The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Hunting Hogs, Warthogs, Wild Boars, Javelinas Hunting Let's revisit this business of eating some hogsGo | New | Find | Notify | Tools | Reply | |
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OK, I know a lot of you in Texas swine Jihad country leave your hogs for the coyotes and buzzards. But for me, a big attraction of going on a hog hunt one of these days is to shoot one for the freezer. We have hashed this over here before, but I just want to be clear and up to date. The best eaters will be females under 100 pounds, correct? Is there anything else you look for in a hog for the barbecue and table? There is hope, even when your brain tells you there isn’t. – John Green, author | ||
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in my opinion .. here's MY choices, normally, but what matters most is how the meat smells .. and how the animal is cleaned.. BTW, there is NO need to open the cavity, which avoids the worst offered of hurting the meat- - pig piss and sh*t
But, that's all preference - my wife can't stand scented meat, and i can barely eat commercial pork - j opinions vary band of bubbas and STC hunting Club Information on Ammoguide about the416AR, 458AR, 470AR, 500AR What is an AR round? Case Drawings 416-458-470AR and 500AR. 476AR, http://www.weaponsmith.com | |||
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Thanks Jeff. What don't you like about commercial pork? There is hope, even when your brain tells you there isn’t. – John Green, author | |||
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Jeff, How the meat smells? I raised barrow hogs in high school and the best table fare was around 100 pounds. I have never seen fresh pork that had a bad smell/odor. Such odor would definitely keep me from cleaning or eating such a hog. One source of "bad smell" is that old boars develop "boar taint". This is due to accumulation in their fat of two compounds. There are androstenone and skatole. Thus, old boars will have a distinct smell that is not pleasant to humans. This could be how hounds can be trained to chase boars and ignore sows. This matches the answer a dog handler gave me when I asked him why the dogs coursed boars and not sows. He said "They smell different." NRA Life Benefactor Member, DRSS, DWWC, Whittington Center,Android Reloading Ballistics App at http://www.xplat.net/ | |||
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I kill a lot of free range organic pork each year. Almost all of it goes into someones freezer. I don't open or skin any of them. The usual plan is to fold back the legs and remove the quarters by breaking the joints and then skin the quarter at a better location. I also remove the backstraps by cutting open the hide along the spine and cutting them out. The buzzard brothers get the rest. When disassemblying said pork, I wear rubber gloves and eye protection against brucella. My vet researcher friends tell me that brucella is viable in blood for 48 hrs after death so I also wear gloves when I process them prior to freezing. | |||
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Of all the hogs I have killed, I'd say only a handful would have qualified as inedible due to a harsh stench. I don't mean the hide -- but rather the meat itself. Whether due to disease, what they've been eating, etc., they were truly rank and discarded. Like others have mentioned, there is no real need to open up the body cavity -- unless, like me, you HAVE to examine the wound channel LOL. Been using that gutless method on hogs and deer for years. When it comes to melt-in-your-mouth tender, hogs of 50-60 pounds are primo. But even a large sow or boar can provide good meat it it's cared for properly and in a timely fashion. We do, however, remove as much fat and muscle as possible from older hogs (see crshelton's explanation above) before wet-aging on ice, replacing the melted portion with fresh ice every 24 hours or so. Bobby Μολὼν λαβέ The most important thing in life is not what we do but how and why we do it. - Nana Mouskouri | |||
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I done a lot of hogs just like the above. The ones I have eaten and given away were all good. I prefer them around 100lbs but have eaten a few big ones also. | |||
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I've never had a bad hog, but some people have. The smell is the game-changer I'm told. p dog shooter's technique has always sounded interesting but I've never tried it. I drag them to the skinning pole behind a 4-wheeler or truck, hang them by their head, skin them, remove the legs and backstrap, and never open the body cavity. (The rest gets left in the field for the buzzards and coyotes.) Once smoked, I can never tell by the taste how much the damn thing weighed, nor whether it was a boy or a girl. For some reason the people from Florida say their hogs are inedible. Must be what the hogs consume. I can't explain it otherwise. | |||
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Howdy Bill -- "nothing" .. in that commercial pork generally has NO flavor in and of itself, and as pulled pork is my second favorite pork product, bacon being first, and that i don't like to over flavor and/or use bbq sauce -- that is, i generally use a rub, catch the juices, and "Fronde" to make my add back sauce .. well, commercial pork tastes like a xerox copy of good meat!
