Posted: 6/24/2015 9:12:44 PM EDT
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Saw an ad on Cl for hog hunting in PA. I live in upstate NY and hog hunting has always sounded fun and didn't realize I could do it fairly close. I looked at the pictures on their site http://happyhollowhunting.com/ I tried to find reviews someplace but couldn't . After talking to a well off friend who does different hunts all over the world I decided to go for it. It was 150 acres that was fenced in, he said that would be room enough to have a fun hunt.
They had a "deal" going $450 for a hog hunt. I talked a co worker into going with me. While booking the trip I asked about getting a bigger hog like in some of the pictures. He said he could do that but it would be somewhere in the $600 range. I figured I was only doing this one time so what the hell. We get there the night before and get squared away and off to bed. In the morning we see the fences and a bunch of deer kicking around and such. After a nice breakfast we set out on the "hunt". On the short ride over the guide "owners son" asks who's getting the trophy hog? I said it was me. He says try not to shoot it in the head, as it was a beauty and I may want to have it mounted. I was kinda stoked at that point. We park at a gate and set out. After a short 20 min or so walk down a hill, we saw some deer and elk, it was a nice area. We come up to a hill that comes out of the woods and into a field, at that point I saw the dad on a 4 wheeler and said to my friend that's where the pigs are. Sure enough they were beaded down in that area. The guide says be careful they have no fear and will turn and run right after you without hesitation. He then has to go down the hill 3 different times and try to stir the 2 hogs up because all they want to do is nap. Once they stood up the first time I said to my friend "there are farm hogs" not any sort of boar. I asked him what he wanted to do and he said we might as well get the meat we paid for. I shot and killed mine with 1 shot, he is a poor shot, he hit his on the first try but it got back up and he ended up chasing his around for 30 mins and shooting it 4 times. They got them in the truck and the son took off for the butcher. We were taken back to change and rushed off to the butchers to meet the son,(we had to drag the owner with us) I was bummend and annoyed at that point but didn't know what to say or do so I just kinda sucked it up and kept my mouth shut. We were taken on a short walk and then up a hill to shoot a farmers pigs in a field . They had them in the easiest spot to collect and put in the truck and it was very obvious. The owner talked us in to tipping his guide son and leaves us at the scary butchers place. After leaving the meat to cool for a hour and half we come back for everything. The butcher really got a laugh over our "hog hunt' My hog was beyond fat and that was a joke as well. They roughly quartered it up for us and we packed everything in ice and got ready to leave. I was quoted $50 each from the guide, The butcher wanted $125 each when he was done. I didn't argue at that point I was beyond pissed and bumed. We paid and set off for the 5 hour trip home. I emailed the owner on the way home and called him when I got home. I told him how pissed I was. He blamed everything on the butcher. I said I am not a seasoned hunter but I am not a NYC Rube, and that's what we were treated like. The next day I called him back and again I told him how unhappy I was. He would only agree to send me back $50 each for the butcher screwing us. It was a sad lesson to learn, and really makes me never want to do it again. I want to try to put reviews anyplace I can find so nobody else gets sucked in. My "trophy hog" 
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I'd invite the man into their life.
I don't know anything about Pennsylvania, but here a guide has to register and get a liceanse from the Department of Wildlife. So its likely they are legally wrong for running a scam, or for not being a proper licensed guide. On the bright side, the meat you have will probably taste better than a wild boar. |
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I've been to a canned hunt in Tennessee, but they had real wild boars. Advertised as 1000 acres fenced and that was fine until you find out it is subdivided into many smaller sections. You literally could not go there and kill unless you just didn't want to. I'd rather go out for a real hunt and maybe come back empty handed instead of going to kill a hog in a pen. |
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Man, that gave me a chuckle, that hog just looks so hog like... Sorry bud. You got screwed and I really can't believe the audacity of that guy to try and sell a "guided hunt".
Post your review everywhere you can, especially local forums and the surrounding states local forums. Fuck that guy. |
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Quoted:
Hog hunting in PA immediately sent up red flags and predicted the rest of the story before I read it. Sorry for the let down and the money spent.  Agreed. There aren't feral hogs in PA except for a few that escaped some farms and fenced hunting grounds. Fortunately they haven't exploded like they did in the south. ETA: The last time I checked you're not even allowed to hunt the feral hogs. The game commission has that contracted out. 
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Sadly I really do plan on writing as many letters and reviews as possible. I was thinking the BBB and possibly the AG even.
