Lets talk about Hog management.........for those that don't kill em all

[justincorbell]

           

SO I have been pondering this myself for a while and talking about it with some of my hunting buddies and thought it would be a good topic to discuss. Myself and a buddy of mine hunt a large deer lease and a friend of ours hunts the bordering lease and also owns land on the other side of that lease so between us we have quite a large area to hunt.  We all are on the same page (regardless of if it is right or wrong  ) regarding the hogs we have on these properties and how we want to manage them.

[justincorbell]

Ok so I managed to screw that up............ my computer went dum dum on me and didn't let me finish........


       Anyway, we are all actively trying to kill any and all hogs that do not fit the profile of the hogs we have had in the past. We have all agreed to kill any hog that has characteristics of imported, not native (if you will) hogs............... Now we all know that none of these hogs are native if you go back far enough, I am using the word "native" to describe hogs that have been around our area for longer than I have been alive, generally thicker, stouter, bulkier hogs.......pretty much simply better blooded hogs...... over the years some folks in our area have introduced domestic hogs to the woods which has in turn thrown more color into the hogs we have today, these aren't the hogs we are actively killing, in fact these are the hogs we are  marking and turning back out. We are NOT targeting hogs simply based off of color, we are looking for hogs that are built different than the hogs we have had in these woods for years.
       
      Those of you that have been in the woods for a while will know exactly what type of hog I am talking about, while some areas hold larger populations that are more influenced than others I would imagine by now most folks in texas have at one point or another seen and run into this type of hog. The hogs we are killing are the longer more streamline hogs, hogs that generally are built lower and slimmer in their rear ends and larger/ bulkier in their front ends with longer more stretched out heads and longer legs, built more athletic then the rooter hogs we have had in these woods longer than i've been alive. The majority of the hogs I am talking about are generally a reddish brown almost rusty color but they do come in just about every other color with smaller ears and bigger, longer heads than their rooter relatives.

        Obviously we all know that we will not wipe these hogs out BUT we much prefer to kill these than we do to kill our rooter type hogs and we have been trying to practice catch and release whenever possible on our better blooded hogs, and killing or barring these hogs that show more characteristics of outside introduced genetics to minimize the further breeding and dilution of our rooter type hog population.


         When I first started chasing these hogs some 10 years ago it wasn't unusual for us to catch wattled hogs, over the years these type hogs have gotten harder and harder to come across and now when we do catch one we try to keep it in the best shape we can to turn it back out. 


         Thoughts? Opinions? criticism? lets hear it. Any one else out there working on managing their herd?

[justincorbell]

And before anyone mentions it yes we have permission to turn out hogs  and we do still kill quite a few, just not all.

[7Mhunter]

Very interesting post. I agree with you on hog management. People want to complain about places that there is no hogs, but yet they kill everything they come across. If you manage hogs then you will have hogs. I have a place that has quite a bit on there. Try to keep as many in the place as possible. I like the way the old school hogs looks. Not the hogs that all you see of them is crossing the road in front of you steadily running lol. I try to keep as many colored hogs in the place as I can. I have been feeding one boar hog since 2011 and he was just a pig then, yellow spotted but if you get on him he does nothing but run. We don't normally kill any unless we are going to put them in the freezer. Barr and mark or if we have a buyer we may sale a few. When I started going with my dad when I was just out of diapers I remember him sitting me in a tree and they go in to the bay's and sometimes it being a wad of hogs or one salty boar or Barr. Easy to catch with no problems besides being rank. Now pretty much 17-18 years later if the bulldog going to the bay don't break them then that's suprising. If people left the hogs that bayed in the woods just mark and release it would be a better and we would have better hogs.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Slim9797]

I kill or take out alive everything I catch because all my spots I got because the farmers and ranchers need them gone. I'd be slandered all across the county if I was caught releasing hogs whether it was a 300 lb boar A 100 lb sow or a piglet


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[justincorbell]

Slim I understand that and I have hunted places where I had the same orders BUT that is for a different thread. THIS thread is for the folks that luckily do not have to follow those orders.

