Just like past years, the hogs show up at the corn feeders this time of year because the residual from the crops are gone by now and they are hungry.

I put out some cameras, but really didn't need them to inform me they had been there. It looks like the same bunch are making the rounds and feeding at three feeders.

None showed up during daylight, yet, which may be an issue. In time, they will be there at dusk.

I've got company coming in tonight for hunting. I should have some pictures to post soon.

Usually about the time, after season most deer feeder run out of corn till next year the pigs become very predictable. When it starts greening out with rain it becomes hit or miss again. Good luck!

For the last five years, I have kept the corn flowing till it gets too warm to mess with hogs. The mosquitoes let me know when it's time to make the shift to concentrate on fishing.

For me, the best time to hunt the hogs is after deer season.

The weather forecast for the next 7 - 10 days looks real good.

Hope your crew can collect. When do the 'skeeters start making life miserable?

quote:

When do the 'skeeters start making life miserable?

That time may come early this year. It's wetter and warmer than usual. They already are pests at dusk.

Sorry to hear this. They sure can make life miserable. I've always relied on DEET, but have heard the Thermacells work pretty well.

My guests have finished their hunt and gone home. We saw no hogs - only where they had been and on game camera at night.

I'm going to keep trying. I watched five does in the green field till dark. I may have to use the spot light and stay after dark for the hogs.

They're still out there.

I just need to get lucky and bein the right place at the right time. I haven't any pictures of them out during daylight. I may have to sit on the stand with my spotlight handy.











I have my new hog whacker ready to put into service as soon as I get some 458 SOCOM ammo. I'll have to do something about that shiny barrel.

Those are some nice-sized hogs. I'd love to see one in a trophy pic!

Vet wrap for the barrel. I've had decent luck using a scope-mounted Elusive Wildlife light for hogs and coyotes. I'm not even sure they're still in business, but surely other light makers have similar setups.

Thanks for the suggestions. I looked up "vet wrap" and found a link to some on amazon. Then in comparing similar products, I found this:

https://www.amazon.com/Gorilla...23SFJ4VEWKG9R0P182DF

Gorilla Tape, Camo Duct Tape, 1.88" x 9 yd, Mossy Oak,

I bought a Maglite 3D - cell LED flashlight not long ago and I've been very happy with it. This one: https://www.amazon.com/Maglite...ed%2Bflashlight&th=1

It puts out 625 lumens with fresh batteries. I also bought the rechargeable batteries and charger.

So, what I do is just before dark, I set it up where I can easily turn it on and it illuminates the feeding area. I position the rifle too. Then I turn the light off and wait. I have practiced at holding the light tube adjacent to the forend and aligned with the target.


On a moonlit night I can see the hogs through my binocs, but on dark nights I wait for the sounds. Some of the really spooky ones leave as soon as I turn the light on, but others hesitate long enough for a shot.

I have also used a solar powered LED night light to illuminate the area.

The place I'm hunting now is deep in the woods with poor sunlight.

I'm thinking about shutting down all the feeders except one or perhaps two, and setting the timer to go one time each day at 4:30 pm, and increase the seconds of spin. Then keep checking the cameras to see if I can get them to visit just before dark.

But meanwhile, I'll be there again today by 4:30.

Give 'em hell, ME!

Got one. I'm not sure if I've seen this one on the camera. He came in alone, and joined three sows with a swarm of fresh piglets already feeding on the corn.

I used my 458 WM loaded with the 300gr Barnes SOCOM TTSX at about 1800 MV.

I'm still working on loads for my AR15 458 SOCOM and feeding issues, so I'm not using it yet.

DRT. Head shot.

He has a little aroma. I don't know if I'll want the meat, but I know someone who does. I'll know more after he's skinned and gutted.

My nephew is 6'4" tall, for comparison.

Just the right position too!

Time for work.

George

I could have skinned and gutted 4 deer in the amount of work and time and stench it took to do the boar. Fortunately a head shot helps with less mess. I finished about 10:30, which wasn't too bad. The thick hide on shoulders and back was a challenge.

I have maybe a dozen of what I now call the standard drop point hunting knives, for skinning etc., but I've quit using them. They now feel awkward in my hands.

A few years ago I started using the commercial butcher's skinning knives, such as the so-called beef skinner with the sweeping blade and the plastic ergonomic non-absorbing handle from Dexter and Victorinox and there are other brands of similar style such as Giesser and F. Dick, German made.

