[bo]

Decided to take Loopy's advice and start another thread on everything wild hog related. Please post anything about cleaning, processing, cooking, hunting, etc.

Here are the last info posts from Loopy:

"As for eating them, avoid large males.  They stink, their meat stinks.  Perfect ideal size is 80-120 pounds of either sex or less than 200 pound male.  I have made delicious sausage of a very large (450+ sow).  I would avoid large boars for food but you should have no trouble eating the others. 

As for cleaning them, well, their hide is very tough.  Skinning them is not exactly fun, but is doable. 

After many years of dulling hunting and pocket knives I found this secret.

Utility knifes - with good disposable blades.  I really like these titanium ones, they hold up well.  And when your done, you throw them away and do not have to sharpen anything.  They make cleaning these things much easier.  Go to amazon and read the reviews on a search for "lexon titanium blades".  They fit into any regular utility knife like a stanley or the like. 

.. second, after skinned, I use a dewalt cordless sawsall to remove my roasts at the joints and remove the feet.  Sometimes I can go from live pig to dead pig to 2 shoulders and 2 hams in the cooler on ice in under 10 minutes.  I'v never brought the ribs home because they go on the smoker at camp."


"I meant to say Lenox blades not lexon.

For diseases, I dont do any lab testing or the like.  If the animal looks healthy I assume it is, if it looks sick I assume it is.  I do cook any game animal to 160 internal which would kill any parasites. 

Yes I do wear disposable gloves, you can see my son wearing a pair in the previous picture. 

I do not remove any glands, just pull them up by their hocks in a gambrel, skin away the hide on the roasts, make cuts, wash them under fresh water, and put it in cooler on ice. 

Perhaps this is not the best thread for this discussion, if you want start a new one I'll try to answer any questions you or others may have.  I wouldn't mind learning new things from other hunters or animal farmers as well ."

[phillamb168]

I wonder if you can use the skin same as regular pigs, for cracklins? My wife HATES it when I skin and render pork belly skin (she was grossed out yesterday when I showed her how I could tell that it was a lady pig  ) and I honestly can't stand the smell during that process. But then it's done and you fry them to a delicious degree.

[bo]

What we have here are feral hogs which are domesticated pigs that got loose many years ago and bred with wild boars. The boars came from Europe and they say some still exist here, but most are feral now.

[loopy]

I use a gambrel to clean them in the air. 

Basically it's a metal pipe with hooks on either side.  On the hind legs find the tendon right behind the knee and cut a slice in the thin spot.  The tendon is strong enough to hold the animal.  I have that on a chain drop hoist to make it easy to pull up or down. 



Wild pig is not like store-bought pig.  It is very very lean and can dry out when cooked.  These animals are on the move 100% of the time unlike farm pigs that are penned up in a mudpit and fed at a trough.  Because the meat is extra muscular and lean, you need to bard the roasts when you cook them.  You can make punctures in the meat and add lard or fat, but I just do a bacon wrap and kitchen twine it in place.  No one complains about it. 

As for baiting them, corn.  It's that simple.  I have done the fancy rubs and sprays and diesel and jello mix stuff.  But really, corn works the best and its dead easy.  I like to toss it on top of mesquite clumps and let the pigs root the stuff up for me.  Double duty - no free lunch, they have to work for it. 

Traps work ok, and I do have one.  Don't trust a trap, ever.  Also, keep in mind that if you trap a sow in heat you may have boars hanging close by. 

Bring plenty of gun, a .22 is not the correct response.  I used a 30-30 and then a 270 for years but now I use a 308 FAL.  Does the job brutally effectively. 

They are 60% nocturnal, especially if they feel hunting pressure.  I made a pig-light with red LEDs that runs off battery power.  If you go that route, set it up a few weeks or months ahead and let them get used to it.  Light + corn + 1 month of feeding them and they will come running.  http://forum.northernbrewer.com/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=81090   I ended up adding a 12volt photo switch, like "Precision LCS-612D" if you search amazon.  I think mine was made by someone else but it's essentially the same thing. 

You should study up on their basic anatomy, something like http://blog.hsoi.com/2010/09/03/feral-hog-anatomy/  Your two options are heart shot and neck shot.  With a neck shot the idea is that the hydrostatic shock of the round entering will break their neck even if the bullet doesnt and they will drop in their tracks.  A heart shot almost always has them running a few yards - up to 200..  because of adraniline.  If you trap them or need to put a wounded one down, a 45 acp in the spot right between the ear and the corner of the closest eye is a good way to go. 

Not sure what else to say but good luck.  Take pictures, be safe. 

[bo]

Lots of great info! Thanks a bunch.

I'll bet that little boy keeps you busy. That look on his face over at NB, says trouble to me.