Creating a Lake

[jinman]

Eddie, I'm sure you will attract coyotes, buzzards, and other critters. You may even see more pigs since they are not above cannibalism. You might even see a few domestic dogs if any of your neighbors let them run free. Have you ever considered weighting the pig down and feeding him to your catfish?

 

[patrick_g]

Have you ever considered weighting the pig down and feeding him to your catfish?

Now there is a good idea... A good use for the older bigger not tender enough for Eddie consumption porkers.

Almost makes me wish I had some feral pigs to shoot. They abound in our area but no sign seen on my place (knock on wood.)

Pat

 

[EddieWalker]

Eddie, I'm sure you will attract coyotes, buzzards, and other critters. You may even see more pigs since they are not above cannibalism. You might even see a few domestic dogs if any of your neighbors let them run free. Have you ever considered weighting the pig down and feeding him to your catfish?

Hi Jim,

Using it for fish food never occured to me. I'm sure they would love it, but I really like shooting coyotes, and they come out all day long with a stinky pig out there. I was out mowing until 11pm last night to make sure I had good shooting lanes and they couldn't hide in the tall grass anywhere near it.

Right now, there are coyote tracks all over the place. They are coming up to the house and they are making a heck of a noice all night long. I rarely see any deer here, and realize it's a combination of poor habitat and too many preditors. The hogs compete with them for food and drive them away. The coyotes kill a few fawns every year, and that also affects my deer population. Every coyote that I kill means that a fawn has a better chance of making it.

I also really just like the challenge of shooting them. The hog is set up at 150 yards. Where they like to sit and watch the buzzards is about 200 yards out. It's perfect for me to work on my markmanship skills on a small target at medium range.

Eddie

 

[duck spy]

Next time load the tactor on trailer with pig on back and go see your brother,
he will eat most of a big pig,and you can enjoy some seat time at your brothers....:laughing::laughing::laughing:

 

[dcyrilc]

I also really just like the challenge of shooting them. The hog is set up at 150 yards. Where they like to sit and watch the buzzards is about 200 yards out. It's perfect for me to work on my markmanship skills on a small target at medium range.

Eddie

Standing position... open sights?

 

[patrick_g]

Eddie, I wish you had a rifle like mine for a couple days. This semi auto 6.5 mm Creedmoor was developed for 1000 meter/yd competition. There may be a significant difference in the capability of the gun and the gunner as the gun will group within 10 inches at 1000 yds and I'm not there consistently (yet). Or in terms for the non target shooters among us (are there any?)... it will put 5 out of 5 rounds through a paper plate at a bit over half a mile away if the gunner is good enough.

That should "do" any standing still or moving slowly and predictably hog you can see very well or ditto for a coyote feeding on a hog or just looking at the object of his attention.

I used to think my 22-250 was the "end all" varminter out to 200 or 250 yds but except for shooting flat (simplifying ballistics) it doesn't hold a candle to the 6.5 Creedmoor, at least when using a 1000 meter capable laser range finder so drop is essentially out of the equation. So far I'm using strictly factory Hornady ammo but when time permits I'll be experimenting with hand loads to see what it really likes.

Pat

 

[TBDonnelly]

To get it back to the field for shooting coyotes, I put it on my finish mower. It's a 90 inch mower, and it was already attached to my little tractor, so it was a no brainer.

In hindsite, I really should have thought this through. Getting that pig onto the mower was a lot more work then I thought it would be!!!!

Note to self, bring a chain next time. :thumbsup:

Eddie

I see this as an incorrect (finish) mower for the intended use. What you really needed was a 'bush hog' mower.:thumbsup: You were in the bush and needed to transport a hog.

Of course, all in good fun.

Don

 

[EddieWalker]

Pat,

When I started traveling and hunting in different places around the country and world, I got into reloading big time. I spent a bunch of money on it, and more hours then I can keep count of. In the end, I was shooting five shot groups at well under an inch pretty consistantly. Unfortunately, those bullets didn't do very much damage to the animals I shot with them, and then I discovered Federal Premium Loads. One inch groups with 165 grain bullets in the 30-06 that are absolutely devestating to anything I shoot with it.

I don't practice enough to be that good anymore, but it's been years since I've missed anything with that rifle and ammo.

I have a 22-250 that is fun for shooting ground hogs, but I don't have any ammo for it right now and don't have any desire to buy any. My 30-06 is my deer rifle, hog rifle and daily shooter when I want to make something dead.

