2018 - Alabama Hog Control

This year has started out full of fire and fury.

I am now a full time hog killing machine. Hoping to break 1,000 this year on thermal hunts alone.

We are well on that pace already and we haven't even had a full month yet.

To date we are at 167.

Wow brother that's a solid start.

I had a great hunt over in Bullock County Monday night. Had one of those nights where I was just by myself.

I found the first sounder in a food plot. Two sows and 10 little ones. I got both the sows and 6 little ones.

Second sounder was in some hardwoods. These were all big pigs. I killed 5 sows and 4 boars.

The third sounder was in the woods as well. I killed 2 sows and 4 little ones.

The forth sounder was in some thick stuff. I shot a big boar and the rest escaped I guess.

I recorded all the stalks. After watching the video there were several more hogs that were hit hard but I didn't find out in the woods.

The recovered total was 24. That is my best total for a single night. Hopefully Becca will get the video edited and posted this weekend.

I am curious as to what ya'll think the actual kill total actually was. I will only count the 24 recovered but I do think I killed more.

Video is posted on FB for those that use it.

Had a couple of northern clients the other night. I had already covered the stalking and countdown process with both of them very well. We get on the first group of pigs (7) and start the stalk. We get all setup at about 40 yards and I start the countdown. I barely get the word 3 out and the guy on the left starts shooting. All heck broke loose then. We still managed to kill 4. Should have gotten them all. LOL

He had to buy breakfast the next morning! LOL

238 total now.

Lol

That video was awesome! Gotta get some buddies together and do that one of these days

Had a great hunt Friday night in Bullock County again. Recovered 21.
We didn't do as well Saturday night. Shot at 4 and killed 4. Just couldn't find them.

263 total now.

Got clients 3 of the next 5 nights.

280 total now.

Barry I hope you kill 2000 this season!

On a crazy pace so far. We are sitting on 295 to date. With 273 coming since deer season ended.

Some spots are drying up fast. I checked fields last night that were recently planted with corn and only killing lone boars.

I have had hunters the past 4 days and still have 2 more days before I get a night off.

Retirement is not slowing me down any! LOL

Took a father daughter combo out the other night. The young lady was 17 and had been begging her dad for a hog hunt for a few years. She dropped the first sow like a rock with my Grendel. The smile was as big as Texas.

We are on a nasty pace this year. My retirement is having some nasty effects on the hogs.

309 to date

So is it safe to say that you're killing more shooting than you are trapping now?

As long as he shoots better then we did Tuesday night I’d say yes.

I am not running any traps myself right now. Still selling a bunch. Clients are catching.

326 to date

286 have came since deer season ended. All of these were taken with thermals except 4. Those were killed during daylight.

Had some day hunters come down from Missouri the past couple of days to do some stalk hunting. They killed 9 and had a blast.

Still wearing them out at night.

369 total now.

Keep me in mind if you get another customer in my area. We are doing another Community cookout this weekend

We hit 409 last night. We didn't hit that number until August last year. It has been on fire. I actually got 3 traps running on the club, should start adding some trapping numbers to the thermal totals shortly.

The Jager Pro traps are making a mark now. We are at 526 now. This is crazy. We shot some this week as well in the full moon. Dang the boars love to come out on those bright nights! The dang boars are keeping my sex ratio off so far this year. I normally stay plus on the female side because of our tactic of targeting sows on the thermal hunts but dang if the boars are not wearing us out. Anyway, the only downside I have is that we are -4 on the ratio. I need to find some sows!

Well April closes out tonight. The year started out like most....slow during deer season. But, it has BLOWN up now.

Totals
Jan - 19
Feb - 127
Mar - 195
Apr - 190
Total - 531

And I still have until midnight to improve the April numbers. Will be in Lowndes and Dallas tonight. Have a landowner complaining about a HUGE boar in one of his fields. Hope to have a picture of him in the morning.

Been a little slower in May. Dang vegetation is growing like crazy and making the hogs hard to see. We have still managed to up our total to 594 for the year.

Had fun shooting some beavers for clients last night. Killed 9 beavers and 4 hogs.

Have been doing some coon trapping and hog killing the past few days. I managed to catch 42 coons over the past few days with 2 dozen coon cuffs.

Hog total is up to 667 now.

I just didnt feel it this spring, to hunt hogs. We didnt have no spring. It went from winter in the 50s to 80 over night it seemed. Dang bushes got green way too fast. I said forget it this year. I hunt for fun with guns and dont trap. Anyway good job!

697 now

The food plots are just about gone now. Killing lots of hogs in hay fields. Getting into to that hard part of the year where visibility is difficult in the woods and most row crops. Will just have to switch tactics again and keep on hammering. Trapping is doing pretty good. And of course Chris is still hammering the coyotes.

One of my buddies and I ran across a Hog Nose snake the other day. We got out and tried to bother him into rolling over and playing dead. He wouldn't, but he did get mad enough to open his mouth real wide and a toad jumped out and took off down the road. One lucky toad. He was about to become a turd. Guess you just can't ever give up! LOL

Thats a whole lot of pigs!!!!!!

Totals
Jan - 19
Feb - 127
Mar - 195
Apr - 190
May - 179
Jun - 37 so far
Total - 748

May started out slow but ended pretty strong.

Have had several situations lately where we snuck up on sleeping pigs. A few times right out in the middle of a large crop field. Dang that makes it easy to rack up some numbers.