kinda both - and then some .. the reason i use the closed "case" method is that i also don't want guts/poo/pee on the meat.. and specifically not pee on me, as the smell won't go away ... those three, AND that an animal with an injury, which we call "sick" could have anything from cancer to a mesquite thorn, arrow, tusk cut, or bullet/shot pellets in it, and makes the meat smell bad.. though i admit i do have a strong sense of smell - "boar taint" can certainly be an issue.. and i've seen it on small boars, as well, which surprised me a good deal, so i think it also has something to do with the boar's resources, especially water conditions and if they've been highly exerting themselves, and if it's hot outside
an old sheriff introduced me to this, he called it the poacher's cut -- leave the hide on, legs, backstraps, and if one likes, pull out the tenderloins -- however, if i have a skinning pole, i will hang head down (either way works, but some 70% of the meat is hams and backstraps, so i like those up .. peel the rear legs, down the straps, and then peel the front leg, remove from legs, remove 'straps, then cut out the hip joints .. hide, head, and carcass fall into the gut bucket, lop off the trotters (ya'll know the butcher's knuckle cut, right?) and I am done, usually pretty quickly .. "what about the ribs" .. in some cases, such as a new guy, a trophy size hog, or other reasons, people think they want the ribs .. and YES, they can taste REALLY good .. there's about 2% of the meat of the critter in the ribs, and it's a MUCH more work and mess to get them .. and when there's several guys hunting, and 3 to 10 hogs to clean, it's nice to be the first one done, having a beverage, and being able to help (or heckle) my friends!! jeffe opinions vary band of bubbas and STC hunting Club Information on Ammoguide about the416AR, 458AR, 470AR, 500AR What is an AR round? Case Drawings 416-458-470AR and 500AR. 476AR, http://www.weaponsmith.com | |||
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Sure appreciate all the replies, fellas. Hope I get the chance someday to break down a 100-pounder or smaller. There is hope, even when your brain tells you there isn’t. – John Green, author | |||
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Jeffeoso: I learned about the no gut hog method from a couple of old road hunters in S. TX myself. They also called it the poachers cut. I have cut the ribs out on several hogs by using a battery powered skill saw set shallow enough to almost cut the ribs but not go thru. It helps to have them laying on the ground so that gravity pulls the entrails away from the back of the ribs. Then I break them at the cut and pull the rack out. This process works most of the time but it has to be a pretty big hog to make it worth the effort. YMMV | |||
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The "loins" (backstraps) on even the largest hogs are usually quite good -- cleaner and whiter than commercial pork loin from the grocery store and with less gristle. Simply prop the carcass upright, slit the skin down the backbone, and cut out the backstraps without necessity of disturbing the entrals. But if you can't stand the smell of the old boar then let him lay. On sows and smaller pigs we also take the hams without gutting by breaking at the joint. Unless you're starving the better use of the remainder is to shoot coyotes off of it. (Whether you gut your coyotes before butchering for the table is a subject for another thread.) | |||
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yes, there is some nomenclature issues with backstraps, loins, and tenderloins .. and, of course, chops.. pork chops are sliced backstraps, backstraps are called loins (they aren't loins, that means crotch) and tenderloin... and, of course, the actual loins, two strips inside the cavity, above the kidneys, are called tenders, loins, and tender loins, too... opinions vary band of bubbas and STC hunting Club Information on Ammoguide about the416AR, 458AR, 470AR, 500AR What is an AR round? Case Drawings 416-458-470AR and 500AR. 476AR, http://www.weaponsmith.com | |||
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I agree that the small hogs are the best but I've grilled chops off of boars up to 350# that were good. | |||
