EAST TEXAS HOG DOGGERS FORUM

Barrs:   TDHA Hunting Contest

This poll is in no way an official vote regarding the TDHA, as I have ZERO ties to them.  Just saw the need to host a poll based on recent threads.

Hopefully those making decisions will view this poll, and take it's results into consideration.

Could you ad an option that says contest with separate category for Barrs?

Joey the most money will be paid for the biggest event. If they separated it the it would be a smaller category. It is not illegal to turn barrs loose in Texas.

Not trying to stir up anything with this question but why is there such a stir over whether barrs are allowed or not

Every place we hunt has barrs if our dogs get on a running Barr or he cuts them down and he don't count in the competition than we waisted our time entering. They just changed the rule this year and it is for hunters in Texas and there are bars in Texas.

Hold on chance. Rule has not been changed at this point. Rules are not even finalized so I don't even know how all of this got brought to light.

im sorry I was not speaking of the tdha. The trails of tears changed there rule this year sorry Boarwild I did not specify.

no prob.  thanks for everyones input.  we will continue to monitor and rules will be posted in a timely manner. 

I have never hunted a tournament (i would like to) but i dont understand what all the fuss is with not allowing them. I mean your dogs still have to find it bay it and catch it! I mean its not always a cakewalk to catch em. Its a hog hunting tournament and barrs are still hogs last time i checked.

Yes sir brad s your correct.

Well said.

The fuss as I see it is that some folks may bar every boar for a year or two and turn them loose in a remote area that only the really have access to and there is plenty of country for them to hunt.  Then when tournament time comes they use this place as a "Honey Hole" and therefore have a herd of hogs that have nothing on their mind but to eat and get big.  They dont compete for territory, breeding, or range as far unless otherwise pressed as a boar hog would.  therefore giving that team an equivalent of a stocked pond instead of an open public lake to hunt fo the torunament.

If it were only that easy!

How do you figure it isnt that easy?  I have seen it done on several occassions, and seen these folks cut every boar save them in a pen until they get a load and then take them and dump them in a spot that nobody has access to but them and they really dont have that much access to it.  You put that many barrs that will grow faster and get bigger, and you have serious dog power then you will flat out slam some hogs and some nice ones at that.

That's called cheating and the polygraph should take care of that.

I agree.  And if its not done on a grand scale, it's done on a smaller scale with just a few hogs.  And I have a hard time seeing how a lie detector test can sniff that out.

EXACTLY!!!!!!!

Thank you!!!!!

I understand both sides. But if I were to catch a big Barr during any contest I would want to weigh it in.


Bay and catch

I have been Hunting for 14 years now and not once have I ever caught a barr

Sent from my SGH-T889 using Xparent Red Tapatalk 2

You're kidding right?

It's a simple question yes or no question for the person giving the polygraph to ask.

This is not how it is this is not what we are trying  to do. I weighed in one Barr after tdha competition this last year he weighed255 caught on a piece of property that does not work hogs. This hog ran over a mile and cut the hell out of my dog. It was all worth it to weigh him in. You guys have no clue we are not out to cheat you think we are its not what our plan is. If we catch a Barr we want him to count cause we know what we are doing. Ya'll  are pointing out what a cheater will do and doubting our integrity . Texasj  if the polygraph is useless than the hell with the whole thing. Im telling you  guys I could cheat legal with out barrs on fee ranged hogs the man loves hogs and feeds 1500 pounds of corn a week. That would be cheating. We are not out to cheat we are competitive people and by being competitive we strive for the best dogs. We are not asking to count barrs to cheat we are asking because we know if we get on one the work that goes into it. Two years ago bumpers competition bayed a Barr a broke the catchdogs leg hog weighed260. Stop knocking my integrity we show up ready for the polygraph and ready to compete. The rule is stupid in my eyes and I will fight to keep it off the tournament.

