Posted: 7/26/2010 2:23:26 PM EDT
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Oh brother……….!
Hopefully, this group is just passing through, but if they decide to stay….I’ll have to start baiting them toward the trap. Thankfully, the pen trap is only about 50 yds from where this pic was taken. Looks like three young sows, a juvenile Boar and a passel of little ones. 
Its no wonder…they can’t be eradicated when they breed as young as they do (8-12 months old). You can see how young and small this sow is, yet she has piglets that are already 30-40 days old. I’ll bet…she’s barely a year old herself. Sheeeeesh! 
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Well…….looks like they’re gonna stay.. (sigh……). 
As is typical of a herd of young hogs….they have started coming in earlier to feed. This tells me two things: 1.They feel unpressured. 2.I have been successful controlling my scent when I put out corn and check the camera. The herd came in nearly 2 hours earlier than the previous night. 
The following pic shows why I don’t jump up and go check the camera first thing in the morning. Not only did the hogs come in earlier last night…but they came in this morning too. (probably bedding nearby) 
The plan for this group….is to move them from the current bait site…to a large pen trap I have about 50 yds. away. ( I will broadcast the corn along a new trail) If they will do that tonight (move), then the next night I will bait the trap and prop the doors open. Once they are comfortable going into the trap (a couple of nights) then I will set the trip wire or put up a hanging stand nearby and manually trip it with a cord. Hopefully, the hogs will remain undisturbed, move to the trap area and go inside. I want to be rid of these pests! 
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Quoted:
you can send some bacon my way  I already have this group promised to a man from Shreveport, La. (provided I catch them). One note about the "Bacon" though. I realize most folks use the term "Bacon" synonymously with Pork/Hog, but most Feral Hogs (especially small ones) will have little or no bacon on them. They simply don't develop the fat reserves that domestic hogs do, also domestic hogs have been specifically bred to produce meat cuts of certain types. This genetic trait is quickly lost in Feral Hogs. But yes, if by "Bacon" you mean "Hog", you are more than welcome to some....next time I trap. Everyone's freezer is pretty much full around here.....and they have to be processed quickly....or they will spoil (in which case... the Coyotes and Buzzards get them). |
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Well…………pookie! That didn’t work out too well. Got busted this evening…..(my bad).
I was going to wait a couple more nights before trying to trap the latest group of hogs. I usually wait until they are comfortable going into the pen but…the weather forecast is for a West wind the next 4-5 days and that won’t work for my setup. Today would be my only chance. I set up a tree stand near the trap earlier today…so I could manually trip the trap doors when the greatest number of hogs enter. Everything was in place….so I went to the stand early (about 7:00 p.m.) determined to stay until midnight if need be. I wasn’t on stand 5 minutes when I heard pigs coming from the neighbor’s property. They were grunting and squealing the whole way. By the sound of it….they were coming at a trot and it was only a minute before I saw a black sow pop out from under the fence line. All the others were right behind her….with a small boar (about 140 lbs.) bringing up the rear. They quickly found the corn trail and started feeding toward the trap. Most of the group was near the opening… when the lead sow suddenly stopped, looked to the far end of the trap and then slowly started walking around the perimeter of it. I’m thinking….”what in the world is she looking at”? Then I spotted the object of her attention. When I dug a post hole inside the trap today (to put corn in), I left the post hole diggers leaning up against a panel at the far end (outside). OMG.....you big dummy! :eek: Naturally, when she got close to it…she got a snoot full of scent, woofed….and immediately started walking away. That upset the boar…so he started “growling” and pacing back and forth. Next….the whole group… except for 3 shoats walked away into the brush. Well….I figure they still might settle down and come back in…so I waited to see what would happen. Meantime, the three shoats that stayed... fed inside the trap. I thought the sound of them eating might entice the others to return. Instead, the lead sow chose to make a big circle of the area (trying to cut my scent trail). I could hear her walking behind me and sniffing the air. At that point…I knew the jig was up. Sure enough…she busted me, let out a woof…and ran. That startled the shoats that were in the trap… so they headed for the opening. I pulled the cord as quickly as I could, but one of them just made it out the doors before they closed. Unbelievable! I wound up with two piss-ant shoats and a group of hogs that probably won’t come back for quite some time….if at all. Entirely my fault. I was in a big hurry to get out of there today and left the PHD’s behind. That’s all it took. This is sad, just sad……….! :( 
And here is why you need to use 5’ tall panels on your pen trap. Even the little ones will jump and climb. 
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8-2-2010
Well….a little bit of redemption this evening. Spotted this young boar near the pond on my way to my stand this evening. I have no idea why he didn’t spot me before I spotted him. I was walking smack down the middle of a gravel road, literally in the bald open. I stopped for a moment to weigh my options then slipped off into the pines and worked my way closer. I had the wind in my favor and the pines for cover…so I was able to get within 80 yds. of him. I sat down next to a small pine and used it for a rest…then sent a 405 gr. soft point on its way. I left the hog there…figuring to retrieve it later. This hog has beautiful shiny black hair. 
