[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Not again........ (Page 1 of 6)
Posted: 5/13/2009 11:25:29 AM EDT
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It never ends!
We just got rid of one sounder, now (a month later)….there is a new group. This is just one area they have rooted up in the pasture (there are others): 
I have managed to get this group baited into a “lane” between our property and the neighbor. 
For now…there is no more damage to the pasture….but the destruction (so far)… is probably 3-4 acres in total. Because of the confined area these hogs are in….I will not be able to “shoot out” this bunch. Time to assemble the hog trap I guess. IH8HOGS! |
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Bacony goodness 
Baked ham Split pea soup with ham hocks.... Can't shoot 'em? You're right; time for the trap. Well...I could shoot them, but the risk of running them off (before I whittled them down significantly) is too great since this group hangs out pretty much on the property line. Easier to just trap the whole bunch (or as many as we can). |
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How does the trigger mech work? It is a cable that runs from the “saloon door” to the back of the trap (about 22’ in this case) where it is routed through a couple of loops I weld onto a T-Post. The cable is then laid across a hole dug in the ground (right at ground level)….so when a hog “roots” in the hole for the corn….it trips the trigger on the doors. 
There are many different ways to rig up a “trip wire”…how I do it depends on the structure of the herd. If there are a lot of little ones (as in this case) I use the method shown above. Normally, the small pigs will be the first to enter the trap (they don’t know any better). They immediately begin to feed on the corn broadcast about the pen/trap. When the larger hogs enter…one of them will “claim” the bait hole (it has a pile of corn). By the time the hog trips the doors most of the herd will be inside feeding. If the trip wire is set up off the ground, anything that steps on it (I.E. one of the little ones) will set it off, leaving you with just a pen full of small hogs…and a bunch of “educated” hogs outside. NOT desirable. Conversely, if I know the sounder is comprised of mostly mature hogs….I will rig the wire up off the ground because they tend to enter all at once…but start fighting as they compete for the bait. This can cause some of the hogs to leave the enclosure…especially if there is a mature boar (or even a juvenile) present, so you want to trigger the door soon after the hogs enter. |
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That is pretty interesting, I have no pigs up by me but am always interested in learning how to trap new things.....
for pest control this seems to be the best option, from everything I understand you cannot try to control the population with hunting....(no matter how fun it is) Now do you just kill all the pigs or do you raise the small ones until they are better eating size? if you do kill the pigs in the pen can you reuse that location or do you have to move it? Keep us updated on your problem.... |
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marinesg1012 wrote:
That is pretty interesting, I have no pigs up by me but am always interested in learning how to trap new things.....
for pest control this seems to be the best option, from everything I understand you cannot try to control the population with hunting....(no matter how fun it is) That is correct. Hunting alone (while it does put a dent in them) is inadequate to to significantly reduce their numbers. They are VERY smart and will react to hunting pressure quickly. Now do you just kill all the pigs or do you raise the small ones until they are better eating size?
In Texas, your "legal" options are: 1. Dispatch them. 2. Transport them to a TAHC approved holding facility (sell them live). 3. Have a Vet test each animal for Brucellosis and Pseudo-rabies, then transport and release them elsewhere. 4. Pen raise them until larger. We don't do numbers 2,3&4, but I do make every effort to utilize the meat resource by contacting people interested in wild hogs. if you do kill the pigs in the pen can you reuse that location or do you have to move it?
