Size wise, CI gave you a good parameter, 150 is where I try to stay but this year I went a bit over that on a boar. My first year I had no idea of how to judge size and I shot two about 90 lbs which is ok but I wanted more meat. Judging the weight of hogs is a bit different than deer. I have only taken 10 but each trip is a learning experience. I almost always head shoot the hogs but this year I took one just behind the shoulder and he went down and didn't even kick. I use my 45-70 which is a bit over gunned but if you read my post titled February hog hunt you will see that even the largest caliber is not guarantee. As Ci said a sow of any weight will be fine so long as her teats are not hanging low because she will be drawn down by feeding piglets and she will not have much fat. A sow that is not feeding young will have a lot more fat than a boar because boars use up their fat chasing sows for breeding and by fighting for the right to breed. I usually get pork chops made but this year I just had the loins pulled out. As far as bacon, I had bacon made one year from a 150 lb hog and I won't do it again. It tasted good but the belly meat was not thick enough to make a nice wide strip of bacon, it was thin so you had to make twice as much because it shrunk so badly in the pan. I suspect if you are successful you will be hooked. I love hunting hogs and I like eating them. I have a tone of sweet Italian and fresh country sausage from my two Feb. hogs. My butcher doesn't make breakfast sausage but I am trying spice recipes to make it my self until I find one that is close to Jimmy Dean or Bob Evans. Wild hogs make great sausage of any kind. Good luck Rocky. There are guys here who have a lot more experience than I do so you should get some good info.