hunter success is very low, often zero. Part of this is because the properties are well managed and have been hunted for this purpose for decades. On the two public hunts I attended, a total of 10 days hunting, I never saw a hog. On one five day hunt, none of the hunters saw a hog. On the other hunt, I believe three hogs were shot but there were 24 hunters on the 15,000 acre WMA (13% success).

Here is what the TPWD says about the home range of a hog. This is from radio collared studies. "Their home range is based mainly on food availability and cover. It is usually less than 5,000 acres, but can range up to 70,000 acres. In general, boars have a larger home range and will also travel greater distances.". This is what makes them tough to hunt. They are always on their feet, here today, and gone tomorrow. I believe more hogs are killed by the opportunity offered by "luck" than hunting skill.

I kill a bunch of hogs every year but that is because I'm here 24/7. I let family hunt but the odds of someone arriving to hunt a weekend and kill a hog during their stay is nil. Why, because hogs are very transient and nocturnal. I've actually seen hogs at a feeder in the evening, call family that can be on my place and start hunting the next morning and they never see one after several days of hunting.

Most hunters are not comfortable or have the drive to be out there in the middle of the night. Almost all the hogs I kill are shot between 10 pm and 3 am on full moon nights. As a landowner, I'm not comfortable having a guests out there as things can go south real quick. There is a lot to hunting the ambient light and it is a slowly learned and perishable skill. My grandson said it best despite being four years old. I was getting ready to go out and he threw a fit about going along so with mom & grandma's permission we suited up and started out back. I kept close to the house and after an hour I started working back. He knew the land well enough to know we were heading back so he tugged on my shirt and whispered "I'm sorry there is no hogs out here". I whispered back "there are hogs all around us, we just are not close enough to see them". His eyes got big as saucers in the moonlight and he whispered back "we better be real quiet as we don't want trouble!" That's it in a nutshell. The next night I was back on the same sendero in the same spot in great moonlight and I could hear a snake moving toward me. Soon enough and within a few feet I could see the largest coral snake I've ever seen. It looked at me from a six to seven away and then turned and went into deeper grass and brush. It was foolish to have my grandson out there.

Probably the best public hunt for hogs other than a canned hunt1, is the Aransas NWR on the coast near me. The place is loaded with them. Unfortunately this is a deer hunt so the out of State hunter would need a nonresident big game license. Permits are easy to get, you purchase them online and they cover a three or four day weekend. It is a tough hunt in tough country, the worst the brush country can throw at you but there are a lot of hogs. I would say the same about the Laguna Atascosa NWR but it is a draw hunt and getting tougher to be drawn as there is a lot of interest in the nilgai that are included in the hunt. You cannot bait on either of these hunts but you can find daylight hogs. The hunt permit is $130 I believe but in that these are deer hunts, a nonresident license is $315.

Hogs can be hunted for as little as $48 on a five day nonresident license. If no fees for the hunt are paid and there is evidence of crop, pasture, or range damage; depredation hunts do not require a license.[hr]
1 A lot of landowners trap hogs rather than worry with hunters. These hogs are then run through local auctions and are bought by brokers that market them to hunting operations to replace what is being killed.
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Re: Feral hogs

Post by 9x80Drilling »

Thanks so very much for the thorough and considered reply Ranch Dog to Wyowind's questions. Many many of my unwritten questions were answered by you.
I lived in Wyoming for nearly 15 years, Idaho for as long, moved west to Utah in the '60s, and now live in Colorado. We've got the incredible benefits of both very abundant public lands and private lands to hunt and fish. It can be hard for us to fathom having to pay lots of cash for access to private ground. Often, as little as knocking on the door and politely asking gets you on the most heavily posted ranch ground. Or, you might be asked to pay $50 to shoot a whitetail. I've had landowners incredulously look at us and say, "Shoot 'em all!", "Can you go to town and buy more tags?" I suppose that is partly 'cause Wyoming has about 500,000 people. Most of them understand private land and its privileges.
I've read so much about hog shooting in fields during the day, so I've accepted that as the norm. I stand corrected.
Thanks again.
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Re: Feral hogs

Post by Wyowind »

I second what 98 drilling wrote. I appreciate your first hand insight.

I've heard for years that the Hog problem in Texas was a blight on the land, of magnum proportions. I suppose it seems that way if a hog(s) sets up in your favorite pasture or starts rooting in your yard.

I understand the desire to turn this beast into a profit center by Ranchers. But, the problem with hogs is often described in apocalyptic terms. I assumed that landowners would be begging someone to help resolve the problem. Therefore when I seen the $200 or more fees to trespass, it didn't add up to an emergency situation.

Night hunting would definitely add some difficulty for someone that isn't familiar with the territory. However, most hunters that might try the night hunt would probably attempt to be adequately equipped. If not, shame on them. Outdoor Sportsman's shows often show hog hunts during daylight hours so, I didn't realize the extreme nocturnal nature of the situation.

Thanks again for the clarification.
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Re: Feral hogs

Post by Ranch Dog »

You have to take the TV shows for what they are, entertainment. I DVR just about anything that has Texas in the info and the typical hog hunting show does not take place on an average Texas property. These outfits are not going to go through all the trouble it takes to film a hunt without the expectation of success. I'm not saying these are canned hunts but if they aren't, then they take placed on well managed lands with very low hunting pressure on the hogs. The latter would be expensive to hunt and not the typical country an invite would produce.

I'm pretty positive that a majority of Texas lands are like mine and like that of my friends and neighbors. If you see a hog, a bullet is on its way. That is the only way to keep the hogs in check but it does make them gun shy and hard to hunt. The worst thing a family member can tell me is they passed on a hog, they won't get to tell me that again.
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Re: Feral hogs

Post by Moon Tree »

I've had the opportunity to hog hunt 3 times. Two hunts I paid nearly $1000 including processing and tips for the guide. The other hunt, I was invited on as an outdoor writer. These hunts were in Tennessee and Georgia. All three hunts were with dogs. All three hunts were very exciting with hogs at kicking distances who really didn't like me being there.

Now these were fenced in areas of 1000 to 2000 acres. So the hogs were somewhat confined.

RD, my question is: why not hunt hog with dogs in Texas?
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Re: Feral hogs

Post by Ranch Dog »

Moon Tree wrote:RD, my question is: why not hunt hog with dogs in Texas?
They do if that's what you want to do. I don't use them on my property because I'm not interested in that type of hunting nor do I don't want the dogs stirring up my deer.
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Re: Feral hogs

Post by Moon Tree »

RD, I completely understand your not wanting the dogs to stir up the deer. I don't take my Brittanies out during times when I'm serious about deer. Shooting quail over my dogs is mostly just to reward them with a retrieve. I just love watching dogs work, doing what they're bred to do; whether it's bird dogs, beagle or hog dogs. Working with birds dogs is poetry in motion akin to fly fishing.

All that being said, my last two hog hunt we spent half the time stalking. There's poetry in stalking one's quarry, also. :)
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Re: Feral hogs

Post by Ranch Dog »

Moon Tree wrote:All that being said, my last two hog hunt we spent half the time stalking. There's poetry in stalking one's quarry, also. :)
I hear you and that is why I like the night time, moon light hunting. Still hunting with a lot of standing so I can listen. Once a hear something to give me a direction and then stalking until I see them. It is tough to do this type of still hunting/stalking here in South Texas in the daytime because the hogs are bedded in the thickest thorn brush sleeping and they don't make a sound.
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