Hog hunting

[William O.]

That’s correct - the carcasses stay where they lay. When they shoot by helicopter they just leave them.
As an aside,we have always had hogs in our area. “Back in the day” most ranch land was operated and owned by a local resident. All the landowners shot and killed hogs keeping the population in check.
As ranching became less profitable and land more valuable, locals sold to folks from urban areas. Most of these new owners were absentee - and did not operate or tend the land personally. The result was that fewer hogs were killed. Some landowners allowed hogs to proliferate so they could “hunt all year.”
Clearly these things combined led to a bloom in the wild hog population. Once the genie is out of the bottle it’s hard to put it back in. So now hogs are a bigger nuisance issue and do more damage to crops, fences, and pasture - not to mention the wildlife they disrupt through predation or habitat destruction.
It’s my opinion that, at least locally, this tipping point was in the late 80’s to early 90’s.

I agree. In the early 90's I could still find a few land owners who welcomed responsible hunters onto their farms/ranches to take wild hogs. They would do so without charging a fee or some would charge $1 so that legally it was a contract and there was less liability. Then some folks started making money, and for a while I couldn't blame them, especially all the peanut farmers down south that the hogs had literally put out of business. Sorgum, Maize, you name it, the hogs ate it, but peanuts; hog heaven. I have seen a sounder of hogs simply mow down waist high Sorghum an acre a day. There was a time when farmers wanted you to bring your brother, your friends and whoever else had a rifle to come and shoot a hog or two. There was always the expectation that you ate what you shot and those folks who just wanted to shoot as many as they could and leave them where they lay weren't welcome.
However, when your neighbor buys a dozen hogs that were trapped on someone else's land and tells you that they'll stay on his side of the fence and he's getting several hundred dollars off of each person that come out to shoot them, it gets harder and harder to not do the same. Then there are the investors who sink a bunch of money into hog hunting, boasting about building first class accommodations with five star chefs, wine cellars and guides who do everything for you, before and after you pull the trigger. Well, then comes my objection, or at least my lack of patronage. For the urban areas and suburbs here in Texas it's quite a novelty to have deer roaming around the local parks, so they start feeding them corn. But when they start to come around the house, eating your pretty rose bushes then there's a problem. And there's always one environmentalist who says all they need is some birth control to keep their numbers in check. Anyway, what happens when the hogs start moving in to get all that deer corn that's lying around? Wait until those hogs start plowing up all that nice golf grass they planted around their MacMansion. No joke, it's happening in the same county I live in.
I think that any size hog will make good sausage if you understand that it's important to dress it out quickly, including skinning, not for the hide but to get it cooled down. A bag or two of dry ice placed in the body cavity does wonders and if you've got somewhere that has a walk in freezer even better. If you're doing it primitive, pre-1840, etc. or are just going to pack it out then the ones under 100 pounds live weight are your best option. A 40 pounder live will be the perfect size after being quartered to go on a modest sized BBQ and with a little seasoning is a meal to remember.

 

[3 trees]

I tend to agree with woodsand water!

 

[Mr. Flintlock]

I moved from Md to north Fl a few yrs ago & I can tell you this first hand from what I've personally seen & heard myself that you just bein from north, you're not at all likely to find anyone to let you come on their private land & hunt anything for any reason. Between them considering me a yankee & the fact that I have zero tolerance for listening to their religious lunacy while hunting, its finding my own way around on WMA & public land or nothing here. Good luck with that. I can't wait to be able to move from here.

I'll say a prayer for you.

 

[Old Hawkeye]

Wasn't this thread about HOG HUNTING????? Can a mod put a stop to this whining political BS, please?

 

[Okie Hog]

Once an area is infested with wild hogs they're hard to get rid of. About six years ago a fine couple who raise organic vegetables had a sow and pigs come to their place; thinking they were "cute" the couple fed the darn things. Pretty soon the hogs tore up the sweet corn and someone told them about me.

Talked with the couple; they wanted me to trap and "re-locate" their hogs. Told them in no uncertain terms that hogs don't leave my traps alive. When hogs are in the traps they call me and leave when i arrive. Every year i take five to 15 hogs from their 10 acres. i trap the hogs and "relocate" same to the buzzard/coyote feeding area.

i eat a lot of wild hog meat, love the stuff. Well cared for wild hog meat don't even resemble domestic hog meat, it's red.

Ever wonder why wild hog meat gets a bad rap? Hog meat is not like venison, it's not improved by hanging because it rots. When the temperature is over about 80 F one has 4-5 hours to get the meat cooled before it begins to go bad. Every summer i see guys hauling intact wild hogs in their pickups in the 100 F heat. IME: "Strong tasting" hog meat is rotten or contaminated hog meat.

BTW: Wild hogs seldom have viable bacon because, unlike domestic hogs, wild hogs have a hard scrabble life. This sow was an exception, she may have been recently released.

 

[TrapperDude]

Ever wonder why wild hog meat gets a bad rap? Hog meat is not like venison, it's not improved by hanging because it rots. When the temperature is over about 80 F one has 4-5 hours to get the meat cooled before it begins to go bad. Every summer i see guys hauling intact wild hogs in their pickups in the 100 F heat. IME: "Strong tasting" hog meat is rotten or contaminated hog meat.

