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  1. #1

    Feral Hog article from SA express

    Feral hog hunts offer affordable adventure By Larry Bozka on Apr 30, 10 08:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) Save & Share expressnews384:http://blogs.mysanantonio.com/weblogs/outdoors/2010/04/feral-hog-hunts-offer-affordab.html Yahoo! Newsvine del.icio.us Facebook Google Reddit Fark Twitter [/list] BAYSIDE -- From 30 yards away, viewed at ground level, the 200-pound, black-and-tan boar is a formidable sight. I've seen lots of feral hogs, and some big ones at that, but most walked out while I was sequestered among the sturdy and elevated confines of a plywooddeer stand. From inside a canvas blind on the muddy bank of a sprawling small lake, listening to the foraging animal snort, wheeze and grunt while extracting breakfast from the reservoir's muddy bottom, I can't help but think of the three little pigs. Especially the one that insisted on living in a house made of straw, with an interesting twist on the predator/prey part of the story. Experience tells me that I am about as likely to be charged by this boar as to be attacked by a mountain lion. But in close situations like this one on the 4,000-acre Fennessey Ranch in Refugio County near here, what one rationally knows to be true is sometimes overpowered by what one irrationally imagines being possible. Just to be safe, I look at the rear flap of the blind to see if itwill allow a hasty exit. I am armed with a Nikon D300 digital camera body and a 400mm telephoto lens. And OK, there is that Model 1911 Wilson Combat .45 semiauto on my hip, complete with jacketed hollow points, but that's only insurance. I've come here to check out the celebrated-- a term not often associated with the species -- feral hog hunting of the Fennessey Ranch, to see if it's indeed a hunt worth making. By 9 a.m., with three more hogs grubbing along on the reed-lined banks later, I conclusively determine that it is. Despite their well-earned reputation as destroyers of habitat, disregarding the fact that statewide the animals will do well more than $50 million in agricultural damage this year alone, there is no denying that feral hogs admirably fit the billfor "affordable trophy hunting." "There is a demand for them, not only the big boars with big tusks that look so great on the wall, but because of the quality of the meat, sows and young hogs as well," said ranch manager Sally Crofutt. "They're challenging animals, possessed with a super-keen sense of smell and, in a nutshell, they're great fun to hunt." It's a fact that doesn't escape the notice of a growing cadre of hunters who pursue the pigs here and elsewhere across Texas. There's not a region of the state that doesn't carry a mentionable population of feral hogs, and each ranch is a highodds hunting adventure waiting to happen. Say what you will, but that's reason enough for opportunistic big game hunters to take a hard look at the "nongame" feral hog (hunting license still required). But unless you're the reckless type, I'd advise doing it from a distance. Usually, the animals will run at the first sight of a hunter. It's the unusual ones that worry me. Larry Bozka is a freelance outdoors writer and photographer. E-mail him atlarry@coastalanglers.com.

  2. #2
    good article

  3. #3
    It's nice to see that hog hunting is growing in popularity and can truly be an economic player in the outdoor market.

  4. #4
    Until the state steps in and sees that they can make money from it like they did in California.

  5. #5
    I would like to think Texas uses better judgment about how they manage their wildlife as compared to California, but you never know, hope that is not the case.

 

 

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