Forty-Fifty years ago my Dad, Brother and I fur trapped, not for a hobby, but to survive long periods of lay offs and strikes in the Steel Industries, and I thought hogs where always raised in a pen for lard and soap making. I ate salted fatback and never heard of bacon and ham until the 70’s. We squirrel and rabbit hunted to put food on the table. Deer hunting was unheard of until the late 80’s due to Alabama Game and Fisheries service efforts on the restocking of deer and turkey; that all has turned around. Sneaking in the back door of many states has been the Feral Hog and Russian Boar. Welcomed at first by many hunters as something else to hunt during the deer/turkey season, some hogs were even trucked in large numbers and released. and Wild Feral Hogs have survived and expanded their turf to even northern states… The hunting club I have been in for over 7 years has been lucky and not been affected by hogs yet; that’s the key word, yet, but I am sure they will... In April I joined the Hunting Club my Brother is a member of, we did some Turkey hunting with Dad and just about everywhere I went we had fresh hog sign, and the smell from Hog wallows was almost unbearable. My brother said we could borrow and bait a hog trap, and we did.

Due to the hot spell of weather we have been having my brother checked on the trap daily and after 3 days two nice 85 and 90 lb sows where in the man made trap made out of chainlink fence and 2x6’s with a trip door.

My Brother suggested we go early before it warmed up. We got to the traps after sneaking in to the area in case other hogs were outside hanging around the two trapped hogs. I brought my brand new Savage Weather Warrior model 16 .243 cal rifle that had yet to be fired; it had been bore sighted in and the bore was cleaned, so after a brief filming (See attached) of two hogs that were mad and wanted to rip me to pieces, I decided to shoot them. I put one shot on the hog and down she came, one baby making machine of destruction out of the loop. My brother shot next using an old .22 rifle my Granddad used at “Hog Killing time” in the South and down went the second sow. We used every means possible to safely process my brother’s sow; we discarded the sow I shot because of lesson # 1 learned with this being my first ever hog, never ever shot one between the eyes at 8 feet away with a .243 because it will do some damage.

As mention earlier, the trap used was a well-built drop gate trap with a small plywood trip board that would pull the hinge pins out of the gate, dropping and locking the trap door shut. We read you would have to move a trap once hogs have been killed in the trap and any blood washed out. I am here to tell you this is not true. Another club member reset the trap later that afternoon and caught two more hogs in the very same trap including a 258 pound sow which about tore the trap door off the cage. We have decided to build two round corral style hog pen traps using 52” 16 foot cattle panels (Qty 5) and using a Hog Slammer™ by Southern Outdoor Technologies gate that will trip shut but will allow many more hogs to enter the gate but not allowed to leave. The round shape will keep the hogs from gathering in a corner of the fenced in pen and escaping as they can climb over each other and escape. We hope to have made a major dent in the hog population by the time this article is published live.

New Parker Brother's Hog Trap...

Hog Slammer™ by Southern Outdoor Technologies Gate

For addition information, please contact your local game officials on hog trapping in your state and laws pertaining to baiting for hogs. I know in Alabama the laws are changing more in favor of eradication of hogs so please keep updated.

Also please read “A Landowner’s Guide for WILD PIG MANAGEMENT”

Many thanks to the Mississippi State Extension Service & Alabama Cooperative Extension System for a fine Publication. http://myfwc.com/media/1357551/WildPigManagementAL.pdf

By Dennis Parker

Dennis was introduced to Hunting, Fishing & Trapping at around the age of 6 by his father, not as a hobby but by need of survival because his Dad was often laid off as Steel worker. Dennis would help bait the traps and run them with his Dad. He learned to shoot with a 22 single shot rifle then moved up to a 16 gage Double Barrel Shotgun.

Dennis has been married for the last 35 Years and has one Daughter, age 30, and two wonderful grand children that he is bringing up to enjoy Hunting, Fishing and the outdoors. He says he often times has Deer in his yard and his 2 year old grandson will watch for the Deer outside the window with his toy gun aiming and shouting Boom at the Deer.

Dennis attended Jefferson State, University of Alabama, University Alabama Birmingham and Walker State (Now Bevill State) where he have a degree in Coal mine design/Technology.

He has worked in the IT Industries for the past 38 years 28 of those years are with his current employer ALTEC Industries, Inc (Maker of Utility Equipment like Bucket Trucks etc.) where he is a Network Analyst II/Senior IT Buyer.

When not working you will catch him at his Hunting Club, Shoal Creek Hunting Club, just outside of Montevallo Alabama in Shelby County, moving and Placing Hunting Blinds, Ladder stands and putting in Food Plots. You will also catch him hunting in Clio Alabama (South Alabama) where he will be throwing lead at hog’s or catching catfish.

Dennis is also a volunteer for Honor Flight Birmingham where they fly WWII Veterans to Washington DC to visit the WW II Memorial

Comments(1):

1. Thanks

   Dennis, that gave me some really great idea's for this year hog hunting!

   Tuesday, August 30, 2011 Anthony