East texas hog control

[Pigkillersrus]

I am in the process of starting a hog control business(if i can secure the funding!). My primary focus being tactical night hunting with thermal imaging equipment, and secondary trapping then eventually dog hunting. These methods are already proven effective at minimizing damage due to feral hogs. Texas a&m has the figure at around 11:1 dollars saved to dollars spent preventing hog damage. I don't know about you but that sounds like a sound investment to me on behalf of the landowner. Hopefully my business will be up and running in a few weeks. Feel free to contact me in the meantime with questions regarding my service.

Thanks for reading

Bill Willett
PigKillersRuS
[email protected]

 

[colonelhogan44]

competition's good for business, right?

I'll do it for free.

 

[MCgunner]

competition's good for business, right?

I'll do it for free.

There's guys around here that run dogs for farmers/ranchers, don't charge, just do it because they love to do it. I've been out with a friend of a friend out in the rice fields at night chasing dogs. We stuck 'em rather than shoot 'em. It was fun, but it's sorta a young man's sport, pretty athletic chasing dogs in a rice field. Dogs are a bit more successful than sitting on a stand with a night scope. I do not believe, though, that you can hunt OR trap hogs out of existence. It's just not possible. Perhaps you can lower the population, but they'll bounce right back. Natality rate and survival rate of the young are just too high. It's like trying to control rabbits that have fangs and can kill a bobcat.

 

[Double Naught Spy]

We have a local guy that will place traps on your property for free. He just gets to keep the pigs (for resale). So basically, he is in the pig procurement business as far as his dealings with landowners. By doing the work for free, he gets access to more land and hence can set up more traps and hence procure more pigs.

Of course in South Texas, apparently folks are willing to spend the money to have choppers come in and slaughter hogs from above. So I guess it just depends on your local circumstances and market.

 

[Pigkillersrus]

If you would actually read my post i believe in a well rounded approach. By using thermal imaging to actively hunt pigs(not just sitting in a stand) I promise my volume of pigs will be double or triple what the "ill do it for free" guys would kill. Texans spend 7 million dollars a year in hog control. hogs are currently causing 50 million dollars plus in damage annually. You are correct in saying pigs are pretty much immortal. i am not selling a end solution. with TACTICAL hunting, trapping,and running dogs a substantial dent can be made, so to speak. as i mentioned in my original thread letting the problem go unchecked will cost you way more in the long run. additionally i will also be exploring the possibility of offering free trapping in exchange for keeping the pigs.

below are some helpful links
feralhogs.tamu.edu/
www.jagerpro.com
www.extension.org/.../New_Online_Fe..._Help_with_Plum_Creek_Watershed_Water_Quality
icwdm.org/publications/pdf/feral%20pig/txferalhogs.pdf

 

[rswartsell]

In case you missed the rules tab (or weren't interested)

Code of Conduct
Welcome to The High Road, an online discussion board dedicated to the discussion and advancement of responsible firearms ownership. It is the declared mission of this board to achieve and provide the highest quality of firearms discussion on the Internet, a standard set by the discussion board The Firing Line from 1998-2002.

Everyone is welcome to participate, regardless of political affiliation, gender, religion, nationality, or stance on gun ownership. We aim to respect every point of view, as long as it is presented in a polite and factual manner. You only need to provide a name and a valid email address to participate. We do not sell that information to anyone.

There are only a few house rules:

1. All topics and posts must be related to firearms or 'Right to Keep and Bear Arms' (RKBA) issues.
2. Multiple user registrations are prohibited.
3. As a family-friendly board, we ask that you keep your language clean. If you wouldn't say it in front of your dear old Grandma, you probably don't want to say it here.
4. Spamming, trolling, flaming, and personal attacks are prohibited. You can disagree with other members, even vehemently, but it must be done in a well-mannered form. Attack the argument, not the arguer.
5. We cannot provide a comprehensive list of "Things Not To Say". Posts that are contrary to the above policies, or to the mission of The High Road, may be edited or deleted at our sole discretion. Membership may be revoked if such a step is deemed necessary by us. We're a private venture enabled by an all-volunteer staff. Please treat this venue as a polite discussion in a friend's home and respect the wishes of the hosts.

We have learned from bitter experience that discussions of politics, abortion, religion, and sexual orientation often degenerate into less-than-polite arguments or claims that "my God is better than your God". For this reason, we do not discuss such subjects on THR, and any threads dealing primarily with these subjects will be closed or deleted immediately. Threads which deal with other subjects, but which mention abortion, religion or sexual orientation as a side issue, may be allowed to continue, but will be closely scrutinized, and closed or deleted if they "cross the line".

A note on FREE SPEECH:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

The First Amendment is greatly respected here on The High Road, as are all other Amendments that the Second Amendment defends. However, The High Road is private property and requests that members adhere to all forum policies. It is a contract agreed to by all who become members of The High Road. Those who break forum rules cannot invoke censorship or freedom of speech - a contract broken is a contract broken. If you do not like the rules of conduct or the acceptable topics, seek out a new venue to frequent or start your own board.

If you feel you can abide by these requests, we hope that you join us on The High Road. We invite you to share your expertise and enjoy the camaraderie. "Share what you know, learn what you don't."

