Daytime Feral Hog Hunting in Texas

Ronny makes a trip to a property in Burnet to help out with some feral hog control at a Hill Country ranch. Hogs have been rooting up the owner's pasture over and over again. Hogs are already out in the pasture when Ronny arrives so he's trying to stalk up on them out of sight and behind a tree line to get close enough for a few shots.

EQUIPMENT

ATN ThOR4 640: https://amzn.to/2zcPAVK (affiliate)

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FERAL HOGS - AN INVASIVE SPECIES

Feral Hog Math: 1+1=12, 6+6=72, 36+36=232
Gestation period: 115 days
Females can have their first litter as young as 6 month old.
One sow with litter can turn into over 70 hogs in only 9 months. Add 9 months for every generation after that. You're looking at over 200 hogs after only 18 months.

Wild Hogs cause an annual damage of estimated $2 Billion. That is damage to equipment, live stock, land, as well as crop. This estimate also includes the cost for efforts controlling this invasive species.

Feral hogs compete directly with livestock as well as game and non-game wildlife species for food. However, the main damage caused to livestock and wildlife is indirect destruction of habitat and agriculture commodities. Rooting and trampling activity for food can damage agricultural crops, fields, and livestock feeding and watering facilities. Often wildlife feeders are damaged or destroyed. They also destabilize wetland areas, springs, creeks and tanks by excessive rooting and wallowing. In addition to habitat destruction and alteration, hogs can destroy forestry plantings and damage trees. While not active predators, wild hogs may prey on fawns, young lambs, and kid goats. If the opportunity arises, they may also destroy and consume eggs of ground nesting birds, such as turkeys and quail. More information about the Feral Hog problem in the state of Texas can be found here: https://tpwd.texas.gov/newsmedia/releases/?req=20070313a

ABOUT TEXAS JAGD

"JAGD" (ja:kt) is German for Hunt/Hunting. Ronny was born and raised in Germany and moved to the US in his late 20s. He has always been an avid outdoorsman and almost immediately started hunting after moving to the USA. Hunting wasn't as accessible in Germany, so he enjoyed and embraced the freedom given in America. He partnered up with Micah when they both discovered that they shared the same passion for night vision and thermal vision hog hunting in Texas. Together they patrol private ranches, farmland and corporate properties around Austin TX and keep the local feral hog population at bay as much as they can.

They aim to kill fast, but feral hog control is a numbers game and they will take any shot which can be safely placed. Their highest priority is safety, and their shots are limited by population/residential homes in rural areas as well as livestock. That's why you won't see them going rapid-fire. They will err on the side of caution instead of taking that one shot they would regret.

Their equipment and means to control Wild Hogs primarily consists of semi-auto rifles equipped with the newest Thermal Vision and Night Vision Optics. These Thermal Scopes allow them to quickly detect and recognize feral hogs at distances up to 1,000 yards. Suppressed AR platform rifles are their preference but there are many other very capable semi-automatic rifles, which will be utilized as well. Silencers are essential to the team's efforts because it reduces the noise level significantly and won't alert people living in surrounding areas so that TXJ's activities won't become a nuisance. Local Texas farmers are grateful for the free crop protection services as it saves them money.
Ronny and Micah enjoy what they do and take pride in this work.