Texas wild hog hunting help

[v0lcom13sn0w]

He's a friend of Matt's. Another good idea!!

idk maybe on his youtube page or googan squad page theres an email? worth a shot. its easy to find out where they live. not to sound like a stalker but i was lookin at both matt and robs house on google earth not too long ago... was bored.

 

[Dallas Ken]

I did some fine Javelina hunting around Del Rio Texas many years ago.....Mohair Goat ranches would welcome you to hunt back then as they terrorized the goats during birthing.

 

[BillGabby1]

After watching many of the "Heli hunts" videos, I've come to the conclusion, they aren't "Hunts"
They are aerial slaughter nothing more!
Nothing in my upbringing about fair chase even distantly would call what they do a hunt.
The chopper pilots know exactly where the hogs hang out and go from one bunch to the next almost as if and maybe they do, have them plotted in their GPS. Some also look to be equipped with full auto firearms, furnished by the guide service.
Those hunts conducted on the ground follow fair chase much better.
I'm not particularly sqeamish, but after watching several of those chopper videos, I was a little nauseated.
I've been up to my shoulders in the guts of elk with no problem because I had hunted him fairly.
Those night hunts use night vision sights and goggles to locate and shoot them, and the advantage definitely is to the shooter as the hogs can't see them in the dark.
I personally would feel like that was poaching like spotlighting which was illegal where I grew up.
Sitting in a blind over a pile of corn is about as bad, though it might be used to give confidence to a first time hunter with some benefit.
All that being said if the hogs are truly destroying a farmers crops go out and eradicate them but don't equate it to a real hunt. It's nothing but a shoot and nothing to brag about.

Going out and hunting for the trophy boar is laudable as is going out to get meat to feed your family.
Put on your camo and trip over the rattlers and kill your meat while dodging the prickly pear and Spanish Bayonet. That's HUNTING!
Gabby
my worth!
PS the meat is edible but wild hogs have parasites and you need to be careful processing it and cooking it. I'm pretty sure they can freeze and ship it most anywhere, do your homework.
If I were to look for a reputable guide service, I would start with a Google search for something like "Hog hunt guide service in Texas, Reviews"
Then I would discriminate the reviews if every one said how great Joe Blow guide service was, I would expect at least a few who didn't like something about him or the service / facilities or the cook. Too perfect reviews are suspect and raise a red flag for me.
Good luck.

 

[Kruel J]

I have a bead on a charter that was referred to me by someone. And although I agree with some of what you said, I see hogs no different as coyotes. Nuisance animals that need to be dispatched. So heli-hunting doesn't bother me. It would bother me HUGELY is folks were doing that to deer or elk.

 

[BillGabby1]

I have a bead on a charter that was referred to me by someone. And although I agree with some of what you said, I see hogs no different as coyotes. Nuisance animals that need to be dispatched. So heli-hunting doesn't bother me. It would bother me HUGELY is folks were doing that to deer or elk.

My point is & was shooting hogs or any other critter from a helicopter isn't "Hunting"
It's just shooting.
I give a coyote my respect as he is a difficult animal to kill without effort on my part because he truly is Wiley! If I connected on him I know I had to work for it. I've even trapped them as they were decimating the Antelope herds in northern AZ by killing the fawns. Once the herds recovered they were just hunted enough to keep the large packs under control, so they couldn't run the herds as hard.
Coyotes do a service by helping to keep the rodent populations under control, that and bugs are a large part of their diet, although they won't pass up a bird's nest if they find it.
Prairie dogs are vermin and the only challenge is hitting a small coke bottle shape at ridiculous distances. You are doing the rancher on whose property you hunt a service and you can brag about the one you got at 600 or 1000yds, nothing for the pot after they have been turned into strawberry jam splattered over a 20ft radius by a hiper-velocity bullet.
Been there done that too!
Gabby

 

[bbbass]

Ooooo, a one-thousand yard shot on a ground squirrel from a helicopter! Nice work if you can get it.

 

[BillGabby1]

Ooooo, a one-thousand yard shot on a ground squirrel from a helicopter! Nice work if you can get it.

Wise acre! LOL
I used to do those with my eyes closed looking over my shoulder in a mirror.

 

[Argonaut]

What bothers me about these subjects is the total hypocrisy of the various fish and game organizations about non indigenous species in general. Critters like Wild horses, Pheasants, Mallard ducks, Small Mouth Bass, Turkeys, Grey Wolves and countless others are protected and coveted while others are vilified and attempts are made to eradicate them. A little consistantsy would be nice.

