By Lorraine Lawrence
Anytime a group of hunters or land owners in Texas come together you can be sure the topic of conversation will eventually come around to two things, the weather and “Wild Hogs”. Just mention wild pigs in any crowd and the discussion of hunting them can go on for hours. It will range from where to hunt them, how to hunt them and what to do with one once you have one in hand. The questions will vary depending on if the person is local or just visiting. But let’s talk pigs… for the purpose of this article the terms ‘pig’ or more correctly ‘feral pigs’ and hogs or ‘wild hogs’ or boar or ‘wild boar’ are all applied to the same animal, though the term boar is specifically the male of the species you sometime hear it used as a gender non-specific term (who knew wild hogs could be so PC?) meaning a wild hog with predominately ‘European’ or ‘Russian’ characteristics. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (tpwd.texas.gov) defines feral hogs to include European wild hogs, feral hogs and crossbreeds; both European varieties introduced for sport hunting back in the 1930’s and domestic varieties that have escaped (from as far back as over 300 years ago when early Spanish explorers brought them as they are not native to the Americas) or were released. And they have in each generation reverted to a more wild state as any domestic characteristics begin to diminish with natural selection favoring traits need for survival.
And survive they have, wild hogs are one of the most invasive and destructive species and are able to adapt to almost any area. They now number into the millions in Texas and breed at an alarming rate. A sow (female pig) can become reproductive as early as 6 to 8 months and can produce one to two litters of offspring (anywhere from four to up to twelve piglets per litter) per year, over an average productive lifespan of between 4-8 years. A large “trophy” wild hog can tip the scale at more than 400 lbs. for exceptional ones but generally smaller and more agile and in an assortment of sizes is what you will find (smaller being considered the better for eating). The “good news/bad news” is that just to keep the population of hogs in Texas at a steady/manageable number 60-75% of the current population must be eradicated/hunted and killed each year. Current U. S. Department of Agriculture figures show that feral hogs cost upwards of $800 million dollars in annual crop damage, with more that 25% of that in Texas alone.
To aid in this Herculean task the State of Texas passed what became known as the “Pork-chopper” law in 2011 which allowed people to pay to shoot feral hogs out of helicopters as part of a depredation or population control program. Feral hogs are considered under Texas law to be “nuisance” wildlife, much like vermin. This is not considered sport hunting (which is not allowed by law from an aircraft) but as a part of a state wide depredation program. In short order more than hundreds of companies and people obtained the permits allowing the shooting of invasive feral hogs from helicopters. Today the shooting of feral hogs from a helicopter is also legal in Oklahoma and Louisiana. To find out more about how it was done I went on a trip myself. While many people envision it being something like “the wild west” it is carefully regulated and more difficult than you might imagine. Most companies giving you a realistic appraisal of how many hogs you can kill in a typical 1 hour flight are hesitant to put a hard number on this as it depends greatly on your own skill with a gun. While you may be able to make extremely tight groups with your own firearms at a bench at 200 yards, not all of the same skills translate to shooting a randomly moving small target from a moving helicopter while remembering not to shoot your own rotor, or falling out of it. And with regards to that the State requires you pass a mandatory one and a half hour safety course to be certified to participate in the helicopter depredation program. In addition to classroom instructions on safety, it also included information on wildlife management, both a ground training and flight target practice before the actual flight where the “hunt” would take place.
Understandably after viewing YouTube or other video of these arial hog “hunts” expectations can run high. I had a conversation with someone else that had done a hunt who explained he had thought it would be like shooting the proverbial “fish in the barrel” only to have actually killed one hog, despite having seen and been in range of considerably more after his first attempt.
This information gave me a bit of a pause. I have a slight tendency towards both motion sickness and vertigo. So I was thankful for the training run and a short flight before hand to get the “feel” of the sensation. Fortunately it was not at all difficult for me to manage (a well skilled pilot is a huge help here) and before long I had a good understanding of what was needed to hit a target from a moving position. I think participating in sporting clays and hunting where you don’t always depend on a solid rest helped me to be comfortable with understanding how much to lead a target and the focus and flexibility that gets you pigs (and coyotes) on the ground. A fair percentage of any helicopter hog ‘hunt’ involves getting over land that you have permission to hunt, then to locate the pigs (sometimes encouraging them to move to where you can safely shoot them) and then trying to shoot as many as possible. On my trip we made many low passes over areas of dense cover and along brushy areas to be able to spot pigs moving and then sometimes double back as they moved into the open where they could be safely shot. You work as a team (often there can be two people shooting such as on my hunt) and the objective is to kill all the pigs in a group so you work together both spotting and shooting for a humane kill. While the pilot works to put you in the best advantage. After having found a group of pigs and making a successful run on them we would come around to check for any we might have missed and that none were left injured. An accurate accounting and location of the animals is made before we moved on to hunt for more. Once we discovered an area with high population we began to work very effectively. It seemed like no time at all before we had managed to dispatch a fair number in addition to several coyotes and our hour was up.
While it is by no means the only way to hunt pigs in Texas I highly recommend you try it at least once if you can. For those in the San Antonio or South Texas area I recommend Texas Specialty Hunts www.texasspecialtyhunts.com with Travis Wier based out of San Angelo, Texas.
For those not keen on chopper hunting you may want to try one of the other ways of hunting pigs. Probably the second most talked about method is night hunting with dogs. There are plenty of guides advertising on-line who hunt this specialty method where you get up close and personal with the animal you hunt. Guides run teams of specially trained and often Kevlar clad dogs which search out and try to “bay” a wild hog when they are most active at night. Typically this is done with scent or tracking dogs to locate pigs and specialty ‘catch’ dogs that will grip and hold the hog once located, until the hunter arrives to dispatch it. When scent dogs have found a trail to follow the chase is on; part way by ATV and part way by foot you follow into the darkness and through a rough and tumbled chase until the hog is bayed, then it is the task of the catch dogs to hold the hog for the hunter to make the kill with a knife to the heart. A good guide will have instructed you in advance as to the anatomy of a feral hog and how to make a quick, clean kill. It is an exciting hunt with a bit of a primal feel to it. Often full of surprises as you never know what you will find out in the night.
The law in Texas has recently been modified to encourage more hunting of the wile porcine pests. New rules go into effect on September 1, 2019 (visit www.tpwd.gov for particulars) classified as unprotected, exotic, non-game animals and as such can now be taken by any means or methods at any time of the year, and time of day. No seasons, no bag limits (provided you have permission from the land owner where you hunt). While a general hunting license may be a good idea in case you encounter some other quarry on your hunt, as of September 1st it is not needed for hunting hogs.
From the air, from a blind or spot and stalk, or with dogs; with a knife, or bow, or crossbow, or a gun; with night vision or infrared Texas needs hog hunters.Ya’ll come now; ya hear?