[justincorbell]

Very interesting post. I agree with you on hog management. People want to complain about places that there is no hogs, but yet they kill everything they come across. If you manage hogs then you will have hogs. I have a place that has quite a bit on there. Try to keep as many in the place as possible. I like the way the old school hogs looks. Not the hogs that all you see of them is crossing the road in front of you steadily running lol. I try to keep as many colored hogs in the place as I can. I have been feeding one boar hog since 2011 and he was just a pig then, yellow spotted but if you get on him he does nothing but run. We don't normally kill any unless we are going to put them in the freezer. Barr and mark or if we have a buyer we may sale a few. When I started going with my dad when I was just out of diapers I remember him sitting me in a tree and they go in to the bay's and sometimes it being a wad of hogs or one salty boar or Barr. Easy to catch with no problems besides being rank. Now pretty much 17-18 years later if the bulldog going to the bay don't break them then that's suprising. If people left the hogs that bayed in the woods just mark and release it would be a better and we would have better hogs.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

^ bingo, folks like yourself are the ones I was speaking of in regards to this post. The ones that have been in the woods 10-15-20 years or more and have also noticed the overall change in hogs throughout the years. I did not start running dogs until 05/06 but I was in the woods all the same, hunting em with my brush gun and running traps and I can personally say that I have seen quite the change in hogs over the years. Also to clarify, my family hunted the same block of woods for 23 years before my grandfather finally gave up the lease due to continued timber harvesting and increasing lease rates. I was off of that lease and did not hunt the land for 4 years, luckily myself and a friend got back on a lease that borders the lease I grew up and ran around on for all those years. So in order to even further narrow down what I am talking about regarding the overall change in hogs I am speaking about based off of one general area.

[7Mhunter]

My dad pasture rode a deer lease in Tyler county for a little over 17 years. His cousin had it for years before that. When he had it he didn't let anyone hog hunt it with dogs besides him. He trapped over 1000 plus hogs in the lease just marking and turning them loose. We let the lease go because of the hassle it had become. It was 3,500+ acres then and now about 300. Last I heard the hogs ran bad in there. Used to could go and catch a trailer full. Honestly couldn't tell you the real reason in the changes of the hogs from now and then but I could tell you my thought and opinion but it may hurt someone's feelings lol.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[swine dogger]

I'm trying to find out where this overwhelming population of hogs is that everyone is talking about...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Slim9797]

Slim I understand that and I have hunted places where I had the same orders BUT that is for a different thread. THIS thread is for the folks that luckily do not have to follow those orders.

wasn't trying to disagree with what your doing. I wish I could manage the population in a place like you talk about. It's no fun hunting places 3 times, catching a couple pigs and then having to wait 2 months for them to come back in there.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[decker]

I remember catching the hogs Justin are talking about, still do but not near as often. About 10 years ago maybe more someone had the idea of turning some I guess Russian type hogs out, and the hogs we catch are looking more and more like that every year. And I don't know for sure what 7m was talking about but I would bet she was implying that the reason every other hog takes your dogs on a marathon is because of the quality of some of the dogs around(not everyone) is not the same. The slow ones get killed, and the runners get away and get to breed more runners

Sent from my KYOCERA-E6560 using Tapatalk

[hillbilly]

We try to manage them all we Barr every boar. I have no preference on what they look like. Only kill the barrs when we want one to eat. Kill a sow if she is chewed up.
Their is a reason why you don't see the old piney wood rooters like it used to be. They are easiest caught.
 Besides easy hogs don't make good dogs.

[decker]

We try to manage them all we Barr every boar. I have no preference on what they look like. Only kill the barrs when we want one to eat. Kill a sow if she is chewed up.
Their is a reason why you don't see the old piney wood rooters like it used to be. They are easiest caught.
 Besides easy hogs don't make good dogs.