 

[bbbass]

Wise acre! LOL
I used to do those with my eyes closed looking over my shoulder in a mirror.

While holding a beer in your shooting hand.

 

[bbbass]

What bothers me about these subjects is the total hypocrisy of the various fish and game organizations about non indigenous species in general. Critters like Wild horses, Pheasants, Mallard ducks, Small Mouth Bass, Turkeys, Grey Wolves and countless others are protected and coveted while others are vilified and attempts are made to eradicate them. A little consistantsy would be nice.

KILL THEM ALL!!!

I've done my share...

 

[Kruel J]

What bothers me about these subjects is the total hypocrisy of the various fish and game organizations about non indigenous species in general. Critters like Wild horses, Pheasants, Mallard ducks, Small Mouth Bass, Turkeys, Grey Wolves and countless others are protected and coveted while others are vilified and attempts are made to eradicate them. A little consistantsy would be nice.

I agree. But wild hogs are over populated by exponential amounts over the species you listed. And do nothing but damage crops along with being aggressive.

 

[DirectDrive]

With the 6.8 being the Unofficial Hog Cartridge, 68 Forums usually has a lot of hog talk.
Wild River Ranch is often mentioned.
Best Hog Hunting Ranch in Texas

 

[Kruel J]

Stasney hunting

This is the one I was referred to by an experienced hunter and true patriot. Ted spoke highly of them. Yeah, that Ted.

 

[Kruel J]

With the 6.8 being the Unofficial Hog Cartridge, 68 Forums usually has a lot of hog talk.
Wild River Ranch is often mentioned.
Best Hog Hunting Ranch in Texas

I'll check them out. Although I'll be slamming hogs with a .300BLK.

 

[MJD]

My point is & was shooting hogs or any other critter from a helicopter isn't "Hunting"
It's just shooting.
I give a coyote my respect as he is a difficult animal to kill without effort on my part because he truly is Wiley! If I connected on him I know I had to work for it. I've even trapped them as they were decimating the Antelope herds in northern AZ by killing the fawns. Once the herds recovered they were just hunted enough to keep the large packs under control, so they couldn't run the herds as hard.
Coyotes do a service by helping to keep the rodent populations under control, that and bugs are a large part of their diet, although they won't pass up a bird's nest if they find it.
Prairie dogs are vermin and the only challenge is hitting a small coke bottle shape at ridiculous distances. You are doing the rancher on whose property you hunt a service and you can brag about the one you got at 600 or 1000yds, nothing for the pot after they have been turned into strawberry jam splattered over a 20ft radius by a hiper-velocity bullet.
Been there done that too!
Gabby

I get what you're saying and agree with the spirit of it. I worked in forestry in Louisiana for 8 years and spent a lot of time in the woods. Hogs are a menace and destructive to the habitat of all our favorite game animals as well as crops and other land use. Aggressive and constant management is needed to curtail their population and spread, although realistically, we can't do it. Agreed that it isn't fair chase hunting, but then again, neither is the majority of the deer hunting below the Mason Dixon line with baiting and feeding being legal.

 

[BillGabby1]

What bothers me about these subjects is the total hypocrisy of the various fish and game organizations about non indigenous species in general. Critters like Wild horses, Pheasants, Mallard ducks, Small Mouth Bass, Turkeys, Grey Wolves and countless others are protected and coveted while others are vilified and attempts are made to eradicate them. A little consistantsy would be nice.

The only
consistency in the human animal is its very lack there of.
That being said look up the damage hogs do to the ecosystem.
They don't have a predator besides man that can control their population, especially since most of those predators don't do well where man is in charge, where would cougars and wolves live in a cultivated landscape. They need square miles of territory where there are no roads to cross that they can roam in freely. The coyote is much more adaptable and even live in cities. But a hog would kill and eat a coyote in a New York minute!
Often missed is the fact that hogs (all swine) are omnivores and will eat anything that doesn't eat them first. As a kid in Utah in the 1940's the farmers where I was born would clean out the rattlesnakes in their fields, by putting up hog fence. Then turn a sounder of pigs in there to clean them out. The heavy layer of fat prevented the venom of the snakes bites from rapidly moving thru the pig's system, and they weren't even sick, and the snakes were devoured. Once the snakes were gone the farmers could cultivate that land without fear of being bitten. So they probably can withstand their bites even in Texas although they often aren't quite as fat as the pen raised pigs.
Gabby

 

[BillGabby1]

Stasney hunting

This is the one I was referred to by an experienced hunter and true patriot. Ted spoke highly of them. Yeah, that Ted.