The average hunter will not have a place like this set up, but there are folks that do have these places set up to only hunt for Comps, show dogs for sell at, and guide the occassional trophy hunt.  Know one is going to get upset if you have one or two Barrs in a stringer of  10, but if you have 4 or 5 in a stringer of 10 then it is obvious that you are hunting a place that you have cultivated for big hogs and that is more of working livestock and not hog hunting. ( I know there is no difference technically, but you have to understand that once you start working a herd like you would cattle then that herd has been altered from its natural state and therefore in my opinion not a true wild hog anymore).

Joey

Well Mike, it's such a grey area.  Lets say they weren't held and collected, but moved one at a time.  And then the hunting spot slowly became saturated with big barrs.  That sort of slow trickle hardly seems like illegal behavior.  It would be difficult to tie that to a disqualification in a tournament.

I respect that a lot.

Exactly!  And Chance is a shinning example of this when (and I may not quote you exactly) that there was a phone call and you let a team come in and catch 3 big barrs in one pasture.  These guys wouldn't have a problem in the world passing a lie detector test.

Chance,

I am in now way saying that even the folks that set these places up are cheating, because it never occured to me that could be considered cheating.  Only thing we need to do is ask the question on the Polygraph, "Did you or any of your teamates catch this hog previously"  If they did then that hog doesnt count and if they didnt then run it through the scale.  That is the only compromise I see especially since this subject has been brought to light.  I totally agree that they should be allowed to be weighed in but the rules do say no previously caught hogs so if the hog was caught by someone on that team before and barred then rules are being broken.  I wish they never would have brought this up because we really just need to go have fun and catch as many hogs as we can, so the can be fed to the hungry or sold to a buyer and then the money be put to a worthy cause.

Joey

Tell me guys..

How many of these livestock/tame Barrs have y'all caught???

Do y'all even have any clue what y'all are talking about? You don't cut hogs or participate how can you sit there and act like they are freaking cattle??

I've seen a hog cut one day & released. The NEXT f'ing day he was caught 9 miles from there. Don't sit there and tell us you can cut them and they will just lay around on the property like fat, show hogs eating everything.

We dropped on a track last year and nine miles later put a stop to the rankest 300# Barr you have ever seen.

Do y'all want to venture and guess what our return rate is on hogs we catch and hogs we cut??

We catch maybe 25-30% of the Barr hogs that were actually ones we cut. We'd be broke men on the stock market with returns like that. In the last 6 years we have caught probably 60-70 Barr hogs. Don't sit there and talk about stuff you have no idea about and merely are assuming

Texasj you are correct I would have called anyone of those from either team if it was a heard of hogs in that field. None of those hogs were cut by me or them guys. The place they were in was not a place I hunt at all.  The place is only 120 acres and these hogs have traveled there. I seen them and said y'all come catch them. When they got there the hogs had done moved in the woods . We called the other neighbors to make sure if there dogs got on them it would be ok. And the last of those barrs was caught over a mile away. If that would have been three big boars I would have done the same thing. Matter of fact the three biggest hogs I ever caught was three big boars in a watermelon patch  together  like livestock.

Every Barr that I caught always wrecked the dogs put us on a race none us us wanted to take but at the end when all said and done it was all worth it. Now if me and my dogs spent half a day running a Barr hog in the comp then when we take it to weigh and it's not allowed. Then it was a waste for my dogs. And y'all think a Barr hog is tamed by any means. Then I got one for you to get on he's already killed dogs wrecked dogs and that bad boy will put you to the test. I've been after him for awhile and he always seemed to come out on top.  I've never Barr hogs till this past year and them main reason I started to Barr hogs was because every Barr hog that I got on made my dogs work there tails off. Don't get me wrong I like when you can catch a hog in ten minutes from when you cut lose but when your dogs goes that exact mile of hard dog work. That's when I'm proud of my dogs the most.  And around here it's Barr hog that give us a good run for the money.

