American Hoggers Krystal "Pistol" Campbell talks Feral Pigs

A&E?s new docuseries, "American Hoggers," follows the Campbell family in the state of Texas.


Krystal is a take charge member of the Campbell clan, with her blue glitter nails and sass, she keep sher dad on his toes, and can hog-tie a feral quicker than most people can put their shoes on.
Patriarch Jerry is the Hog Boss Man, replete with sub-titles.  He is helped by his two children, Krystal and Robert, as they try to eradicate the state?s explosive feral pig / wild boar population.
Incredibly smart, ferals have taken to the dry expanses of Texas, and they are a problem in 39 states and four Canadian provinces.  The Texas pigs are rooting and destroying crops with six inch canines, damaging fences, overpopulating and goring dogs and people too.


Jerry's old-school and believes in the power of dogs, and his one-eyed stud Rooster leads the pack.
Krystal is a take charge member of the Campbell clan, with her blue glitter nails and sass, she keep sher dad on his toes, and can hog-tie a feral quicker than most people can put their shoes on.
Monsters and Critics spoke to Krystal about her high energy new series that takes us on wild chases in the Lone Star state:

Monsters & Critics:  How did you learn to hog-tie safely, and how do the dogs keep the boar down so it doesn't rip open your arms doing this?

Krystal: I can barely tie my shoes! Thank God for boots and flip-flops! I use hobbles to secure the pigs; they?re so quick and easy to use, just slip them over the hoofs and I?m done, plus they come in hot pink.
The catch is when things get tricky and it?s crucial to have a good pack of dogs and a couple extra sets of hands. In that moment, it all boils down to survival; it?s every man for himself.
The dogs are keyed in on that hog and that hog is totally and completely focused on the dogs. When all of this is going down, we come up behind the hog, grab his hind legs, flip him, and hobble him.

M&C: What do you do with the ferals that are caged, and not shot on site? Are they euthanized elsewhere off camera?

Krystal: A hog that has to be taken out is money lost. We do our best to avoid having to put a hog down, but there is always potential for danger when dealing with a wild animal. Some hogs are processed into sausage and others are sold to various buyers.

M&C: Why has Texas had such a problem with these feral pigs? The state has half of the whole North American population of wild boars. how did this happen?

Krystal: Texas is one of the largest states in the U.S. and is predominantly made up of farm and ranch land. There are ranches so big down here that some could take days to walk across and that makes a lot of territory for these hogs to roam without being disturbed. Where habitat, food and water are plentiful, there is a perfect haven for animals, such as wild hogs, to reproduce in massive quantities with little threat to survival.

M&C: Do feral pigs kill cows or steer? Do they kill family pets?  How is Rooster doing?

Krystal: It?s definitely not impossible for hogs to kill cattle, but in my experience this usually happens when a cow is calving (giving birth) and most vulnerable.  Hogs don?t discriminate when protecting themselves and if a family pet were to cross paths with this dangerous predator, then it is very possible they will be killed.
Although there is a big difference between a family pet and a hunting dog, the risk is equally as great and that?s why it?s super important to protect the dogs with cut vests and cut collars.

Rooster has definitely seen his fair share of hunts and has his battle scars to prove it, but if you want to know what is to become of him then you have to stay tuned!

M&C: Worst injury you have heard of from a feral pig capture attempt?

Krystal: My dad is the perfect candidate to answer this question, he has been shot with a .357 and had a wild boar drive a tusk through his leg. There are a million things that can go wrong in an already dangerous situation and that is why this job is not for the faint of heart.

M&C:  What can someone do to protect themselves from a late afternoon or early evening walk? What would you bring with you?

Krystal: I?m a Texas girl, I firmly believe in packing heat for protection, you never know when danger will come knocking. When I?m hunting, I carry a .357 and a sticking knife on my hip, as well as a .223 or AR15 in the truck. In less extreme situations, I have my black and pink .22. Guns may take lives, but they also save lives and when it?s kill or be killed.
M&C:  Are there any non-human predators in Texas that feast on these Feral pigs?

Krystal: In Texas, the feral hog?s worst enemies are The Campbells?period.