Here is a review you need to check out.
So far it's been hard to find any reviews of this ranch.
Outfitter Review Details - Outfitter Reviews, Outfitter Reports, Outfitter Ratings, Guide Reviews, Hunting Outfitter Listings, Guides, Hunting Ranches, Hunting Lodges, Hunting Gear Reviews - HuntInfo.com
I'm still looking.
I give up there aren't any reviews that I could find that commented on the guides or game, I think you should look elsewhere for a guided hunt.
Gabby

 

[BillGabby1]

kruegl
You might find a place to suit you here, the Ox ranch is pretty plush and is going to be expensive, I'd love to live there!
Check the links. There is lots of hype in the ads that you have to wade thru. Some are pretty bare bones and some are pretty nice, it's pretty much how deep are your pockets!
As to reviews they are few and far apart, it looks like you are pretty much on your own as far as recommendations are concerned. It looks like you pays your money and takes your chances.
Nugent recommended Ox but he can afford just about anything. If I'm not mistaken it was a cattle ranch and they pronounced it "Oh Ex" not Ox as in the beast of burden.
Sorry I couldn't come up with better results.
Gabby
Where to hunt the largest wild hogs in the USA? - Bing

 

[DuneHopper]

Just to chime in having been in a Helicopter its extremely hard the target is smaller then when Horizontal on the ground taking a shot,
You are moving, the target is moving Hogs run when they are even a little set off. They are very smart and because of this understand fear quite well and its a huge trigger for them. My son who works in a slaughter/butcher shop has stock come in all day long that they kill and even when a foot away hogs are hard to kill. Being in a Helicopter is definitely hunting in my book as it will take allot of skill to take one down from the air, we have to also realize Hogs don't just run across a open prairie to be shot at they hide and look for brush again making it hard to even get a good shot. I would say that the HOG is about the only animals that would make it hard to hit from air. As was noted deer etc tend to stand there and not move not making a very hard target, if there is no challenge then thats not hunting. I have talked with Hog hunters and they same its difficult as they are so smart, and on the ground it very hard because these suckers will attacks and leave you one shot. Which is also why the SKS hands down is the best hog gun period. I know allot of people that use that right that have money and could buy anything else.

Side note: Humans pick and choose what is food, and what is game and what is pets. And just about every animals that is a pet is food elsewhere.

Just my two cents.

 

[BillGabby1]

Just to chime in having been in a Helicopter its extremely hard the target is smaller then when Horizontal on the ground taking a shot,
You are moving, the target is moving Hogs run when they are even a little set off. They are very smart and because of this understand fear quite well and its a huge trigger for them. My son who works in a slaughter/butcher shop has stock come in all day long that they kill and even when a foot away hogs are hard to kill. Being in a Helicopter is definitely hunting in my book as it will take allot of skill to take one down from the air, we have to also realize Hogs don't just run across a open prairie to be shot at they hide and look for brush again making it hard to even get a good shot. I would say that the HOG is about the only animals that would make it hard to hit from air. As was noted deer etc tend to stand there and not move not making a very hard target, if there is no challenge then thats not hunting. I have talked with Hog hunters and they same its difficult as they are so smart, and on the ground it very hard because these suckers will attacks and leave you one shot. Which is also why the SKS hands down is the best hog gun period. I know allot of people that use that right that have money and could buy anything else.

Side note: Humans pick and choose what is food, and what is game and what is pets. And just about every animals that is a pet is food elsewhere.

Just my two cents.

The videos I saw, the pilots put them right on the pigs, but I guess the shooters were expert.
In china they like dog and call it Chow Chow, and it is an AKC recognized breed, if you notice it is a stocky meaty breed. India worships the Brahman cow AKA Zebu, we call them Brahmah's here.
Horse has been eaten for thousands of years, and the french buy the meat from our slaughter houses and it is shipped overseas.
A lot of the culls from the mustang programs still end up there. Of course they get a lot of flack from the horse lovers which are 80 to 90% female. That should tell you something.
Gabby