Hogs are one of my favorite animals to hunt, for the experience and for the freezer. In Florida, they are commonly hunted & bayed with dogs. This seems rare in Texas, IMO. Just wondering why?

One glaring answer, Private Land issues, plain and simple.

Depending on which authority a person checks with, Texas is somewhere between 93 and 97 percent private land.

Fences, especially barb wire fences mean nothing to dogs or hogs, but they do to the land owners/lease holders of the property inside those fences.

With an approximate 4 month, 5 if you count the various MLD properties around the state, deer season, dogs running around on those properties is not acceptable.

When I was a kid growing up in this area in the 50's and 60's there were still quite a few people that coon hunted. All that changed when deer became big business in Texas.

There are a few folks around that do go after hogs with hounds some of them incorporate horses or mules in their hunts.

Just an observation, nothing more but it seems that so many folks have never been introduced to hunting with hounds here in Texas, for any species that the entire concept is slowly dying out.

I have never been interested in it but see no harm in doing it, just not something that interests me.

It is extremely popular in E Texas and is done nightly in many areas, less so in deer season. As the hog populations increase, their destructive activities in pastures are causing land owners to welcome dog hog hunters more and more. Dogs are about the only way to control hogs.

However, the hunters have to love it. Keeping a pack of hog and catch dogs is not cheap. Mostly it takes 2 or 3 bay dogs and one or two catch dogs to hunt very long, especially when it gets warmer. In addition, even with good protection, hog dogs get killed by hogs all the time. I know of one supposedly great dog, cost $10,000, that lasted one hunt and was killed in a switch cane thicket by a big boar.

CHC- I'm not sure exactly how the private land issue affects dog hunting (specifically re:hogs). All of the dog hunting I've done for hogs in other states has been on private land, no high fences, either. Hogs( unlike bear or deer) really cannot run too far from good trailing dogs, they actually bay pretty quickly. A good dog usually will trail then bay a hog pretty fast, that hog won't be leaving a decent sized property of more than a few hundred acres. It must be a regional/ "hunting culture" type thing...? When I think of Texas in general, I do think of hunting over feeders. Just not for me is all, it is a fine way to hunt for many, many others.

Gato- I have heard of dog hunting in East Texas. I shot a few axis & fallow meat does near Winnie and guys down there kept hog dogs.

Let me clarify if you will. In some parts of Texas the landowners do cooperate with each other on such matters as hog control, in other areas they don't.

Also in some areas, the people that lease the properties for deer hunting do so on a year round basis, i.e. August 31 to August 31. When some of these properties only cover 200/300 or 400 acres, dogs may not or often will not bring the hogs to bay. A lot depends on the shape of the properties and where the dogs jump the hogs at.

None of what I am saying is an indictment against hunting hogs with dogs. If that is what a person enjoys doing then I am happy for them. Your OP asked about hunting hogs with dogs in Texas and I do not recall anywhere that any particular region was mentioned. I merely responded with the reasons I know of as to why the practice is not more wide spread.

Gato responded with what his experiences are in the area he is most familiar with, that is all that I did. Gato is familiar with east Texas, I am familiar with the north Texas area. Someone from south Texas or far west Texas will have different experiences/opinions.

Up here in the counties I am familiar with, after deer hunting became big business, even coon hunting with dogs has faded away. A new breed of land owner has arisen and for various issues such as the importance placed on leasing the properties out to deer hunters and liability issues, running dogs, for any reason on the vast majority of properties in this area has became unacceptable.

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Hogs( unlike bear or deer) really cannot run too far from good trailing dogs, they actually bay pretty quickly. A good dog usually will trail then bay a hog pretty fast, that hog won't be leaving a decent sized property of more than a few hundred acres.

You must be hunting trained hogs.

In general you're correct because the hogs will USUALLY bay before they run too far. But "in general" does not nearly cover all the situations. One of my set of hog hunting buddie's dogs jumped a BIG hog not too far from my ranch, ran him about a mile, he swam the Red River into Oklahoma, and they caught him about 3 miles North of the river. Some hogs, whether by instinct or learned behavior won't easily bay, they just run. The really smart boars who have been run before will often run until they find a spot that suits them to fight, often backed up to a cane brake where the dogs can't get behind them. That's when dogs start dying in a hurry.

The toughest hogs on dogs are usually the medium sized ones with inch to 2 inch cutters. They're fast and are not so big that they tire out quickly.

In a similar situation, some years back, I had a younger longhorn bull back up to a thicket and fight about 10 dogs to a standstill for well over 20 minutes, finally we called them off and left him to his devices so we could manage the main herd.

Completely unrelated, I was talking to some cowboy friends of mine yesterday and a few days back they were working some cattle about a mile east of my ranch and a chopper comes over and lands not far away. Seems the chopper was hunting hogs in Oklahoma (actually unbeknowst to the chopper pilots they were still in Ok even tho they had crossed the Red River, but, of course they would still need permission to hunt on someone else's land) and they had a group of about 80 spotted on the other side of where the guys were working cattle. They asked the land owners permission (who was there) to go after them and were denied. He was concerned about the chopper running his cattle thru fences etc. The chopper guys were hunting with shotguns, it wasn't clear to my friends if that was their choice or an Oklahoma rule for chopper hunting.

CHC- Thanks for the clarification. I agree that one really cannot dog hunt on those smaller parcels. Might not even be safe for a long-ranging quail dog.