M&C: Love your crazy nailpolish in the scenes, what colors are you wearing right now going into fall? Does your dad ever comment on your girlie glamour touches as you hunt the feral pigs?

Krystal:  I keep my crazy colors all year round. I hate those unwritten rules that say we have to change our style according to seasons just because some celebrity stylist says so?I want my style to reflect my personality, not someone else?s.
I think dad is pretty much used to my girlie way of doing things. When he took me over to our leather man to have new leggings made for me, his exact words were, ?Order ?em however ya want ?em,? and that is exactly what I did. He gets it that I bring color and bling into everything I touch, but he knows I won?t overdo it.
He was a bit worried at first when I told him I designed hot pink leggings but when he saw them, he agreed that they?re pretty wicked. I just don?t think people should change themselves because of tradition because at some point it?s time that somebody, somewhere started a new one.

M&C: Is this feral pig problem being managed, getting worse or getting better?

Krystal: The hog problem is continuously growing and is much larger than one family, but as long as we keep getting out there we can sleep with a clear conscience knowing we aren?t just sitting back and letting it happen.

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American Hoggers; Badass Krystal "Pistol" Campbell Talks About Killing Her ... - Starpulse.com

"American Hoggers" is a new original real-life series that follows Krystal "Pistol" Campbell, her father and brother through their struggle to rescue Texas residents and ranches from the devastating chaos caused by millions of invasive wild boars.

We had a chance to chat with Krystal about the show and her interesting job.

Starpulse: Why are there so many wild hogs in Texas?


Krystal: Quite frankly, there just are not enough people who are both willing and capable of handling the situation, but that’s ok…I like to call that "Job Security." Hogs mature pretty quickly, a female is capable of reproduction as early as 6 months old and can have as many as 10 (give or take) piglets per litter. When ya sit back and think about it, the rate of repopulation is overwhelming.

What's the worst thing that's ever happened while you hunted a hog? The funniest thing?

I’ve been lucky that nothing too terribly bad has happened on a hunt (knock on wood). There was one incident when I was the first to arrive at the catch and the pig was a manageable size so I went ahead and grabbed him by the hind legs and flipped him. As I put my knee into his shoulder, one of the dogs knocked me over and the hog jumped up, spun around, and grabbed a hold of my leg. I had my leggings on so he didn’t penetrate skin and I was able to regain control of the situation with much thanks to a good pack of dogs and a boot heel.

The funniest thing that has ever happened was on the hunt in which I killed my first hog. I was about 6 years old and had trailed behind my dad on many hunts. I was riding double with my brother on a feisty little paint horse. When we got to the catch, my adrenaline was so high afterward I felt brave enough to ride that paint horse by myself. I was showing off and got him into a lope, I felt like such a badass. The trailer door had been left open and in a rough lope, that pony bailed into the trailer with me still on him! The top of that trailer whacked me right across the forehead and I had red paint chips all in my hair. I started blubbering for my daddy and had tears streaming down my face; needless to say, I was no longer feeling invincible.

If you weren't hunting hogs, what would you want to do?  

I’m a bit of a closet nerd and my education is very important to me. I’ve started working on my Master’s in counseling psychology, but I am also studying the material for the law school entrance exam. I have a bit of a creative side that I get from my mom so I design and make sparkly, girly accessories that I’d like to sell one day. I guess that makes me a lot like that feisty lil horse of many colors that loaded up in the trailer with me.

Is it difficult spending so much time working with your family? How do you all get along?


HA! Let me just tell you! We are family and we love each other very much, but there are so many dynamics that come into play within our household that tension is inevitable. Robert is the most serious, I am playful until enough is enough and then I’m known to get sassy, dad is an ornery old fart who is NEVER serious, and mom is the peacemaker. When mom isn’t around, it’s total chaos because dad will push my buttons until I can't take it anymore and get an attitude and then Robert gets annoyed with all the bickering. Then there’s always the whole father/son ego competition going on, but at the end of the day all is forgiven. No family is perfect but I think the fact we share a common ground in our love for the outdoors is what will always bind us together.

The series airs Wednesdays at 10/9 central on A&E. Watch here!


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