Texas wild pig hunting advice?

[Matt Dillon]

Folks, my 14 year old and I hope to go out Friday on our first wild pig hunt. A friend has told me that wild pigs have torn up some of his pasture and woods, and we'd like to help get rid of them for him.
Where is the best spot to hit these? I hear they have a thick layer of fat that may protect them.
We'll probably be using our Yugoslavian SKS with home grown Hornady VMAX 123 grain bullets over 24.6 grains of Reloader 7, and/or a .357 magnum pistol with a home grown load of 16.5 grains of H110 behind a Hornady 158 grain XTP bullet.
If we were to get one, what is the best way to skin/process the meat? I have visions of cutting it apart with a hack saw, and am thinking about going down to harbor freight and purchasing a cheap meat grinder.
Any advice or help is GREATLY welcomed, Thanks so much in advance!

 

[Smoke]

This is one man's opinion, I'm sure other will disagree.

I prefer a .3X cal for pigs depending on size. 200# and under; centerfire .2X work fine with good shot placement. I shoot for vitals - I've had best luck right behind the shoulder blade. Usually drop in less than 10 yrds.

As for processing them. I drag mine off some place of my choosing and leave them as bait for the next bunch of hogs. Feral hogs will clean up a dead one with amazing thoroughness. Fat hogs (which are hard to find in the fall) can be prepared to something that resembles food by a very experienced cook that knows what he is doing. The ones I tried weren't fit for coyotes.

Very gamey. I prefer domestic farm raised pork.

Feral hog meat is best for feral hog bait.

 

[Big_R]

They can be processed just like any large, four legged game. If you've not field dressed game before, it's a good idea to have someone show you or take it to a butcher shop. No voodoo involved, just practice needed.

I've had some darned tasty feral hog. If it's too gamey, it can be ground and mixed with spices to make Italian sausage, breakfast sausage, etc.

I'm not sure I agree with your choice of bullets, though. The V-Max is designed for thin skinned game. I'd stick with a soft point bullet. The 7.62X39 should be more than capable with a decent projectile and good shot placement.

Ryan

 

[Sisco]

Smaller hogs are better eating that the big "trophy" sized boars. When you field dress 'em, use a good sharp knife and bring along something to put the edge back on it, skinnin' hogs is tough on blades.
Hit them behind the shoulder or right under the ear if possible.
Cooked in a smoker or pit BBQ there isn't anything better.

 

[Carlos Cabeza]

Don't shoot the biggest one you see, they are usually the ones that taste awful. A nice sized 150 to 250 lbs sow will be the best eatin'. Most of the ones I have taken have been with a scoped rifle .270 with a shot to the ear or just behind it. Processing a hog is quite a bit more disgusting than a deer. The smell is pretty bad. If you have never cleaned one before I would suggest letting a local meat processor do it for you. Part of the reason some taste so bad is from improper processing. HAVE FUN !!!!!

 

[LeonCarr]

99% of the hogs I have killed were killed around 10 pm at night (check legality in your area - hogs can be hunted at night in Texas, but your area may differ), with a scoped bolt action .308 using 150 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip bullets, and I had no problems with penetration or hogs running off with proper shot placement. I prefer 100-150 pound hog, gut, skin, and quarter just like a deer. I usually take a ham or a shoulder, coat it with whatever brisket rub or similar spices, put it inside a big plastic bag with some italian salad dressing, and put it in the fridge overnight. The next day double wrap it in foil, slow cook in oven or BBQ pit/smoker at 200-225 degrees for anywhere from 6 to 12 hours, and when you are done the meat just falls off of the bone. A bunch of friends, a loaf of bread, sauce/seasoning of your choice, some adult beverages, and you are good to go .

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

P.S. The big hogs may look good on the wall, but they don't taste very good. About all you can do with the monsters is grind them up into sausage, or use them to attract other hogs as mentioned.

 

[BeLikeTrey]

wild boar/ feral hog

Hogs
As the guys above said, they can be extremely gamey if not cleaned properly. I also agree, make sure not to shoot BIG ones. The smaller, younger have a better taste and consistency. Get an experienced person to clean and do it soon . Not to mention the warmer the body is the better to clean. Ahh but the smell those boogers have. Stuff of nightmares. Think of a 1wk old corpse with feces all over it. yuck!! Makes you not wanna clean it, much less eat it. Anyway, the warm body cleans better. And... doesnt have time to soak up the funny gamy flavor from pooled blood in the tissue. After gutting and skinning, then freeze. I am unsure what started this, but, we always freeze ours for at least a few days before cooking. Something to do with Trichonosis (I think).
Balsamic vinegar makes a nice aroma as well as flavor to the pig. Be generous with it! Plenty of beer to drink as the cooking could take awhile! (we cook the whole thing, except for the head and feet)
Note: as the limbs begin to fall apart, (we turn the hog on our homemade cooker by the legs) take the thick parts and lacerate generously to allow the heat deeper into the meat so there is no pink. This is just the way we do it. Hope it helps

 

[Sisco]

The hunt you're talking about sounds like an eradication mission. If so, kill 'em all; keep the tasty ones. Some of the big ones may have tusks worth keeping as trophies.
I've read that nearly 80% of feral hogs in an area need to be culled just to keep the population in check. Figure each sow can throw a litter of six to eight piglets and does this a couple of times a year. No natural enemies to keep the numbers down, next thing you know you're up to your butt in porkers. Destructive bastards at that.

