quote:

Originally posted by Bill/Oregon:
you sure weren't kidding when you said you've got hogs!

It's been several days since I got pictures of the hogs in daylight. Yesterday was the day I had planned to go back down there with a rifle. I sorta suspected they would show up. Indeed they did.

I didn't go because I wasn't in the mood to deal with another hog. I suppose I was lazy and used the warmer weather as an excuse. But also the guy who said he wanted a hog wouldn't answer his phone, for confirmation that he would be available.

He later left me a message that he had to go to the doctor for a "procedure".

I don't know if all the shooting last night changed this population or not. But I do definitely have hogs.

Look at this big bastard. I'll bet he stinks. I think this is the first time he's showed up.







Some of his pals:

I shot another one at dusk today. A young boar probably half the size of the other one, but twice the stink.

This one will feed buzzards if they will eat it.

ME:

Ok, let's give you a little bit of help.

Soon as you kill one. take a couple feet of 1/8"' or so heavy cord, baling twine is great. Like many of us do when hunting. Do this as they lay, before you move them at all.
Cut out the asshole and female organs IF: Tie them off, double knotted. The cut the dick loose from the belly and tie it off the same way.

Take it to a hose and wash the whole carcass off real well. Let it drip dry before you start cutting it open.

Wear rubber gloves, keep your hands off the meat after handling the hide and nasties.
IF you need to, throw those gloves away and get fresh before you touch the meat.

Make sure you don't cut into the pisser or bladder when gutting. Don't cut a gut or stomach open. Bleed it out real good hanging head down.

Ok, dustoffer and some of you other guys continue this.

The two I shot were done this way by others I watched. IF they'd varied much I'd of been right in the middle of it. This is how we butcher everything, beef included. I've been in on it since I was less than 10yrs old. My two were 200# and 147# boars had some mud on them, not much. Cleaned up well. Once skinned and cut in qtrs, the meat was hung in a walkin cooler. The bigger one had an infected hind qtr from fighting. Looked like a tusk rip near his balls and up the leg. We tossed that.

Meat was chilled and picked up 4 days later. I trimmed it up the next day and we packaged it, then to the freezer. All was very good eating and no stink. When we picked the meat up, it went into iced coolers til I could cut it up.

Not even the oysters (balls). The guys where we shot 'em, didn't have a clue what the oysters were and asked the second day what I was talking about. "oh hell, we just toss 'em, if you want them I'll save 'em til you come pick up the meat". I'm sure there was 15 pair or more. Fine eats! That was cut up/sliced in Jacksonville, I flew it to CO and we ate it for a few months.

As far as far as I know, CO doesn't have wild hogs yet. IF we do, I'd like to know some details.

George

Thanks George, for the instructions, and thoughts.

Best regards to you.

The thing is that the odor of the worst of the boars is frankly more than I want to tolerate. It's a sickening smell that lingers.

That first one I skinned, shown in this thread, wasn't too bad. But the one I shot yesterday was over the top for me. It smelled like something dead and rotten. I doubt it could smell worse if it was week old road kill.

I feel very good about my decision to haul it off to the buzzard yard, about a mile away.

I plan on continuing to shoot one when the op arises, but I'm thinking of ways to be more efficient at disposal too - if and when I get another stinky. The less handling the better.

Of course I can't just leave it where it falls. That would mess up my site. And those BIG ones are too heavy to lift alone, even though I have one of those receiver hitch racks for my pickup.

I'll figure something out. The simpler the better.

Meanwhile, your advice will come in handy when I get another one with no stink. I have shot several that had no detectable odor, but only one of those was a young boar - in Texas. All the rest were young sows, too young yet for piglets. I got several of those in Texas too, and none stank. Of the several sows I've shot in Georgia, only one had an aroma, and it had piglets before, though none with her at the time.

quote:

Originally posted by dustoffer:

Do you think this one was fat?

They are just coming off a wet fall, pecans and acorns everywhere, and deer season with corn feeders going, so they have eaten well.

Yes, as I said I've seen that kind of fat before on some hogs I shot in Texas. I've seen some young sows from Georgia, shot in December, that had almost that much fat. Mostly the hogs around here seem to lose a lot of fat from late January till they have crops to feed on. That's why they come to corn so readily.

BTW, those Texas hogs I shot, with that amount of white fat, were not stinky and the meat was good.

You have given me an idea that could make life much easier when dealing with skinning/butchering hogs. I had thought of it before, but never tried it.

