Horacio

Definitely....I have a game camera set up and it seems like every day, I get different animals there. I have a couple of regulars but usually cycle through quite a few different pigs.

And man, I got a moster coming there now. Only seen him once on camera in the fog but he's enormous, a good 400-500+. I'll try to remember to email the pic to myself and post it tomorrow.

EDIT: Damn fog.....

der Teufel

When I get a game cam picture that looks like it might be interesting, but there's nothing distinct in it, I run the picture thru a photo program ( I use The GIMP, which is free ) to enhance it.

Here's Horacio's picture with the brightness turned up quite a bit. It's very grainy in this form, but you can see that there is something large in the foreground.

Often I can see a rough shape, or what might be the eye(s) or an animal, but only by running the photo through a photo editor can I really determine what is there.

Horacio

Interesting....I'll have to try that.

that said, it was a little more clear raw on my computer at home and lost a little when I uploaded to Photobucket. Still, its a big one. I don't know if I want to shoot him or not. the best for eating are the little ones. A monster boar will be tough and gamey.

der Teufel

No argument about the big ones being tough. I've had some that were like chewing my boot. Those get run through the grinder. I find that with a little salt and pepper, it's virtually indistinguishable from ground beef. Sausage is another option, although I'm generally too lazy to go to that much trouble. Maybe breakfast (bulk) sausage . . .

Horacio

Yeah, I'll end up grinding up most of it. Check that, get it in whole cuts and grind it myself. I've butchered a deer before but without the kind of equipment a pro has, its a pain and I really don't have the facilities to do it cleanly and effectively. The best bet for me is to throw it in the truck, take it to the game processor, and have him handle it from there. But, I want to grind it myself. We have a grinder and have done it before. Mixed it with beef and some Jimmy Dean pan sausage. Good stuff.

The other thing is: how the heck do I get that monster in the truck to begin with>? Years ago my brother shot a hog half that size and had all kinds of hell loading it. I ended up having to go help him and it was still difficult.

Albin

Interesting, that looks like an incoming MIRV shot.

der Teufel

Assuming that you can get the truck near (50-100 feet?) the hog, here's what I have done:

Drag the hog to a large tree. Hang a pulley from a large tree branch. Tie two ropes to the hog's feet. Put one thru the pulley, throw the other over the tree branch. Tie the one that goes thru the pulley to the truck, and drive away until the hog is sufficiently up in the air. Use the second rope (the one going over the tree branch, to secure the hog in position. Back the truck up until it's under the hog. Using the rope over the tree branch, lower the hog into the truck.

If it's not too far to where you want to gut it, just drag it the whole way.

If the hog ends up too far away in territory where you can't tie it to the truck to drag, that's a problem. On one occasion I found myself in that situation and I simply brought my ice chest to the hog, skinned it on the ground, and cut off the leg quarters and backstraps. By the time I'd done that much, I was pretty worn out and decided I didn't want to gut it and take the tenderloins. The coyotes ate a little better than usual that night.

jlsherr

I hunt in Speaks Texas. Most hogs are between 30 and 80 Lbs. I do however have a pic on my game cam of a hog I would estimate close to 400 Lbs. If someone can tell me how to add a picture , I will.

Ol'Mongo

The attached photo is the wives of a couple of friends of mine. The pig in the foreground was asserted to be 500lbs+ and the one in the background was 300lbs+. They were the first animals killed by both women and they were killed at a place called Record Buck Ranch in Utopia Texas. Wouldn't want to eat these big boys but they both look cool. They both instantly changed their minds about whether they would have pig heads hung on the wall in their houses!

dkhamner

I dont hunt the exact land that this website or lodge advertises but I hunt all around it. http://www.plaskalodge.com/Hogs.asp

I have seen a few hogs of 400lbs+ but they are rare. When you do see them it aint for long. My cousin put two rounds from a 30-06 into one we all guess was between 400 and 500lbs but it made it to the cover of the Red River before we could get more shots at it.

Like someone else said, we kill them to exterminate them. We dont want them here. We kill them all no matter the size.