I'm not doubting you guys any about the barrs being bad and running a long ways but the ones I have caught didn't fight or run at all hardly and maybe it was just coincidence that they didn't run or fight the biggest one weighed 410lbs and squealed like a little pig. So I really don't see them being any worse about running or hurting dogs than any other hog.

If someone wants to cheat bad enough to do this then they will just find another way to cheat. I hunt deer leases, not a ranch or farm land and we dang sure dont ride around spot lighting till we see one and turn the dogs out on em. When we hunt our dogs put some hard work in! This is why we want a Barr hog to count, it about the dog not the hog!

Do you really think us grainfeild hunters have it so easy??  :D :D :D :D :D :laugh:

Boy howdy I wish we spotlighted hogs and dropped dogs on them!!!!!! My dogs and the dogs belonging to a good friend of mine ROUTINELY put 20-30 miles per night on a garmin collar! That's just hunting, not "getting on a runner"

Add to that, most of the turn rows and roads in this country is rock solid hard in grain season (except for rice fields) doesn't hold tracks to turn out on so we have to just put the dogs down and make them run and hunt their own tracks. It sounds like a fib till you come here and see for yourself


I hope you were being general, because if you honestly think that's what us farm country boys do then I'll say you are wrong my friend.

Heck man, honestly the fellas I know hunting these grainfeilds down here by me go to the woods for a sorta hog hunting fun day. We like being in the woods where at least it's pretty!

I'm not "mines tougher than yours", but I don't take kindly to folks acting like hunting farmland is like taking candy from a baby.

Heck man, honestly the fellas I know hunting these grainfeilds down here by me go to the woods for a sorta hog hunting fun day. We like being in the woods where at least it's pretty!

FUN DAY!!!! You have to be kidding me! And i never said it was easy the reason i say it is bc im pretty sure you are not allowed to barr a hog on FARM land! This post is about BARRS!

After reading and re-reading and re-reading what you wrote I can see where maybe you didn't intend to belittle grain hunters, but at first it sure as heck seemed as though you were.

Whatever, like Tupac says, " I ain't mad at ya"


In defense of my fun time comment. In my part of my county, hogs LIVE in the woods and only visit the grains. This means that when all your property is solely grain, you're probably gonna end up anywhere from 1/2 a mile to three miles off the grains if you have dogs who will run that track at all costs.

No offense meant to you, just trying to inform folks who may not realize it that all territories have their difficulties. I like woods better than grains because that's where I can easier find wallers and rubs an tracks. That's all I was getting at.

I can see why u took it as u did but what i ment by it is that where i hunt we and many other hunters barr all the boars we catch that way when and "IF" we ever catch them again they will be good for the freezer. And i know the people that get to hunt farm land or a ranch have to kill the hog and i would do the same if that is what i had to do to be able to hunt there but i dont so i wont till i do.

Cool deal man, sorry for the misunderstanding.

Water on a ducks back brother

What I don't get is most contest rules say you can't turn in a hog that has been caught before. Well a Barr hog has been caught before , RIGHT???

That is correct.  The HDTT and several tournaments this year acknowledge this point.

I agree with josh!!!

Who's to say or know if a boar or sow was not previously caught by someone without your knowledge..... as in the boar or sow you catch was caught when 75-100's and turned back loose cause of size and now you catch it at 300#'s,that's a previously caught hog as well correct? It's just not marked to know it.

That is correct!! You don't know if it has or has not been caught BUT a Barr hog pretty much says it has been caught before. Hey jack I'm just going by the rules.. I like to do the contest for the fun of it and meet new people! Benefit hunts are good. I'm not much on winning just a good time. HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY

So why worry about the Barr hogs if you're in it for the fun.

Because the rules in most contest state ...... No caught hogs.. Hey I'm just going by the rules. I don't make the rules...if their is a Barr hog stringer then I would hope to catch Barr hogs.. Like I said I'm in it for the fun where I hunt I don't catch and release but that is just me...

