Every ranch thinks its hogs are special. Usually they’re mostly same. But sometimes the ground really is different: a creek crossing too narrow for a pen, a sounder that’s learned to dodge every gate in the county, piglets small enough to stroll through standard wire, or a trap that has to fit between two oak trees.
That’s when a standard model stops fitting, and a custom one starts making sense. Boss Hawg builds custom hog traps in the same Cross Plains, Texas shop, from the same steel, as our standard models. This page covers what we can change, real custom work from our shop, when a standard trap is the smarter buy, how a custom build works and it’s costs.
Key Takeaways
- A custom Boss Hawg trap uses the same steel as every model: 1½-inch, 14-gauge square tubing with 6-gauge wire, MIG welded and prime coated.
- We can change the size and shape, the wire size, the gates and entrance, and the trap type itself, including drop traps.
- Past custom builds include small-wire panels, a “Continual Load” entrance chute to a round pen, and a trap donated to a fundraiser.
- A standard model is often enough, and it’s usually the faster and fairly cheaper.
- Custom traps are quoted per build. Listed US prices for hog traps run from about $550 to $8,000 depending on type.
- We ship anywhere in the US. Freight is paid by the buyer and quoted to your ZIP code.
Why Trust Us: How We Put This Together
Building to fit the job is how Boss Hawg started. The shop’s traps came out of trapping hogs that were destroying its own property, then removing hogs for local ranchers under contract, testing different designs in the field for several years. Custom work has been part of the shop ever since. Our team in the US works with these traps on real ranch ground, talks with the landowners and trappers who use them, and reads what owners say about traps from different brands. The custom examples on this page are builds the shop showed on its own site.
What a custom Boss Hawg hog trap is
A custom Boss Hawg hog trap is a trap welded to your plan in Cross Plains, Texas, from the same 1½-inch 14-gauge tubing and 6-gauge wire as our standard models, for sites and sounders the standard sizes don’t fit.
Custom doesn’t mean experimental. It means the same frame, the same welded wire and the same prime coat you’d get on a Standard or a Big Pen, shaped around your ground. The steel is the part we don’t customize, because it’s the part that helps the trap to withstand. The reasons behind each spec are on how Boss Hawg traps are built.
If you’re still comparing the standard lineup, start with our hog traps for sale. If none of those fits, keep reading.
What we can customize
Boss Hawg can customize a trap’s size and shape, the wire size on the panels, the gates and entrance, and the trap type itself, including drop traps. Tell us the ground and the hogs, and we build to that.
| What you can change | Why you’d want it | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Size and shape | Your site won’t fit a 4 × 8 box or a standard pen layout | A pen shaped to a clearing or a creek bottom |
| Wire size | Small pigs are slipping through standard wire | Custom small-wire panels |
| Entrance | You want the trap to keep loading after the first catch | A “Continual Load” entrance chute to a round pen |
| Gates | Your sounder or your site calls for a different gate setup | Gates added or placed to suit the pen |
| Trap type | You want a design we don’t sell as a standard model | Drop traps |
| Loading out | You need to get hogs onto a trailer | A loading ramp, as on the Pro Pen |
Nearly every part of a Boss Hawg trap can be built to your site; the steel stays the same.
About wire size. Texas A&M AgriLife’s trap design guidance says to “use small enough mesh to catch all hogs, even juveniles.” If piglets are walking out of your trap, a smaller wire size will fix it.
Custom builds from our shop
Custom builds from the shop have included small-wire panels, a “Continual Load” entrance chute to a round pen, and a customized trap donated to the West Texas Rehab fundraiser.
Small-wire panels. Panels built with a smaller wire size, for places where young pigs were the problem. Same frame, tighter mesh.
The “Continual Load” chute. An entrance chute built onto a round pen, so hogs keep coming in after the first ones are caught. Continuous loading is a big idea in our shop. A trap that catches once and then needs resetting by hand is doing half the job.
The fundraiser trap. A customized trap the shop built and donated to the West Texas Rehab fundraiser. Not every custom build is for a ranch.
The shop has also built custom ranch steel beyond hog traps over the years, including horse stalls, trusses, brands and a fence stile. Today our main lines are hog traps and steel cattle guards.
When a custom trap beats a standard model
A custom trap beats a standard model when your opening, ground or sounder doesn’t fit the Standard, Big Pen or Pro Pen; when one of those fits, it’s usually the faster and cheaper choice.
Here’s the honest version. A custom trap isn’t always the right answer, and we’d rather tell you that than build you something you don’t need.
| Your situation | Standard model that fits | When to go custom |
|---|---|---|
| One or two hogs, moving the trap often | Standard hog trap | The trap must fit a tight spot or an odd vehicle |
| A sounder that keeps coming back | Big Pen corral hog trap | Your site won’t take a standard pen layout |
| A sounder, plus loading out | Pro Pen hog trap | Your loading setup or trailer is unusual |
| Piglets escaping | Any model | You need smaller wire |
| You want a drop trap | None as standard | Always custom |
If a standard model fits, buy it; custom is for the jobs it can’t do.
How a custom build works, step by step
A custom build takes four steps: call with your ground, hog count and how you’ll move the trap; agree the design; get a quote with build time and freight; then the shop builds and ships to you or you pick up.
- Call the shop. Tell us about your ground, how many hogs you’re seeing, how you’ll move the trap and what the standard models don’t do for you. Photos of the site would be helpful.
- Agree the design. We talk through size, wire, gates and entrance until the plan fits your ground.
- Get the quote. You get the price, the build time and the freight to your ZIP code before anything is cut.
- We build it. The shop welds your trap in Cross Plains. Then we ship it anywhere in the US, or you pick it up.
Nothing gets built until you’ve seen the plan and the price.
What a custom hog trap costs
A custom hog trap is quoted per build. Listed US prices run from about $550–$700 for a steel box trap to about $3,500–$8,000 for corral systems (checked 1 October 2026), and custom work sits wherever the design lands.
Three things move the price most: how much steel needed to make the trap, how many gates and moving parts it has, and how far it travels. A small custom box trap lands near the box-trap range. A custom pen with extra gates and a chute lands with the corral systems. Freight is paid by the buyer, so the distance from Cross Plains matters too.
Request a custom hog trap
To request a custom hog trap, call (254) 725-4554 with your ground, how many hogs you see and what the standard models don’t do for you. You get a design, a quote and a build time.
Two honest trade-offs. A custom trap takes longer than a standard one, because it’s designed before it’s built, so ask about the current build time. And custom usually costs more than the nearest standard model. What you get for it is a trap that fits your ground instead of the other way around.
REQUEST A QUOTE: CALL (254) 725-4554
Tell us your ground, your hogs and what you need the trap to do. We’ll draw it up and quote it with freight.
Also check our partner products that go with a custom trap: – Cellular trail cameras to watch the trap from your phone – Tripod game feeders for pre-baiting – Solar panels for game feeders to keep the feeder running
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Partner products are listed separately from our own and never replace them.
Frequently asked questions
Can you build a drop trap?
Yes. Drop traps are a custom build. Call the shop and tell us the size of the sounder you’re working.
Can you make the mesh smaller for piglets?
Yes. The shop has built custom small-wire panels for exactly that.
Do you build anything besides hog traps?
Yes. The shop builds steel cattle guards to order, and has built other custom ranch steel over the years.
Do you ship custom traps?
Yes. We ship anywhere in the US. Freight is paid by the buyer and quoted to your ZIP code before you order.