It is best to move the trap..because you will have left behind considerable "scent" when removing the animals (along with alot of blood) which can deter hogs from coming back in for awhile. If you choose to leave the trap in place....it is well to let it "cool off" for about a week. Now, I know full well...someone will chime in with an accounting of hogs returning the very next day, I have experienced that too (but not often). I am simply suggesting what I believe to be the "best" practice if you want to consistently trap/dispatch hogs and not "educate" them. |
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That's a nice batch of hogs in your picture. Can you sell them off? Yes, however they must be taken to a TAHC approved holding facility, or you must have a Vet test each animal for Brucellosis and Pseudo-rabies if you transport them elsewhere. Too, feral hog prices are ridiculously low right now. Most of the hogs in this group would bring only 10 cents per pound, not worth the trouble IMO. Thank you, for asking the question though...because many folks do not realize you can sell them...or that certain restrictions apply. Flint. |
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That's a nice batch of hogs in your picture. Can you sell them off? Yes, however they must be taken to a TAHC approved holding facility, or you must have a Vet test each animal for Brucellosis and Pseudo-rabies if you transport them elsewhere. Too, feral hog prices are ridiculously low right now. Most of the hogs in this group would bring only 10 cents per pound, not worth the trouble IMO. Thank you, for asking the question though...because many folks do not realize you can sell them...or that certain restrictions apply. Flint. Let me know if you need some help! I am from Cali! But I'll fly over! |
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Good lookin trap flint. I really like the tripping mechanism. It works well when the purpose is to "create time" before the trap door is tripped. Other times...it is desirable to spring the door as soon as possible, then I set it up differently. A game-cam is a great tool with which to gather information (size of herd, single hog, how many mature hogs, how many piglets/shoats, time of day/night they visit, Boar(s) present. etc). All of these things factor into how/where/when I set up a trap and trigger mechanism. I know it sounds laborious and overcomplicated....but if you want to maximize your catch...you need to know what you're dealing with. Yes, you can just set the trap and "take what you get", but chances are great that you are missing a big portion of the group. The problem with that is: Hogs are very intelligent and learn quickly. Every mature hog that you don't catch...is a hog you just helped educate. |
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I like the tripping mechanism. Where did you buy the salon door gate? Lots of folks weld up their own....but I bought the one in this thread from HERE |
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These pics were taken tonight from a tree-stand I set up about 15’ from the end of the trap.
Instead of using the normal trip wire…I rigged up a cord running from the trigger directly up to the tree-stand. That way, I could manually trigger the gate when most of the hogs were inside. The boar that was with this group (and one sow)…would not enter the trap. The boar circled behind me….and I had to go ahead and trip the gate before he busted me. Still, 17 hogs is not too bad. Maybe the boar can be shot out later if he comes back. 
I will retrieve the game-cam pics tomorrow. |
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let the slaughter commence.... so you get the whole group except one older female and a boar? not to bad seems like excellent population management... Yeah, actually I DIDN"T get the two I really wanted. :o The boar and the alpha sow would not go in the trap. The way it worked out...I had to take what I could get while I could. We had a North wind here yesterday...so I decided to set up a tree stand and manually trip the doors. The wind was blowing from the trap out into an open pasture (perfect). The hogs came in about 30 minutes earlier than I was expecting, it was actually light enough that I could have taken video. Even though I always wear rubber boots when visiting the trap, the boar immediately picked up the faint scent left behind...and began back-trailing me. He was "growling" the whole time (something they do to denote displeasure), it’s not an alarm to other hogs...but more like a warning or a show of dominance to anything around. I had the boar and two sows still outside the trap. It was obvious the boar wasn't going to enter...but I wanted to wait as long as possible for the sows to make up their minds. The boar followed my trail right up to the fence line and the tree I was in (he was directly under me). He stuck his head through the barb wire fence as if he was going to enter the lane and get behind me. I could see him slobbering on the wire as he stood there growling. In a minute...he turned around and trotted out into the pasture still growling. Now...he starts to a make a half circle back toward the lane which will put him directly behind and downwind of me. He is definitely going to "bust me" at this point. Luckily, one of the sows decides to go into the trap at this juncture, so it was a race to see if she would get in the trap before the boar winded me and "woofed" his warning to the rest. As soon as her butt cleared the doors, I tripped the trigger and the whole pen exploded. I'll try to get some video next time so everyone can appreciate how strong these animals are, they really rocked the pen and most of these hogs are little ones. I might be able to lure the boar back in later with some "sow in heat" scent, but he is smart one...and will never enter a trap after this. The alpha sow...I don't know about. If I have any chance at her..it will be in the next few days. After that...she will probably move on (even wiser than before). So, while I managed to catch the majority of this sounder, I failed to catch the "brains", making it that much harder to take them out. But, thats we have so many of them. They are very smart. |
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I like the tripping mechanism. Where did you buy the salon door gate? Lots of folks weld up their own....but I bought the one in this thread from HERE Looks like that will suit my needs. I could use 2 for sure. |
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That is very cool flint... Do you have scent lok gear? it seems that if your going to be trapping them MAYBE, and just maybe ;) you could purchase some of the scent lok stuff I use it deer hunting and it works well, you could also just get the scent eliminator spray to put on your boots and such to cut down on the scent... I know most guys say you dont need it with hogs but in that kind of scenario it may have helped...
