What do you want on a hog hunt?

[St. Gunner]

Some buddies and I are giving serious thought to starting a hunting operation. We've been doing it for just ourselves and some farmers for the past few years and thought maybe it was time to start it as a way to make a bit of money and be able to kick some back to the farmers for the damage done to their crops.

Do you want the choice of camping and saving a few bucks, or would you want the hunt cost to include food and lodging?

Would you want to hunt behind dogs the whole time? Or would spot and stalk on water holes be something interesting to try, or various other methods over bait? The dog hunts would mean you had to walk and dispatch the hog with a knife after the bulldogs have caught it and one of us has legged it for you.

Most guys who run dogs do a set fee of $200 per day and a kill fee of $1/lb(you will see the scale and watch the hog be weighed, none of this, "He looks like 500lbs to me" crap.) Or would you rather have a daily guide fee and a set price on the per hog side of the ledger? How much are most of you willing to spend? I know I spend alot of time surfing hunting pages and such and often what they are selling would not appeal to me for one reason or another. So I want your opinion on what your perfect hunting trip would be with Hogs as your main focus?

Now when you go on something like this is that all you want to do is hunt hogs? Or would a chance to spend an afternoon fishing be inviting?

Help me brainstorm here, give me an idea of what you'd like to do. What you'd be willing to spend. If you'd rather do your own accomadations or have a choice. Right now we have a motel nearby with reasonable rates and a restraunt attached to it. An all inclusive package is going to include accomadations there and breakfast and supper there.

So let me know what you think and help me generate some ideas.

 

[dakotasin]

paying by the pound sucks - i sure wouldn't do it. fishing sucks, too, and i would be very, very unwilling to pay for a hunt that included fishing - because i don't fish, and i would feel that my money is being wasted.

i'd want one flat fee. pay $x and in return you get y. period, no messing around, hidden fees, or other nonsense. for $x you get y, for $xx you get y+z, for $xxx you get y+z+n... that's how i'd want it to be.

as far as camping and such goes, i guess it depends on weather, time of year, accomodations for non-hunting family, that sort of thing.

knife and spear hunting do nothing for me. spot and stalk, if truly spot and stalk would be my preferred method. dogs would be ok. sitting on top of bait or a water hole, while it is indeed hunting, isn't my speed.

 

[Vic303]

There's a place S of DFW that offers up to 3 hogs killed for $150, and addit'l hogs by weight & number killed IIRC.
Personally, I would not hunt hogs with dogs, period. I like to fish but probably wouldn't pay you to fish your ponds. I prefer a flat rate for a set number of hogs, regardless of weight, and then you can scale your cost/weight for additional kills.
--Vic
DFW

 

[Buzztail]

I doubt I'd pay to run someone elses dogs, unless I was thinking about a puppy from them.
I'd pay to stalk or still hunt in another area just to "get away" for a few days in a heartbeat. I'd probably stay at the local hotel, and would not care if it were included in the package. I'd like to be able to sit around a campfire in the evenings and BS before turning in.
I'd want a set price for "meat hogs" and a set price for "trophy hogs" either would be prepared for travel by you. I'd never want to pay by the pound.
Hope this helps, and good luck!!

 

[St. Gunner]

paying by the pound sucks - i sure wouldn't do it. fishing sucks, too, and i would be very, very unwilling to pay for a hunt that included fishing - because i don't fish, and i would feel that my money is being wasted.

Ok I wasn't thinking along the lines of, "OK we go fish in the morning" I was thinking more along the lines of someone who has been here a couple days, is really starting to drag and was ready for a few hours of just sitting and relaxing. I'm not much on fishing anymore, most of my other outdoor activities take a backseat to hogs and dogs. We've taken a few folks out in the last few years that we knew, or had asked to tag along to see how it goes. Alot of them are physically worn out by mid afternoon. I took my dad along a couple months ago and by noon we'd walked 12 miles according to the GPS. Alot of folks aren't up for that type of exertion. He and a buddy called it quits and we went and put in another 6 before we quit for the day.

knife and spear hunting do nothing for me. spot and stalk, if truly spot and stalk would be my preferred method. dogs would be ok. sitting on top of bait or a water hole, while it is indeed hunting, isn't my speed.

We'd like to be able to move away from the typical hog hunt you see where they stick you in a tree or stand and you watch a corn feeder. While often effective for bagging a hog it lacks something for alot of folks even if the do it. I do a huge amount of spot and stalk or simple stillhunting in the summer months. Come June, July, and August the hogs have to get to water, which narrows down their normal daytime bedding area from roughly 15% of the surrounding countryside to about 5% of it. The rest of the year you hunt various grain fields or the edges of them. It is tough hunting and the largest problem I see with it with alot of hunters is most do not have much noise discipline. Hogs are smart and they hear and smell so much better than a deer it is hard to believe. Their eyesight isn't great so you do get one advantage, but if you pop a twig or hang a shirt on a thorn, they are gone.

