im not only talkin feeders im talkin wheat field peanut pastures alfalfa fields and what ever else gets in there way! farmers and ranchers around my ranch are telling there leasees that if they wont kill the nasty hogs they can get there **** and get off!!!!

I think the main reason people aren't advertising free hunts to come kill hogs is that with traditional hunting methods, you're not going to kill a drop in the bucket.

The only way to get close to "eradication" is by HEAVY trapping, and possibly carpet bombing from military bombers... you're just not going to kill any significant number of pigs going "bang" and then waiting until the next day for them to come to the feeder again.

also.... if I had land, and I had a bunch of hogs... why would I advertise "come to my place for free", when I don't know who you are, what you might "mistake" for a hog, and any other number of potential liability reasons?

I imagine that plenty of people go hog huntign for free when it's a buddies place, but as far as landowners inviting random people to come shoot guns on their land.... I just don't see it happening.

you might have a bit more success if you offered to trade a little sweat for some hog hunting. there's always something that needs doing around a ranch, so if you offer to pick up a few square bale or fix some fence or something you might raise your odds. gives the landowner a chance to get to know you a bit, and build a reputation with him so he knows you're not just some yahoo looking to get something for nothing.

good idea catchrcall.

Yep its estimated that every feral hog will do $1,500.00 worth of damage in its life time....

and each sow has the potential for as many as 16 piglets with 8 being the average.

$12,000.00 per litter damage and 2 litters a year is easily possible....

Why there is not a federal bounty is beyond me????

In reality a wild sow will only have four or five pigglets and when you see 20 pigglets running with a sow in the woods they just took up with the sow after their mom was killed or whatever.I have had sows have pigs in a pen for a few years and 3-5 is all they ever had.

and here i was thinkin that pigs never tore up a thing, and never ran any deer off. glad to hear people are getting the word out!

oh well, we shoot everyone we see on site, have been for 15 years. they dont come around much more.

you have to manage your domestic sows "farrowing crates ect" in the wild I have always heard that the sows have and raise bigger litters.

i call bs on the four or five piglets a litter killed over 20 sows with piglets in the last month and the littlest litter was 13

Still shooting every one of them I see.

Muley,You can call whatever.I am stating fact not fiction.Sure they may have a belley full but they ALL dont survive.Not a newby.

talked to a wildlife biologist last night and she stated that the sows have litters of up to 16 with 10 to 12 reaching breeding age in cottle county.

Yea,A person can read and listen but nothing is more proof than actually seeing.Seeing is believing.Not wanting to start a arguement just stating the facts.Everyone sees wild hogs in groups and pigglets running everywhere and ASSUME that the sow had them.They get stepped on ,rolled on ,ate,and natural death.They dont all live just a few survive.Been hunting trapping hogs for around 15 years and i am no expert but have seen how the live in the wild.When it was lawful to keep wild hogs,I would catch multiple sows and pregnant and have the pigs sometimes over night and only four or five survive and thats no varmits eating them.

Billy, one thing your not mentioning is the fact that pigs are cannibals, i have shot a many piglet, only to see the others jump on it and start eating it. Add to that the resident coyote population keeps the piglets numbers down pretty good as well.

If the drought gets bad again, the boars will start in on the piglets as an easy food source, and to breed more with the sow's.

Yes thats one i didnt mention.Thanks.

You must admit though, land owners have sort have brought this problem on themselves. First, the charges some of these places charge is nothing but sheer greed ! They will have a problem with hogs and choose to charge ungodly high prices to someone who is trying to help with their problem. Many would say I have no idea what it takes to run this kind of operation, doesnt hold water. You dont need all the fancy ammenities provided at some of these places. some of us are old school and dont mind payin a small trespass fee, dont need electricity or for someone to feed me or butcher my hogs or any other animal for me.I also understand its called hunting not killing and their are no gaurantees in this world but dyin. Change the ways your business is run and adapt to a critical situation and the money you save and make on the back end will make up for what you dont make. Just my honest opinion.

Duck... the real truth is most people aren't really trying to help landowners out with their problems... their just trying to hunt for free.

I can't figure out what the point of the original post is.

To tell us that we should shoot hogs because they cause damage? Is this new information?

I'm going to start a post announcing that people should shoot whitetail bucks because the antlers are neat.

LOL!

Got a friend in Kerrville that is a big hog hunter. He only uses dogs and sometimes a knife. Land owners exspecialy those with live stock are more apt to let him hunt due to the fact he dose not carry a gun. He dose not pay to hunt and he hunts a lot!

I couldn't agree with you more Muleyman6570! It will be a cold day in hell when a pig walks out in front of me and a bullet or arrow isn't flying directly at em'!

Starting with just one sow having an average litter of 8 pigs every 130-140 days and then her offspring (1/2 of which will be guilts) having their 1st litters within about 260 days and averaging 6 pigs per litter, you are looking at over 500 pigs in 1 1/2 years. Of course I did not consider natural mortality but if you figure that at even 50% (which it is certainly not), you are still looking at 250 hogs in just a year and a half from one sow! The staggering thing is that in just 3 short years that number could multiply into 70,000+ and that is considering in 50% mortality! UNBELIEVABLE!!!!

It's higher than 50%, in my opinion.

Really? I'm talking about natural mortality only, not including bullets and arrows. I would think if a sow had 8 pigs, at least 6 will make it to maturity. At least that is what I see on our place in Wilson Cnty. I've got GC pics of tiny little piglets from several litters and then pictures of then 4 or 5 months later and there is usually the same amount left as what is started with or maybe just one or two missing unless one of us pops one for the pit.

I dunno, sometimes I think when a sow has 8 piglets, at least 12 of them reach maturity!

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lol, i think u are right lol!