Anyway, I sharpened three skinning knives before starting and dulled them all before finishing. I don't like to re-sharpen or freshen up a blade while I'm skinning. That's why I start with at least three sharp knives and switch when and if one gets dull.

That boar had more than a pint of piss in his bladder. Fortunately I managed to not spill any on the meat.

Here are samples of my skinning knives:

That's also a Wyoming saw in the picture.

The long blade is a fillet knife with a flexible blade, and I use it for fish too. It's main purpose on deer and hogs is to cut around the butt hole so it can be pulled through with the rest of the guts.

The knives with the biggest arch in the blade are called beef skinners and the smaller blades are lamb skinners.

The two on the right are Victorinox and are my favorites. Note the drop point on the second from right and the lamb skinner blades. The second from the left is German made, Giesser, and has the best steel. I didn't use it this time, but maybe next time. It also has the stiffest blade. I prefer the lamb skinner blades for deer. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00M...e9-bc59-4fcf3b72f982



I use these knives to finish the job - quartering, butchering and boning - just plain, readily available and inexpensive Dexter sani-safe, I think that's what they call them. They hold an edge pretty good, and take an edge or freshened up edge easily with a few swipes on a steel. If they get real dull, I hit a lick or two on a diamond steel, then use the plain butchers steel to smooth the edge razor sharp.

I prefer to hang deer and hogs for at least two days, to let the surface of the meat dry out and make a crust. Then I shave off the thin outer layer with a sharp knife before cutting out the backstraps, tenderloins and quartering for deboning. That way any of the nasty and hair that got on the meat while skinning and gutting is shaved away and doesn't taint the rest of the meat.

The trick is to have appropriate weather temps. I like to time my hunts to where the forecast is in the high 20's to mid 30's at night, and 40's to 50's in the day, for three days or so.

It's tolerable for a little higher temp, but not daytime 70s. If it gets warm or I notice flys buzzing the meat, then it's time to butcher or at least get on refrigeration.

Today, the temp is marginal, but at least it's cloudy so the sun doesn't warm the meat. Last night it was a low of 39 so the hog cooled well.

I checked it a little while ago, and it's still cool and drying nicely. I checked for odor, and it has a little. Perhaps that's to be expected with a boar. I still haven't decided if I'll butcher, package and keep the meat. I'll probably take out a backstrap tomorrow after shaving off the outer dried layer. Then take a whiff of that and decide. If not, I know people who want it. I'll just hope to go back and get one that doesn't have an odor. I'll be happier that way. I've tried smelly hogs before and the odor never went away, and I threw it out.

Thus I'm real picky about trying to salvage a smelly hog. So far, it has yet to work out. The best results I've had were with hogs, boar and sow, that had practically no odor from the meat.

I've noticed something else too. I've yet to inspect a hog that had an odor and have that odor disappear after skinning and gutting. In every case in my experience, the odor was outside and through and through - inside.

I would like to hear/read of other's experiences with this odor issue.

BTW, when I butcher/skin/gut a hog, I wear disposable latex type gloves, with one of those Kevlar fish cleaning type gloves on my left hand (when I can find it) over the rubber/latex glove. and try real hard to not splash anything on my face or bare skin. After finishing, I shower ASAP, and change clothes, and put the clothes I was wearing in the washer hot water right away, and hot dryer thereafter. Practically all hogs have some nasty looking crawly things/bugs/parasites on them and I certainly don't want them on me.

My Texas buddies call them crotch crickets. I'm not familiar with such things, but apparently they are, and I don't want to become familiar with them either.

Also, I always cook hog (wild or domestic) well done, and double inspect it to make sure. I always be careful with handling the raw meat, and cut it up and package outside on the stainless table seen in the pictures, with a plastic cutting board. I clean up the knives/tools, cutting board and table with a mild Clorox/water/soap mixture.

The good thing is that it's a reasonably fat hog and the fat is nice and white, not discolored at all, and the meat looks right, with nothing unusual apparent.

Got to be kidding; the high today is 18 and the low was one. F. And today is a warm day. No mosquitoes here. Even the birds are all frozen up.
As for eating boar hogs; I have never killed a mature one that didn't smell like week old road kill.
Yours does look pretty hanging there though, skinned.
I can only eat the young boars and sows. There is a reason that domestic intact male animals are not processed for food.

