I've posted a couple of time about the number of hogs on my places and we shoot all of them we can but it doesn't seem to make a dent in the population. Others have pointed out what efficient reproducers they are and here is an example of that:
I recently got a 78 acre place across a creek from one of my other places in Navarro County. The place has always produced good hay but has lain fallow for the past couple of years and was overgrown. Last Tuesday it was finally dry enough to start mowing the weeds (thick, tall Johnson grass) so I can fertilize for hay. The place has four hay meadows divided by small low, wet areas surrounded by thick brush...perfect hog habitat. In the largest of the four meadows I found four "hog nests", (I tried to post photos of the nests but couldn't get it to work) basically a Johnson grass igloo in which the sow gives birth. They let me mow to within 10 or 15 yards of each nest before the sow vacated, I shot one with a 9mm Glock (took 5 shots (one miss), put the (mm in my truck and returned with a .40 Glock and shot three more sows as they ran from their nest (2 with one shot, the last took 4 shots - missed twice) and didn't disturb the nests. As I continued to mow, I saw several piglets making for the brushy areas and let them go, after I finished mowing I went to each nest and kicked them apart...piglets ran every where. I counted 31 piglets from four sows (not counting the ones that had already run off), an interesting thing was that the nest with the most piglets (13) had the smallest sow, she only weighed about 90 pounds. The biggest sow was easily 180-200 pounds but had only 4 piglets, but some may have been the ones I saw running away. So, I killed four hogs but there were at least 31 replacements. If only half of them lived that is still a bunch of pigs. I hate the nasty, destructive bastards but I am totally against poisoning them, too much chance of collateral damage for me. The farmer behind my homeplace put out some poisoned grain about 5 years ago, don't know what it was but it worked damned well...there was a pile of grain with dead pigs within 50 feet, surrounded by dead turkey vultures and dead coyotes. He got a visit from the "authorities" and hasn't done it again.

I'm a fan of NV + suppressors + ARs for hog zappage, myself. If you've got two shooters, you can definitely perform some efficient herd thinning without the bycatch issue. The continuing decline in the price of useful NV gear and the Hearing Protection Act (pending) are positive steps in ecologically responsible feral hog control. Let's hope the trend continues.

Good shooting!!!

You're going to have a lot of problems with that Johnson grass unless you (gasp) poison it. Really a fine grass for hay, but has different cutting intervals. Highest protein of all "natural" grasses. That's why it doesn't exist in cow pastures. Cattle always eat it first and that eventually kills it.

Gato: I like Johnson grass hay (cows do too and will walk away from good coastal hay for Johnson grass hay) and this field isn't grazed so with any luck and a bit of rain I'll get two cuttings. Only problem it is prone to flooding, had over 8' of water on it last year next to the creek. Hopefully, the pigs will get the message pretty quickly and avoid the open fields, I don't care what they do in the boggy parts but there will be a couple of tree and tripod stands pretty quickly. I'll be trying to eliminate a few more tomorrow evening at a nearby feeder (with a suppressed AR (Rock River with a YHM supressor, got night vision, too, but can't shoot worth a damn with it...yet).

I went to a Texas Agrilife seminar on hog control a couple of years ago. The presenter said "a sow will have about 8 piglets at a time on average - of which 12 will survive..."

lol that's funny! I sat in a blind in south texas and watched two sows with 15 piglets each work their way under my blind. Couldn't believe how many babies the two of them had.

quote:

I've posted a couple of time about the number of hogs on my places and we shoot all of them we can but it doesn't seem to make a dent in the population.

Well if you need some help I know of some trust worthy pig killers that could help.

If you and or your neighbors need some help killing hogs, send me a PM... There are 3 of us looking for a place now for piggies.. all three of us are accomplished hunters, and know how to respect a ranch or farm, the fences, gates, and domestic critters. We can hunt around the clock. suppressors, night sights, the works. Not looking for trophies, looking for shooting opportunities.

If your interested and can set something up, send me a PM.