CandC you don't understand what we do nor our country. It separates us from the rest. I'm so burnt on this subject it has pissed me off to the point of me stepping out of my character. I catch hogs and a barrs is a hog. Every bit of the pork you buy out of the stores is barrs or sows so  maybe we should not allow boars cause they don't sale boar meat in the stores.. I mean we can go on all day with why or why not.

x2 i caught a hog that had no ears an no tail an was still a boar ... he was hell to catch but we got him tied an he was either trapped/caught

wow is really all i can say guess i better start TRYING to teach my dogs not to bay barr hogs lol. IF IT HAS HAIR TURN IT IN ITS HOG HUNTING

Coonasscur did you vote in the poles. You are a Barr Hunter so make sire you vote.

C WARD yes i voted barrs barrs barrs if it has hair turn it in the comp

No one is saying a Barr hog is not a hog just saying if is a hog that has been caught before..... And for the hog u caught with no ears that is just saying your dogs are better than the one who TRIED to catch that hog before you did.  Their is no proof that hog was caught before but a Barr hog pretty much tells u it has been caught and released.  Just saying... I'm not against Barr hogs I just think a contest their should be a Barr pot !! That will solve all this ...

I think it is obvious that a side pot for barrs will solve nothing. There are 4 threads with several pages of post and a poll to prove it.

Chance I would not and do not have an issue with Barr hogs in any competition. You still have to find it bay it and catch it. I think there have been way bigger boars brought into the competitions over the years that were caught at feed lots by groups spotlighting and dumping on big boars.  So, if it is an unfair advantage to catch a Barr then feed lot hogs should not be allowed either.  That way everyone would be on an even playing field not really.  I have hunted in and been involved in a contest or two and there is no way to even the playing field for everyone involved period unless the contest was to provide each team with exactly same amount of land. Each individual team had to use the same amount of dogs and each team had the exact same distance to travel to and from the contest. Oh yeah and each track of land must have the same amount of hogs that weigh the same.  Just will never happen. When we as hunters hunt a contest, it is for fun and pride and anyone can have a great weekend and win.  Just my opinion take it as you will.

Thanks doggie for coming and posting. I know you been a member on here since the beginning with very few post. But when you post you always post for the good. THANKS.

That's right fun and pride!!!! Well put.....

Not trying to stir anything up, just a few things caught my attention. A couple post said, how is it fair to go hunting and chase a Barr all night and get dogs cut up if a Barr is not excepted. Here's my thought, I've never caught a Barr simply because we don't cut and turn loose so I can't be upset by that rule, however I can be upset when I hunt hard just like everyone else and my dogs get cut on a BOAR that hasn't been caught before then get beat by BARRS when the rules say no previous caught hogs. I don't consider it to be cheating cutting hogs then wait til they get big then hunt them again, but it's an advantage. Barrs will get bigger faster than boars and tend not to roam like a dominant boar. So placing BARRS in an area to make a big honey hole just isn't true hunting in my book. It may be a tradition or an advantage to others but this year the rules simply say no BARRS it's clearly laid out. This is a hunting competition which means go out,catch hogs, enjoy the woods and your dogs. Do your best to follow all rules and the main thing is have fun. Just cause it's a competition doesn't mean go find a way to bend the rules. In my mind I don't care if I win or not, it means more to me to catch hogs with my dogs that I know hasn't been caught before, then going out to a spot already knowing what's there. It's a rule this year so deal with it, if all your spot consist of just BARRS and you feel like you have no chance to catch a boar then it's pretty simple. Don't enter this competition, there's no sense creating a problem, the rule is what it is this year. Good luck to all, hope everybody has good hunting and most importantly stays safe.

So pretty much if you were huntin where you dont barr any hogs an by some chance you catch 3 barrs that are all over 250lbs your gunna still say its simple dont turn the hogs in .... i highly doubt it
?