Done carefully, of course, I could hi-grade, like you have obviously done with the backstraps. I think I can bone out the hams and backstraps and remove the whole shoulders without having to open the gut cavity at all, nor mess with the pisser. It would still require skinning 90%, carefully to avoid getting hair on the meat, especially since there is no second chance later by shaving the outer layer after it dries a bit from hanging.

Although most of the skinning will still have to be done to get to the shoulders, it seems like that would be much easier than skinning the whole thing, cutting the head off and gutting.

Once the hi-graded meat is removed, then just get rid of the rest of the carcass with the guts still in it.

Next hog I get, I'm going to try it. I think I can do the boning out as described in less time, and the main important point - less mess, and still salvage 75-80% of the meat, which is about what I've been getting anyway doing it the hard way.

The disadvantage is not letting the meat hang, which firms it up a bit, but I'm not sure there's real valued-added there. The advantage is getting done faster, which I would have to do anyway most of the time. Due to the temperature - above 50 deg F, the meat needs to be on ice or refrigerated soon.

I've seen/read about doing a deer while hanging without opening the body cavity although needs to be skinned. They even get the tenderloins out.

In my experience, deer are sooo much easier to deal with. Even the stinkiest old buck is not even close to the odor of those boars. A gut shot deer may be close.

With the new technique I've described, I have no intentions of going after the tenderloins.

If I'm gonna deal with butchering hogs anymore - something has to change. I have to up the anti on my skills and technique. Now, I make sure that I don't shoot unless I can hit one as close as I can right behind the ear, broadside. That's a lot cleaner.

As far as I can remember, ALL the hogs I've shot were head or behind the ear shots, DRT, except one. That one got away with a broken jaw. 7.62x39 at about 150 yds - too much drop - didn't compensate. I remedied that by selling the 7.62x39 and getting two 6.5 Grendel rifles.

Also, besides the clean shot, DRT, my first line of defense is to just get rid on the stinky ones. I just can't deal with that sickening, lingering odor anymore.

My setup with hanging the hog upside down is a blessing. I wouldn't do it at all, except maybe the backstraps as you did, without hanging.

Also, I'm thinking of taking George's washing advice a step further. I have uses for a power washer anyway, so I'm thinking of buying one and wash hogs thoroughly before skinning.

I have a clear plastic protective face shield that I use when die grinding, sanding on fiberglass and epoxy, etc., that washes easily, to protect my face from some accidental nasty splash.

I'm also thinking about making a triangle device for swinging out and hang the hog there, over grass, instead of under the shed. That way the rain washes the nasty drippings, that escape the tub, away quicker. My bitch dog (inside dog) wants to roll in it, so I have to watch her all the time when she's outside and I've cleaned something recently.

I checked the game cameras for pictures taken yesterday. I'm looking for at least two things. First are daylight pictures. I found none. After shooting one they still come back, just nocturnal.

The sows with piglets seem to have disappeared.

Other things I look for is something unusual, or a new one.

It seems that what I've got is a problem rather than something good.

I put up two more cameras just to capture pictures of the action. It takes a little anticipation to figure probably today they will show in daylight.

In part, the problem is that the pictures I've shown are very close to a portion of the land that was inherited by my sister - and thus by my brother-in-law. When we were children, she had a bad experience with a domestic sow with piglets. the sow chased her and almost did some damage. So now she has a fear of hogs. She blames me for the hogs because I put out the corn and says that she used to be able to go for walks on the trails but now she's afraid.

It's a bit of BS, because she doesn't go for walks now anyway. But just how can I respond that quiets the problem?

The hogs are there and the corn just concentrates them and the cameras show what otherwise isn't apparent.

Here are three pictures that tell the tale.



Fortunately there are some young sows in the mix that have no piglets:



This sow with the white stripe across her shoulders has yet to show in daylight as far as I remember.

Note, I count 10 grown hogs in this picture.

ME:

Since you mentioned week old road kill.
Very good chance that's what those
stinking hogs had been eating. That
would sure make them stink too.
As we all know hogs will eat carrion
just as quick as corn.

When it comes to the high pressure washer, be
careful not to hit it too close and blow
thru the skin into the meat. Somewhere around
900 to 1000psi should be about right. Many run
over 1500 and will cut right thru.

Sure wish I had a way to get a few of those
easier than 1600 mile drive.

You'll figure it out.

