Meet the South Texas Couple Who Kill
Feral Hogs as a Public Service
Texas Monthly,
by
Sam Russek
Original Article
Posted By: Hazymac,
4/21/2020 9:48:23 AM
On a brisk day in January, hunter and trapper Robert Lyle is opening the gate to the Willamar tract of the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge, a 1,162-acre brushy patch of federally protected land near Port Mansfield, when another pickup pulled up behind Lyle’s Chevy Silverado. “You with the oil patch?” the driver asked Lyle.
“No,” he said. “I manage the hogs.”
The stranger paused. “Can you do that?”
“Well, we try,” Lyle chuckled.
Since 2014, Robert and his wife Vickie have been the only trappers allowed year-round on the 140-plus national refuge units sprinkled across the lower Rio Grande Valley, and they also hunt on private land
Reply 1 - Posted by:
franq 4/21/2020 10:10:09 AM (No. 386422)
I wonder how they taste. Most wild animals are gamey.
4 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
Clinger 4/21/2020 10:12:01 AM (No. 386423)
My grandfather used to hunt the damned things. Used an 8mm Mauser.
6 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
bpl40 4/21/2020 10:23:01 AM (No. 386439)
Is this the same as a wild boar? Had that at a Thai restaurant once. Delicious.
3 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
DVC 4/21/2020 10:25:33 AM (No. 386443)
Bless them for killing hogs, a real scourge on the land.
I was canoeing on the Suwanee River in Florida last fall with a good friend and we went ashore in an interesting area, public land. We ran across probably 10 to 15 acres of just rooted up, ruined forest floor. The damned pigs had just roto-tilled it about 8 inches deep, ripping out every living plant but the large trees. It was a horrible mess. I had a small 9mm in my pocket, but at that point, I vowed to not go out again in Florida without a suitable hunting weapon to kill any pigs we might run across. Since carrying a rifle is "unhandy" it will be a handgun, but one more suited to taking hogs. But, they are pretty skittish, and running into them isn't common.
9 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
DVC 4/21/2020 10:30:34 AM (No. 386452)
#3, what is called "wild boar" is widely variable, probably not any actually "wild" animal, more likely feral hogs like these. Boar is only proper for the males, and they tend to be the worst meat, so for restaurant fare, I imagine that "wild boar" is actually feral sow.
Some locals won't even try to eat them, others say they are fine. One friend has killed four with ammunition I made for him in his 8mm Mauser (interesting confluence with #2) and using a scope mount I made for his WW2 German military rifle to replace the rear sight. Where he hunts them, they say to just leave them lay, won't even process them for eating. Personally, I'd at least try it, I like pork and killed on in Fla many years ago, and it was great.
7 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
rikkitikki 4/21/2020 10:43:26 AM (No. 386466)
wild hogs are like 300-lb cockroaches...they can live anywhere, eat everything, breed prolifically, and scare the shlt out of you when you stumble into one in the woods at night.
OTOH, if you're very careful when you butcher them, they can be delicious...just be careful to pick out every strand of fur and every lymph node and ligament.
7 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
Troutgreen 4/21/2020 10:56:23 AM (No. 386485)
Trap 'em. Feed them corn for a few weeks. Viola. Who needs Chineese pork? Just need to get rid of some pesky restrictions against selling or donating feral pork. We have a nearly endless supply of these pests. Texas is bordered by Louisiana. Just tell our Cajun buddies feral hogs taste good. And that they're not in season. Just kidding!!!! I love cajuns...and thank God for the Cajun Navy....saved our lives a few years back during Harvey.
10 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
hershey 4/21/2020 10:58:06 AM (No. 386489)
Might be a good answer to the Smithfield problem...
7 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
Jesuslover54 4/21/2020 11:19:35 AM (No. 386530)
Totally interesting article, so thanks to the poster.
Wild pig may be good but I worry about disease. When they breed four for one I wonder how they can be controlled except by a relentless commercial operation. The Lyles are doing their bit, but two against hundreds of thousands doesn't seem like a fair match to me.
7 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
GO3 4/21/2020 1:36:05 PM (No. 386712)
The Lyles have been granted a permit to kill feral hogs on a wildlife refuge. Texans may kill hogs 24/7/365 on their property only. The goal according to the state is 100% eradication. That's unrealistic, but shows how much they want these creatures gone. However, I legally can't drive down the road and kill a hog on my neighbor's pasture. He might not mind, but it would sure be horrible if someone accidentally shot one of his calves. Unfortunately, it has happened before in a bordering county. That's why it's best to do it on your own land. I've never had hog meat, but the husband of a co-worker of mine butchered a couple of kills and put them into the freezer. The wife cooked it up and said it would be the last time she would ever cook that meat again.
2 people like this.
Reply 11 - Posted by:
rikkitikki 4/21/2020 2:55:31 PM (No. 386776)
How do they taste? I've eaten roasts, ribs, loins, and sausage from a dozen wild hogs...they all tasted just like domestic pork, only much leaner.
When butchering, however, you must be obsessively careful that not so much as a single hair or lymph node gets into your meat/sausage/whatever, because even one will taint the taste to the point where you won't enjoy eating it.
3 people like this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
rikkitikki 4/21/2020 2:58:35 PM (No. 386778)
We smoked a 300-lb wild boar whole (had to make a mini-smokehouse using old roofing tin), and it was delicious...no "gamey" flavor at all...as good as the best smoked pork butts I've smoked using commercially-raised pork.
2 people like this.
Reply 13 - Posted by:
DVC 4/21/2020 5:13:35 PM (No. 386934)
#10, use Barnes Triple Shock Bullets and I think you will like the results, even in 5.56/.223 on hogs.
They are selling their Barnes Vor-TX loads in .223 Rem with 55 gr TSX bullets.
2 people like this.
Reply 14 - Posted by:
hurricanegirl 4/21/2020 5:19:02 PM (No. 386944)
And here we go again! Yeah, I know--wild hogs can become a nuisance, but their propensity to procreate is also what makes them an ideal meat source. While the big boars are very stinky and not worth eating, the smaller hogs and sows generally taste great.
As for them rooting up everthing in sight, for one, they're probably going after--and getting rid of another nuisance--nut grass, and for two, tilling up your soil has never been easier via wild hogs.
And lastly, I'm just amazed at the number of total IDIOTS who think these animals should be totally eliminated. Hello! They aren't a nuisance; they're an opportunity. And if you can't figure that out NOW in a time when food is becoming hard to find, you're a fool!
0 people like this.
Reply 15 - Posted by:
DVC 4/21/2020 9:31:37 PM (No. 387148)
#15, apparently they aren't rototilling your land if you think the are an opportunity. And they wipe out a lot of other animals. Ground breeding birds are toast, turkeys and many other species.
We really should kill every damned one of these feral hogs.
If you want some on YOUR own land, put up pigproof fences and have at it. They shouldn't be wrecking public lands.
4 people like this.
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