So far, no sign of coyotes, but I'm excited for daylight and to see what's out there. The vultures have been all over it and it's just a matter of time until they find out it's out there.

Eddie

 

[Obed]

Eddie,
I could see why you would shoot the smaller hogs that are good to eat. What's the motivation for shooting the larger hogs? Is it primarilly to provide bait for the coyotes?

We have coyotes around here. They cause problems for the neighborhood cats and dogs. One of our neighbors has put up electric fencing all around his 5 acre lot to keep his dogs in and the coyotes out. Our next door neighbor had a cat killed by some creature(s); they suspect coyotes. We have some friends who had free ranging chickens but the coyotes killed the chickens so they stopped raising the chickens. My dad has some coyotes that roam his farm. He hasn't lost any cattle to them that he's aware of but he has some concerns. He has told the neighbors they can shoot coyotes on his property.

Obed

 

[EddieWalker]

Hogs are like rats around here. I really need to just shoot as many as I can to get the population under control. My neighbor has a tenant who hunts almost every night and shoots quite a few a year, but not enough to affect the numbers.

I shoot them for practice, for meat, for bait, for others and I shoot them because I get annoyed at the damage they do. Right now they are all over the place, tearing up the ground. I had 20 of them in my front yard a week ago, and I shot at the biggest one with my pistol, and missed. It was the farthest one away, and the close ones were 15 feet away from me. OOPS.

Since they are not native to here, don't belong here, are extremly destructive and they breed non stop, there are no rules on how many you can shoot, or when you can shoot them. The goal is to kill as many as possible and hope to kill more the next day.

My problem with coyotes is that they have killed one cat, maybe tore up another, but I really think a racoon got the second cat and they eat a few fawns every year. My goal is to kill as many coyotes as I can in order to save at least one fawn from dying. I don't know if it works or not, but when I kill a few of them, I don't see many tracks, if any, for a very long time. Right now, there are coyote tracks everywhere.

Eddie

 

[Obed]

We raised a few hogs on the farm when I was a kid. Our hogs had rings in their noses so they didn't cause damage to the ground. However, a neighbor's litter of pigs (about 12) got loose on our farm for a few days. These pigs did not have rings in their noses and tore up an unbelievable amount of sod in our fields in that short time. With so many pigs running wild, I can see why you'd want to get rid of them. Plus it's great practice with the rifle.

Obed

 

[patrick_g]

Eddie,
I could see why you would shoot the smaller hogs that are good to eat. What's the motivation for shooting the larger hogs?
Obed

Feral pigs are not only destructive to residential landscaping, they are physically dangerous to humans (especially children) and pets as well as causing many dollars worth of damage to agricultural interests.

I went to a pecan growers seminar and one of the hot topics was feral pig control. They had 4 different styles of live traps on display and plenty of actual user experience with them. How do they recommend removing a hog from the trap? First you shoot the hog and when certain it is dead you drag it out or if you are moving the trap do so and then drag the pig.

They have caught as many as 7 hogs in one trap at the same time (one way entry door.) You put food (bait) in the trap and plenty of water because after you catch the first one the others, true to their name (pigs) want to get in on the feast and crowd in to get whatever the earlier arrivals got. The water keeps the early arrivals from being stressed and not being conducive to attracting their cousins.

Three of the big acreage pecan farmers pooled their $ and hired a helicopter to support the state provided professional hunter. He shot 125+ pigs in one afternoon. (Southern Oklahoma)

Pigs will not only attack you under the right (wrong?) circumstances but they will actually eat you.

If I had hogs and kids on the same property I'd not rely on shooting the ones I see but would be using baited traps to get the ones I might not otherwise see.

Some of the trap designs are really simple and easy to disassemble and reassemble and are easily transported (disassembled) in a pickup. Welded wire panels and T-posts are the major components with a little welding fabrication for the door and door frame. The door is mounted out of plumb so gravity holds it closed and hogs inside the trap can't push it open to get out while hogs outside can easily push it open to get in, only to have gravity close it behind them. Like the Roach Motel, "They check in but they don't check out."

It is a sad statement on our litigious times but used to be the meat from the pigs could be donated as charity to orphanages and such but the processors are not allowed to process the hogs for free now due to liability issues.

Unfortunately there are plenty of unscrupulous pig hunters that continuously release domestic pigs into the wild to go feral so they will have abundant pigs to shoot. If the pigs didn't cause anyone problems or economic loss I'd say no harm no foul, have fun guys but given the economic impacts and danger to humans (especially children) it is clearly a very BAD thing to do.