So barrs tend to not roam like a dominant boar? You know this to be fact? Because I can tell you its 100% false! I'll give you two examples. Earlier this year we were hunting a property and caught a barr. It was not a barr I had cut but i did recognize the ear mark. I called the guy who had cut him and he said the closest he had cut one from that property was around 7 miles away. Second example, this deer season we have 3 game cams up on a property that i live next to. We have 3 different BOARS all over 200#  coming to the same feeders like clock work. On this same property I have cut well over 20 barrs in the last year. Guess how many we have caught or even seen on camera....0!!

We are not complaining about the new rule because our places only have barrs or because we have been stock piling barrs on one property just for tournament sake. We are complaining because you never know where you are going to catch a barr and it would be a shame to waste even 5 minutes catching a barr when you cannot count it.

Another point I would like to make is, I believe the rule of no "previously caught" hogs is refering to hogs caught prior to tournament hours and holding them until tournement weigh in. Not hogs released back into the wild and caught at a much later date.

if you think for an instant that the hog caught with NO ears or a tail wasnt caught at 1 point in time, then your about as lost in smarts as a goose in a hale storm. if it cant be prooven the hog was caught, then how can you prove that a barr was dog/trap caught and then turned loose? iv got a dog that will barr a boar or give a sow a historectomy. in your line of thinking of proof, then the hog was nvr caught, just an attempt of being caught. what about boars born in a pen by a caught sow, then barred at a young age nd either got out, or turned loose? if you wanna play samantics, the barr was nvr caught by any means, but was born in captivity.

COLLARS AND CUTTERS,

This is the second time I have edited your posts.   I won't edit it again. ;)

GO get your $400 to enter and hunt with a broken ankel get dogs cut down catch 13 hogs anyways and way in a good stringer and get 11th place with no barr which they aren't even in my area at all  14 to 15 years of running dogs and never seen or caught one...  After saying that I'm not on either side I'm fortunate enough to not be concerned with the money but i do want my dogs to be competive when i do enter.  Thats why in the past year i havent sold a hog is to be competitive..  I have turn allot back loose to put on the weight i have seen in results of doing this. 

Another thing why is everyone keep talking about and preaching that these barrs are sooooo good to eat is why we do it??  I call BS on that, we catch and release for a sport bottom line...  DOn't try to fool me, ive been catching and releasing for years but didn't start barring till this year...  Didn't ever see the point till i started enentering these hunts last year.  I catch and do guided hunts more ofter than most and I'm not an enternet hog dogger...  I don't understand everyone for bars speaking of the taste...  Get you a 100 pound sow and throw her on the smoker or in a hole..  We are doing it for the money and the sport.. 

Good luck to everyone this season cause my protien feed BOARS are going to break the scale! 

"Another thing why is everyone keep talking about and preaching that these barrs are sooooo good to eat is why we do it??  I call BS on that, we catch and release for a sport bottom line...  DOn't try to fool me, ive been catching and releasing for years but didn't start barring till this year...  Didn't ever see the point till i started enentering these hunts last year.  I catch and do guided hunts more ofter than most and I'm not an enternet hog dogger...  I don't understand everyone for bars speaking of the taste...  Get you a 100 pound sow and throw her on the smoker or in a hole..  We are doing it for the money and the sport."

People been cutting boar hogs way before these tournament came about. And it was so they could go brag about how big a hog they caught.

And it WAS NOT so they could go brag about how big a hog they caught

Have you ever eaten Barr hog? It is hands down my favorite wild game meat to eat! We've been cutting barrs long before these tournaments and not for sport either. I was raised to eat what I kill and I am not going to eat a boar hog. So, I cut them hoping to catch them at a later date when they will make a great meal!

Well when i catch one of mine i will have to try it instead of saving it for a tournament.  Thats sounds like a great plan.   >:D

Thats what most people that catch them do.

I have a question last yr in the tdha contest how many Barr hogs did the winner wiegh In?