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How good a pig eats depends on two things. First is "that pig". Some big boars can be good others not. Just depends on what he has been up to! Chasing a female or laying around in the cool! Even a small sow can be tough. Just because she is small does not mean she is young or her life was good. I don't like the way any of them smell. Kind of a sweet smell. Second is "you"! Not everyone enjoys the same stuff. What I find offensive you may like. Cheese, fish, other sea creatures! Factory pork is about as bland as factory chicken. Feral pork of any kind is a real red meat! I'll send pictures of one I peel soon if you like? | |||
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Live Oak, please do "send pitchers"!  There is hope, even when your brain tells you there isn’t. – John Green, author | |||
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I've only shot the two Fla hogs. Head shots on both. Good eating. 147 and 200#. Shucks in the mid 50's that's how we cut the meat out of August & Sept elk! Fully qualified as "poachers cut". I've seen several species of animals that stunk. Even cottontail rabbits can. Two things that affect the meat is what they've been eating. BIL and I shot a bunch of cottontails. Had to throw them away due to the stink. Sage and cactus. Worse when it was being cooked. I killed a 3pt mulie buck in the sage that stunk too bad to keep once. What I've seen on antelope and other game. "chase 'em all over hell for a couple hours, gut shoot 'em, then don't cool 'em out very soon." You can count on 'em to be "gamey". Catch any species calm, rested, on good feed and make an instant kill and you won't hardly ever find an animal not good to eat. George "Gun Control is NOT about Guns' "It's about Control!!" Join the NRA today!" LM: NRA, DAV, George L. Dwight | |||
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Interesting discussion, especially for one on this side of the world where there are no feral pigs. For our venison, we store it in a "cold room" at about 37F for up to three weeks and it does wonders for the toughness and ridding of the "wild" taste. (Condition and type of animal depending, of of course.) Would hanging in cold storage for a significant time not make a big difference to your pigs? | |||
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I only have 360 acres of woods on my farm with the rest being croplands and this fall we started trapping and shooting every hog we could. They were destroying our sugar cane and corn and compete with the deer herd for food. We killed 37 this winter and still have some left. We can’t even give them away because every farm around me is killing hogs by the hundreds. I take the backstraps out of the sows below 100lbs and drag the rest to the “train station” for the buzzards and coyotes. Those backstraps are delicious. No smell. Boars stink. This war will never end because there is 12,000 acres of woods within a quarter mile of my place and the hogs just retreat back to those woods. 4 years ago I didn’t have hogs on my place. They are a pestilence. BUTCH C'est Tout Bon (It is all good) | |||
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Butch, sorry to hear you have been forced to wage jihad. It's shoot on sight here in New Mexico as the hogs work west out of Texas, but most are in the croplands along the Pecos on the east side of the state. There is hope, even when your brain tells you there isn’t. – John Green, author | |||
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It has been my experience that hogs don't need to go thru rigor as other animals do to be tender. "Hanging them" to age also doesn't seems to make much difference in tenderness. There is an commercial animal meat market for live feral hogs in Texas but you need to catch a bunch to make it worth the effort. | |||
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Today's: Chieftain.com Pueblo's local paper had an article in it about two herds of "Feral Hogs" here in CO. I wasn't aware of any and haven't been able to get any info from CPW. Turns out: 100 have been killed in Baca Cnty in the Cimmaron Canyon by chopper shooters. That's along the far SE corner. Another herd of 200-250 in Kiowa cnty. Hell of a deal. These are domestic pigs escaped from the hog raisers. We saw some on pasture in small fenced areas with pens and shelters back in '97. I've wondered how many had gotten loose. George "Gun Control is NOT about Guns' "It's about Control!!" Join the NRA today!" LM: NRA, DAV, George L. Dwight | |||
