Feral hog issue

[mikein]

We had a warming spell here in Central Texas (67 degrees today!), so I grabbed my .45 carbine and walked around, checking places where I'd seen a lot of sign of feral hogs. Sure enough, in 3 different spots, I caught groups of them 'em laying up. I knocked down two in each of the first two places, and got lucky and got 3 of them at the last place. Unfortunately, I probably didn't even put a dent in the total population. I was using hand loads of 200 grain Speer Gold Dots and +P loadings of Unique.http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj184/mikein_bucket/7hogsdown.jpg (http://s272.photobucket.com/user/mikein_bucket/media/7hogsdown.jpg.html)

[stomp442]

Mmm bacon good job.

[stangfish]

There's quite a few Texas boys on here that would be glad to help you with that population.

[KTP]

Or one Ohio boy that would like to make a road trip !!!

[mikein]

I appreciate the offer of help, folks! Unfortunately, it's not a lack of hunters! I have 3 sons, 2 sons-in-law, and 2 grandsons within a couple hours' drive, and they're all hunters. The problem is that the property is bounded on 3 sides by absentee landlords (the fourth side is bounded by a fence, then a highway, then a high fence). After shooting a few of the beasties, they merely retreat to the adjacent properties and hang out for a few weeks or months, and then suddenly begin appearing on my game cameras. Their totally unreliable and unpredictable appearances is the root of the problem of eradication. I've spent hours upon hours sitting in blinds waiting for them to show up as they have been on the game cameras, and not seen so much as a whisker. Today's successful hunt may be followed by not seeing even a hog track until mid to late January! It's very frustrating; but, like I said, it's not because I don't have some willing and able hunters to help me out.

[missed]

We have the same issue. We will see them a bunch for a little while then like now I haven't seen one in three months.

[stangfish]

I think that is Texas.

[red caddy 51]

Have you considered putting an automatic feeder in a fence corner? That's how we collect 'em down here in the swamp...

Paul

[mikein]

Paul, thanks for your suggestion. I have 3 automatic feeders scattered around the property, and have one of them fenced in, with one small entryway. It's been one of my best producers, but the hogs get "trap wise" real quickly and will avoid the fenced feeder for several weeks after I trap and shoot a few of them. And, since these sounders of hogs don't appear to live, permanently, on my property, I never know when they will appear and how long they'll stay. This last group of seven that I got were ones I just "walked up," after seeing sign, and they weren't anywhere near my feeders! I find them totally unpredictable and a real challenge.

[sniper15545]

NICE!!!!!!! Wish I could help you with your pig problem.

[missed]

Same issues here there extremely random. I've killed enough at the feeders I think they still smell the blood in the ground and stay away. But I haven't seen any on the cameras either in almost two months.

[red caddy 51]

Down here in South Florida, I don't know that the "small of blood" theory holds.

I've seen hog's, 'gators and buzzards fighting over chunks, before the carcass reached ambient temperature. Nature is very efficient. In as little as 72 hours a dead hog is dismembered, eaten, bones included, the ground picked clean by carrion feeders and even the hair is spirited off by rodents, beetles and small quadrupeds. All that is visible is blood stained grass, and that is eaten by the young pigs and range cattle or washed away by the morning rains. If it don't move, pigs will eat it, if it moves slow they'll kill it, then eat it.

When the hog's get gun or truck shy, I ferment a bag of cracked corn with beer and water, seal it in a bucket with small holes in it and stake it out as bait. The hogs will worry that bucket for day's tryin to get the corn out. Easy pickins.

Paul

[mikein]

Paul, I use a variation on your corn bucket approach. I take a length of PVC, cap one end, put an access cover on the other, drill holes in it, fill it with corn, and then tether it to a fence post or the leg of a feeder. The hogs will roll it around for hours until they empty it all out or get shot while rolling it around!

http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj184/mikein_bucket/hognlog-1.jpg (http://s272.photobucket.com/user/mikein_bucket/media/hognlog-1.jpg.html)

[6mmBR_Shooter]

Down here in South Florida, I don't know that the "small of blood" theory holds.

Ditto.

[390fe]

Good shooting - that's a good day right there!

[ShawneeB]

Looks like a great day afield!

[Buzzard II]

Target rich environment!