Agreed

Sent from my KYOCERA-E6560 using Tapatalk

[decker]

Especially your last 2 sentences

Sent from my KYOCERA-E6560 using Tapatalk

[7Mhunter]

I remember catching the hogs Justin are talking about, still do but not near as often. About 10 years ago maybe more someone had the idea of turning some I guess Russian type hogs out, and the hogs we catch are looking more and more like that every year. And I don't know for sure what 7m was talking about but I would bet she was implying that the reason every other hog takes your dogs on a marathon is because of the quality of some of the dogs around(not everyone) is not the same. The slow ones get killed, and the runners get away and get to breed more runners

Sent from my KYOCERA-E6560 using Tapatalk

Yes sir that's about what I was getting at. All these Facebook warriors and high school hunters with dogs you gotta walk to the hog that won't range out more then 300 yds, that catch the smallest weakest hog in the group everytime. I had someone ask me if I thought the reason hogs run in our area so bad was if dogs drove them. In that case it would be like the old timers and bunch up. It's all to everyone's opinions but hogs are smart creatures and learn fast.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Not color blind]

I have a half Duroc half hamp boar, every sow I catch that is open spends 2-3 weeks in the pen with him before they go! It's helped the look,the size and all that damn RUNNING! I've been using him for 4 years had a spotted Poland China I used before him, it's working for me might be something you fellas could try

[bolo]

I'm 67 yrs old & have been hog hunting ever since I was big enough to ride behind my daddy"s saddle. We cut & marked then & still cut & mark now.There is a big change in the hogs & the dogs. I see more russian blood in the hogs We have 11,000 acres leased for hogs & deer.It is very hard to stay on 11000 acres with the way the hogs run now.We have hunted other places & caught lots of russians and brought them back & released them on our lease.This made for more hogs but not the best hogs to bay & rally.Now we bay  every color in the rainbow.We still have a pretty good stock of hogs though. We brought in 13 bars last winter for sausage & I weighted every one of them as we butchered them.The 13 weighed 3720 lbs.I know that russian blood runs worse than the old stock, but they are survivers. The are more nocturnal whitch  makes it harder for the deer hunters to kill them.If you are trying to take care of your hog herd, the worst thing you can do is put rough dogs in them.This makes the hogs run worse & them "alligaters" will cripple or kill lots of your stock.When I was young , my daddy only hunted 1 dog at a time,& if it caught before he was told to, he didn't make the trip back home.If you want to keep hogs  in the woods,leave the sows alone,cut every boar you catch, & keep rough dogs out of your hogs!!! BOLO ---the old blue boar

[bolo]

Just ol' mixed up curs. There were so many hogs back then ,you could show a dog many hogs in a day

[Black Streak]

I'm reading this and wondering why if yall want a more domesticated looking and acting feral pig to catch, why yall don't just buy a hand full of domestic sows and run them loose where you hunt.  That would by far be the quickest, simplest, and easiest way to accomplish what I believe yall are wanting to get back to.
   

[Black Streak]

I have a half Duroc half hamp boar, every sow I catch that is open spends 2-3 weeks in the pen with him before they go! It's helped the look,the size and all that damn RUNNING! I've been using him for 4 years had a spotted Poland China I used before him, it's working for me might be something you fellas could try

   This would be a perfect way to accomplish what I think this thread is aimed at.  Even much better than my suggestion of buying a few domestic sows as turning them out.     With your way the feral sows will stand a much better chance at living long enough and educating her young for survival in the wild.  Plus only got to buy 1 pig but you do have to house and feed it.      If your a land owner and want this type of pig, I'd buy sows and turn them loose since you controle the hunting but if your leasing or just have access to land and can't controle the hunting, bringing the feral sows to the domestic boar then releasing the sows back into the wild to give birth and raise her young and pass along her knowledge and skills of survival amongst hunters and the other obsticals would probably be far better than my idea.