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only takes one pregnant sow .... just one, and 23 years later, killing 400 isn't even a dent opinions vary band of bubbas and STC hunting Club Information on Ammoguide about the416AR, 458AR, 470AR, 500AR What is an AR round? Case Drawings 416-458-470AR and 500AR. 476AR, http://www.weaponsmith.com | |||
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I have not had a bad tasting wild pig yet and that includes: 310 lb boar 280 lb boar 275 lb sow 250 lb boar 210 lb boar And probably another dozen boars between 150-200 lbs and another 1/2 dozen sows and boars between 75-150. While it is intrinsically true that a younger/smaller animal is likely going to be more, I would be highly surprised that anyone of us could guess with any consistency when doing a side by side taste test - which backstrap came from the 125 lb pig and which came from the 225 lb pig. Mike Legistine actu? Quid scripsi? Never under estimate the internet community's ability to reply to your post with their personal rant about their tangentially related, single occurrence issue.  What I have learned on AR, since 2001: 1. The proper answer to: Where is the best place in town to get a steak dinner? is…You should go to Mel's Diner and get the fried chicken. 2. Big game animals can tell the difference between .015 of an inch in diameter, 15 grains of bullet weight, and 150 fps. 3. There is a difference in the performance of two identical projectiles launched at the same velocity if they came from different cartridges. 4. While a double rifle is the perfect DGR, every 375HH bolt gun needs to be modified to carry at least 5 down. 5. While a floor plate and detachable box magazine both use a mechanical latch, only the floor plate latch is reliable. Disregard the fact that every modern military rifle uses a detachable box magazine. 6. The Remington 700 is unreliable regardless of the fact it is the basis of the USMC M40 sniper rifle for 40+ years with no changes to the receiver or extractor and is the choice of more military and law enforcement sniper units than any other rifle. 7. PF actions are not suitable for a DGR and it is irrelevant that the M1, M14, M16, & AK47 which were designed for hunting men that can shoot back are all PF actions. 8. 95 deg F in Africa is different than 95 deg F in TX or CA and that is why you must worry about ammunition temperature in Africa (even though most safaris take place in winter) but not in TX or in CA. 9. The size of a ding in a gun's finish doesn't matter, what matters is whether it’s a safe ding or not. 10. 1 in a row is a trend, 2 in a row is statistically significant, and 3 in a row is an irrefutable fact. 11. Never buy a WSM or RCM cartridge for a safari rifle or your go to rifle in the USA because if they lose your ammo you can't find replacement ammo but don't worry 280 Rem, 338-06, 35 Whelen, and all Weatherby cartridges abound in Africa and back country stores. 12. A well hit animal can run 75 yds. in the open and suddenly drop with no initial blood trail, but the one I shot from 200 yds. away that ran 10 yds. and disappeared into a thicket and was not found was lost because the bullet penciled thru. I am 100% certain of this even though I have no physical evidence. 13. A 300 Win Mag is a 500 yard elk cartridge but a 308 Win is not a 300 yard elk cartridge even though the same bullet is travelling at the same velocity at those respective distances. | |||
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You are lucky; I raised pigs before I left the hills; You had to de nut them when they were babies or you could not stand to be in the house while they were cooking. Sows are fine, as is. All the boars I have killed in the wild that were over 150 pounds were suitable only for sausage. Bill; I recommend any sow of any size will be fine. Young boars maybe. Old boars; I have found them inedible; others have good luck. I did kill some at Ft Stewart and the young boars were good. Meaning less than 100 pounds or so. I killed one in Oklahoma that was filled with cancerous tumors; that one went into the ditch. You do not age pork like you do beef; historically pork was dry cured or smoked. Now we have freezers. | |||
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We killed and eaten many pigs in the last 5 yrs off our place in Cisco. I just take the hams and backstraps. Grill the backstraps and make barbeque in a crock pot from the hams. Boars and Sows have all tasted fine. I have had a couple that have that smell so I drag them straight to the boneyard. | |||
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