Explain to me this Texas pig issue...

[PrarrieDog]

I'm thinking tough economic times are ahead, gas prices especially, and a lot of people won't have the money to drive to Texas to hunt hogs. The hog problem will really start to blossom when no one is there to hunt them.
5 or 6 dollar fuel, food and lodging and tresspass fees can really add up.

[tarponnut]

A friend of mine saw a guy trespassing/hunting on our lease.The nut ran when he approached him. My buddy knew the guy lived on an adjacent property so my friend jumped in his truck, raced over there, and started wandering around the guy's yard.
The trespasser asked "what the *&#@ are you doing"? My friend responded, "oh nothing, just checking this place out, just like what you were just doing on our lease!Any other questions?"
There weren't any.

[tarponnut]

Where I hunt in Florida, pigs will stick around if the food supply is constant and they have water.
I don't blame any landowner for charging a fee to hunt.

[Nala]

Just thinking about something.  Wouldn't the ones that pay for the privilege to hunt be more likely to leave a mess and tear up jack?  After all, they are PAYING money to be there and would think that the money they paid would take care of anything they do.  Just like a rental car, they have no reason to care for it, they are paying for the "right" to treat it any way they want.  The rental car company can take care of anything they may do with the car whether it be spill a BIG GULP in the passenger seat or drive the car with mud on their feet.  The car company will clean it all up, I paid them to do it.

Just thinking out loud.

Nalajr

[Nala]

When I was in Florida I tried for a couple of years to find a place to hunt.  I asked every person I met whether they knew of any place.  When I ran across a shooter or fisherman I would ask, I ALWAYS got the same answers, either they didn't know any place or pay for a lease.
I joined a Florida hunting forum and asked about it and ran into probably the rudest bunch of hunters I have ever seen.  Didn't have a single person say "hey I'll help you find a place" or give me a call and I'll tell you what I know."  NOT ONE.  Plenty of places wanting up to $300 per day to hunt though.
I never did go hunting in Florida.  I hope it doesn't end up being the same way in Texas.  I'm not getting my hopes up though.  I'd love to try and pig hunt, I've never done it before, but I don't have the pockets to pay $750 for a 3 or 4 day weekend of hunting.  I suspect I'm not alone, at least I hope I'm not.
I have been contacted by one guy here (months ago) that is willing to help me on public land hunts and I'm grateful for that.  If that's all I end up having available to me, then that's the way it is.  If I don't get any other leads, I'll simply just shoot at a foam target from now on and abandon the thoughts of hunting.

I fear that's what it's coming to anyway.  Less and less hunters and even lower numbers of hunters that have the spare money to be able to pay a car payment for a weekend of hunting.  It won't be long till there will be threads talking about the "good ole days" where hunting was a way of life and a past time for everybody.  Now it is on the verge of being only for people of means that can pay LARGE SUMS for the pleasure.

Nalajr

[Gummi Bear]

Nala -

The public land permit is $48 on top of your license fee.

I recommend downloading and reading this book cover to cover:

 http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/hunt/public/lands/table_contents/media/pwd_bk_w7000_0112a.pdf        <-- this is a 48 meg file, it's gonna take a minute to load the page

It outlines what can be hunted, when and where.

There are also maps of the areas, and now with the addition of Google Earth and Bing Earth, you can get a pretty good feel for the area before heading out.


As for day leases, I've not hunted them very much. I've seen day leases go from $75 on up to $400 per day for hog hunting.  There are plenty of ranches offering package deals with an exotic and a couple of hogs for a reasonable rate as well.


I've always had family land and/or a year round lease.  I've also traded hunts and done labor swaps in exchange for hunting privileges: I'm an electrician by trade, so I've wired a few barns and camp shacks; I've also built a lot of fence, hauled stock, run tractor, done some welding, car repair, pulled weeds and other things in exchange.  The barter system is alive and well.


Hope this helps!

I have heard of a couple of people in Iowa that are getting paid to get rid of hogs on farmers land. I wish I knew who those farmers were, they could pay us to do the same. Just kidding, I am sure we would do it for free.
Feral Hogs
Feral hogs are trying to gain a foothold in
certain parts of Iowa. They use heavy cover, are
difficult to find and even more difficult to hunt.
Hunters are encouraged to watch for feral hogs
while out hunting other species and to kill them
on sight. It is legal to kill feral hogs on your own
property and on public lands where hunting is
allowed. Trespassing on private land to shoot a
feral hog is not allowed.
Feral hogs are not native to Iowa and no
permit is needed to take a feral hog.
Feral hogs are aggressive and prone to attack.
They spread diseases to humans, pets and
domestic animals. These animals damage crops
and forest lands which contributes to soil erosion
and siltation. They also compete with native
wildlife for food. They eat anything they can
catch including reptiles, amphibians, deer fawns,
bird eggs and newly born livestock.
If you should happen to kill a feral hog,
contact the local wildlife biologist (see p. 45).
The DNR would like to collect a blood sample.