Gato- No trained hogs, but the outfit I hunt with most regularly has VERY well trained/conditioned dogs. They simply will not let a hog get too far, they are just that good. My best hunting buddy (who has since passed away) was able to get to and shoot a few bayed-up hogs even though he could barely walk. I've often watched a little Jack Russell, named Zippy, go in as a sort of catch dog and hang onto a boars' snout or ear for dear life, a sight to behold. It looked like a metronome on top of a piano going at mach speed! I do realize that the odd hog may get away & lead some dogs on a merry chase. Happy hunting, fellas. I cannot wait to hunt (anything) in Texas again, a great state with great folks. My wife & I always have wonderful hunts & visits.

I know of a few folks who live in rural areas who hunt with dogs. These folks live where they hunt as opposed to "going to the lease" which is quite common here.

If you live in non-rural areas where do you keep your dogs. I think as more people move away from rural areas it becomes logistically much more difficult. Bedsides that, it is hard work from what I have seen.

quote:

Originally posted by ELeeton:
I know of a few folks who live in rural areas who hunt with dogs. These folks live where they hunt as opposed to "going to the lease" which is quite common here.

If you live in non-rural areas where do you keep your dogs. I think as more people move away from rural areas it becomes logistically much more difficult. Bedsides that, it is hard work from what I have seen.

True Dat!! And can be expensive

I don't mind paying extra to hog hunt with dogs. For me its the only way to go, other than spot & stalk ( fun way to hunt Florida citrus groves, hogs love oranges!).

Neither do I.

We hog hunt with dogs here in central/east Texas but doing it right requires a coordinated effort with many landowners. Most farms are smaller now and the dogs have no issue with barbed wire fences nor do the hogs,, but chasing them either on a 4 wheeler or on horseback the fences are a real issue. You have to have keys to gates and permission or you are trespassing and if you cut someones fence,,,,hell has no furry like a rancher that has had his fence cut. It is a lot of fun and at night you really need to know your way around the property. The dogs normally have radio transponders on them so you can follow them but you have to find the truck you left earlier so hand help gps a must. My friend has 7500 acres on the Sulpher River in North Texas and it is a perfect place to chase pigs with dogs, especially if you're not afraid of snakes or allergic to poison ivy/oak etc,,, We normally chase them on 4 wheelers or "mules" with trailers for the pigs after caught or killed,,, It is a real hoot if done right,,,

It is quite poplar in E Texas as some others have stated. Even know a guy in North TX who runs dogs and Mules and guides trips.

Lot of those E TX boys tie them up and carry them out on 4 wheelers, alive.

Then some guys just stick them with a knife.

There is a man here in Olney that does hog hunts using dogs and mules. In fact recently my boss went on one of these hunts and had a good time even though no hogs were found.

It has nothing to do with popularity of the activity, it has to do with land access.

If the group has permission to be on the property, that is great. If they don't, that means the dogs do not have permission to be on the property.

I don't make the rules. If dogs are running pigs and those pigs cross on to property the hunters do not have permission to be on and the dogs follow the pigs, they are trespassing without permission. The GW is not going to write the dogs a ticket, however the owner of the dogs is a different matter.

I think if anyone enjoys running pigs or coons with dogs is fun, I am happy for them and hope they enjoy themselves. But I can/do see why landowners do not want such activities done on their property.

I think it may be more popular than you think. Dog hunting is usually done with a group of guys that own the dogs and their friends that can be trusted to not shoot the dogs in a dust up. Not everyone is cut out for it.

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I think it may be more popular than you think.

Maybe in areas you are familiar with, but not in the areas I am familiar with. Very few people are left in this area that own even coon hounds. As far as most people in this area are concerned, as I said before, dogs running across property that the owner of the dogs does not have permission to access, will be in a world of crap if the GW catches up with them.

Too much money spent in this area on deer leases to have people running dogs thru those properties.

Again I have no problem with anyone that enjoys that type hunting, it is just not my thing and it is just something that is not done that much in the area I am familiar with.

Not everyone is cut out for it.

It has nothing to do with whether a person is "Cut Out For It"! It has to do with personal choice.

I work around horses and mules daily, but I never have enjoyed riding on either.

I have tried hunting with a bow and have killed a javelina, but prefer hunting with a rifle.

I went coon hunting a couple of times when I was younger, but setting around a campfire listening to the hounds run did nothing for me.

Even though I only tried it one time, watching a pair of good quail dogs working is an art form to me. So is watching a good retriever when duck hunting.

With statements like this, it seems that you are trying to say all hunters are not equal.

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Not everyone is cut out for it.

It is statements like that, that o0nly divide hunters. You seem to be incapable of comprehending normal speech, but I have stated a couple of times that is hunting hogs with hounds is something THEY want to do, I am happy for them, but just because that type activity does not appeal to a person, it does not mean they could not do it, they just do not want too.

What kind of problem do you have with that?

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Originally posted by Palidun:
Not everyone is cut out for it.

You're right. Ignore the inferiority complexed idiot reply.

I enjoy hog hunting with dogs for many reasons, the excitement of the chase, but also for the results. To date, I've never dog-hunted and not " brought home the bacon". I've spent too many boring ( for me) hours watching tripod corn-spinners. IMO, dog hunting is for EVERY hunter who'd like to give it a go...