I have just recently gotten into hog hunting. They are ferral hogs. This weekend, I killed a 300+ pounder with 3 1/2 inch tusks from the gumline to the tip. In your own opinion, is this a trophy kill, or is it just the average big boar?

RYAN SMITH

one trophy to another may be different.that weight for a feral hog is not very large. it would be a very good russian boar type. it is still a good hog and you can be proud of it. go to oversize outfitters and you can see a pic of the 300lb russian boar i killed. good shooting buddy.

Any hog that weighs over 300lbs and has tusks over 3" and was raised in the wild, would probably be considered a trophy in most people's book. While the feral hogs usually get larger than than the Russians, this is still a really nice trophy. You'll here stories of 400+ hogs, but normally they are either a hog that has been raised under optimal conditions in a preserve or they are a domesticated hog that hasn't been in the wild very long. True wild hogs that have been in the wild for many years that simply live off the land and have to deal with various parasites are normally limited to 300-350lbs (usually). Also, because of the build of a wild hog, people sometimes have a hard time "eyeballing" the weight. In addition, most scales only go to 300lbs, so people's imagination runs wild when the scales bottom out. Having said that, I'm going to a preserve to hunt true Russian boars that have verified weights of over 400lbs. I hope they still have some wild in them to make for a good hunt.

OKbowhunter is right. Here in Florida we hunt a bunch of hogs.(ours are feral hogs too) I have a guide friend has taken hogs over 400lbs. but the majority of them are 350 or less. Most of them will be in the 100-250 range. With that said, your pig is definately NOT average. Where you hunt may have some bearing on it but I think most people would consider it trophy caliber. I know I sure would. In 20 years of hunting in the south I have never actually seen one that size, except in pictures. The biggest I've ever taken was in the 200-250 range. Anyway, congratulations! I hope that one is going on the wall.

Never having hunted hogs, but having followed plenty of the details of the hunts, I would say that any 300 lber is a trophy hog. I would be pleased as punch to take one that size.

The best of luck in all your hunting endeavors!!!

God Bless,
Dave

I appreciate your replies. I forgot to mention that it took 4 shots of 3 inch 00 buck shot to bring him down.

RYAN SMITH

They can be rather hard to put down. I think they just get so mad they forget to die. Buckshot was probably not the best choice for a pig that size. Next time do the pig a favor. If you want to use a shotgun, use slugs. They work a lot better. Not slammin' ya just a piece of advice for future reference. Best of luck!