We didn't turn in any

What about 2nd and 3rd place if I am not mistaking there was a team that turned In 3 or 4 Barrs in there 5 biggest last yr

I've been hunting for 10 yrs now and never caught a Barr

I have been have been hunting 14 years now and never ever caught a barr I would get kick right off my places if I did that

Sent from my SGH-T889 using Xparent Red Tapatalk 2

I catch and cut boars all year and love to catch a good barr just like the next hog hunter. This is what I see the problem is with having them in a tournament, not everybody can or has the country to cut boars and re-catch them so that gives them a disadavanage. We all know how big a barr can get and how fast it happens with the right feed. A boar hog will not gain weight that fast even with the right feed. I have entered any many tournaments and have won and lost with a barr. But here is the catch in the tournaments HOGS ARE NOT TO BE PRE-HANDELED BEFORE THE TOURNMENT.... There is no way around that with barr hogs. I do think there needs to be a side pot for biggest barr.

Hi, my names Clint and I voted for Barrs ;D

well the man has spoke. They call him the Barr master. I doubt Clint has hunted any competition but if he did I would sure feel I would need to step my game up to compete against the best of the best. Hope all is well Clint. There are barrs all in his country and they did it for the meat.

Idk about Barr master but we sure do like working some boar hogs every once in a while. It burns me up about everyone thinking people do it just for teeth or to win contest. One of the places I hunt has hogs worked on it for 80+ years. Yes there are a lot of barrs but there are also a lot of boar hogs. Enough to keep us busy anyways. I turn just as many Barr hogs loose each year as I do freshly cut boar hogs. The only reason I hunt is to see my dogs work and have a good time. At the most we take out 3-4 Barrs a year for meat. I cut boar hogs not to impress anybody but for the simple fact as to that they are the best eating in the woods.

I want to catch a Barr haha

Then just don't ever kill another boar.

You gotta cut em to catch em  ;)

Don't wait on other people to do all the work.

You are correct sir!

Sounds like some people should just keep there dogs on a chain and don't enter.

Thats a great statement right there!  >:D

Well said!!! A good side pot. With the amount of people supporting barrs this should be a BIG side pot. Sounds like a good fix!

Go spend 6 hrs catching one and win a Side pot!   Lol

Lol. We/I spend hours upon hours hunting, chasing, catching boars, barrs, sows, shoats year round... All for nothing but the sport because 98% of the time there is no tournament going on. I guess I missed your point...

Never spent 6 hrs catching one so wouldn't know

I sure as hell have.

Not trying to get in a pissing match or anything but I'm sure barrs are like anything else that some of them can be hell to catch but in just my experiences with the ones that we have caught they were the easiest hogs we have ever caught. The biggest one ever caught weighed 437 and he squealed like a short and didn't run anywhere.

We got 4 last year & each one was over 400# & killed at least 2 dogs. Like you said tho, they're like anything else, you never know.

You caught 4 hogs in one year over 400.  Not trying to call you out, but one hog in a year over 400 is pretty special, much less 4, let's see em! Did you mount any of em?

My piney woods just don't grow em like that.

I'm with you BA... I've spent my whole lifetime chasing hogs and only caught 1 over 4. That's impressive lol

So just cause you guys haven't done it, it's not possible? It doesn't matter to me if ya believe it or not. I was there & know what happened.
I only have pics of 2 of em & one of the mounts. My dad has another mount & my cousin has the other 2 mounts.
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/01/19/yhyqasas.jpg)
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/01/19/u5y7yhug.jpg)
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Nobody saying they didn't believe you, just commenting on how rare it was.

If I caught one hog over 400, I'd have a BUNCH of pictures of it, much less four hogs.  You don't have to defend yourself, just us Barr hog hunters being curious.  My piney woods don't grow em like that, did y'all scale them hogs or guesstimate?

I didn't say it's impossible. I said I've been hunting a long time and caught ALOT of hogs over 300lbs and only 1 over 4.. It takes a hell of a hog to break 4. Most people don't really know what a hog weighs until you put it on a scale.