A few days ago, it hit 80 deg here.

Too hot for hunting.

I shot a young boar (about 125 lbs) out in Texas a few years ago, and it was some of the best wild pork I've had.

I also shot a very large boar in Texas, much bigger than the one pictured in this thread. It didn't have an odor, but my Texas buddies refused to deal with it. I didn't argue with them since I was their guest, and I certainly couldn't load it by myself. We left it for the coyotes and buzzards.

I hate to throw out something I've shot, even a boar hog, without trying. I kinda feel like it's a duty, due-diligence sort of thing. And besides, I have options. I'm pretty sure I know someone who will take it and appreciate it, especially since I've skinned and gutted it.

Looks real good hanging there skinned.

Next time you're near a hardware store, pick up a cheap drywall saw. They're one of the handiest, hardest to dull saws I've been around.
Just about can't hurt one and if you do, just toss it and go buy another for $2-6. That's all I use for any hunting since I discovered how great they are for bones.

Nice looking set of blades, should do for most any butchering, skinning.

George

Thanks for the suggestion about the drywall saw. That's a good idea and also maybe others can benefit from the suggestion.

Since I'm not familiar with that type of saw, to research it I went on Amazon. The true drywall saws have a pointy blade. Apparently part of the way it's used is to plunge into the drywall.

The way I hang a deer or hog, the tricky part is splitting the brisket to let the weight of the guts pull itself down into the catch tub underneath.

Naturally, there is little working room there to avoid cutting into the stomach or intestines and spilling the contents - a very undesirable thing.

For any saw that I'll use for butchering/dressing a deer or hog, the first consideration is for cutting through the brisket while minimizing the potential for rupturing the guts. Other bone cutting apps are secondary. Of course one could own more than one, for specific purposes - one specifically for the brisket, and another for the heavy work, leg bones etc.

So, with the Wyoming saw, the blunt end helps keep the blade teeth away from the soft tissue. But it is a bit awkward. I use it because I have it and it works, and it cuts bone well. But I'm always open to better ideas.

For several years I've used a 18 volt Dewalt Sawzall with about a 9" blade. But it just quit working last fall, and I started using the Wyoming saw again after it sat in the shelf for many years.

I have a corded Sawzall, but it is a beast. I think the job calls for a bit of finesse.

The (cordless) Sawzall is really good for cutting through leg bone and splitting down the back bone and, after the guts are out, splitting the pelvis and for sawing off the ribs. Mostly, I entirely bone out the meat, so I don't need to split the backbone. I see no need to take up freezer space with bone-in. Sometimes, if I'm really ambitious, I use a small pressure cooker so I can get all the meat off the bones. Sometimes I use that meat in stews, etc., if it turns out quality (smells right). Otherwise I use a little at a time to supplement the dry dog food for my two canine family members.

So, here are some results of research:

EverSaw Folding Hand Saw All-Purpose, Wood, Bone, PVC. Best for Tree Pruning, Camping, Hunting, Toolbox. Rugged 8" Blade, Solid Grip

https://www.amazon.com/EverSaw...product_sims?ie=UTF8

I kinda like this style - reasonably priced, and blunt tip:




SOG Wood & Bone Folding Saw 8.25" High Carbon Steel Blade Rubber Grip Black

https://www.midwayusa.com/prod...de-rubber-grip-black

MOSSY OAK Folding Hand Saw for Wood, Bone, PVC, Tree Pruning, Camping, Hunting, Solid TPR Soft Grip with Different Blades and Pouch

https://www.amazon.com/Mossy-O...0&sr=8-4-spons&psc=1


Also the Leatherman multitool may be an option since some of the models have a saw blade.

I've used several game saws and tried different techniques, and I keep coming back to the Wyoming saw. It's multi-purpose and works on the brisket too, and replacement blades are easily available.

https://www.amazon.com/Wyoming...%2Caps%2C1431&sr=8-3

Well, the decision is made. I started butchering, and took a shoulder off for starters, after shaving the outer crust. The meat has no detectable odor.

Interestingly, at least to me, this is the first time I've found that the meat has no odor when the hog did have an odor before skinned and gutted, and a slight odor from the inside cavity after gutting. When butchering this time I'll just work from the outside and avoid the cavity.