Dustoffer: I've never seen or heard of anyone
doing it gutless when hanging. We've always
done it on the ground. Usually because we were
alone and/or too far to get it to the truck.

I like to cut them up that way in the snow.
Each qtr I toss out on the snow, when the next
section comes off, I flip all the former pcs
over each time. By the time I'm done, they're
ready for the cooler. I pack the cooler half full of snow, layer of meat, more snow etc and top it off with snow. It'll keep that way at
least a week in 60-70F temps as long as it's
out of the direct sun.

ME: Only time we've "aged" meat is beef or
farm hogs in a cooler. Usually game by the time we get home it's already aged several days.

Far as getting the tenders out. Just slit the skin at the flank and reach in to cut 'em out.
Laying on their sides, or hanging head down
the guts are out of the way.

George

I guess I must have slaughtered and cut up a couple thousand hogs in my lifetime some were wild most were from the barn yard. I never gutted a one just hosed them off skin them like a deer and cut them up. Before someone says," well you never had a boar with nuts like grapefruits hanging and stinking like a garbage scow" I will add an old breeder boar is just as rank when you run him out of the barn.

quote:

I guess I must have slaughtered and cut up a couple thousand hogs in my lifetime some were wild most were from the barn yard. I never gutted a one just hosed them off skin them like a deer and cut them up.

That's encouraging news.

quote:

Since you mentioned week old road kill.Very good chance that's what thosestinking hogs had been eating. Thatwould sure make them stink too.As we all know hogs will eat carrionjust as quick as corn.

The first boar shown in this thread had an odor, but not the same as the second one. The second one smelled like something dead, in addition to the boar smell.


Thanks for the info/tip on the pressure washer. That probably means the $79 special on Amazon will produce plenty of pressure.

quote:

Only time we've "aged" meat is beef or farm hogs in a cooler. Usually game by the time we get home it's already aged several days.

Snow has its blessings. But not enough for me to wish for some.

When I lived in Alaska, aging the meat was common practice, especially the deer. I learned about it there, from natives and non-natives. Of course in the fall the temps are favorable. By the time of real snow the meat is subject to freeze solid and stay that way till spring, if left hanging outside, in a smoke house for example.

The hazards of hanging meat in AK, besides freezing, primarily was bears. They would literally break the door down to get to a hanging deer. And they could smell it a long ways off. Then there's ravens.

But we/they did it - usually in a stout built shed with strong sides. I shared a 20' metal shipping container. Before that I had rented a small storage space inside a large metal building, and kept a plastic tarp on the floor.

So, I have been trying to hang deer and hogs here in Georgia, which means I watch the weather forecasts for the right temps before even going hunting. Obviously that restricts my opportunities, especially since mostly the temps are too warm now all through winter.

So, this new technique will open opportunities, since the meat will be on ice or refrig quickly - forget the aging. It just means I need to process quickly, with the primary concern - bloating. That could be bad - very bad.

meat needs to be aged at 40 degrees to let the muscle tissue break down it will not do so frozen nor will it do so if thawed after freezing as the enzymes will be dead. AFWIW yes you may thaw and refreeze meat without damage ( my family were butchers)

Yes, of course you know what you are talking about, so I defer to you on the technicalities of aging meat correctly, the pro butcher way.

When I use the word "aging" the meat, there were other considerations besides enzymes. And I was talking about it not being in a cooler with a constant temp.

First, it firms up the meat and makes handling and packaging easier.

It also allows the thin outer layer to dry and crust over. Shaving off that thin dry crust removes some nasties, such as stray hair and such.

Generally, the temps when I was hanging deer in AK would range from the high 20s to the high 40s or low 50s. So the meat didn't really freeze. I have used a small heater to keep from freezing. As I recall, three days hanging was the usual. Some natives hung it longer.

Another thing about hanging to dry out, whether technically aged or not, is that we didn't wash the meat. If skinned right and handled right it didn't need washing before or after "aging". Washing would defeat part of the purpose and make a mess. Sometimes I have wiped it down with a mix of vinegar and water on paper towels right after skinning to get some hair off, before allowing it to dry.

Fresh meat right off the bone is messy in comparison.

I don't know when they changed the seasons
here. Antelope season used to be in late Aug.
temps many a time were still 90-100.
Damned hard to save meat unless you're on the
ball with ice and get 'em dressed out and
skinned quickly.