Pat

 

[EddieWalker]

Pat,

Very well said. For those who don't have hogs, it's impossible to relate to walking out to your pasture and seeing all the grass gone, and huge holes dug out that can be several feet across and well over a foot deep. I've had them dig up hte base of a tree to the point that the tree died. They compete for food with the deer and will push them out of an area. They don't have any natural preditors, and once they get above 50 pounds, are too strong for lions to kill.

Trapping like you said seems to be the mose effective method that I've heard of. The Department of Fish and Game biologist encourage trapping and killing as many as possible. It really is a big problem around here, both for farmers and home owners.

Most of the time, I just like to watch them, but I really need to kill a lot more of them every year. I used to let them be so others could come shoot them, but now that I'm single and living here alone, I'll just shoot them.

Eddie

 

[tractorshopper]

Same issues here in Upstate SC. We planted 3 acres of corn in a bottom a couple years ago at a friend's hunting property. Just before it was ready to pick, we went to check on it and about a 1/4 acre had had each stalk knocked down and a bite or two taken from each developing ear of corn. Hog tracks everywhere. We took turns going up there every evening or two to correct the situation, but even though we saw quite a few, they are hard to hit as moving targets in some standing corn. Only killed 3. Result was that in less than 3 weeks, all three acres were destroyed. We got two bushels we picked early before it was destroyed as well.

These things are very destructive in short order.

 

[patrick_g]

Eddie, Most folks just don't get it. For every pig you see there may be a dozen you don't. Even if you killed every pig you saw you just would NOT be eliminating the pigs. Every one you shoot is one that doesn't eat what the others will. Shooting just a few will not significantly reduce the population. The general consensus of opinion I get from the extension agents and similar knowledgeable folks is that casual shooting does not significantly reduce the population, just eliminates the ones who will expose themselves. The state sponsored shooters, even with helicopters, can only temporarily knock down the population in a limited area and soon the population is restored.

Trapping is the best management tool available, It yields the greatest return on investment.

I have an ongoing problem with beaver that is not unlike the pig problem. I can shoot the ones I see but it doesn't really eliminate the problem. Trapping seems to be THE BEST approach if you don't mind a little collateral damage. My traps have killed a turtle and 3 armadillos while trapping 8 beaver. Glad to get the armadillos and although I'd just as soon not have the turtle harmed, I have oodles more so it is an acceptable risk to me.

Oh, about the 30-06... Great caliber. I have a M-1 Garand as well as a 30-06 bolt action. I prefer it over my Weatherby Magnum in 30 cal. I suspect with the right bullet that my 6.5 mm would take out a hog, no problem. Years ago I was tapped to go along as "safety man" on a bow hunting hog hunt (before California got too weird.) My weapon of choice was my M-1 30 cal semi-auto gas operated carbine. A great close in weapon. Not knocking my Mossberg street sweeper in 12 ga mag but I really like what I can do with the carbine and a high capacity magazine. Of course my Super Blackhawk went along for just in case.

Pat

 

[PAGUY]

{but now that I'm single and living here alone, I'll just shoot them.}

Eddie - Does this mean what I think it means?

If so sorry to hear that. I can't help but be nosey.

 

[Brahmus]

{but now that I'm single and living here alone, I'll just shoot them.}

Eddie - Does this mean what I think it means?

If so sorry to hear that. I can't help but be nosey.

I saw that also but was to scared to point it out....

 

[patrick_g]

Me too, immediately, but lacking in certain
people/social skills/graces I thought it best to let someone else broach the topic and risk taking inbound rounds and then when sufficient intel had accumulated I would be able to safely comment in some way if appropriate.

I get very uncomfortable waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Pat

 

[EddieWalker]

In January I found out that Steph was having an affair. I asked her and the kids to move out and the divorce was final last month. It was a bad time for me, but now that some time has passed and I haven't had anything else to do with her, I'm out having fun again. I've been meeting new people, going out on dates and seeing new places. Oddly enough, I'm having the time of my life!!!!!

Here is a thread that was going for awhile. There were a few others, but they were deleted. http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...64688-anyone-heard-how-eddiewalker-doing.html

Thankyou for your concern,
Eddie

 

[bindian]

Oddly enough, I'm having the time of my life!!!!!


Eddie

Eddie,
I can see that you are. Enjoy it.:thumbsup: I have been enjoying my life since my divorce!
hugs, Brandi