Hunting & Fishing Hog Eradication --Financially Worth It?

[Strykervet]

Okay so not hunting but I figure this is the best place to put it.

My buddy seems to think there's a fortune in hunting pigs. I told him it ain't that simple, it never is.

But I looked it up and there's a lot of scams on CL regarding paying someone to teach you how to trap dozens at once and that tells me one thing: there's money somewhere.

So what's the deal? I want the money. I have the shit to make it happen, some hunting experience and I know how to setup a baited killzone.

Texas I guess is where it's at, yeah? Oh, not a tourist so not interested in paying someone for tours, helicopters or shit like that. I need a farmer in trouble who wants a problem taken care of. I heard it was like that but if it's impossible for anyone but the hucksters to make a buck then fuck it.

 

[stello1001]

What are you going to do with the dozens of pigs that you kill if the farmer doesn't want them dead on his/her land?

 

[Strykervet]

Well apparently the idea is that you sell the meat.

I find a few companies but mostly it's all scams or just someone selling hunting time. I'm guessing the problem works like this, tell me if I'm wrong:

Hogs are causing damage but they're not actually cutting into the farmer's crops right? Don't they write off damages? I know so much of that grain belongs to the government. Then there's insurance. So are they just using this "crisis" as another greedy fucking scam? Writing it off on one end and selling hunting rights on the other? I've lived on a ranch so I sorta have an idea of how it works but I could be wrong and don't know all the details.

 

[powdahound76]

There is a MeatEater episode about it.

on netflix

 

[Bradu]

There is a MeatEater episode about it.

on netflix

If that is the show I'm thinking of, it's pretty informative about the trapping and goes into what to use for bait?

 

[Codiekfx400]

You are underestimating the farmers. If it was that easy the farmers would be taking care of it themselves.

 

[powdahound76]

@Bradu - yes it is.
The guy Steve was following has a “sauce” bait with corn he uses.

kinda simple pens and a trailer to collect the hogs live.
sells em to a local butcher.

I like @Mike Casselton pics last week of cooking a whole small hog on his Rectec smoker. Cant remember if it was Whats your View or Nom Nom in the Pit.
He was out on a hunt I think.

 

[mistergunner]

I lived and hunted in Texas for many years. Every rancher or farmer in the state will whine and complain about the hogs but none of them will allow you to hunt hogs on their land without paying them for it.

 

[buffalowinter]

 

[bachelorjack]

Real talk.

There is more $$ in FL shooting Iguana’s. I will most likely be back there next winter doing it again.

Because FL is a nice place to spend the winter but the summer there is too damn hot for my hairy ass. Otherwise you could do it all year...

 

[AIAW]

I lived and hunted in Texas for many years. Every rancher or farmer in the state will whine and complain about the hogs but none of them will allow you to hunt hogs on their land without paying them for it.

Pretty much this right here. Everyone bitches, but they want to charge you or they restrict you to areas you'd never want to hunt anyhow. You can luck up and find the occasional friend of a friend that invites you out for a slaughter-fest for free, but they usually want to keep the meat.

Profiting from it though I'm afraid is not worth the effort though.

 

[Snuby642]

Inundated with hogs, yes in some places. Giving them away, no.

It's a cash crop, even if messing up crops, fences and roads.

Yes, have seen maintained ranch roads wiped out by what started as a mud puddle turn into a tank trap a 4x4 jeep wih big tires had to go around.

And the invite to shoot them up? Nope.

They were 50 cents a pound delivered live last I checked.
Dead not marketable.

Good luck in hog heaven.

 

[Snuby642]

In fact have a friend of my wife that has a very large ranch with abundant hogs that cause repetitive damage and still trying to smooze my way to shoot one.

The big hog lie.

 

[hlee]

Yep, cash crop. The land we lease for deer hunting looks like the land owner took a root plow to the whole thing. But, land owners are still charging for access to hunt pigs.

Pigs are smart too and will change their habits when they feel hunting pressure. You could probably trap a good group, once. The pigs that didn't get caught wouldn't easily fall for it twice. As mentioned above, a dead pig ain't worth anything as many game processors won't take them, and a certified feral pig slaughtering facility will take only live pigs.

Pig hunting as a hobby? Not worth the effort to me. Pig hunting as a job? I don't think I'd make enough to pay for gas, and that's assuming I could find someone that wasn't looking to get rich on their "ecological disaster..."

 

[shields shtr]

I go down every year and schwack my fair share. Got to know a couple landowners and they are happy to have us. I come back with the best barbecue meat you could ask for and can't wait to do it again. I have never heard of anyone making money at it, other than a few select YouTubers who seem to put a pretty good dent in em.

