Porcus Hogrelius

#0027 Continuing this account of suburban feral hog control. The story resumes after cameras and bait in place. As additional background, the feral hogs began their destruction of the city soccer field after considerable late summer rain softened the soil. During a normal Texas summer, our clay soil become as hard as a rock. The… Continue reading Early Success in Suburban Feral Hog Control

#0026 The feral hogs continue to assault the city property. They have been making a mess of the soccer field and the area around the fire station. The rancher has cattle in the area adjoining the city limits. I have placed two pig pipes just inside this pasture. I baited the two areas yesterday, Saturday,… Continue reading Preparations in Progress for Suburban Pig Control

#0025 As noted in a previous meditation, I will be engaged in hog control in my little town since feral hogs have been damaging the public areas including our soccer field. The attached cartoon demonstrates how my hog control process will work. I will stage some corn in a ‘pig pipe” to attract the swine.… Continue reading Suburban Hog Control Soon

#0024 A week or two ago, the residents of our small town began observing hog damage to the area at the edge of town where the town begins along an adjoining cattle pasture. They have really made a mess of things rooting up a large area around the fire station and the soccer field. I… Continue reading Suburban Feral Hog Control

#0023 I drove to the tree farm one afternoon. There was work to be done, always is. This was in May. In the fall I have been planting a winter mix of seeds in my food plots: wheat, oats, clover, etc. When I got to the tree farm I could see that the hogs had… Continue reading Early May at the Tree Farm

#0022 As of first thing this morning, there were two pig carcasses side by side after my late-night hunting and butchering. These pigs had been skinned and quartered but not gutted per the process outlined in a previous Meditation. Late this afternoon I walked by them – nothing but bones and hide.It only took one… Continue reading How efficient are buzzards?

#0021 Please see the attached videos. One is from my thermal scanner. The setting was “red hot” which gives it the red and yellow coloring with an excellent contrast against the background. The night vision video with the spotted hog corresponds with the thermal images. The third video is a hog at 20 yards in… Continue reading Night vision versus thermal

#0020 I drove to the tree farm to work Sunday and Monday. Upon arrival, I filled the pig pipes with corn and confirmed that the camera was working properly. Then, to bed. The telephone camera sent the attached photo after midnight. I made my approach but there was no pig. Very wary are these old… Continue reading Adventure and Misadventure

#0019 This photo just came in via my telephone camera. For the uninitiated, this is a boar, between 150 and 200 pounds. He is walking past the pig pipe which is the device that I use to bait the pigs. It’s a PVC pipe, filled with corn, with some holes drilled in it to dispense… Continue reading Boaring…

#0018 I came upon a deeply discounted thermal scanner. I got it, and now I’m ready to open a new chapter in my mission of feral hog eradication. Son Ben and his family planned to visit the tree farm this weekend, so daughter Ella and I drove down Thursday after work. We got down in time… Continue reading Enter the Thermal Scanner

#0017 Here’s an example of a European mount of a boar hog. The work was done by TKO Taxidermy here in Gun Barrel City.  It is also possible to make a skull mount a DIY project. If you like this type of trophy, don’t shoot your pig in the head. As mentioned in a previous… Continue reading Skull Mounts

#0016 I really enjoy watching these videos from Carpe Sus. He is very good about explaining what he is doing and analyzing the situation that he is in. He often comments on the hog behavior and routinely conducts necropsies on the hogs to evaluate bullet performance. This video demonstrates the resiliency of hogs and also… Continue reading Resilience of the Feral Hog

#0015 Many people know that wild animals can be called toward the hunter: ducks, turkeys, etc. My friend Perry took this video through his thermal rifle scope. He was using the Convergent Bullet HP blue tooth caller and the Glen Guess app on his phone to call the hogs using the call “Vampigra.” He told me… Continue reading Hog Calls

#0014 This hunt took place during the Covid-19 shutdown. Today, Sunday, was out of the ordinary for me much like for you, I’m sure. For Perry and me, we are members of the same church, and we are not meeting for now.  So, I met him this afternoon at his house, and we rode his… Continue reading A Hit, But It Still Misses

#0013 Porcus Hogrelius received a question this week. This installment of The Meditations of Porcus Hogrelius will address this inquiry from a reader. Q: A question for you…traditionally in Virginia the area I live in has always been shotgun only for deer hunting.  They have relaxed this requirement as long as you’re in an elevated… Continue reading Q&A with Porcus Hogrelius

#0012 Practice is key to success in almost every aspect of our lives. A group of guys gathered for a Manx Farm hunt one February day. Fortunately, we met up on Friday, a day ahead of our hunt. First stop: the shooting range. Most of the guys had flown in, so I made my rifles… Continue reading Weekend Getaway

#0011 It is somewhat entertaining to watch feral hogs as they scratch their itches. We can identify with this behavior. I sometimes have an itch on my back. I find a door jam and go to work. Up and down, side to side. Ahhh. I’ve included a couple pictures showing pig rubs. In one photo,… Continue reading Pigs have Itches

#0010 My friend Eric came to visit one February for a pig hunt at Manx Farm in Corsicana. Saturday, after breakfast of eggs and pork sausage, we drove to Manx and arrived in time for more eggs and sausage. Richard had told me that there was no reason to get there before dawn as the… Continue reading What a Trophy

#0009 I was spending a few days at the tree farm in early January. Monday morning at about 0330, the phone alerted me with a photo of a pig at one of the pig pipes. I got dressed and moved outside. I could see two of my green motion lights were on, one of which… Continue reading In the Dark of the Night

#0008 My son Ben came to the tree farm Thursday afternoon. His plan was to stay the night and hunt. This has been a cool fall, we have had freezing temps overnight several days this month. It was a beautiful afternoon with the fall colors at their peak (per Texas standards, not New England standards).… Continue reading Father and Son Bonding

#0007 Carpe Sus posted this video. It is similar to my recent post regarding shot placement and the need to monitor the downed hog. He makes the same point: even a well-placed neck shot can miss the spinal column and merely stun these tough animals. Watch the downed hog closely and administer the second shot… Continue reading Meet Brian of Carpe Sus

#0006 There is a formula to estimate hog weight using the heart girth. Weight = 10.1709 x hearth girth (inches) – 205.7492 My latest boar had a heart girth of 46 inches. Estimated weight = 10.1709 x 46 – 205.7492 Estimated weight: 262 pounds. Actual weight: 250 pounds. The formula seems to work well. I’ve… Continue reading How to Weigh a Hog Without a Scale

#0005 For those who know me, you have heard me emphasize the importance of shot placement on feral hogs. Just like real estate: location, location, location.  Your shot needs to hit the neck, the neck, the neck.  Hunting hogs later in life after hunting deer, this is a significant paradigm shift. Deer hunters aim for… Continue reading Location, Location, Location!

#0004 The drought is over. The rains will arrive tonight at the tree farm. And, I took three hogs while I was there over the last two days. I spent yesterday planting my deer food plots. I have five small areas (maybe two acres total) planted with a mix of oats, winter peas, clover, and… Continue reading Be Ready at Any Time

#0003 I did a European mount for a hog I shot a while back. It weighed about 240 pounds. The two photos are the before and after shots. I removed the head and skinned it. Then, I placed it on the ground under a wash tub. As time went by the dermestid beetles and their… Continue reading DIY European Mount

#0002 After enjoying a quiet day at the tree farm, we prepped for the night. This has been the coolest temps in July in anyone’s memory. The lows in the low 60’s and the highs only in the 80’s. We put out more corn near the three green motion lights. Mike sat in the elevated… Continue reading Green Lights in the Dark