Its not so much the money, however I feel responsible for inviting my coworker, and neither one of us are rolling in money. Mostly its about being lied to, and treated like a rube. Which in the end I guess I was. |
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I've researched more hog hunts than I can remember, all in Texas and Oklahoma, and all but one of them were high fenced hunts. Most offer a free range hunt but encourage hunters to choose the fenced in hunt by setting very low success rates for the free range hunts and very high success rates for the fenced hunts. They know when they charge that much money to hunt/shoot a hog, most people won't risk going home empty handed. They continually restock the fenced areas with hogs, condition them to come to the feeders at specific times and then put hunters in the areas they know the hogs will very likely go to feed. The hunter sits there for a few hours and when it's time the hogs roll in. The hunter feels like he got lucky but there's no luck involved, just a little smoke and mirrors.
Unfortunately, I'm like many folks and don't have access to anywhere to hunt so if I want to hog hunt, I have to go through one of these places. However, since I can't afford to pay those kinds of prices and have a very low chance of bringing a lot of meat and I'm not paying anyone for the privilege of walking into their hog pen and shooting a pig, I've chosen not to play. It still rubs me wrong that these hogs are captured from around the state, purchased and then stocked into these high fence areas (many very small) and then sold as wild/feral hog hunts. I have no doubt there are legitimate free range hog hunts out there but I've only seen one and the prices were obscene. It's too bad hog hunting has become more about profit than eradicating the hogs. |
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Quoted:
I've researched more hog hunts than I can remember, all in Texas and Oklahoma, and all but one of them were high fenced hunts. Most offer a free range hunt but encourage hunters to choose the fenced in hunt by setting very low success rates for the free range hunts and very high success rates for the fenced hunts. They know when they charge that much money to hunt/shoot a hog, most people won't risk going home empty handed. They continually restock the fenced areas with hogs, condition them to come to the feeders at specific times and then put hunters in the areas they know the hogs will very likely go to feed. The hunter sits there for a few hours and when it's time the hogs roll in. The hunter feels like he got lucky but there's no luck involved, just a little smoke and mirrors. Unfortunately, I'm like many folks and don't have access to anywhere to hunt so if I want to hog hunt, I have to go through one of these places. However, since I can't afford to pay those kinds of prices and have a very low chance of bringing a lot of meat and I'm not paying anyone for the privilege of walking into their hog pen and shooting a pig, I've chosen not to play. It still rubs me wrong that these hogs are captured from around the state, purchased and then stocked into these high fence areas (many very small) and then sold as wild/feral hog hunts. I have no doubt there are legitimate free range hog hunts out there but I've only seen one and the prices were obscene. It's too bad hog hunting has become more about profit than eradicating the hogs. That is really unfortunate, but I guess is to be had in a free market economy. The Romans had a saying 2000 years ago that still holds true..."Caveat Emptor" or let the buyer beware. |
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Need to make your way down this way. There are plenty of hunters on this board that guide hunts on open, not high fenced places down here. Many with nv and thermal. No trophy fees or cleaning fees either. I wish I could afford it, I would be there in a heartbeat. |
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Guided hunts aren't even needed in Texas. We have hogs everywhere... literally 300 yards out of my subdivision we have hogs.
I hunt for the "cheap" meat, not to kill something, so $600 for 150 lbs of hog meat and a guide doesn't add up for me. I've gotten 3 hogs processed for about 450lbs totaling $350 dollars at the processor, which could be lower if I didn't get smoked sausage. Now that adds up. |
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Guided hunts aren't even needed in Texas. We have hogs everywhere... literally 300 yards out of my subdivision we have hogs. I hunt for the "cheap" meat, not to kill something, so $600 for 150 lbs of hog meat and a guide doesn't add up for me. I've gotten 3 hogs processed for about 450lbs totaling $350 dollars at the processor, which could be lower if I didn't get smoked sausage. Now that adds up. I may have to come down there. I went in New Mexico last year to a place that the locals said "there are hogs everywhere" and we say Elk, Turkey, Deer, basically everything but hogs. |
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Unless you have a friend with some land to hunt, do yourself a favor and get a guide. In Tx there is very limited public hunting. Then what is available is well hunted over. A guide usually has a lease or 2. There are a few on this forum that would take you out for far less than what you paid. No guarantee on getting a big but some will discount if you do not have an opportunity. I went down on an invite and we hunted pretty hard for 2 and a half days. Lots of fresh sign, no love pigs. Went out with a guide and were on pigs in an hour. Had 3 chances at hogs. Dropped one good boar. Not the guides fault we could not hit em. I say go for it. I want to go back but just have not been able to swing it. Will in the future though.