 

[Maxduty]

Pretty much the same here in Oklahoma. They (farmers) all complain about the damage, but won't let anyone hunt them. If you can find a way in, it'll be for pay. They even frown upon hunting them on public land here. I had a GW tell me if anyone from the state ever asks, tell em I'm hunting coyotes. It's less likely I'll get asked to leave.

 

[Smokin7s]

We have them in Oklahoma and there is no money in removal because billy and Ricky can hunt them three nights with a thermal and they’ll be gone for months, and it’s so much fun to do yourself why would you pay someone?

I think now that we’ve had them for a decade and the big “gonna ruin my entire farm” scare us over people are realizing they’re decently easy to manage or have somebody manage for free. 8-9 years ago when farmers thought that they’d completely take over, maybe there was money to be made then. Now you just call your local hillbillies and they come have a few night shoots and they’ll stay away for a while. Very sensitive to hunting pressure.

 

[Blutroop]

The meat is better if you cage em and feed em for a week or two.

 

[Mike Casselton]

@Bradu - yes it is.
The guy Steve was following has a “sauce” bait with corn he uses.

kinda simple pens and a trailer to collect the hogs live.
sells em to a local butcher.

I like @Mike Casselton pics last week of cooking a whole small hog on his Rectec smoker. Cant remember if it was Whats your View or Nom Nom in the Pit.
He was out on a hunt I think.

I picked that little sow out of 9 that were nibbling on the corn.
Could have shot a nice big boar, but that sow was perfect for the smoker.

5 hours in and about to get wrapped.

This was the end result after a low, slow 200* 10 hour smoke.

Yeah it looks like a creepy alien, but, damn, with a touch of peach BBQ sauce, it's heaven.

And yes, I picked at it before bringing it inside...?

 

[shields shtr]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
That really gave me some inspiration!

 

[Deleted member 10043]

 

[HeavyAssault]

Real talk.

There is more $$ in FL shooting Iguana’s. I will most likely be back there next winter doing it again.

Because FL is a nice place to spend the winter but the summer there is too damn hot for my hairy ass. Otherwise you could do it all year...

Seems as all you really need is a shovel...LOL

 

[TACC]

We can only hope

 

[niteshooter]

The short answer: no, not really.

Some people do profit a little guiding hunting parties here and there.
But I have yet to here of anybody putting their kids through college on hog hunting.

As far as crop damage. Lots of places get more damage from whitetail deer but those are sacred so we can’t go there.

 

[Arc Light]

You could spend $500K on a helicopter and run a helo hunt? They look pretty damn fun on Youtube

 

[stello1001]

Pigs are smart too and will change their habits when they feel hunting pressure. You could probably trap a good group, once. The pigs that didn't get caught wouldn't easily fall for it twice. As mentioned above, a dead pig ain't worth anything as many game processors won't take them, and a certified feral pig slaughtering facility will take only live pigs.

I can't stress that enough. At least in my experiences. I have spent hundreds and hundreds of hours over the years trying kill a damn pig but I just can't.

We've had them regularly on cameras, mostly nocturnal but every now and then during daytime. Not a problem I said. I'll just go to the deer blind for the afternoon hunt and instead of leaving when the sun goes down, I'll stay there all night. That was my thought process. I spent many many nights inside the deer blind with feeders about 50 yards away. I can definitely hear them if they are there eating corn, the white dirt/lime road makes their dark silhouette really pop through the scope.

However, every time I'm in the blind, it's almost like they know. I am literally as still as possible and as quiet as possible, yet they don't show up. I remember Christmas day of 2017, we had them on camera since about 7ish AM til dark. I'm pretty sure they knew we were back home with family so they were out feeding on corn all day.

These suckers are very conscious and play it smart. With other people though, completely opposite. Some say they have even ran them over with their trucks because there's so many of them and they just pop out of the brush as they're driving by. I'm curious what one would do to outsmart them. I'd still like to harvest one some time.

 

[MallNinja243]

There are literally thousands of land owners here in South Texas that complain about feral hogs. They complain about the decimation from them and how financially destructive they are in the rice and wheat. You ask to hunt them and they suddenly become pets. For the prices they want to shoot pigs, the population will keep growing and so will the amount of people bitching.

 

[Snuby642]

Have bought on sale pork loins less than 2$ a lb and pork butts 1.19 and ribs for under 2$.

The prices for Feral hog hunting don't make sense.
Let the destruction continue.

 

[PO3JDA]

Best hog bait ive ever heard of is corn soaked in diesel. I'm not a hunter but ive heard several people swear by it

 

[Aescobar17]

I can't stress that enough. At least in my experiences. I have spent hundreds and hundreds of hours over the years trying kill a damn pig but I just can't.