Again thanks for all the info, I will probably never need to trap pigs but it is still cool to hear about your exploits... |
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That is very cool flint... Do you have scent lok gear? it seems that if your going to be trapping them MAYBE, and just maybe ;) you could purchase some of the scent lok stuff I use it deer hunting and it works well, you could also just get the scent eliminator spray to put on your boots and such to cut down on the scent... I know most guys say you dont need it with hogs but in that kind of scenario it may have helped... Again thanks for all the info, I will probably never need to trap pigs but it is still cool to hear about your exploits... I have never used the scent lok gear...but always bathe thoroughly with a scent eliminating soap (use the same on my clothes) before hunting. I am bowhunter of 40 yrs. and appreciate the need to get clean and as scent free as is possible. In this case, I wasn't discovered because of air-born scent (as in wind direction or thermals settling), but from the scent left behind earlier in the day when I set up the stand. I simply did not expect the boar to travel outside the lane into the pasture where he struck my trail (from rubber boots). As for those who think you don't need to control your scent for hogs, I vehemently disagree. They have the best nose in the business, much better than a deer. This was just a very smart boar. If I had been bow or rifle hunting...I could have easily harvested him (he was right underneath me at one point), but my purpose last night was to trap as many of the hogs from this group as I could. If he comes back....I'll take the rifle down there and even things up. But for now....he and the alpha sow are "one up" and laughing. 
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So do you feed out the little ones or just use them at the size they are? Some folks will feed out the hogs (regardless of size), but most use them just as they are. I don't eat them, but usually have no problem finding folks that want them. I always try to utilize the meat resource if possible. |
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This boar came back last night…but I am sure he won’t hang around much longer.
I have pics. of him at 9:00 p.m. last night, again about 11 p.m. and then once more at 3:30 a.m., so he is still checking this area for estrous sows. I will have to put some lights up over the bait site in order to see him through the scope…(since he is only coming in after dark now). I think he will walk into the area if it is already bathed in light, but would probably spook if suddenly illuminated with a spotlight/flashlight. Anyway, that’s the plan. 
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I have had VERY good luck using red LED lights. If you do not have red lights, try a red filter. Or go to Home Depot and buy a red flood. Good luck. I have several red LED's, I have already set up a single 3 watt unit directly over the bait station (it is a small area). I am going to go and sit on that site for a little while this evening and see if anything shows up. |
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flint you need a PVS14 and a red dot with NVG capability..... :D Absolutely! NV is the way to go....just so expensive for good gen 4 stuff. I got mine from TNVG and victor is great to deal with, it is a little pricey but if your going to be using it a lot then it would balance out.... get any from your stand tonight? |
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flint you need a PVS14 and a red dot with NVG capability..... :D Absolutely! NV is the way to go....just so expensive for good gen 4 stuff. I got mine from TNVG and victor is great to deal with, it is a little pricey but if your going to be using it a lot then it would balance out.... get any from your stand tonight? The cows came in right at dusk (same time as the hog) and ruined it, unbelievable timing! The boar actually "woofed" at the cows and then popped his teeth one time really loud...then he started walking back and forth in the brush along the fence line. I could hear him...but couldn't see him. When this didn't scare the cows off he left . I thought that was the end of it, but he came back about 30 minutes later to the same spot (cows still there) and repeated the first scenario (except no WOOF this time), He only stayed about 30 seconds...then left (again). I stayed on stand until 11:30 and never heard or saw anything else besides a couple of raccoons that came in. I am going to try again tonight, but time is slipping away on this boar. I hope I have enough strength to climb back up in the tree stand today, the mosquito's just about drained me dry last night, sheeeeeesh! |