Good hunting. |
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Quoted:
I've researched more hog hunts than I can remember, all in Texas and Oklahoma, and all but one of them were high fenced hunts. Most offer a free range hunt but encourage hunters to choose the fenced in hunt by setting very low success rates for the free range hunts and very high success rates for the fenced hunts. They know when they charge that much money to hunt/shoot a hog, most people won't risk going home empty handed. They continually restock the fenced areas with hogs, condition them to come to the feeders at specific times and then put hunters in the areas they know the hogs will very likely go to feed. The hunter sits there for a few hours and when it's time the hogs roll in. The hunter feels like he got lucky but there's no luck involved, just a little smoke and mirrors. Unfortunately, I'm like many folks and don't have access to anywhere to hunt so if I want to hog hunt, I have to go through one of these places. However, since I can't afford to pay those kinds of prices and have a very low chance of bringing a lot of meat and I'm not paying anyone for the privilege of walking into their hog pen and shooting a pig, I've chosen not to play. It still rubs me wrong that these hogs are captured from around the state, purchased and then stocked into these high fence areas (many very small) and then sold as wild/feral hog hunts. I have no doubt there are legitimate free range hog hunts out there but I've only seen one and the prices were obscene. It's too bad hog hunting has become more about profit than eradicating the hogs. Go hunt them on public land |
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Quoted:
Unless you have a friend with some land to hunt, do yourself a favor and get a guide. In Tx there is very limited public hunting. Then what is available is well hunted over. A guide usually has a lease or 2. There are a few on this forum that would take you out for far less than what you paid. No guarantee on getting a big but some will discount if you do not have an opportunity. I went down on an invite and we hunted pretty hard for 2 and a half days. Lots of fresh sign, no love pigs. Went out with a guide and were on pigs in an hour. Had 3 chances at hogs. Dropped one good boar. Not the guides fault we could not hit em. I say go for it. I want to go back but just have not been able to swing it. Will in the future though. Good hunting. There still large tracts of public hunting land with wild hogs on them open to the public do some research find them and go try |
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I've researched more hog hunts than I can remember, all in Texas and Oklahoma, and all but one of them were high fenced hunts. Most offer a free range hunt but encourage hunters to choose the fenced in hunt by setting very low success rates for the free range hunts and very high success rates for the fenced hunts. They know when they charge that much money to hunt/shoot a hog, most people won't risk going home empty handed. They continually restock the fenced areas with hogs, condition them to come to the feeders at specific times and then put hunters in the areas they know the hogs will very likely go to feed. The hunter sits there for a few hours and when it's time the hogs roll in. The hunter feels like he got lucky but there's no luck involved, just a little smoke and mirrors. Unfortunately, I'm like many folks and don't have access to anywhere to hunt so if I want to hog hunt, I have to go through one of these places. However, since I can't afford to pay those kinds of prices and have a very low chance of bringing a lot of meat and I'm not paying anyone for the privilege of walking into their hog pen and shooting a pig, I've chosen not to play. It still rubs me wrong that these hogs are captured from around the state, purchased and then stocked into these high fence areas (many very small) and then sold as wild/feral hog hunts. I have no doubt there are legitimate free range hog hunts out there but I've only seen one and the prices were obscene. It's too bad hog hunting has become more about profit than eradicating the hogs. Did you forget about my place? You IM'ed me a few times. $150 for two hogs is obscene? |
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Sadly I really do plan on writing as many letters and reviews as possible. I was thinking the BBB and possibly the AG even. Its not so much the money, however I feel responsible for inviting my coworker, and neither one of us are rolling in money. Mostly its about being lied to, and treated like a rube. Which in the end I guess I was. Need to change your screen name to... Rubeisleaking$$$$$ 
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Need to change your screen name to... Rubeisleaking$$$$$
No shit..been almost a week and still eating at me Quoted:
Quoted:
Sadly I really do plan on writing as many letters and reviews as possible. I was thinking the BBB and possibly the AG even. Its not so much the money, however I feel responsible for inviting my coworker, and neither one of us are rolling in money. Mostly its about being lied to, and treated like a rube. Which in the end I guess I was. Need to change your screen name to... Rubeisleaking$$$$$
No shit..been almost a week and still eating at me |
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Sorry it didn't turn out the way you expected.
Even here in Florida where we have a lot of wild hogs many of the so called hog hunting operations are just guaranteed canned hunts. Several here are no more than 30 acres of fenced area with trapped hogs brought in weekly where the only source of food are corn feeders set to go off every few hours. They just put you in a blind in front of the feeder and wait for the feeder to go off. Hogs have no choice but to go to feed at the feeder. As my dad used to say, that ain't hunting, that's just killin. BTW. Nice rifle! I have one too and it's one of my two favorite hog gun. |
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Lesson learned the hard way, make sure you find a well reviewed place next time I guess. 150 acres is smalllllll. But, that being said, the more real the hunt, the more likely you are to go home empty handed. I've thought about taking people on paid hunts before but I always torpedo the idea. It basically boils down to hours and hours of boredom with about 15 seconds of sheer ultra-violence. Everyone just wants to skip to the ultra-violence... |