I'm sure it will make fine sausage. I blend smoked bacon ends and pieces and a sausage spice blend that I buy from a local butcher with the lean pork and it has been my staple sausage since I retired.

I went back down there this afternoon to check out the scene and add more corn to the feeder and spread some more on the ground, and there was no corn on the ground from yesterday's spin. They had cleaned it all up last night.

So, I fetched the card from the camera. It looks like they just went nocturnal. There was a few that came in before dark. Anyway, they will be back. I checked the weather forecast and it looks like the right temps will be next Saturday night after a front and rain moves through Friday.

Anyway, here are some pictures taken at the same location after I got the boar pictured in this thread.

The first picture is the one I'm after next.



This is a picture from the day after I shot the boar. They did return in daylight.



The next picture shows what I think are four boars, and three mature sows (with piglets) and one immature sow.



Another:



And another:




I looked back a day to make sure I wasn't confused on the date I shot the boar and found this picture on the card. This is only part of the swarm of piglets on the ground at that time. The Boar I shot is partially visible behind the pine tree to the left. This picture was taken a few seconds before the shot.

More tools:





The vacuum sealed package, ready to freeze.



Later I'll take the boned frozen meat and partially thaw it in the microwave set on thaw - (not in the plastic bag). Then cut it into chunks and along with some pieces of smoked bacon, grind it and add some sausage spice and salt. then I have sausage. I make small batches.

Only hogs I've killed other guys dressed 'em.

For elk, and mulies. We split the belly & chest skin, then skin down along both sides of the ribs to expose the rib joints.

Then cut open the belly to get a hand inside and split thru all the rib joints on both sides. Then toss the brisket out. Real easy to get the knife inside the rib cage with blade sticking out instead of in. Nothing to cut that way.

Sure avoids cutting thru a brisket with all the sharp bones and hard work. OF course game is laying on it's back to do so. Have never done that hanging.

Drywall saw's are about 6-8" long, pointed. For stabbing a starter hole. Very stiff blade. They'll cut right thru a pelvis, leg joint or brisket. Even used one to cut the horns off a bull elk a couple times when the head wasn't wanted.

George

Yes, after thinking about it since my previous post, I've reconsidered the drywall saw. It just takes a little modification of technique compared to what I've become accustomed to.

I'll probably get one and give it a try, and also try your technique on the ribs/brisket too.

And most hunters I know around here don't do their own processing. The village where I lived in Alaska for several years, everyone processed their own kills. Hunters who lived near Anchorage, for example, often used a processor for moose and such, but there were no moose on the island, just Sitka deer and Brown Bears. Anyway, that's where and when I learned to butcher. I don't use a processor now even though there are several nearby. As I understand it, they don't do wild hogs anyway.

As a side note, for entertainment:

Wild boars in Hong Kong are disrupting the city

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news...pTo6?ocid=spartandhp

Nice hog! Looks fat and healthy, and if nothing else should produce much good sausage.

quote:

Originally posted by georgeld:

Then cut open the belly to get a hand inside and split thru all the rib joints on both sides. Then toss the brisket out.

Drywall saw's are about 6-8" long, pointed. For stabbing a starter hole. Very stiff blade. They'll cut right thru a pelvis, leg joint or brisket.

George

I got several packages of boned out meat off the brisket and ribs. I'll be using it first to make sausage, since there's a lot of fat in it.

Also, I tried a freshly charged battery in the Sawzall and it worked. I think maybe I pushed the lock switch when using it last and maybe the battery ran out at the same time and I thought it was broken.

It makes quick work of those heavy boar bones.

I finished butchering today, and it's all in the freezer.

Good deal, nothing like being finished butchering. The older I get the harder it is and longer it takes it seems.

Some species have much more usable meat on the brisket. When there is, trim it off.

Still, it can be easier to do that on the butcher block than hanging whole.

IF the carcass is still handy, just to see how easy it is to cut the rib joints, take a short bladed knife and give it a test run. I think you'll be surprised how easy they cut.

Main thing is be safe with those blades they'll cut you just as easy.

Sawzall's are real handy for splitting the spines, especially when hanging.

George

I don't know where to make a test cut on the rib joints in order to get the surprise you're talking about. All the Places I know of are hard enough that cutting through with a knife would be tough and definitely not practical. Unless you are talking about some connective cartilage that I'm not seeing?