Got to my stand about 6:30 p.m. I don’t know what the exact temperature was…but the surface of the sun probably wasn’t much hotter. Sheeeesh! No action until about 9:00 p.m. when I heard a group of hogs coming. Soon I could hear the sound of teeth crunching corn in the distance. An occasional grunt or squeal told me the hogs were relaxed and fighting over the corn. The hogs were still 50 yds. away and completely hidden by the brush and near darkness. I knew it would be awhile before they fed out into the open where I could light them up. So….I am sitting there…trying to gauge their position by the sound…when I think I see a dark blob moving down the logging road to my right. Before I can get my binoculars up to look…I hear a low…guttural…growling sound. Yup….its a hog alright…and a boar too. I let him close the distance to about 25 yds., then lit him up. He froze when the light hit him….which gave me plenty of time to shoot. He’s not the “Big Nasty” that I have pics of from the night before…but I’ll bet he was doing his share of breeding. Anyway, there are two less boars in the state of Texas tonight. 
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Quoted:
Nice kills flint! Sucks that you didn't get all of them in the trap, but there's one thing you can count on. There will be more!  Yeah, but its not over yet. The group is still coming in to the bait site daily, only now...I want them to be fairly undisturbed to see if I can get a crack at the larger boar that is with them (he won't be around long). If I can get the lead sow out of the group...I might still be able to trap the rest. She knows to circle the entire area before committing to feed BUT they still enter on the same path each evening. The trail they use goes under a fence line....so I'll place a snare at that location if it comes down to playing hardball. She's "going down" one way or another.
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Quoted:
Quoted:
Nice kills flint! Sucks that you didn't get all of them in the trap, but there's one thing you can count on. There will be more! Yeah, but its not over yet. The group is still coming in to the bait site daily, only now...I want them to be fairly undisturbed to see if I can get a crack at the larger boar that is with them (he won't be around long). If I can get the lead sow out of the group...I might still be able to trap the rest. She knows to circle the entire area before committing to feed BUT they still enter on the same path each evening. The trail they use goes under a fence line....so I'll place a snare at that location if it comes down to playing hardball. She's "going down" one way or another. Thanks for the updates I really enjoy checking this thread to see the progress. I want to hunt hogs real bad 
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I really like your large pen trap. I have dreamed of setting one up like that. Is that what they call horse panel? The picture where the pigs are by the door, is that a load out door for transferring to trailer pen or is that the drop door? How many panels were used in the pen?
I once caught 6 hogs in a open trap with combination cattle panels that was just one panel by one panel square. The little pigs could run up the backs of the others wedged in the corner and jump out the bigger holes. great pictures! I saw your pix on Texas hunting chat cool pix there! |
If ever there was a practical use for a RDIAS, this is it...
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Quoted:
I really like your large pen trap. I have dreamed of setting one up like that. Is that what they call horse panel? The picture where the pigs are by the door, is that a load out door for transferring to trailer pen or is that the drop door? How many panels were used in the pen? The panels are 4" X 4" squares, 60" tall and 16' long (utility panel at TSC). I use 5 (sometimes 6) panels to make a large open looking pen trap. The doors are "saloon" type doors that close via springs. |
Been after this “lead sow” for awhile now.
Finally caught up with her tonight. 
Not an old or large sow…but very smart nonetheless. I’ve been whittling down the herd over the last couple of weeks…but she has always managed to escape (by the skin of her teeth) each time. It was extremely hot here today (106 F.)…..so I figured the hogs would be out early (6-8 p.m.) headed for water, and then feed briefly. Sure enough…about 8:15, here comes what is left of the herd. They settle down on the corn placed in the road… and are feeding calmly. I am specifically after the sow…so I was looking for any good shot opportunity, but the hogs stayed bunched together despite the corn being spread out in a 20’ circle. The sow wouldn’t come to the front of the pack, she just lagged along at the rear…not giving me any kind of a clear shot. This goes on for about 15 minutes….and now the hogs have just about cleaned up all the corn. Then….just for a second…she moves to the edge of the herd. The sow was quartering away slightly…but that’s no problem for the SOCOM (405 gr. @ 1670 fps). I hurry to press the trigger before things change….and I’ll be danged if one of the other pigs doesn’t walk right in front of her….just as the trigger breaks. KaaaaBoom……! Both hogs go down. The hog that walked in front of the sow is on its side spinning around. The sow is just laying there…. not moving at all (DRT). Now… the first pig drags itself off the road and into the brush. I don’t hear anything else from it….so I assume its dead. (IT’S NOT). 
I give the rest of the group about an hour to come back (sometimes they do), but nothing shows. I got down to go remove the two hogs from the area…but the one hog is not there (well rats..!) I find a blood trail, follow it for about 100 yds…but I can hear the hog staying just out ahead of me in the thick brush. Decided to just back out…wait until morning (not push the animal) and see what I can find (if the Coyotes don’t find it first). Everyone knows….I truly hate hogs…and will kill them on sight, but I dislike having one wounded. It was just a matter of bad “timing” for the bugger. I’ll track it down tomorrow. Flint. |
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Edit: Update….didn’t have to follow last nights blood trail too much farther to find the second hog. Coyotes made it easy for me to drag the carcass out.
They had eaten the entire rear portion….up to the rib cage. 
They must not have found it until late last night; usually there would be nothing left by morning. Now…if I can just trap the remaining six shoats….this group will be gone. Pesky hogs! |
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Quoted: looks like a good opportunity to get some coyotes, they would be coming back to finish the pig "buffet" I agree... sounds like it's time to string up what's left... have a seat... and wait for the yotes to come a runnin! Great thread! I know you hate hogs... but ya gotta love pork! :-D David |