Thank you,

The Staff

While your free ad isn't expressly prohibited (except as spamming). You are clearly not here for the same purposes as "members".

THIS SITE WAS NOT CREATED AS A FREE ADVERTISING VENUE. If this tendency is not soon checked the original intent of this board will be diluted and in danger of evaporation.

 

[Art Eatman]

rswartsell is correct about the THR package, but there's a bit more to it than just the rules.

So: Pigkillersrus are us, I have a suggestion. First, check around about landowners, as to access to hunt areas. Next, make sure you're fully familiar with all the laws and regulations about what you can do with a dead pig. From what little I know, you can't sell them into commercial markets--but don't quote me on that; just check it out.

After you've done all that homework, THEN think about money and equipment. After all, you're competing with folks who'll do it for free, and also with those who will pay for access to land on which to hunt.

 

[RockinU]

I'll match Flintknapper against your "tactical" hunting any day, and twice on Saturday.

 

[MCgunner]

Well, I hope you do good. Lord knows SOMEone has to figure out how to control 'em.

 

[kyle1974]

as a citizen of east texas.... and hopefully I don't come off as an A hole for saying this, but... I think you have a slim chance for making a business out of something that dozens of people are doing for free. It's hard enough to get a landowner's permission to shoot hogs for FREE, and you expect these same people to PAY you to shoot hogs?

yes, hogs are destructive and land owners complain about them. but to get people to pay you to remove something that people are willing to pay them to do?

I think the other issue with "tactical" hog control and thermal imaging is that unless you have a few thousand acres, you are wasting your time. you might shoot a couple a night, but thermal imaging or not, hogs aren't going to stand around and let you shoot them. The vast majority of properties in east texas are very small. a thousand acres is a "big" place bby east texas standards. Most of the places I've hunted, or have friends that hunt are a couple to a few hundred acres. A pig could run across a place like that in about 2 minutes.

I think controlling hogs is a good idea for a business, but personally I think you'd have more success trapping them than trying to offset the cost of some tact ti cool equipment like thermal imaging and shooting them.

I guess what I'm saying is.... don't quit your day job.

 

[Quoheleth]

You would probably do better working out hunting leases with land owners and offering day hunts with hunters. I guess that makes you a land pimp.

Too many East Texans are too tight, and with dollars tight right now, Bubba ain't likely to spend $$$ to have you hunt his piggies. Now, offer him some cash and a contract to allow X-number of hunters access to the place, you might have something.

Q

 

[TacticalHogControl]

First, I would like to say "Hi" to everyone.....I've "lurked" for a while but finally registered.....and this is my first post here. It's a great site, with tons of important info, especially given the current state of affairs, both here and abroad.

As far as the hog topic goes, Good Luck Pigkillersrus.....it's a tough business. I think your biggest hurdle is going to be "landowner trust". Tight pockets will be a close second. It's been my experience that most landowners aren't very receptive to the idea of "paying" for hog removal. If you could offer them an iron-clad guarantee, they might be receptive to reasonable rates, but we both know that a guarantee would be tough to live up to. Regardless of your "method of take", guns, bows, traps, dogs, etc., hogs react to pressure. They'll leave....but they will come back, because we can't kill them all.

We've been using night vision and thermal weapon sight for years and we've killed thousands of hogs ....Are we helping? Sure! Are we "the answer"? Not by ourselves. Dogs, traps and stand-hunters are all part of the equation. For example, if we locate a sounder group one night and don't kill them all, we let the hog-doggers know the last location of the group. That makes their job easier the next morning, by putting them on a hot trail. Long story short, we all need to work together.

The other problem is the cost of equipment. We've got well over $100,000 tied up in gear.....it's hard to make that kind of investment pay for itself.

I think the only way we'll ever truely control the hog population is through genetics or through feed-delivered contraceptives.....ie. we're either going to have to breed them to be sterile or put them "on the pill"! Until then, we all need to work together to solve a common problem.....and before you criticize someone else's methods, stop, think and then "Take the High Road".

 

[Encoreman]

I don't think you could nuke them out of existence. Good Luck!!!

 

[kyle1974]

for anyone looking for a kick $$$ hunt, you guys need to check into tacticalhogcontrols hunts...

shooting pigs with night vision and thermal imaging for a very reasonable price. I have never hunted with them, but have several friends who have, and they all hve had a great time.

 

[nitetrane98]

I'm not about to throw cold water on your project but in my neck of the woods Longview/Tyler there are plenty of hogs but not the kind of "property owner" that really has what you might call a working ranch/farm. A lot of them dabble with cattle but there are few with big spreads that could qualify as "cattle ranchers". Hogs tear up a lot of pasture land so if it comes down to where the hogs are tearing up pasture to the point the cattle don't have enough to eat, then the landowner has to make a monetary decision. Most folks that I know that have a few hundred acres are just landowners and might hunt or might not. Hogs tearing it up are just part of the deal.

If you are real dedicated at it and can find a few who will pay, plus trapping and selling pigs for slaughter, I think you might make enough money to pay for your toys. A lot of the land is leased to oil producers they could really care less what the hogs do. What would be great is if hogs damaged oilfield equipment, then there would be a nice bounty on them and everybody would have a key to the gate.

I have been in a few situations in my life where I tried to make a living out of something I loved to do. Invariably I learned to hate it. Good luck to you.