Anyway, the bones and all are gone. There is a place near here where people take the heads, guts, hide, etc., to feed the coyotes and buzzards. Everything is cleaned up in a day.

When I went back yesterday to dump the remaining bones, the dump I made before was nothing but hair, hide and skull. The buzzards had even eaten the ears and nose.

The trick for me is to go through the whole process of skinning, gutting and butchering without nicking or cutting myself. That requires concentrating and slowing down. Methodical. No nicks this time.

As you mentioned, it's not only the knife that can nick. Sharp edges on bones can too. One (more) bad thing about getting older is that my skin is much more tender now, especially on the backs of my hands.

IMO it's not so critical with deer, but with hogs I'm very careful. I try to keep the blade in the direction away from my hand. Like I said, it's best to use a fish cleaning glove on the hand not holding the knife, in my case my left hand. The std fish glove has a stainless steel mesh or wire inside some sort of tough fabric, maybe Kevlar. They clean up pretty easy afterwards soaked with a mix of soap and bleach.

This time I couldn't find my fish cleaning glove. I'm going to order several, so I'll have some spares in the future. They are rather inexpensive. The hardest thing for me is finding one when needed. I don't know where they go - probably to the safe place I last put them, wherever that is.

I find the genetics of the hogs here interesting. I'll post some pictures showing the different traits that stand out IMO.

I often get pictures of hogs, both sows and boars, that have the ridge of hair that stands up along their backs.

Here's a sample:



There are those who are obviously descendant of feral hogs:





There's those like the sow on the right:



Also:

quote:

Originally posted by Magine Enigam:
Here's something I find very interesting.

This is a small sample of the pictures from one camera.

The pictures show the next generation, and a lot more.

The big sow is a regular visitor. Note there are several others which I consider the better shooters for butchering. It's typical for older sounders to show up too.



Note the variety gene pool:



Look carefully at this picture. See the piglet lower center with the stripes. (center left of the two black piglets.) That's from a true wild hog genetics. They are all mixed in with feral hogs - escapees over the years, but this one piglet stands out as evidence of something different.

Also note the shooters in the background. Those are the ones I would target.



Here's another picture of the striped piglet, right between the two black piglets.



Here's the best picture I can find of the striped piglet - right in front of the red boar.

They are still coming in - after dark:




I lost interest for a while, but will be back out there soon. It would be encouraging to see some daytime pictures.

Magine Enigam been a Butcher for 40 years so I'm well acquainted with the knifes you have there. Get you a good Sharpening Steel and a Slick Steel and use them while you process and you shouldn't have to swap knifes while skinning.

I've spent many hours on a rock putting an edge on knifes so i'm going to give you some good advice, get you a Ken Onion WorkSharp Knife Sharpener if you don't have one it will be the best money you ever spent for a knife sharpener.

Also as a meatcutter you should sharpen a knife different than you would a hunting knife. You should always start off with a Course Stone at 20 degrees and work it till you feel a good sharp ruff edge. It's important to get this edge first, and I will explain why later. Next sharpen on the medium rock at 25 degrees till you get a sharp edge but not refined to cut hair. Next move the the fine rock at 25 degrees and work it to shave hair.

Now for the reason it's important to use the three rocks. With each rock you put microscopic serrated edges on the knife, as you use the knife you wear down the edge, in some cases you only roll the edge, that's where the slick steel comes in and by using the slick steel you can stand the edge back up. Once the knife doesn't respond the slick steel it time to use the Sharpening Steel where you hone some of those serrated edges that you put on the knife with the Course and Medium Rock. By using all three rocks you put more serrated edges on the knife to sharpen as you need them.

My boning knife I would sharpen once a week and it would cut 1000's of pounds of meat before it needed to go back to the rock.

I would teach my cutters to use the count down method to sharpen a knife. Start with 10 strokes on one side then 10 on the other, 9 on one side and 9 on the other, 8 on one side and 8 on the other and so on till you get to 1 and 1. Move to the next rock down and do the same, same with the fine rock. Most of the time the knife will be sharp and you can use the slick steel then to hone the edge.

Then there is the Ken Onion WorkSharp Knife Sharpener, 1 min. or less on a knife, steel the knife and go to work. Best time save I ever found and it made my employees happen. I still made my trainees learn to use the rock because they may end up some time in their career in a market that still did it on the rock.

The connective tissue that georgeld was talking about is on each side of the brisket. You can cut the brisket out with a knife, I use a Cane Knife, even split the hog with it instead of a saw.

