American Hoggers

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ROMAX

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OK so i need all the Texans to respond to this one.Is this show for real? I realize its more tv show than REALITY tv now,but it doesn't seem to make sense with the hog problems you have to be screwing around catching one pig at a time,when you can set up traps and catch a bunch? I know i live in Canada but it all seems too far fetched for me.
 

obie105

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I was just watching Larry the Cable Guys show where he goes out with different people to do their job and he went hog hunting in Florida and they did it the exact same way. There are other shows that are like American Hoggers that do it the same way.
 

cowman 52

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San Angelo Texas
The hogs are way smarter than you think, the traps need to be moved, rebaited, and revamped.  The most efficient way is a r15 from a helicopter. Have 2 friends that are gov't employed that is their job. They will get 20 to 30 a night, they are also pulling blood on the pigs for disease research.
 

Davis Shorthorns

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I think they sell the hogs for meat.  If they are alive you dont need nearly as much freezer space and they cant be inspected if you bring them to a locker dead.  Thats my guess though.  Also it makes them feel like a BA!!!
 

J2F

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Davis Shorthorns said:
I think they sell the hogs for meat.  If they are alive you dont need nearly as much freezer space and they cant be inspected if you bring them to a locker dead.  Thats my guess though.  Also it makes them feel like a BA!!!

I agree. Unless you want to drive around in a refrigerated truck you have to catch them alive to be able to sell for meat. One show showed where he takes them home to a pen and loads them up and takes them a load at a time. Like any other business to keep their cost competitive they have to squeak every penny out of the product and keep cost down unless your the government then you can pay for helicopter fuel and bullets.
 

Limflex

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I live in the same county as the guy and have knows him for years. To answer your question,YES it is BS for the most part.  It makes for a tv show and thats it! Yes we have a problem and its not getting any better fast!
 

fourquarters

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I don't have a clue how real the show is but sure does look like fun. Would like to try that out sometime. I would have to ride the RTV my horses would probably freak if they saw or heard those pigs squeal. Lol
 

Bradenh

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I can't speak for how much of the drama on there is real or inflated for t.v but that is how they hunt. I would imagine that the hogs just don't get shown being killed on tv for public relations purposes, and remember that you only see certain ones on camera. Having been around Robert alittle bit (dcc show cattle should answer most of these) I'd bet they catch a Ton more than we all see on camera

Hunting with dogs chased them away too, when a pig has been chased he won't come back for possibly months. Which makes it effective in getting them off a place. When you trap they just avoid the trap area
 

chambero

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For some people in Texas, hog hunting is the equivalent of southern coon hunting.  They do use dogs and like to catch the pigs versus just killing them.  It fluctuates up and down a lot, but there is a market for selling live feral hogs.  Guess who wants the meat in the end - the Japanese primarily.  Right up there with their taste for gall bladders for bears.  I don't know anybody that makes enough money to do more than cover their gas money off of them. 

All of the guys I know that do hunt them with dogs aren't nearly as wild-*** as the guys on tv.  It is apparently great sport to rope them off horseback once the dogs get them cornered.

The vast majority of us either shoot them or catch them in traps.  I have eaten some I've killed, but frankly its not worth the trouble.  There are all kinds of published warnings about potential transmission of disease to humans.  So I really just leave them laying nowadays.

Feral hogs are very smart.  I shoot most of mine out of deer blinds.  I never see them walking anywhere.  If they decide to come out of cover, its usually at a dead run to wherever they are going to feed.  The wildest we get is giving some a good chase across the pasture in a pickup when you happen to catch them traveling.
 

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chambero

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My biggest one - 300+ lbs (I don't remember exactly) as weighed at the feed store.
 

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chambero

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I haven't gone up in one pig hunting, but my personal opinion is that hunting them out of helicopters is a good way to get yourself killed in addition to the pigs.  There's way too much excitement that goes on when those pigs bust out of cover going in 50 directions at once.  I'd sure have to know the pilots background before I went up.

I've been up in Army helicopters a few times as part of my job (one time chasing feral horses trying to get a count on them) and it is a ride that will pucker certain parts of your body - and that is with Army pilots that fly nap-of-the-earth every day for their job.
 

ROMAX

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chambero said:
I haven't gone up in one pig hunting, but my personal opinion is that hunting them out of helicopters is a good way to get yourself killed in addition to the pigs.  There's way too much excitement that goes on when those pigs bust out of cover going in 50 directions at once.  I'd sure have to know the pilots background before I went up.

I've been up in Army helicopters a few times as part of my job (one time chasing feral horses trying to get a count on them) and it is a ride that will pucker certain parts of your body - and that is with Army pilots that fly nap-of-the-earth every day for their job.
COUNTING OR ROUNDING UP ;)
 

chambero

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Counting - in Louisiana of all places.  Note my use of the word feral instead of wild.
 

KSanburg

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I don't see anyone complaining about the use of an AR-15 for this adventure but in at least one thread on here the rifle was getting bashed as not being useful for anything by anyone other than law enforcement or military personnel. The hypocrisy!!!! Oh when we were having that debate it was because something had to be done for appearances. Oh yeah but that was as much to do about high capacity magazines as it was about the type of rifle.
 

cowman 52

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San Angelo Texas
Gov't hunter where I once lived, 2 a r15, both with silencers, 30 round clips out the wazoo, new truck, lights rigged to red and extra mufflers, he could drive up on feeders and shoot away. 12 ga pump was the backup, slugs
 

cowpoke

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They are laughing all the way to the bank.It seems the girls are a little too done up to be serious,fancy ear rings necklaces,form fitting designer jeans,breast enhancement,But I think its funny.We had a neighbors 40# pig escape and end up at our place about 4mi from his home and they can be a challenge.We have many factory hog farms in our area and I have seen a few that have escaped and make a mess.Duck Dynasty now thats a reality show and they all eat and pray together and are truly funny and also laugh all the way to the bank.Storage Wars,Pawn Stars,Amercan Pickers,are all too fake!
 
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