 

[LeonCarr]

We have a saying in Texas. There are two types of counties in Texas. Counties that have hogs, and counties that are fixin to get 'em.

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

 

[St. Gunner]

With the 7.62x39, head shoot em, facing you dead center, one inch above the eyes. from the side, draw line from the bottom of the ear to the eye, shoot into the middle of that line. V-max will work fine for that.

I shoot 150gr corelokts out of a .280 remington and try to break both front shoulders. I used to advocate the headshot all the time, but it leaves a large portion of the blood in the meat which leads to a gamey flavor in even the smallest hogs. The heart on a hog lies directly behind the right shoulder of the hog(behind the bone), we stick hogs with a knife when hunting with dogs and to reach the heart, angle the knife at a 45 degree angle towards the front and punch it in low in the chest. So if you shoot behind the shoulder, like some people do deer, you won't reach the heart unless a bullet fragments. Sometimes with a behind the shoulder you even miss the lungs, you'll see when you gut one, the diaphragm is not far from the back of the shoulder. Dead center on the lungs and the heart is a low shot through the shoulders.

The pic below is a partial of a hog I killed awhile back, you will see a white line in the pic, it happens to lie pretty close to the diaphragm, if you look against the cooler wall a line of foam insulation is pretty much in line with the diaphragm, draw a straight line from those points and it'll be pretty close to where the to far back line lays.

Hogs are tough animals, when they are fat, they bleed very little, the clots of fat from inside work to plug holes and they can make it a long way with one lung ripped up or even both sometimes. But like most creatures if you bust both front shoulders up they can't go anywhere, or you hit their brain.

I shot a bunch with an AK and the 7.62x39 round, with 122hp barnul I got lots of instant kills at less than 50yds with a round coming in behind the shoulder into the vitals. I shot a few with it over the years with FMJ's put em right through the center of the shoulders, the bullet didn't expand much, but the bone fragments did a job on the lungs and heart.

If you have oak trees in that part of the country, find one, they are dropping acorns and the hogs will be there. I had nine under my tree yesterday from 4:30pm to 7:30pm, when they ran out of acorns. I didn't shoot because they where smaller hogs(about 80lbs) and I was looking for a deer I had been seeing or a big boar hog that I have glimpsed a few times. I have a grove of about 10 trees within a 100yds of where I was sitting the hogs just spread out and start eating.

As to field dressing, just like a deer, I prefer a hog over a deer, deer stink if you ask me. Smell like a dang ol billy goat. Peel the hide just like on a deer, cut em up the same way. Nothing to it. Lots of times we use a saws all to cut em up to barbeque pieces. Sometimes I simply bone the meat out and use it in stir-fry, for fajitas, or just fry it with onions and cover with brown gravy, you can flour it and fry the hunks, my wife likes me to take hunks and fry them like hot wings.

If you want porkchops and steaks just find a butcher shop, for about $50 they will set you up with the meat all wrapped and ready to go.

 

[Moparmike]

Well, getchya a radar detector....

Sorry, had to opine.

 

[Steel]

My co-worker swears by the following to get the gamey flavor out:

soak meat overnight in coca cola

 

[Al Thompson]

Cola works very well on pork. Most of the gamy taste if from spoilage. The quicker you cool that meat, the less chance of spoilage. I've seen idiots kill a deer in the morning and drag it all over town, finally butcher it in the afternoon and wonder why it tastes "funny". :banghead:

 

[John Wolford]

Hog hunting advice

We snag spoonbills every year in Grove Oklahoma and we were hoping someone might be able give us a lead on where we could hunt feral pigs there. We plan to be there in the first week of April and if anyone could point us to someone who would let us hunt on their property, it would be much appreciated.

Thanks

 

[hoji]

Look , someone dug up a thread that is almost 6 years old

How did you do on your hog hunt ?

 

[MCgunner]

Jeez, I wondered why I hadn't answered it.

 

[John Wolford]

That's the beauty of search engines

I cruised till I found a page with knowledge of Oklahoma. I got a lot of information just from old posts. I was hoping someone could put a word out for Grove Oklahoma though. I also found a recent article in a newspaper that says the hog problem is as bad as ever. I figure we'll be able to find a place to give it a go. Thanks for the reply though!