Jr:

Great instruction, lots of guys have
no idea how to put a good working edge
on a blade. I've worked with several
long time meat cutters that taught me
from a young age. Not too many have
been that lucky.

ME:
Next time you get a carcass skinned around
the chest. Before you cut the brisket.
Press on the brisket and watch the ribs flex.
The rib joints are the white spots on the ribs. At the throat end, they're close to the brisket bone on each side, they radiate out
wider as they go toward the belly. There they
are closer to halfway down the rib.

Yes, it's cartilage, around an inch long and
width of the rib. This is on all hoofed animals. Once all these joints are cut thru, the brisket can be lifted out without splitting it. Then IF you want to trim some
of the meat off, it's handy to work on at the
butcher block or counter wherever you do the
cutting.

Quite a variety of hogs and piglets you have
there. That "pup" with the spotted lines is
just young enough it still has spots. You'll
see them gradually dissapear in time.

Thanks for sharing so much with us, both of you.
George

quote:

Quite a variety of hogs and piglets you have there. That "pup" with the spotted lines isjust young enough it still has spots. You'llsee them gradually dissapear in time.

Yes, it's true that the lines will disappear. I pointed out that particular piglet because it's the only one with the lines. I don't recall seeing that before in previous pictures, this year and years past.

I have seen piglets that looked like that in pictures of (piglets) European wild hogs and African Wild hogs and other parts of the world - of truly "wild" hogs, as opposed to "feral" hogs.

The very pronounced ridge of course hair on the backs of the adults, boar and sow, is something else interesting. You just don't see that in the true domestic hogs. I call them mohawk hawgs.

A mature boar, with the ridgeback, large shoulders and in comparison small hips is very impressive. Every now and then I get a picture of one with tusks and the scars on his shoulders and ears to show he's been fighting. Those boars are generally reclusive and nocturnal, but even those don't live to a ripe age around here.

It's interesting to see the pictures which proves that the sows with piglets co-mingle with the young mature boars and feed together without the boars roughing up the younger ones.

quote:

Ken Onion WorkSharp Knife Sharpener

Thanks a lot for the good info about knife sharpening, stones, technique, brisket, etc.

https://www.amazon.com/Work-Sh...-Onion/dp/B07CW4T6RS

Here's examples of the sharpening tools I use:

A diamond steel to put the serrated edges you wrote about - I have a medium and fine grit.

https://www.amazon.com/Victori...Ctools%2C1420&sr=1-6

Here's an example of the steel I use for the final edge.

Mine has the little ridges running the length of the steel. I have a smooth one, but never use it.

https://www.amazon.com/Victori...%2Caps%2C749&sr=8-18


I picked mine up at a flea market type place several years ago. I don't know what brands they are, but new they aren't the cheap ones. They replaced some I already had which I wasn't satisfied with and now I don't know where those are.

I'm a bit lazy when it comes to sharpening knives, which is why I use the diamond steel. It cuts fast and I use it only when an edge gets really dull. Then I put the razor edge on with the regular steel, which I can use to touch up several times before having to use the diamond again.

Anyway, I can get my desired edge in seconds - on a blade that is not damaged and already has the correct angle, which as you mentioned is important.

Here's another good picture of the striped piglet.

It's like a fawn with spots. They soon grow out of the stripes and spots. This one seems to be the only striped one in the litter.



Here's an example of the big boars. This one is not the largest I've got pictures but he's ugly.





Here's some pictures from last year of boars with the ridgeback:

Looks like those are crossbred with
razorbacks and domestics.

The two I shot in Fla, didn't have the
mohawk, but, they did have the skinny
butts and huge shoulders. 200 and 147 I think
the smaller one was. Wasn't big enough for
what I wanted on the wall, so we went the next
morning til one big enough came along.
They don't go far with a .243 thru the head.

Sure would be nice to be within range of your pig lot. I'd like to fill the freezer with some more wild pork.

One short tip about using a steel. Keep your
damned thumb behind the guard!! OR maybe: Keep the damned guard in front of your thumb.

George

I don't know for sure if these hogs around here have some real Russian wild boar genetics mixed in with the feral hogs over many years.

It may just be that when they have gone wild for several generations they just take on the traits of European wild hogs from the original intro.