We've had them regularly on cameras, mostly nocturnal but every now and then during daytime. Not a problem I said. I'll just go to the deer blind for the afternoon hunt and instead of leaving when the sun goes down, I'll stay there all night. That was my thought process. I spent many many nights inside the deer blind with feeders about 50 yards away. I can definitely hear them if they are there eating corn, the white dirt/lime road makes their dark silhouette really pop through the scope.

However, every time I'm in the blind, it's almost like they know. I am literally as still as possible and as quiet as possible, yet they don't show up. I remember Christmas day of 2017, we had them on camera since about 7ish AM til dark. I'm pretty sure they knew we were back home with family so they were out feeding on corn all day.

These suckers are very conscious and play it smart. With other people though, completely opposite. Some say they have even ran them over with their trucks because there's so many of them and they just pop out of the brush as they're driving by. I'm curious what one would do to outsmart them. I'd still like to harvest one some time.

Theyre not that smart. Ill kill the same group 3 times in one night in the same spot. The only reason we dont kill them a 4th is 3 is usually more than enough to wipe them out. Occasionally well get lucky and wipe out the entire sounder on the first go of it, and two hours later do it again. Weve hit up to 8 different sounders on the same field in the same night. It sure does make for a good time.

 

[Aescobar17]

I lived and hunted in Texas for many years. Every rancher or farmer in the state will whine and complain about the hogs but none of them will allow you to hunt hogs on their land without paying them for it.

Its not that they dont wont let people kill hogs for free. Its that they dont know you well enough to trust you turned loose on their property yet, or they know you well enough to not trust you turned loose on their property.

 

[99106]

If you want to see a commercial example google Jaeger Pro out of Georgia. If you want to have a memorable hunt then signup with the company they sold their guiding business to and do a thermal night hog hunt for some high speed lead poisoning exercise. It takes training, landowner coordinaation and a lot of sleepless nights to run a full blown operation, not to mention the capital to get started. Depending on state you cannot sell the meat. You might be able to donate but you would have to have a dedicated processor. Best hog sauce is powdered grape or cherry Koolaid. Soured corn or the diesel works too but the diesel thing isn't enviro friendly.

 

[newguy2k3v2]

Its not that they dont wont let people kill hogs for free. Its that they dont know you well enough to trust you turned loose on their property yet, or they know you well enough to not trust you turned loose on their property.

Exactly!!

As litigious as our society is nowadays you'd be stupid as a landowner with hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars worth of property to turn any yahoo who asks loose. Then said yahoo has an accident and sues you, sends a round into the neighbor's property and they sue you, or any number of things.

I really doubt there is much $$ to be made killing and trapping hogs when you factor equipment, gas, time etc. Cell cams definitely help out if you can get there quickly and quietly. If you don't have a cell cam on your traps there are a lot of dry runs spent checking and rebaiting them.

 

[diggler1833]

Howdy!

I'm a rancher, who eradicates hogs on my place as well as five other properties in the close area. This is what I can tell you about trying to gain access from a local perspective here:

Forget trying to make money killing hogs for people (saw that posted somewhere). Too many dudes running around that are willing to do the same thing for free.

Don't waste your time on a rancher who wants to charge you to kill hogs on their property either...let their greedy asses deal with rooting damage.

Don't expect ranchers to let you run right in the middle of their cattle with your AR. That takes trust. I suggest that you explain to the landowner that you will accept responsibility for any errant shots. My calves are $1K/ea, replacement cows $1,500, and bulls run me $5K. Don't want to cough up that kind of coin because a cow snuck into the background when you are blasting away at a runner?...Then don't hunt. My other landowners are my friends...and I still explain my financial/ethical responsibility to them.

I also suggest uploading some videos to YouTube or whatever. That way you have a reference to show perspective landowners. I'm not letting you on my land just because you have a bump helmet, suppressor, and some cool-ass patches/stickers...I'm letting you on because I know that the $300K in cattle that I have standing around out here at night is safe, not including my house, shop, and equipment.

If you want to get into this, then try to make some friends with a few dudes who do this also. Like many other things, getting your feet wet is the hardest part.

Best of luck.

 

[TheDalmore]

Real talk.

There is more $$ in FL shooting Iguana’s. I will most likely be back there next winter doing it again.

Because FL is a nice place to spend the winter but the summer there is too damn hot for my hairy ass. Otherwise you could do it all year...

I saw an article on that recently. They were paying $30+ for each iguana and golf courses were saying they are overrun by herds of them. Not sure if herds would be the correct terminology for a group of iguanas but I’m going with it. Anyway, made me want to grab a gun, a can, and a bunch of ammo and bounce down to Florida for a bit!