Lotta flies then too, big can of black or red
pepper will keep them off and crust the meat
over in just a few minutes. Soon as it was
done, we'd put the qtr's in the coolers on
ice. I don't recall "US" ever losing one.
I have seen others that did.

Mostly when that happened, they'd load the
whole animal up before gutting and drive
around looking for a place to skin it, or take
it to a processor to do it all. Miles away
there's not much chance of it being saved in
edible condition.

Good to see 2th dr posting on this discussion.
I sure am not an expert, just sharing my and
our experiences is all. Everyone does it
a bit different, that's for sure.

George

I've heard many stories of how antelope aren't fit to eat - sage brush, etc. I always suspected the real reason was care of the meat.

One time, when living on the island in Alaska, I loaned my boat to some mixed blood natives, renegades actually, to go across the strait to hunt moose, and whatever. They set up camp and stayed over a week. They took four wheelers to ride the logging roads. Apparently they got their first moose right away, and hung the quarters.

The deal was that I got some meat in exchange for the use of my boat.

So, when I went to collect I got a shoulder from that first moose and it was pretty green, literally.

I shaved the green off and enjoyed the rest of it. I would say it was "aged".

I loaned my boat out one other time - to natives. Yes I'm a slow learner. In both cases the payoff was not what I thought was fair. But, living in the community it is important to get along.

When I was making a living there it was different. Since I've retired, and spend summers there, I have done my best to ignore most of the locals, especially natives. That could change, depending on the attitude - mine and theirs. I have noticed that they respect me, or pretend to, which amounts to about the same thing. That's all I want from them, and I've always respected them. I just want to not be taken advantage of especially because I'm easy.

I still have plans to stay over into September and maybe early October and hunt the Sitka deer again like I used to. That's a lot of fun. But, for the trip south, it would require that I book a ferry trip from Juneau to Billingham WA, to avoid the cold and snow in Canada. As far as I know all the campgrounds in the provincial parks are closed by 9/15.

Yep, there's a mighty good reason antelope
are called: Goats. They stink!

So do bull elk around rut time when there's no
snow to wash it off with.

Here's a test you can do yourself. when you catch a fish, bait up and cast out. Then gut, skin and put it on ice as soon as you cast out again. Then catch another and let it die on a
stringer and lay there in the surf or lake edge for a few hours. See if you can tell them apart when eating.

George

I'll just take your word for it on the fish. I presume you already did the test.

Meanwhile, the hogs are still coming in. There's cool weather coming so I think maybe I'll go after another one soon.

I got a daytime picture of a bobcat. I have pictures of him at night, but not during the day before.

I have so many kills I don't worry about the big stinky boars---if I can smell them, they get dragged off to the buzzard buffet. One of my friends likes the big boars' hams--has them smoked and cured like domestic pork. Lots leaner though.

On the topic of using a steel--I keep a slick one in my back pocket during the operation--and when I feel my knife starting to lose its edge, I give it some strokes on the steel and restore its edge. I worked in a slaughter house during summers in college and that is one skill that has stayed with me. The use of multiple angles and counting down on an edge are also great techniques. It is what I use on my broadheads--

Leggy cat.

That the only picture you got of him?

Steels are mighty handy to keep an edge
on a blade. Last I checked I had at
least four, one in my back pack, 5" on
a hunting knife sheath. Handy!

George

quote:

Leggy cat. That the only picture you got of him?

The trail camera tells the tale.

I get a few wild looking hogs like this one, but most of them just look like red, black, or grizzled domestic descendants. Very seldom have a red one with some black spotting.

Here's a picture taken yesterday at a different feeder. These look like a sounder of young pigs, and may be more suitable for butchering. I think this is the first picture I've gotten of this bunch. I'll make sure they have a daily supply of corn. Sunday the forecast is for thunder storms and when that moves through - much cooler temps predicted.




Here's the big boy who always comes in after dark. Maybe since the sounder is stealing his corn, he will come in earlier.

They are still coming in - after dark.

Here's a picture of three young sows, which have no piglets. They may be from the same sounder, which makes it even more interesting since they look so differently.

If a pig can be called "pretty", these are pretty, IMO.

I got another one. I think it's the black one shown in the above picture.

The best part is it has no smell. I went to a lot of trouble to target a young sow this time. It took at least 10 minutes to get a clear shot. I estimate there were at least 20 hogs at the feeder, not counting piglets. There was one old boar, big with tusks, who kept them stirred up.

I wanted to shoot him, but I wanted an eating pig more.

