There’s a lot of talk about the destructiveness of wild hogs. But in East Texas, Wulf Outdoor Sports has been doing something about the problem for a few years now, and for 2012 has upped the ante considerably—to the tune of $28,000 in cash prizes for hog hunters participating in this year’s Wild Hog Roundup! The hunt team that kills the most feral pigs over the course of the 10-day tournament walks away with a cool $10,000.
“The Wild Hog Roundup is our effort to put our customers, people who enjoy hunting and the outdoors, into a spirited and lucrative event that ultimately serves a bigger purpose—the elimination of large numbers of destructive feral hogs,” says John Ball, CEO of Wulf Outdoor Sports.
Ball continues, “Now in its second year, we look forward to this event growing each year, both in size and prize monies, until we have severely impacted the feral hog populations in East Texas. So, we invite everyone to come join in! Either join the hunt or just come watch the daily total board light up with daily winners.”
The Wild Hog Roundup will get a tactical hog hunting infusion this year, too, as SHWAT will be there. The SHWAT Team™ will participate in the contest and daily hunts, visit landowners to see what problems the hogs are creating, and provide “on the ground” media coverage of this unique event.
“Jonathan and I founded SHWAT™ with the idea that if you help enough other people get what they want, you’ll end up with all you dreamed of,” says Stephen Owen. “Wulf Outdoor Sports has created just such an opportunity: Hunters win, land owners win, sponsors win – the only loosers are the hogs!”
Actually, this contest is on a real growth curve—much like the explosion of Texas hog populations! Several years ago, Deuce Wulf and Fred Wulf, along with Wulf marketing director Virginia Solgot, launched the “Big Pig Gig,” a hunting contest to bring increased awareness to the many problems created by feral hogs.
Last year, that morphed in to the first Wild Hog Roundup, held in May in Shelby County (home to Wulf’s original retail outlet in Center) and five surrounding counties. In just 10 days, 39 hunting teams took 724 hogs.
Last year’s event also offered a $10,000 Grand Prize to the team that killed the most pigs. That money went to the Pig Thrillers, a local Shelby County Team that bagged 154 hogs. There was also $500 awarded each day to the team that brought in the most hogs before noon.
The 2012Wild Hog Roundup will be held April 11 to 21, and will end up with the awarding of prizes. The Shelby County Chamber of Commerce will host the Go Hog Wild Cook-Off in conjunction with the Roundup, in Center, with cooks vying for $10,000 in prizes for the best pork ribs and other pork recipes.
The huge infusion of cash for this latest Wild Hog Roundup is due in no small part to the many sponsors that have teamed up with Wulf Outdoors this year. These sponsors are: Nikon, Under Armour, La Crosse Footwear, City of Center Texas, Farmers State Bank and Shelby Savings Bank.
“In Texas alone, feral pigs do $400 million in direct damage,” says Solgot. “And it’s not just in rural areas, though those are certainly hit hard, too. Here in East Texas, we’ve got hogs in residential neighborhoods, coming onto commercial properties, and in the public parks, rooting up lawns and destroying vegetation. When we explained the situation to these sponsors, they were very eager to help out.”
Solgot hopes to more than double the number of hunting teams for this year’s Roundup, and maybe get as many as 100 teams. Special Hog Weapons and Tactics™, of course, will be there, too, bringing a big dose of tactical pig hunting to East Texas, and joining with other tactical hunters already there.
“Sound tactics are key to getting the most hogs in the shortest timeframe, which means they are key to winning this contest and key to making a dent in the wild hog population. We expect to see a lot people jumping on board the tactical hog hunting band wagon,” says SHWAT™ Co-Founder Jonathan Owen.
Solgot also notes that local landowners have been calling steadily to line up hunt teams to come to their properties and take a whack out of their pig populations. The hope is that this Wild Hog Roundup will cause other Texas counties to consider becoming part of the solution, either by joining future Roundups or by sponsoring their own programs to encourage more hog hunting.
“You have to get out there with hunters, and you have to get after these hogs,” says Solgot. “We think if you give hunters a financial incentive to do this, everybody wins!”
On the Web:
Wulf Outdoor Sports:
http://www.wulfoutdoorsports.com/
The 2012 Wild Hog Roundup:
http://www.wulfoutdoorsports.com/news_article/wild_hog_roundup_2012/
Registration forms for hunting teams:
http://www.wulfoutdoorsports.com/images/uploads/Wild_Hog_Roundup_Rules.pdf
Go Hog Wild Cook-Off.
http://www.shelbycountychamber.com/chamber/events/gohogwild/
Nikon: www.nikon.com/Cached – Similar
Under Armour: www.underarmour.com/
LaCrosse Footwear: www.lacrossefootwear.com/
City of Center Texas: www.centertexas.org/
Farmers State Bank: www.farmersbankcentertx.com/
Shelby Savings Bank: www.shelbysavingsbank.com/
