Anyone dropping hoggs?
- Thread starter Singlesix1954
- Start date
azredhawk44
Moderator
Trick out that .45 auto as a .45 Super or .460 Rowland. 230-250gr hard cast lead at 1100fps or faster. Not quite .44magnum, but pretty respectable. Cheaper than a new gun, too.
azredhawk44
Moderator
Jason G: That's what my hog rifle would be too. If I had hog to hunt.
Wish I was closer to nuisance pig populations in Texas... sigh.
Wish I was closer to nuisance pig populations in Texas... sigh.
Catfishman
New member
My neighbor hunts them with Pit Bulls. After the dogs grab the hog he handcuffs them and brings them home. He feeds them out on corn for a few weeks and then butchers them.
Most wild hogs around here are killed with a .22. They are lured into a trap made of wire panel fencing. The opening is kind of like a fish trap. Sometimes the pen is full of hogs. I have seen a truck squated down with dozens of dead hogs.
BTW - I would rather eat boiled chitterlings than wild hog.:barf:
Most wild hogs around here are killed with a .22. They are lured into a trap made of wire panel fencing. The opening is kind of like a fish trap. Sometimes the pen is full of hogs. I have seen a truck squated down with dozens of dead hogs.
BTW - I would rather eat boiled chitterlings than wild hog.:barf:
Swampghost
New member
Ben, until you see what hogs can do you won't understand. If you farm, think of a giant roto-tiller going through your property. I've seen a 50 yd. swath turned up in natural property. If your seeded or have young crops the damage can be much greater.
Point made. I know I can just Wikipedia this, but what crops do they typically eat? I've seen wild boars with their large tusks, and they're always portrayed as aggressive. I've never had a run-in with one though. With regards to getting injured while hunting them, well, some times the hunters become the hunted.
Ben
Ben
A few nights ago the news reported they were going to let a select few hunters use a bow and arrows to kill off the nuisance hogs in Bush Park on the west side of Houston.
They don't have enough traps to make a dent in the growing hog population so they are looking for more drastic measures. The meat will be donated to the Houston Food Bank.
Sounds like fun to me!
They don't have enough traps to make a dent in the growing hog population so they are looking for more drastic measures. The meat will be donated to the Houston Food Bank.
Sounds like fun to me!
Hogs are definitely Omnivoris........................they eat anything. Typically roots, grubs, acorns - things of that nature are 1st choice................but depending on what foods are available - they'll eat anything. Some of the best eating I've had with them was some that had been eating the fallen oranges from orange groves in FLA........................ pre-marinated meat - YUMMY! A couple of years ago, I read in some areas of drought, their food sources were so limited that they were dragging off deer that had been shot before the hunters could catch up to the carcasses. 
Like has been said - wild pigs are mean SOBs and you do have to be careful. While I have used pistols, it was while I was with someone along for backup and usually with dogs as well. AS far as what caliber I would use...........44Mag or .454 Casull would be good.
.45ACP will work as well as the .357mag - but I prefer big holes with as much velocity as I can get. I shot a 80lb sow at almost point blank range with a .357, she wouldn't go down............the outfitter I was with jumped on her and slit her throat and she STILL wouldn't stay down..............................finally a .22 in the ear laid her out. Initially I thought the .357 round didn't do it's job - but post-mortem inspection showed otherwise..............that bullet damaged both shoulders so severly that the meat in them was unharvestable...........little piglette was just too stirred up to lay down and die, even though she was already toast.
A couple of years ago, I read in some areas of drought, their food sources were so limited that they were dragging off deer that had been shot before the hunters could catch up to the carcasses. Like has been said - wild pigs are mean SOBs and you do have to be careful. While I have used pistols, it was while I was with someone along for backup and usually with dogs as well. AS far as what caliber I would use...........44Mag or .454 Casull would be good.
.45ACP will work as well as the .357mag - but I prefer big holes with as much velocity as I can get. I shot a 80lb sow at almost point blank range with a .357, she wouldn't go down............the outfitter I was with jumped on her and slit her throat and she STILL wouldn't stay down..............................finally a .22 in the ear laid her out. Initially I thought the .357 round didn't do it's job - but post-mortem inspection showed otherwise..............that bullet damaged both shoulders so severly that the meat in them was unharvestable...........little piglette was just too stirred up to lay down and die, even though she was already toast.Yea, I still have some land in FL that has some serious hog issues. I have taken some with a bow, mostly with the ole Winchester 1894 levergun or a 12GA slug. I carry the Desert Eagle in .50 across my shoulder when on the ground with the rifle as a primary. I miss hunting them.
Hogs can be a bugger to take down. A .308 with a .41, or .44 magnum as a side arm would be my preference. The .308 does a number on them as will a 7.62x39, or a well placed .223. In South Carolina we used a 12GA. The brush was thick and the hogs were aggressive. Dogs can get torn up pretty bad at times. They seem to be overrunning areas in the South and Southwest. Aren't they considered a varmint in Texas?