I tell each shooter to fire 3 rounds into the pile and then pause to see if any get up. There is always a few small ones that do. I just find it interesting that they bed in the plot or field.

I went to the club the other day to pick black berries for my grandma. I got out in the middle of an old log landing that was about waist deep in briars and almost stepped on a sow and about 5 pigs. They just got up grunted at me a couple times and walked off. I would have had trouble making good follow up shots in that thick mess but if I would have had a gun on me I could have at least got the sow before she knew I was there.

It has been slowing down a little this month. We have only killed 67 so far.

The dang boars are doing their part though. A buddy and I rode around the other night on a cattle ranch and killed 8 boars. Three had dang good cutters.

What is it with the boars this year? Hit the same property again Friday night and killed 9 with 8 of them being boars. I can't find a dang sounder now.

790 total now.

The last 3 years combined we were a +142 on the female side. This year we are a +48 on the boar side. Dang it man.

Finished year to date through June at 807.

That is awesome Barry. That is a lot of dead pigs.

818 total now.

849 to date on the hogs.

Add to that:
89 coons
32 coyotes
21 beavers

And we are having a great year.

What's you FB name. We are overrun with hogs and need help.

. He may be trout fishing I can’t remember if he’s left yet or not.

Alabama Hog Control.

Barry Estes
334-301-0179

Brought Aug in with a bang last night. Killed 19.

Puts the total at 935 for the year now.

My retirement sure has been hard on the critters this year! LOL

To date:
961 hogs
123 coons
14 coyotes
21 beavers

I have caught 85 coons on our club so far. I think it is cool. I have seen 2 coveys of quail this week on our club.

Great work Barry!

God Bless,
David B.

Well we did it. Broke 1,000 for the first time in a single year.

Sitting at 1,005 to date.

A huge thank you to Ole SwampHunter himself. Couldn't have done it without you!

To date:
1,005 hogs
135 coons
25 coyotes
21 beavers

1,057 to date

1,071 to date

Grear work Barry

1,114 total now.

Keep laying the down.

What do you think led to this being the first year to do it? are there more hogs now than there were? Or are you just getting better at what you do? I assume if you hunt the same properties and numbers are increasing trapping/hunting isn’t working?

He is retired so now he kills hogs 24/7 instead of having a job interfere with his killing.

What BayedUp said! LOL

Being retired.
New properties.
Great equipment.

If I had to guess, I would say we work about 40,000 acres across the state. Considering there is 22 million acres in the Great State of Alabama, I doubt I am going to make an impact on the TOTAL population. But, I do make a big dent in the population on the properties I work.

I attended a big pig conference a year or so ago. One of the presenters estimated the hog population in each state. His estimate for Alabama was 300,000 hogs. I think that is bad low. But, it was his estimate.

Anyway, if he is correct, then I have killed 1 out of every 300 pigs in the state this year. I SERIOUSLY doubt that.

To date:

Hogs 1137 (Trapping and shooting)
Coons 145 (Mainly trapping)
Coyotes 35 (Just shooting)
Beavers 26 (Just shooting)

I think Chris has caught 250+ coyotes for the year now.

Who is chris? How do we contact him?

Sent you a text.

1169 to date.

1192 to date.

Keep on keepin’ on ElkHunter Good deal!

1,313 for the year now.

Error. 1,213

1,222 for the year now.

What's the highest number of hogs you've taken in a year?

That is it.
2012 - 177
2013 - 330
2014 - 433
2015 - 700
2016 - 800
2017 - 826
2018 - 1,222 to date

Add to that this year -
145 raccoons
12 possems
64 coyotes
26 beavers

Hogs by county top 5:
Wilcox - 711
Bullock - 129
Dallas - 104
Autauga - 103
Lowndes - 56

My hunting club is in Wilcox. I have LOTS of properties in Wilcox to hunt. Having a place to crash and get some sleep there really allows me to hammer those places.

Barry those are unreal numbers! You got it down to an art form bud.

Nice work Barry. Know you hammered them on our place and our neighbors this past off season and throughout the summer,they were tough to find. I thought they may have moved on. Unfortuneately,i killed 5 opening week. 4 with the AR and one with a bow. Seems they're back with a vengeance. Acorn vacuum cleaners.

You have to stay on them for sure.

1250 for the year now.

1,256 to date

Mixed emotions tonight. My thermal permit expires tonight at midnight. Glad I am going to start getting some sleep. Hating that I have to give the dang pigs a break. LOL

That Sux

Want to come to Florida? I’ve got 12-14 coming into a feeder in a plot everyday. Private land so you can hunt all night over bait in FL. Hate those things

Barry's too busy! But i would come

1,266 to date

1,277 to date

Y'all hammering'em

Barry stays mad at them hogs. Good work!

FINALLY!!!!!!!

Been ignoring the deer trying to hit the 1,300 mark for the year. I caught twice (8 and 7) in the same trap over near Miller's Ferry this week in a 3 day span. Those 2 catches plus a few killed during the day puts us on the 1,300 mark exactly!!!!!!!

To say I miss my thermals us a HUGE understatement!!!

Come on Feb 11!!!!!!!

Trapping is on fire now. It will be for the next 3 or 4 months. Very little food in the woods now. I have clients catching hogs all over the state this week. I caught on our club right as the game was ending. Will post the end of the year total when I come home in a few days.

Finished the year with 1,310. No doubt my retirement was bad for the pigs. Will make a year end post showing the breakdown and other animal totals probably Monday. Thanks to all that helped and supported us through our 6th year.