CENTER, East Texas, April 16, 2012:  This is Day Six of the Wild Hog Roundup, in Shelby County and throughout much of East Texas, and hunters, trappers, and dog hunters have brought in 364 feral hogs as of 9:30 this morning. Sponsored by Wulf Outdoor Sports, the top outdoors retailer in East Texas, the Wild Hog Roundup is offering $28,000 in cash prizes in a variety of hog hunting categories, and local hunters are responding.

“Our 2nd Annual Wild Hog Contest is off to a fantastic start!” says Virginia Solgot, Wulf’s marketing director.  “The hunters are giving us great insight on how to continue to grow this contest, and for next year we are already looking at having different divisions for trappers and dog hunters. Bottom line is the hogs are not going anywhere fast, they cause all sorts of problems, and we are committed to working with our corporate and community sponsors to grow this contest and bring much-needed attention to the feral hog issue.”

For sheer numbers of hogs taken, the trappers top the list. Using pen and box traps, baited with corn, some trappers have captured 15 to 18 hogs in a single trap.  A couple days ago, the trappers with Team #7, Pig Thrillers, brought in a trailer filled with 58 hogs! There’s a $10,000 cash prize to the team that brings in the most hogs over the course of the Roundup, and well as $500 daily prizes to the team that brings in the most hogs by noon of any one day.

East Texas has a long, rich history of using dogs to take hogs, and the dog hunters here are focusing their efforts on bagging big hogs‚ and the $2,500 that goes to the team killing the largest hog in Shelby County.  Currently, the big pig is a 265-pound brute taken by Team #1, the Murdoch Brothers of Martinsville, three dog hunting fanatics who’ve been running dogs and hogs for better than three decades.

SHWAT is here, too, with this writer, SHWAT Team Member Brian McCombie.  I will be joined by SHWAT co-founders Jonathan and Stephen Owen later this week.  We’ll be bringing a tactical focus to the Roundup, hunting with a variety of AR rifles, night and traditional optics, and even suppressors.

Right now, I am putting a couple of rifles through their hog hunting paces:  the Rock River Arms new PRK EHIDE, a .223, and the gun maker’s newest entry into the tactical hog hunting market, as well as ArmaLite’s AR-10(T), this one chambered in .308 Winchester for some added punch.

We are testing out a variety of ammunition, too, including lead-free, frangible Terminal Shock .223 and .308 from Dynamic Research Technologies, and Winchester’s new Razorback XT hog ammo, the world’s first hog specific ammo, also in .223 and .308.

I’m also trying out a pair of LaCrosse Adder Scent Snake Boots, and so far they are comfortable, waterproof and much-needed insurance against reptiles with fangs.  Solgot says these boots are a top seller here at Wulf for at least two very good reasons: Wulf offers them at a very competitive price, and there’s lots and lots of rattlesnakes and water moccasins slithering around this part of the world.

Check back with SHWAT often for new blogs and field tests of these tactical rifles and ammunition, as well as recaps of our SHWAT hunts.

On the Web:

Wild Hog Roundup:

http://www.wulfoutdoorsports.com/news_article/wild_hog_roundup_2012/

Wulf Outdoor Sports:
http://www.wulfoutdoorsports.com/

Rock River Arms EHIDE:
http://www.rockriverarms.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=category.display&category_id=551

ArmaLite AR-10(T):
http://www.armalite.com/Categories.aspx?Category=f4bd4a13-55d1-41aa-aea0-49488ec48776

DRT Ammunition:
http://drtammo.com/

Winchester Razorback XT:
http://www.winchester.com/library/news/Pages/news-first-hog-cartridge.aspx

LaCrosse Adder Scent Snake Boots:
http://www.wulfoutdoorsports.com/shop/products/LaCrosse%C2%AE-Adder-Scent-HD%E2%84%A2-Mossy-Oak%C2%AE-Infinity%C2%AE-Snake-Boots.html