If you have never tried dogs it is a very adrenaline inducing method, it lends itself to having a great time joking and laughing with friends and when the dogs bark you can't help but get excited. I've hauled 2 buddies from up North in the last few years, both where not sure they wanted to do the dog route. We did that the first day and both wanted to do it the rest of the time they where here.

The other thing we want to stress on these is this is a guided hunt, not some guy driving 20 folks to the stands and dumping them off. What we are leaning towards is a 1 on 1 set-up on any rifle or bowhunts. With the dogs everybody in your party can go together. We are looking at 2-3 people per hunt, we figure most guys want to bring a buddy along to split room expenses and such with.

There's a place S of DFW that offers up to 3 hogs killed for $150, and addit'l hogs by weight & number killed IIRC.

We have some places like that around here also, but once again it is placing you in a stand. Also alot of those places they put you in a netting wires area that has been stocked with hogs. 9 out of 10 of those places you will never see a hog over 80lbs. Why, because right now a 200pound boar with nice cutters is worth right at $200.

I'd want a set price for "meat hogs" and a set price for "trophy hogs" either would be prepared for travel by you. I'd never want to pay by the pound.

What has actually been considered is a $20 kill fee on hogs under 100 lbs dressed weight which would go straight to the landowner. A $100 on hogs 100-200lbs, and a flat rate of $250 for hogs over 200lbs. Couples with a reasonable daily fee to cover expenses and food.

What we hoped to be able to come up with was this... 3 nights at a motel, meals, 2 full days of hunting, your license, snacks, sodas, and water, and your hog processing(up to 3) for about $850. In that time on average spot and stalking you'd kill about 3. With dogs the total is really unknown. But what we had disussed is after X amount of hogs the kill fee is waived unless it is a 200+lb trophy. The other option we have is if you only want to keep one hog for processing we can reduce the rate a bit. We have a meat market that will process and donate the meat to childrens homes in the area for nothing. If you want to bring your own snacks, sodas, and water, we can do it some more. Want to camp and cook your own take about $220 off your cost.

I want to set something up that nobody else is doing, I want you to be able to build your hunt to fit your money needs and your preferred hunting style. I'm not sure it can work, but I am trying to set-up in a way that makes it possible for each hunter to have the time of his or her life and do it within the confines of what they judge to be sporting and ethical.

I was in NM this year for late season Mule deer and a guide offered to take us out because he had some clients cancel. He quoted us $1500 but the catch was we where going to ride around in the truck until we spotted a deer and then get as close as possible in the truck before trying to stalk. That isn't my cup of tea, but he offered no other options. I didn't go, I ended the hunt with no game on the ground, but I had alot of deer within bow range by the end of the hunt, just nothing I could or wanted to take home.

Steve

 

[DigMe]

St. Gunner,

I think the idea of customized hunts has merit. You may even consider having several set packages, package a, package b, and so on...and each one has a different price. That way you could easily make up pamphlets or a website that gives folks an idea of just what they'd get for their money and you could make it clear in the brochure/website that the plans are flexible.

For me...I wouldn't pay for such a thing seeing as I have my own land but I could see it going over because hog hunting is a helluva lot of fun. I've never run dogs but I have a lot of fun just stalking with my revolver.

brad cook

 

[Buzztail]

I think your on the right track. I have land here in N. Florida to hunt, but would love to come out that way for some "get away" time and shoot some pigs with ya. Let us know when you get everything going

 

[sumpnz]

THat sounds like a lot of fun. $850 for 2 full days hunting sounds a touch high to my cheap brain, but I'd probably pay that much for a hunt that was all up inclusive. Out of curiosity, does that account for the more expensive out of state fees for licenses?

 

[H&Hhunter]

St Gunner,

I think you should pay me $500.00 a day to come out and teach you the RIGHT way to hunt hogs.

Chill out it was a joke


In any case I'd offer either spot and stalk or a dog hunt option. Price accordingly. I think charging by the pound is a looser. I'd rather have a place to camp and sip a beer by the fire post hunt. Fishing is a nice option but shouldn't be an extra.

I think the pricing should be a flat daily rate which includes any hogs killed under a set size with a trophy fee for any hogs killed over a set size.

For profit add ons offer the following services $30.00 clean and quarter fee. Or you can do it yourself for free. $50.00 trophy preperation fee (cape and flesh head skin) or once again they can do it themselves. Have an ice machine charge $5.00 for a bucket of ice or whatever is fair in your part of the world.

Just some thoughts...