I have no qualms sending in my bulldogs (any alone as well) on any size hog... It may be the last hog for 'em but they may make it out unharmed... Roll of the proverbial dice every time out.
If I know we have verified "dog wreckers" in the area I will take 2 bulldogs.
Brent
If I know we have verified "dog wreckers" in the area I will take 2 bulldogs.
Brent
Mexican_Hippie
Inactive
My family used to own a ranch where we guided hunts. I've shot a ton of them and have hunted them on horseback with dogs as well.
If you're on the ground with them I wouldn't go less than .45. You can shoot them behind the ear with a .22 mag, but if you barely miss you're toast.
Those things are mean. My grandpa has the most hilarious VHS tape with one of his bow hunters jumping on his truck hood. The bowhunter wounded one with an arrow as they were coming to pick him up. It chased him from his tripod to the truck.
Bowhunters
If you're on the ground with them I wouldn't go less than .45. You can shoot them behind the ear with a .22 mag, but if you barely miss you're toast.
Those things are mean. My grandpa has the most hilarious VHS tape with one of his bow hunters jumping on his truck hood. The bowhunter wounded one with an arrow as they were coming to pick him up. It chased him from his tripod to the truck.
Bowhunters
Each hog situation seems to be a law unto itself. Good bullet placement is supposed to be the key but even that doesn't always drop the hog. Some people head shoot them with 22s. I've had them run a significant distance shot through both shoulders with a 180 grain 30-06. The one above soaked up four 250 grain keith bullets while running with lungs and heart hits all fully penetrating and exiting. The finishing shot was end to end at 20=-30 feet with the bullet running the spine with considerable damage, breaking the back leg and stopping under the skin of a ham.
This was the result of a single shot from a 55 grain nosler ballistic tip loaded to a sedate 3000 fps off the muzzle Distance was just over 200 yards. They arn't supposed to work out this well at that kind of range.
The hog was over 200 pounds and was DRT. Rifle was a busmaster Predator.
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precision_shooter
New member
Wild Hogs are not typically considered varmints in Texas. They are considered a neusance animal. Last I heard there were 5 wild hogs to every 1 human in this state. That is why we don't have to have a license or special stamp to shoot them. All wild hogs are shoot on site with no questions asked. If you want the meat, great, take it. If not, you leave it laying there or drag it off to some brush and go on to the next one.
Hogs usually have at least 8 piglets each time they "get knocked up". And we're not talking once a year like most animals, they can have up to 3 litters each year. So thats up to 24 new hogs born each year from 1 mature hog. That is why the numbers are so high. Also, Texas has more acreage of privately owned land than any othere state in the nation. Makes it hard to keep the population in control when the hogs are thriving on peoples 5000 10000 or 20000 acre ranches.
Most of the time the ranchers won't get people to come and kill some hogs until the population on their land gets to a point where they can't handle it any longer.
Now for what I use, I usally have my .308 AR or .223 AR with my GP100 or .357 Mag Desert Eagle as a BUG. They usually don't get far when hit with the /308. The .223 has good penetration but does not cause enough shock to make them DRT so if you want the meat you have to do a little tracking with the BUG in hand. Only ever had to use the BUG 1 time and it was the GP100. 1 shot and the hog went down for the count.
KILL ALL YOU CAN WHEN YOU CAN.
Hogs usually have at least 8 piglets each time they "get knocked up". And we're not talking once a year like most animals, they can have up to 3 litters each year. So thats up to 24 new hogs born each year from 1 mature hog. That is why the numbers are so high. Also, Texas has more acreage of privately owned land than any othere state in the nation. Makes it hard to keep the population in control when the hogs are thriving on peoples 5000 10000 or 20000 acre ranches.
Most of the time the ranchers won't get people to come and kill some hogs until the population on their land gets to a point where they can't handle it any longer.
Now for what I use, I usally have my .308 AR or .223 AR with my GP100 or .357 Mag Desert Eagle as a BUG. They usually don't get far when hit with the /308. The .223 has good penetration but does not cause enough shock to make them DRT so if you want the meat you have to do a little tracking with the BUG in hand. Only ever had to use the BUG 1 time and it was the GP100. 1 shot and the hog went down for the count.
KILL ALL YOU CAN WHEN YOU CAN.
Frank W. James was writing about the farm at which he's helping clear some hogs.
Apparently the farmer had to re-plant 600 acres of corn. With seed, fertilizer, and labor costs, that's $60,000 in damage that hogs have done to his farm, in just the last three weeks. That's a lotta dough.
Apparently the farmer had to re-plant 600 acres of corn. With seed, fertilizer, and labor costs, that's $60,000 in damage that hogs have done to his farm, in just the last three weeks. That's a lotta dough.