 

[soapee01]

Good Website for Texas Hogs

There is a whole lot of good information on the subject to be found here: http://www.texasboars.com/

He's especially done a lot of research on pistol calibers and hog hunting. I went with the 44 mag based on his recommendations, but I haven't had the opportunity to field test it yet.

Like most people I prefer the smaller hogs, but especially those under 100 pounds. A piglet field dressed and split along the spine, marinated and slow smoked all day is great eating.

Good luck, and do our natural wildlife a favor and please shoot every one you see, even if you let it lie (better to donate the meat to a church or hunters for the hungry).

 

[hoji]

Good luck, and do our natural wildlife a favor and please shoot every one you see, even if you let it lie (better to donate the meat to a church or hunters for the hungry).

Hunters for the Hungry do not take feral pigs. Just wanted to put that out there before someone takes one to a processor and is told no, or in the case of another poster on another forum, has a dishonest processor take your pig and your $35 and eat your pig.

 

[mbt2001]

As you can see from both pictures, the best shot (IMO) on a hog is to aim directly behind the ear. If that shot doesn't present itself because they are facing you (head down), then sight directly over the skull into the neck line. If they are facing you (head up) you can shoot them in the throat...

All of those shots are designed to hit the spinal column. The SKS is a fine round, I would question the effectiveness of the particular bullet you were planning on using. Try a Hornady 123gr SP .310 diameter bullet OR go out an buy a 20 pack of Wolf mil classic SP or Brown Bear SP.

With regard to cooking... Marinating the meat is a must, Buttermilk, Water and Vinegar, Pineapple Juice and Soy Sauce... You have got to do something with it. Also, make sure that you are careful when cooking not to hit it with too much heat, but you need to ensure that you cook it to the DONE point. Hitting it with too much heat results in tough meat.

The other piece of advice. When you cook it, baste or rub down before hand with some bacon grease. Don't be afraid to "stuff it" (pound steak flat, then wrap the pork steaks around chopped tomatoes and chili's) Also, serve it with a sauce NOT MADE with pan juices from cooking the pork.

 

[soapee01]

Good luck, and do our natural wildlife a favor and please shoot every one you see, even if you let it lie (better to donate the meat to a church or hunters for the hungry).

Hunters for the Hungry do not take feral pigs. Just wanted to put that out there before someone takes one to a processor and is told no, or in the case of another poster on another forum, has a dishonest processor take your pig and your $35 and eat your pig.

I did not know that, so I had to check it out. http://www.tacaa.org/HFTHfaq.htm#5

We've always given them to a local church. They usually know a poor family that could use the meat. Thanks for the correction.

 

[cliffy]

Never, Ever shoot a piggie BEHIND the front shoulder

All vitals are protected via the Shoulder Shield and front leg. Mainly stomach remains just behind the front leg. Great PIG shots are JUST behind the ear, center of the neck, and through the lower shoulder shield. Any shot in back of that generally requires a long trailing episode. Please don't leave gut-shot hogs to suffer till death. It gives Real Sportsmen a bad reputation. Regardless of caliber, use a substantial bullet, and aim forward of what you think regards proper deer-hunting methods. cliffy

 

[Nathanael_Greene]

Never, Ever shoot a piggie BEHIND the front shoulder

Sorry, I have to disagree. I place my shots just behind the shoulder, and I haven't lost one yet. They've been very quick kills.

Admittedly, a gut-shot pig is a terrible sight (and smell), but I've found that when hunting smaller pigs (<100 pounds), placement just behind the ear is risky, especially as pigs tend to move their heads a lot--when they're under a feeder, their heads are in nearly constant motion as they're hoovering up corn.

 

[~z]

Where are you guys getting these foul tasting pigs from? I have shot 22 so far this year ranging from 20-400# and all have been quite tasty. I was a bit concerned the 400 would be a bit nasty as the big ones have been in the past, but all were fine table fare. Salt & pepper and off to the grill.
As for stink, I'd rather smell a hog than a quail.
~z

 

[MCgunner]

Well, I shot my first ever one behind the shoulder and wound up having to blood trail it 300 yards in dense cover before getting charged by said pig. I learned my lesson, better to immobilize the thing with a shoulder shot.

Z, are your pigs corn fed? That helps. I avoid 'em over 200 lbs. Ain't any corn anywhere near my place, just marshy pastures. LOL I think maybe it's the diet. Not really sure, though.

It's so dry down here right now, all the pigs are on the LaSalle ranch or somewhere there's water, I'm thinkin'. They've abandoned my neck of the woods. I've been half expecting the place to burn off any time, now. We've had a lot of grass fires popping up around here keeping the local fire departments busy.