This weekend, I shot a Wildpig.I was waiting near a trail they are known to use.At around 11.20 in the night two of them came along and stopped at about 20 yards from me.As they were sniffing the air, I shot the large one with a ball from my SXS 12 bore.It collapsed without a squeak.On examination,I found the ball entered 1" down and 2" right from the left ear. It exited near the right shoulder. I was jubilant that I got a fine animal with a nice shot.But during the butchering, I found that the sow was pregnant.Eversince, I am filled with great remorse. I cannot explain all my feelings, but I feel as if I made a mistake, albeit unintentionally. Had I known she was pregnant, I would not have shot her.I could not bring myself to eat the meat and I don't know if I would pick the gun in near future.

Any similar experiences?Best-
Locksley,R

It seems that sows are always pregnant. I shot one at a barley farm and the owner was very happy. I admit I was a little remorseful, but to him it meant fewer future pigs to eat his crops.

I believe this is why we hunt game animals during a season. I also believe the seasons are made so this doesn't happen. But when your dealing with an animal that is not governed by seasons it is bound to happen. Don't feel to badly and on to the next hunting adventure.

I shot a large Doe that was full of milk I felt bad thinking that it might have little ones, but it was during the Muzzle-loader season and I had a Buck & Doe tag. We can only hope the Fish & Game know what they are doing, and enjoy the harvest.

For Pete's sakes. Obviously you aren't in real pig country where they are past the definition of pests, they are a helluva problem, not to mention they are directly competitive with deer. If I could tell, I'd shoot all the pregnant sows first.

And for that other observation, besides their pest category, their tremendous reproductive capacity is the reason there isn't a "season" because they can and will be pregnant at any time of the year. Usually breeding twice a year and producing 5 or more pigs per litter.

You should eat the now dead pregnant sow and enjoy it.

I'm with Gatogordo on this. I am always happy to kill any female pig/hog, as this is the only way to make a dent in their numbers. You shoot a boar and you have only killed one pig. You kill a sow and you have stopped hundreds in the future.

Now, go eat some of that good pork and do not fret over it.

Hog Killer

robin,
sorry to hear about this... i felt the same way, the first time... until i saw a sow teaching her young to pull down fawns and devoir them.

in texas, there is no pig season, they are classified as pests. and pests that WILL kill the family dog, cat, rabit, and harrass, if not out right pull down, children.

the meat from that sow should be relished, as you have taken her, and would have eaten her if she had been barren. that she wasn't doesn't change your moral obligation to eat what you hunt. sorry.

and yes, sows are nearly always either wet, pregnant, or too young to breed... this is a normal thing, as they CAN have 3 litters a year, normally 2, and will have between 4 and 12 piglets.

that you took more game that you meant to is the actual crux of this issue, not that the sow was laden. hate to tell you this, but nearly every sow taken is either wet or pregnant.


this is not a careless attitude, but a pragmatic one... slip her some grass for a last meal and harvest what you started.


this aint really a

quote:

suck it up

message, but that's part of it

jeffe

Agreed with the above two posts. I've killed many pregnant sows and never felt even the slightest bit of remorse. Actually some of the farmers/ranchers that we hunt for really get a kick out of it when we tell them about killing pregnant sows.

Thanks friends.Your words make sense to me and help overcome the guilt pangs.The pork wasn't wasted as I have a large extended family of friends and relatives. I love to share the game I shoot and many of them relish it.Not a bit of the meat is wasted.Think from the next time onwards, I shall try not to think like I did this time. Thanks once again.Best- Locksley,R

My brother in law killed a pregnant sow a coffee plantation in Hawai'i and the owner just about threw a party for him. She was carrying a litter of eight, so in essence, he killed nine with one shot. We target the females because they produce multiples of hogs and the young because they have a whole life of destruction ahead of them. The little ones taste better, too.


Okie John

Our south Texas deer lease has a hog problem-and the way we have decided to attack it is to shoot sows. They are the best eating, and as one of the earlier posters noted, they are always either wet or pregnant. For the past two years we've been hammering sows, and it has not reduced the population appreciably. According to something I read (not in a scientific journal or a feral hog control study) to put a dent in the population, you have to remove/shoot more than 70% of the herd to reduce it. If you shoot 70% and leave 30%, the 30% will replace the losses and you'll end up with the same numbers next year that you started with this year. That means each time I go to the ranch in the off season, I shoot one (2-3 times per month), and the meat is not left to the coyotes and vultures. I feed several families with the results.