Greg

 

[HSMITH]

For me:

I want to hunt with dogs one day, and I want to kill a couple hogs. Knife is fine, they are your dogs after all and keeping them safe is OK with me. I want to shoot one with a bow on the second day, and then another with a handgun if time allows. Camping would be nice if the weather permits, but if a time of year with too much heat/cold/rain/whatever I would want to stay indoors. Provided the lodging is reasonably close I'll take care of myself, including meals. If lodging is a further away I would want the option of 'all inclusive'. I'll gut and so on myself, with appreciation for tips and guidance. I want help caping a hog if I were to get a trophy, and I expect refrigerated storage of any game killed until I pack up and leave. I'll also expect ice for my coolers at a reasonable price to pack the meat with when I leave also.

I don't mind a 'trophy fee' for a big hog, but I expect a price upfront that would cover at least 3 normal hogs for the area. If you offer a real one-on-one guided hunt prices should be higher, and I wouldn't mind paying extra for that.

I would also appreciate you/someone running my video camera when/if possible.

Notice I have 'want' and 'expect', wants are negotiable and expectations are something I won't budge on.

 

[W Turner]

I would be very interested in a customizable hog hunting package. For me, one big draw would be if there was a "Learners' Package" where the lodging and meals part was negotiable and the whole point would be for me to learn skills that I could take back to my home area and start building on.

The instruction part would include some classroom instruction on things like feeding habits, how to scout, anatomy, etc. The hands on part would come mainly after the kill in the field-dressing and processing areas. Iam sure there would be plenty of call for instruction during the actual hunt too.

As far as amenities go, have you thought about starting out with a basic operation that would allow for people to either camp on-site or stay in a local hotel with the ultimate goal of adding self-service type cabins with kitchens and well-stocked cabinets? Maybe kind of a built-in hunting camp with cabins that could house up to 4 people each complete with fire pit. This way you don't run into the hassles of operating a lodge and restaurant, but it can be a more inclusive package.

BTW- to go along with the cabin idea, a fish pond would make a great amenity as long as there would be no extra cost. Just make sure fishing poles and bait are provided if necessary (maybe as a small add-on fee) and a fish cleaning service so people could eat what they catch.

Once you get up an running, let me know, I have wanted to get into hog hunting for a while, but I have no one to teach me.

Thanks,
Bull

 

[Mornard]

My thoughts as a customer. Paying by the pound sucks. I've never done it and never will. There are far too many "one price" hunts, to screw around with pay by the pound, and if the outfit doesn't have a good scale, the customer feels he's being screwed. Some fishing in spare time is great.

My son only hunts with a knife and dogs, I like to spot and stalk, cause I get to hunt with some guns I wouldn't otherwise use. Neither of us hunt over feeders.

Just my thoughts. Thanks.

 

[Grayrock]

What do I want on a hog hunt? HOGS! I have been several times in central Texas to places that have lots of hog sign, and I have seen captured hogs and I have seen hogs taken by someone else, but I have never seen a hog on the hoof! I am going hunting again Thursday- wish me luck.

 

[patentnonsense]

Me, I'd like a guide for a day or two of spot and stalk - I like it much better than stand hunting, but I need to improve my skills (a lot).

I'm not so much interested in bringing back a LOT of pork as in getting a good hunt with good action. I think an extra charge for a trophy (say 300+ lb.) would be reasonable. It's easy to find places in Texas to shoot under a feeder, not so easy to find a good guided hunt.

Having the option to pay for help with dressing out would be great too.

If there's a decent motel close, that's simplest - or if you have a cabin or bunkhouse with shower and AC that's fine too. (In Texas in the summertime I can't sleep without AC.) For me it's a plus if I can get an AC siesta in the middle of the day.

PM me with details if this fits.

 

[SigLaw]

Ccheck out this site for some ideas www.pig-hunt.com. This guy runs a great hunt, my dad and I go at least twice a year.

Good luck.

 

[Kurt S.]

Hmmm, you're here in Texas. I'd pay 200.00 a day for a guided hunt over bait or waterholes. By a guided hunt, I'm talking about facilities for skinning/quartering, and help from guides if I shoot a bunch of the piggies.

Not interested in trophies- I'm a meat hunter.

I'm way too citified at this point and overweight (and probably too old) to be runnin' behind hounds with a bowie knife after the big nasty critters. Mr. Marlin .45-70 or Mr. Ruger .25-06 will be in my hands. I guess I'm effete.

 

[rbernie]

PatentNonsense nailed it for me, too.

 

[Preacherman]

One thing you might like to think about is arranging hunts for those who are more or less physically handicapped. I've taught handicapped folks to shoot before, and many have complained that they can't manage the physical exertion of many hunts. Now that I've had spinal fusion surgery, I'm beginning to understand their point of view!

Could you arrange something like a couple of days stand hunting for hogs, in a place where there's an excellent chance of getting one or two? If this could be lined up along with decent accommodation (not necessarily the local motel - beds can be unsuitable for folks with back problems, the bedbugs may carry them off, etc.! ). How about some decent tented accommodation, or a motel that is guaranteed to be clean and comfortable!