I wanted to take my new 458 SOCOM but don't trust it yet. It still doesn't feed right, Instead I took my 458 WM loaded with the 300 gr Barnes SOCOM TTSX at about 2000 fps. I like that rifle, and that load. I'm pretty sure it's 60 gr of H4895, but I'll have to check my notes to be sure.

I'll post pictures later. Now I have to go to work butchering.

While I was skinning this one I heard lots of shooting on a nearby field - after dark. There are lots of hogs right now.





BTW, judging from the exit hole, that 300 gr SOCOM TTSX bullet didn't fully expand even though it broke the neck. I'm running it more velocity than the SOCOM can achieve. I'm not too worried about full expansion because it whacks um just great. I do worry about wounding one on the other side from pass-through, and take care to avoid that.

The more I use that rifle the more I like it especially since I'm not using full power loads. The recoil is about like a magnum 12 gauge with the loads I'm using.

I haven't checked the game camera from yesterday yet. But, here are some from the day before of much the same bunch. I picked out pictures of the big boy.

Day before yesterday, the 20th, A guy and his son who I invited got one about 6:30 pm. It was a good size boar, but not one of the big ones. It didn't stink and had some good white fat on it. They were happy, and may come again this weekend.

There's another guy I've invited over, but he and his wife are "camping" in their motor home somewhere. He'll be back next week.

So, I'm keeping the corn out, and they keep coming. Yesterday, one showed up while there was still shooting light. But these big guys still wait for it to get dark-thirty. Note the time on the trail camera.

Note the relative size of the hogs in these pictures. The first one I got was one of the big boars, but the others have been the 2/3 size, like the smaller ones in these pictures.

I went to change the card in the camera and freshen the corn.

The pictures show that there was at least two sows and 14 piglets on site and the sound of my truck ran them off.




These piglets are growing fast.




Also, they are coming in before dark again. Yesterday, one of the big ones joined the other smaller hogs. A few minutes later most of the regular group of big boys joined in just before it was too dark.

As long as light can be seen between the trees, per the camera, I think my scope will amplify the light enough to shoot accurately without spotlight.

whole lotta culling needs to be done there.

George

The farm family with adjacent property has been busy planting several hundred acres of watermelons. And there's still a lot of ground not yet planted. I don't know yet if they will plant it all in melons. But it's a lot of acreage.

Most likely 80% + of these hogs will not make it through the summer. The buzzards will feast.

So, I have been trying to selectively invite a few guys I know to come shoot at least one. So far, only one man and his son have made it, and promptly got one hog.

Today I met up with a taxidermist to have some antlers mounted. Apparently he arranges hunts, including for hogs, for some people he knows, probably from near Atlanta.

So, I may have found a way to recover some of the expenses of running the feeders.

We are to meet later in the week and I'll show him what I have. He talks right anyway.

Best of luck on that working out in your favor.

George

My new taxidermist friend is coming over this afternoon and I'll show him the stands and let him choose which to bait up for hogs. He says he's got three guys interested. I'll know more later.

Meanwhile, this morning, right at sunrise, when I walked the dogs, I heard two gobblers gobbling.

Hummm - maybe it's time to find the 870 barrel with the turkey choke.

Yesterday, the only hogs to show up were some sows with the usual piglets. I picked out some pictures to show the variations in the colors of the piglets. I notice that the striped one has made it so far, and I tried to choose some pictures with him in.

BTW, my taxidermist friend and I made the rounds. He brought some feed like I haven't seen before. It's a peanut paste that he gets free from some plant near here. They take samples of truck loads of peanuts to test for quality and of course value, and then the samples accumulate. He says he can get a truck load.

He had approx. 10 gallons with him and we put it out in three places. I'll put cameras to catch the action.

Sure is a colorful lot.

George

Do you want to see what it's like living in a pine plantation in Georgia in the spring?

USA Today

https://www.msn.com/en-us/weat...nDmp?ocid=spartandhp

I should have titled this thread as I've got a hog problem!!!

A whole new batch showed up with fresh piglets. I chose pictures that showed how many young sows there are in this bunch. Not all of them have piglets YET. But there are a lot of piglets in these pictures.

The grown hogs in this picture are all sows.

Hell of a pig factory you have going
there! Most of the little ones are
female too. YIKES! Just think what
the future is gonna be like.

Temps: already warm?

You need to do some heavy trapping it
looks like.

George