 

[shields shtr]

I suggest that you explain to the landowner that you will accept responsibility for any errant shots. My calves are $1K/ea, replacement cows $1,500, and bulls run me $5K. Don't want to cough up that kind of coin because a cow snuck into the background when you are blasting away at a runner?...Then don't hunt.

^^^^^^This. I let the landowners know I will take responsibility for any errant shot, and I am willing to put it in writing if I need to. Shooting hogs, especially at night, can get really hectic in a very short period of time. I have not had any incidents, but, I can totally see how it could happen for sure. Half the fun is stalking around them if possible to try and get them in a spot that takes away all risk, and gets the hogs in a spot that allows you to shoot at them for any extended period of time. That RARELY happens in the areas I go, you probably realistically have about 10 seconds to get as many as you can. The more I hunt them, the more I realize sometimes the juice just isn't worth the squeeze if there are cattle or structures around, so you just wait until another time when it is more opportune.

 

[SkyScrapin]

Hogs .. they’re abundant and if you are polite and sincere in Texas, you will get an opportunity to kill as many as the heart desires. It takes time and trust.

Profitability .. LOL. You’ll spend as much as you make, if not more. The profit I could envision is the NV leasing model that UNV has setup; not the hunt or meat. If you’re hunting trophy boars with dogs and knives, perhaps a different model @ $500-1000 per animal. Even still that shit can take days of work even in a high fence property which diminishes margins yet again unless you have offspring who are capable workers (free labor).

 

[Bigfatcock]

I have a family that comes and traps hogs off of my property. After a couple of trapping sessions, they usually disappear for 6 months.

 

[NFAJohn]

Forget trying to make money killing hogs for people (saw that posted somewhere). Too many dudes running around that are willing to do the same thing for free.

Couldn’t agree more! I’m more than willing to roll around for free zapping pigs in the dark. It started with killing pigs over rice fields during planting time, but getting into a cattle ranch was a real trick. Cows ain’t cheap and people can be irresponsible. I finally got hooked into a cattle ranch last month and it’s been a lot of fun.

Building a level of trust with the land owner was honestly the hardest part of the deal, but with a little effort it’s working out well. I took a 1/2 day off from work and came down in the day time and rode the property with the rancher. I made notes about the locations of barn, houses in the distance ect, but the question that he really wanted answered was how can you tell a pig from a calf? We talked it over and when we got back to the truck I powered up the halo and let the rancher look around. That was the final piece that got me on the property.

I thermal hunt several properties, but when we take clients for work it’s always through a guide service. The amount of capital involved in setting up a legit outfit (halos, trijicon mk3, rovir, psv14s ect ect ) is steep as shit and what I’ve found is that most of the guys running outfits are gun shop owners or friends of gun shop owners trying to recoup the cost of buying the demo units at the end of the year. Nothing wrong with that, but I’m yet to meet an outfitter that running thermal hunts as a full time gig.

The meat market in town buys them live, but they wise up to traps pretty fast so I’d think you’d need more property to trap successfully than to thermal hunt.

More power to you if you can turn a dollar off of it, but breaking even or just having a good time seems to been the norm. It does open the door to opportunities to deer hunt some neat property....for a fee of course because they may hate deer too, but they damn sure won’t let you kill them for free.

 

[Cjt1983]

Most of the money is in selling to high fence places.

 

[eastexsteve]

As both a hunter and a land owner, it's a real pain in the a$$ to let hunters on to your property. To start with, these days you have to carry liability insurance, or make sure they do so they can't sue you if they fall out of a tree and break something, or see a snake and shoot themselves in the foot. If you are carrying insurance on your dime, that means you are going to have to charge them. And, if you charge them, the state of Texas considers you to be running a hunting lease, and you will have to buy a license from the state to do that. And, not to mention the original hunter who finally convinces you to let him hunt your property will inevitably show up with his son, neighbor, drinking buddy, etc. assuming you won't mind since it won't happen on a regular basis. And, next year you will catch some stranger on your place hunting, at which time he will drop the name of a friend of they guy you originally let hunt, and tell you: "My buddy said it was OK to hunt here, just to tell you I was a friend of his." And, don't even get me started on ATVs.

The few years I did lease out to hunters I charged 20 bucks per acre. Believe me, it still wasn't enough to put up with the BS, so I just don't do it anymore.

 

[bubbaokie]

some of you boys have warped taste buds...LOL
coyotes, as a rule, won't eat them till they lay out for 2-3 days...maybe I've been picking them up too quick. They'll stink the maggots off a gut wagon.

 

[Snuby642]

Properly cared for wild hog from the Texas hill country tastes just fine.

Our place has enough natural feed that the hogs have enough fat for sausage making without adding any.

Imho