The key is to throw a large cooler in the back of the truck. If you get a hog, you hang it, gut it, skin it, quarter it, and throw it in the cooler with some ice. My buddy and I used to always have a cooler with us in case we got a hog at the MRA.

 

[Tennessee Muzzy]

We are sort of experiencing that "shift" in Texas as well. You really can't fault people wanting move to a differant state but why do they have to bring their politics with them? The wide open spaces aren't that wide anymore.

Tennessee and Alabama are getting same problems people don't like the way things are being done in the state they live instead of fighting and making changes they relocate and then try to make that state like what they left. And as far as hunting on people's private property everything I know of is either family only leased or no hunting period . And it doesn't matter matter where you are from

 

[Okie Hog]

When going after hogs my truck has a huge cooler with four or five frozen jugs of water. There are six gallons of water on the truck.

My partners and i handle hog carcasses differently from most:

1. The hog is hung upside down from the truck hanger.

2. The head and front legs are cut off.

3. The hog is skinned.

4. The hog is field dressed and put into the cooler.

 

[SOLANCO]

"Zero tolerance for that religious lunacy" that was the basis of everything good this country was founded on and rules we lived by for hundreds of productive years.

Judeo-Christian ethics and mores civilized Western civilization. You do not need to be a believer to appreciate the difference between Alabama and Helmand province. Or between the United States and Iran.

 

[Okie Hog]

Take your politics and religion somewhere else.

 

[Old Hawkeye]

For all those that insist on interjecting their political & religious prejudices into this thread about HOG HUNTING & have a wonderful suggestion. Become a "Supporting Member"& go to the forum section called American Politics. Then express your views, whine & cry, & yell at each other to your hearts content & leave the rest of us alone.

 

[barnettshale]

go to the forum section called American Politics. Then express your views, whine & cry, & yell at each other to your hearts content & leave the rest of us alone.

Agreed, a shame a thread starting as Hog Hunting turned in to a political and bashing event. Back to Hogs This is what we do. Deer on the right hog on the left. Only thing we do is discard the hide, guts and bones. A shame that you only end up with about 30% of the live weight as deboned meat.

 

[doubleset]

Does being consistent and principled make one a fundamentalist?

No, but frequently irrational stubbornness seems to.

 

[Andrewmtnman]

go to the forum section called American Politics. Then express your views, whine & cry, & yell at each other to your hearts content & leave the rest of us alone.

Agreed, a shame a thread starting as Hog Hunting turned in to a political and bashing event. Back to Hogs This is what we do. Deer on the right hog on the left. Only thing we do is discard the hide, guts and bones. A shame that you only end up with about 30% of the live weight as deboned meat.

View attachment 135802

Nice being able to hunt both at the same time. That allows for making venison sausage with the fresh pork.
we drive down to either Georgia or SC every year and hunt for 2 days and drive back with a cooler full of skinned and quartered hogs packed in ice. Believe it or not that will last for over a week in the cooler in my garage as I process it.

 

[Kansas Jake]

A commercial hog only yields about 45% cuts not deboned so you’re 30% isn’t too bad. If my calculations are close.

 

[TrapperDude]

A commercial hog only yields about 45% cuts not deboned so you’re 30% isn’t too bad. If my calculations are close.

I got 45 pounds of meat from a 117 lb. sow I shot, which equals 38%. I'd never calculated the percentage before, so that 30% figure seems to be pretty spot on as a rough estimate.

 

[SciAggie]

@barnettshale Tell us about the rifle used.

 

[barnettshale]

@barnettshale Tell us about the rifle used.

Lyman Plains Rifle, .54 cal. Built from a kit in the 80's. I built a Lyman Plains Pistol to go with it as a companion piece. 54 also. I had a CVA Big Bore Mountain Rifle (58) I built from a kit prior to that. Gave it to my brother in law. Typical load is 90/100 grains 3F with a .530 RB that I cast. Pillow ticking patch .017/.018 lubed with my mix of beeswax, marvel mystery oil and a bit of olive oil heated and mixed together, poured into a shallow container and allowed to set. At the range I rub the strip of patch material in the mix then start the ball and cut at the muzzle. Hunting I carry speed loaders with the lubed patched ball, uncap, pour the powder in, use the starter to push the ball into the bore then ram it home cap and shoot. This rifle has accounted for an Axis spike, a Javelina and a couple of pigs. Never needed a 2nd shot except for the Axis spike. Nicked him on the withers trying to break his neck. Knocked him down and stunned him. Finished him off with a 44 Remington 1858.

 

[08Desert Trapper]

@Rangefogger, if you ever find yourself in north Texas, then you can try on my ranch; I have 165 acres and plenty of destructive feral hogs rooting up my fields. All I ask is you teach me to fire your flintlock once...

I would gladly take you up on your offer

 

[smoothshooter]

You can rule out Tennessee. You have to be a landowner or on their permit to shoot them.

Tennessee has some of the strangest and most restrictive hunting and public land use laws I have ever seen. Several years ago I asked the owner of a company I worked for at the time what the Hell happened-did a bunch of Yankees come down from NY and Mass. and rewrite their game and public land use laws?
He shook his head and said he didn’t know; he had lived there all his life (60+ years outside of Jackson, TN) and it seemed like it had always been that way. He also had a farm with several hundred acres where he did all his hunting and told me be did whatever be wanted to when he wanted to and had long ago quit paying attention to any of the state alphabet agencies‘ decrees.