Helicopter Hog Hunt Question

[TX03RUBI]

It crazy to hear of ranchers and landowners that have these "hog problems" but not willing to let people kill them. I visit the local feed store from time to time and hear about the hog related damage, and ask them if theyd let someone come kill some. More often than not, they always ask what am I willing to pay. Hmmmm, not as much a problem as they thought. Rock on with your hog problems there Hoss!

I understand the sentiment, but a single ground hunter or two isn’t going to slow the problem down at all. We’ve had fences ran through, cattle shot, and roads rutted up from letting guys hog hunt for free on our land. Not worth it. I’d absolutely let someone fly it though. They’re going to put an actual dent in the population, and less likely they’ll cause damage.

[Deuce16]

I get the above point, but getting some dollars from them is worth it? Im not talking about some Joe Smo off the street, these are hometown people that will do this. Talking about taking kids hunting even.

[WItoTX]

When you negotiate, keep in mind it isn't free or cheap to run a helicopter, pay for fuel, pay for all the flight training, file necessary paperwork with regulating authorities, get support vehicles there, purchase a helicopter....you get my drift. They may gross $2500 an hour, but I bet most of that is spend on overheads.

Personally, I wouldn't want them flying my land, even if there were a lot of hogs. At least not without them paying you. But I wouldn't expect them to compensate you either. I will add for reference, we had a helicopter for line work, and it was $1,500 per hour.

[Hart8]

I know a land owner in the panhandle that pays one pilot,and gets paid by another.
The one he pays has 2 guys that kill the **** out of em.
The one that pays him has guys like me up there with him shooting at pigs for the first time,out of a chopper..Win,win;I guess.

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[Arrowthreat]

I understand the sentiment, but a single ground hunter or two isn’t going to slow the problem down at all. We’ve had fences ran through, cattle shot, and roads rutted up from letting guys hog hunt for free on our land. Not worth it. I’d absolutely let someone fly it though. They’re going to put an actual dent in the population, and less likely they’ll cause damage.

I agree. The only way to curve the population is by excessive trapping or Helicopters. Helicopters is the fastest way, but not all ranches are conducive for it. I shot so many pigs off our ranch every year and it didn't even make a dent. Once we started trapping, you could see the change.

[txwhitetail]

When you negotiate, keep in mind it isn't free or cheap to run a helicopter, pay for fuel, pay for all the flight training, file necessary paperwork with regulating authorities, get support vehicles there, purchase a helicopter....you get my drift. They may gross $2500 an hour, but I bet most of that is spend on overheads.

Personally, I wouldn't want them flying my land, even if there were a lot of hogs. At least not without them paying you. But I wouldn't expect them to compensate you either. I will add for reference, we had a helicopter for line work, and it was $1,500 per hour.

You can personally get the same helicopter they are using for the hunts for $550 an hour. Don’t tell me they aren’t making much on the hunts.


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[txwhitetail]

I know a land owner in the panhandle that pays one pilot,and gets paid by another.
The one he pays has 2 guys that kill the **** out of em.
The one that pays him has guys like me up there with him shooting at pigs for the first time,out of a chopper..Win,win;I guess.

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Yep and the folks serious about eradication will be shooting shotguns not pretty ARs.


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[Barrett]

I just hunted a ranch the other night and the owner told me the heli comes out for free because the shooters pay good money to the pilot.

[MarkV]

Also look into how often they will come out there. I know heli bacon flys some land right next to where we would duck hunt. They would have guys out there 2 and sometimes 3 times a week. And they also didn't pay the landowner a dime

[TX03RUBI]

You can personally get the same helicopter they are using for the hunts for $550 an hour. Don’t tell me they aren’t making much on the hunts.


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I can get TOC pricing for an R44 to fly somewhat often. It’s not much under $500 per hour. We can split that one shooter or two. He charges a decent bit more than that to the public. That just covers his overhead on the machine and maintenance.

[Throwin Darts]

For the sake of my deer herd I wouldn't want a heli hovering over my place blasting guns every weekend. No thanks. I've watched those guys clear fields full of deer hovering 30 feet above the ground looking for pigs and those deer are still running.

[TexasTealHunter]

I would say heck yea you can.... as long as I get to ride along.

[justletmein]

You have no idea what kind of yahoos they're putting behind the trigger, any TD&H can pay to shoot but can he shoot accurately from a moving chopper? Gonna be spraying bullets everywhere I bet. Can he ID a pig from a calf on the run with his glasses rattling around his face? Too many problems.

[gingib]

Lots of people out there that will pay to shoot hogs. If I was a landowner and they approached me I would expect to get some compensation. If I had a hog problem and was gonna let someone hunt for free, it would be family and friends.

x2

[Fmjag64]

If i had a big piece of land without livestock, and pigs were all over, i would absolutely let them kill as many as they could. Would help your land and wildlife such as deer. Like mentioned above, people complain a ton about pigs and damage caused but when someone pops up and can help fix that problem, they want to charge them for helping. Doesn't make much sense to me. That said, if i ran cattle on the land, it would be a little different.