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

Well..........I blew it!

Sometimes you think you know what hogs are going to do....and they simply don't DO IT! Who knows why.

Got down to my stand about 3:30 this afternoon (feeder is set to go off at 4:00) but the likelihood of seeing any hogs before dusk...is slim.

Got settled in, adjusted my binoculars, checked the wind (just right), all is good.

About 5:00 p.m. (well before dark) a lone boar steps out onto the logging road to my right. He stood there right in the middle of it, pretty as you please...for about 30 seconds before crossing to the other side and heading in the direction of the feeder.

A few seconds later...a Sow (larger than the boar) does pretty much the same thing. I let her cross as well...expecting both to make a bee-line to the feeder which is only another 35 yds. through some brush.

I train my scope on the feeder (90 yds. from my stand) and wait for a pig to show. Out of the corner of my eye I notice 5 more pigs come out on the road, then go the same direction as the others.

OK, this is good...I am thinking to myself. They will all go to the feeder, I can judge which is the biggest that way... and maybe, just maybe...get two of them to 'line up'.

Well....a couple minutes pass and NONE of the pigs have yet gone to the feeder.

Not an alarming thing at this point...because I can hear them in the brush, grunting and moving around. I figure they are just 'staging' the area to see if all is clear. So, I go back to my rifle and peer through the scope...awaiting a target.

Nothing, no pigs....no more noise, just gone. Still not fretting....I tell myself they have moved farther back into the brush and will come out under cover of darkness (have seen that happen quite often).

Soon it is dusky, then real dusky, then the hog light on the feeder comes on, next thing you know it is dark. I wait, listen...nothing!

I blew it!

For some reason....they chose not to go to the feeder (right in front of them) just yards away.

Gave it another hour, but these pigs were not coming back. Pulled the card from the game camera and brought it home with me. That group had been under the feeder the previous 3 nights at 6:00 p.m. like clockwork.

I failed to follow the advice I give just about everyone who hunts 'pressured' pigs: "Take your FIRST AVAILABLE good shot"! You just never know what might happen.

I sat there and passed up seven shots just 'knowing' they would go to that feeder. Well....NOT tonight.

Will try them again tomorrow. Sorry to disappoint the readership tonight.

Flint.

Most of the property I hunt is Mesic Upland, so maybe that works to my advantage. Not tonight...however.

Terrible conditions, 15 mph wind that just wouldn't quit, full moon out early, last weekend of deer season (here) lots of folks in the woods.

Well....I don't have to tell you that, we live in the same county.

I guess I'm getting soft in my old age, and some people just won't agree with me.

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No need for complete agreement here. This is a thread available to anyone who wishes to contribute. The overtone is largely Feral Hog Control...but there is room for tangents.

A few days ago I had a boar, a sow, and 9 babies in a trap. I've killed more hogs in the last 5 yrs. than most guys will see in their lifetime and just do it for fun...I'm not worried about trying to destroy the species completely. Anyway, I just couldn't shoot the 9 babies and ended up turning them loose again.

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It is kind of a grey area...with respect to Texas Animal Health Commission regulations (possibly... illegal to have released them), but who can help being moved to an act of compassion at times. That is what makes us human.

I mentioned to the land owner what I had experienced, and he said he would have done the same thing. In all fairness, this is not agricultural land, just undeveloped heavy woods where pigs do minimal damage.

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If the landowner is accepting of a certain population of pigs (and the potential problems they present), then it is his choice to leave them alone. I would argue that ANY number of Feral Hogs are destructive to the ecosystem and indigenous wildlife, but it remains the landowners choice.

Something just seems morally wrong with killing babies of any species...and calling it sport.

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I tend to agree..."Babies" being defined as the VERY young of a species, not yet capable of fending for themselves in any meaningful way...AND the purpose of the pursuit (read sport) is to match or outwit your quarry. I.E. Hog HUNTING.

This must be separated from 'Hog Control' where the goal is to dispatch as many of the animals as is possible (age is not a consideration). As callous as that may sound...it is a harsh necessity in areas plagued with hogs.

Anyone who has had the unenviable task of dispatching a trap full of hogs....will tell you, they take no 'pleasure' in it. Yet it is something that must be done...if numbers are to be kept in check.

The larger pair in the trap brought my total off of this property to 469 hogs I've killed in the past 5 yrs., and I doubt this has made a lot of diffference in the grand scheme of hog control anyway.

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That is an impressive number. While it doesn't represent a large percentage of the total population, it is nonetheless a worthy effort to prevent the large number of offspring these hogs would have produced.

Anyway, that is great photo and I thank you for sharing it and your thoughts as well.

Flint.

I do not understand how farmers who want to till the soil sit back while these pay to hunt operations are releasing hogs to keep their clients happy. If we had pay to hunt hog operations turning hogs loose livestock associations and farm groups would literally be up in arms. It is hard to loose a million dollar peanut crop because some guy is to lazy to work the land.

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I can't speak to what other States are doing to avoid a Feral Hog infestation, but certainly everyone should be concerned (pre-problem).

Texas is like a different country when it comes to hunting.

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Texas is steeped in a hunting tradition, no doubt about that....but for the most part you would be talking about Whitetail Deer.

Farmers would rather suffer massive crop damage to defend that $7 an acre for hunting rights. You don't need a mathematician to figure out there is more money in farming.

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Well.....I would argue this. The situation in Texas can be very different than in other areas of the country. First....you need to separate "Farmers" (primarily crop growers) from "Ranchers" (primarily raising livestock), because the land is utilized quite differently.

I can assure you...the average person in Texas (who makes their living in Agriculture) is not stupid and knows the best way to make a living from the land.

Texas has very strict laws (governed by the Texas Animal Health Commission) with regards to Feral Hogs, their transport and their release onto properties.

However, in our case....it is simply a matter of 'too little, too late' as nearly the entire State is inhabited by Feral Hogs to one degree or another.

The hogs are already here (doing what they do best). Some farmers/ranchers try to make the best of a bad situation by charging those interested in hunting hogs...a fee to do so.

At best...they recoup some of the money lost to depredation.

Farming/Ranching is a business and it only makes sense to realize an income from everything the land, wildlife can provide.

You understand, hogs are NOT considered an 'asset' (except on hunting ranches), where the primary revenue is derived from leasing the land or selling what amounts to trespass fees.

The hog spasmed off a small cliff and into the bone yard for the property.

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Hah, hate it when they 'spasm' on ya!

Like that bone yard though.

1/2 Million Views.

Not something that I have kept up with...and certainly never a goal, but I just noticed this thread has over 1/2 Million views.

That is more interest than I would ever have thought the subject of Pigs would generate.

You just never know...what folks will find interesting.