I'm pretty sure some hunting clubs turned loose some Russian wild hogs - I don't know how long ago that was. It's possible I suppose that the gene pool migrated slowly from Tennessee and Arkansas, etc.

Now they are all classified as feral hogs.

Just like with most things there are a lot of myths and misinformation out there.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feral_pig#North_America

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_boar

Let's go back to what I've learned from the discussion of removing the brisket and how that might be important related to butchering a boar.

It's common knowledge that boars stink, and the std conclusion is that the meat stinks too and thus not worth butchering.

In this thread I showed that I butchered a pretty good size boar, and he did have that boar aroma. I took extra care in skinning and gutting to not taint the meat in that process, specifically by being careful to peal the hide back in a way to not contact the outside with the fresh exposed meat, and to avoid leaking the boar's piss on any meat.

So, now I know that I was not 100% successful in not tainting the meat.

I tried one package - made sausage - and it had the smell. I threw it away.

So, today I tried another piece, sausage, from a backstrap, and it did not have the smell.

So, what's the difference?

When I butchered, I kept the meat from the ribs separate from the rest of it. By the time I got to the ribs and brisket I was tired and ready to be done, so I wasn't as careful in shaving off the outside dried crust and besides if there was any leaking of piss and taint from the inside, it would most likely be on the rib and brisket meat.

The first sausage batch I tried was from the rib/brisket meat. The second batch was from backstrap, which had been shaved carefully before boning out.

When I butchered the rib/brisket meat, I kept the packages separated from the others, in a separate box. Apparently it's a good thing I did that.

So, what I think I have learned is to be more careful with the gutting and skinning. ANY piss or slime from the inside WILL taint the meat. If I can remove the brisket as suggested above, that may be saved, but in the future I will probably not try to salvage rib meat if there is any doubt. Also, the shaving technique proved to be proper. I will continue with that and refine the technique and be even more careful.

For example, making sure the cutting board and table top, gloves, knife blade are also kept clean. I think it's definitely possible to transfer some of that taint smell with any tools.

If I'm able to butcher the shoulders, backstraps and hams, super clean, then that's a lot of meat, and I should be satisfied. Those parts should be easier to keep clean during the skinning and gutting process, and the shaving of the outer dried crust certainly helps.

So, in summary, on this boar, which smelled, the problem with tainted meat can be traced to my error in letting even a little piss and or slime from the inside (or hair) get on the outside meat, and even shaving didn't solve it. Shaving the outer crust DOES solve any minor stray hair removal, but not slime/piss, which soaks in.

I'm sure there are many boars that can't be palatable. But at least I proved to myself that tainted meat is for sure caused in the skinning and gutting process. In this case, the clean meat has no aroma, raw or when cooking. The tainted meat clearly has the boar aroma, and the main difference is the location of where the meat came from on the hog and the high probability that I spilled some slime there when skinning/gutting.

Magine, you sure weren't kidding when you said you've got hogs! Guessing east Texas by the vegetation?
What you call lamb skinners I always called a legging knife.
Mr. Steiner, thank you for the knife sharpening clinic.

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Mr. Steiner, thank you for the knife sharpening clinic.

Yesterday I talked for a while with an old-timer, like me, except he has vast experience with hogs. He's hunted them with dogs for a long time, and trapped them, etc. My take-away was these hogs are an invasive species - period. Judging from the 4 to 5 litters and various adults coming to my corn, it's even further clearer. This is more than I've seen in past years.

Plus, I thought the batteries had died on another feeder, until I checked it yesterday, with intentions of pulling the spinner. No, it is still spinning corn on schedule and another whole batch of hogs are coming to that feeder too.

Last night, about 11 pm, it sounded like a small war had broken out. Rapid fire of semi-auto overlapping, maybe 100 shots, from the nearby fields. I haven't yet called to find out who and what, but certainly it was the farmer's sons and buddies out there with their ARs and night vision. A massacre I'm sure.

Funny story - maybe three years ago those eager lads with their AR tacticools, went after a bunch of hogs at night with their night vision toys. They split groups of guys, and somehow when the shooting started they were in a crossfire, shooting in each other's direction. They were so busy and focused they didn't notice the bullets zinging by for a while. It's a wonder no harm was done to body and equip. I figure they won't make that mistake again.

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Guessing east Texas by the vegetation?

South central Georgia. Yes, I was surprised how similar E. Texas looks.