At the Ranch - Hog: Aerial Hog Hunting

We’re going to discuss an extreme version of feral hog population control – and that’s aerial gunning. It’s become very popular in the state of Texas, but it’s also legalized in some of the surrounding states. And what aerial hunting is is one of the most quick and effective ways to eliminate large numbers of feral hogs in an area where they are considered to be a nuisance animal. Aerial hunting has been going since 2011 when it was legalized to sell commercially, so you can actually go out and purchase a package and be able to be the hunter from a helicopter controlling feral hogs. With the population being over 2 million in just the state of Texas, and then causing hundreds of millions of dollars worth of damage, it’s really been a successful program in terms of knocking large numbers back on the feral hogs. The way it’s worked now, since they have legalized, you essentially book this almost like you would a traditional hunt of any kind. You show up and typically go through a gun handling and safety briefing, and then you’re loaded into the helicopter and you go out onto properties that these companies gain access to through permission from the landowners and you fly for a set amount of time. You basically shoot every single hog that you see and the goal on these is not your traditional hunting goal, it is a straight depredation so what you’re looking at is population control. In the state of Texas, it is legal to shoot feral hogs and coyotes from the helicopter. It is an extreme means of predator control you might say, but it is also a lot of fun. So you ought to check out aerial hunting for your next feral hog hunting adventure.