[Ground Hunter]

I know I'm beating a dead horse here       But I've read all of the responses to this thread and there are a number of arguments concerning conservation.  This has nothing to do with conservation.  This is about income.

[wingnut]

Ground Hunter,

They don't want to hear that people have a right to charge for hunting on their land.  The pig situation is bad in places and the ranchers have turned lemons into lemonaid.  If you don't want to pay the price don't look to hunt pigs here.

Mike

[Green]

Paying to lease hunting rights, grazing rights, drilling rights, water rights, etc. have been a part of the Texas Rancher's income for decades.  These are the rights of private property ownership here in the State of Texas.  

Year after year the market has born out that folks will pay good money for the privilege to hunt on a man's land.  That's the way it is, and as Texan's we accept that fact, just because we're talking about hogs doesn't mean a man should throw open his gates to all comers like they're doing him a favor.   Free market economics at work here.....and our economy's not doing too bad.

[Jon Stewart]

The way I see it, let Texans pay other Texans to hunt and then when there is a mess they can blame Texans.

I do know that the hogs have gotten onto some golf courses down there.  What a mess.

I do have one question about deer.  Do the land owners own the deer or do the deer belong to the state like here in Michigan, excluding license deer farms in Michigan?

Having spent portions of the last 10 winters in Texas I find it interesting that legally I am not to pick up rocks off the river bed for flintknapping and have been warned from doing so.  It is also illegal to stop and cut antlers off a roadkill deer?

I guess when you live in a state that allows you to do both its kind of hard to understand the reasoning behind their thinking.

[ChrisM]

I guess the problem with the first assumption is that bow hunting controlls hogs.  I killed over 50 off of one of my farms in one year with a rifle when I counted, and it seemed to make no effect on the population.  The only thing that helped is that my neighbor clear cut his place and made it into pasture land and the hogs no longer had a bedding area as close.

[Ground Hunter]

As they say - Don't mess with Texas!

[joe ashton]

say while we're on the subject.. I was thinking of a quick trip to TX for hogs.  My long bow needs exercise.  any suggestions..

[Redfeathers]

The state own the deer, so I ask if I could get paid from the state for grazing their deer on my property    nope! You are not suppose to touch deer on the side of the rode here in Texas, I would definitely call tpwl and ask before I did.

[Del Savio]

Texas sounds more like Europe than the USA.  
Aside from the state lands and WMUs in New York and other eatern states, farmers seem to be more receptive to hunting permission requests if you are far enough from metroplitan areas. How do you explain this given the wide "open"spaces of Texas?  I do not know anything about hunting in Texas except what I have read., but it seems to be a consistent theme.

[Ground Hunter]

Del Savio 99% of Texas land is privately owned.  I live in those wide open spaces you mention.  As far as you can see - private land.  All - private land. Land tamed not by force of arms.  Land tamed by 2 strand barbed wire laid by fathers for their sons.

[mulie]

I'm a landowner from Texas and find this entertaining to say the least.  If you don't like the way things are done in this state, and don't want to pay to hunt hogs...Then don't do it.  Texas is not the only place to hunt hogs.  I would love to hunt big game in other states, but just can't justify the expenses associated with it.  I'm not going to complain about what they charge for licenses, guide fees, and drawings associated with those hunts.  I accept it for what it is.  
I also agree that hunters, especially bow hunters are not going to be of any realistic help to us landowners.  They will just educate hogs and make them more nocturnal.  Anytime you see or hear of hogs being consistantly killed by bowhunters, I would bet the place is high fenced and the hogs are killed at feeders.  That opens up another Texas debate.

[TxAg]

Originally posted by Del Savio:
Texas sounds more like Europe than the USA.  
Aside from the state lands and WMUs in New York and other eatern states, farmers seem to be more receptive to hunting permission requests if you are far enough from metroplitan areas. How do you explain this given the wide "open"spaces of Texas?  I do not know anything about hunting in Texas except what I have read., but it seems to be a consistent theme.

Coming from NY....ah, the irony.

[4BTradArchery]

Look, not one Texas person has bashed any other person or their state in response to this debate.  Saying hunting in Texas is becoming like Europe....lets just slow down there.  If you want to see European ideaology or dictatorship, I can think of a few other states than Texas where that is more prevalent (well, except for Austin, but its only one town in this whole state:))

  Lets just leave it as it is, which is Texas does things differently when it comes to land ownership and hunting.  Its no different than any other state.  I would love o hunt elk in Az.  You don't find me knocking the draw system and having to be lucky in getting a tag.  Its just the way Arizona does it.  My complaining about it on the internet is not going to change anyones opinions nor is it going to make the AZ Fish and game department change theri ways.