Alsatian

I know that is a dumb question, but I know nothing about hog hunting, so I'll start with that. I will say that I'm an experienced and successful DIY elk, deer, and pronghorn hunter. I'm not a trophy hunter -- I like the experience of a good hunt and the excellent meat.

I'm interested in finding out about hog hunting. For me, the motivation would be to obtain high quality pork meat to eat . . . in addition to the rewards of the hunting experience.

Is wild hog meat essentially the same as commercial pork meat? Better? Does it have ample fat -- as do commercial hogs -- so the meat isn't too dry? Do you cook it like regular pork? Are some sizes of hogs good to eat (maybe small hogs) wihle other sizes of hogs are undesirable eating (maybe large, older boar hogs)?

I live near Dallas, and from what I hear there are lots of wild hogs in Texas and they cause a lot of property damage. Under these circumstances, it ought to be easy and not too expensive, I would think, to hunt hogs.

Is there a season for hog hunting or can it be done all year long in Texas? In deer and elk hunting, the most productive hunting times are early morning first light hunting and later afternoon last light hunting. When and how do you hunt hogs? Any particular time of day?

The Rev

Personally I don’t eat the big boars; normally I take off the back strap and give it to the Mexicans that work for my son (they love it) to me big boars have a rank smell and taste, understand they haven’t been castrated like domestic pigs. With hogs, I've found it is best to gut it as soon as it hits the ground and take it back to camp and quarter it and put in my big ice chest and keep it there for a week changing the water and the ice until the water is clear; then I process it. Now with a smaller pig 100 pounds or less I don’t quarter up I cook them whole, and they are delicious, sometimes we cook them up at camp in a pit.
Wild hogs are like any other hog; they will eat anything that doesn’t eat them first. I’ve killed large boars and left them on the ground and the next day the only thing left the skull and some of the bones and lots of pig tracks. They eat acorns and will root for vegetation.
Feral hogs actually have less cholesterol than the chicken you buy in the grocery store. Several years ago I went on a diet consisting only of wild game and when I traveled (which at time I do spend a lot of time away from home) I would eat only grilled fish; I got down to 175 pounds, now that I have gotten away from that I’m up to 250. I will get back on this diet by the end of hunting season this year.
I actually can’t tell a lot of difference between domestic pork and wild pork other than the cuts, since I process my own, I don’t make pork chops, most of it I grind up and mix with venison and make sausage. I will take most of the butts and hams and cook them in a smoker or a crock pot.

You will not be disappointed with feral hog meat; as long as you care for it properly after the harvest.
If you look hard enough you can find hog hunts not far from you that are priced right; go on Craigslist, I've found some good deals there.

halfbakedi420

usually i can get the back strap and tender loins to taste like "store bought" pork...but usually every other part doesnt look, smell or taste like store pork. wild hog is moving all day in search of food, while yer store bought pork sits in its own feces all of its life.

Tundra10

Bottom line, yes.

The Rev

then eats it!

cntryislandboy

i've had wild pig and it was pretty good smoked. i guess it depends how you cook it. and like posted above, i have always heard that pretty much any pig over 100 pounds isn't worth it.

OhioNovice

Visited family this weekend and my uncle is throwing bags of pork at me to take home. Two weeks ago he shot an 800 lbs boar, so needless to say he has a plenty of meat to go around. Some of the best damn meat Ive ever had. The sausage is especially good.


Im going with them next year so hopefully Ill have my own pig to bring home.

halfbakedi420

not true, people who pay per pound want em over 175lbs...i dont eat em over that so it works out good.

MarkStryker

Boar hunting is generally the practice of hunting wild boars, but can also extend to feral pigs and peccaries. A full sized boar is a large strong animal armed with sharp tusks which defends itself strongly. Boar hunting has often been a test of bravery. I like it.

Sandwich Platters

falcon

i trap and shoot a large number of wild hogs. Killed a few boars that approached 400 pounds. All the "strong tasting" hog meat i've ever seen was rotten or tainted hog meat. Yep, the meat from a big boar hog can be tough.

You should see how some guys care for a hog after it is killed. They get dirt and hair on the meat, burst the bladder and get urine all over the inside, they get semen on the meat, etc. If the hog is really dirty i take it by the carwash before field dressing.

When the temperature is 80 degrees one has about four hours to get a hog carcass cooled before is starts to spoil. There is a butcher in OK who has a reputation for allowing hog carcasses to spoil in his cooler. Gave a friend a big well cared for sow, he took it to that butcher who let it hang in his cooler for over two weeks before butchering. The meat was spoiled.