I'm another one that doesn't worry about the size,"IF" I have the time to get the butchering done ASAP. The bigger the hog the longer it takes from field to freezer, and I would rather do three 80# ones verses one 250#' er if it's hot. We have eaten them from 5# up to over 400 and to be honest I will work hard on anything I can stomach putting on the 4 wheeler or small trailer or in the bucket of the tractor. The biggest thing for me is how easily they are to get out. I won't say we haven't left plenty, but for each one of those we have probably butchered a dozen or so. A quick look at the link below my sig will show an small assortment of what we have put in the freezer.
I have processed plenty over the past dozen or more years and have it down to just about 15 minutes from start to cooler. Just need to figure out the tools required and a system that works for you. After you get a dozen or so under your belt it becomes pretty easy to hit the joints, and keep things moving right along. Usually for me it takes longer to get them from the field to the house, depending on where I am.
I use one of the Wyoming knifes to get up under the hide and cut it down the backsides of each leg to meet right at the poop shoot. Then I do the insides of the front legs down to the chest, and from there straight down the middle to the rear cut. Once I start skinning it comes off really easy this way and if doing it on the ground I have the hide spread out to keep the dirt and stuff off the meat. This little tool makes getting a starting point great as the hooked end allows you to get the hide up and once up it slides down with relative ease. Once you have the starting points your off to the races.
Once the hide is off I start with the shoulders, then get the back straps, then the hams, and hat ever meat might be left around the neck. Depending on the size of them I also like to cut the ribs out and have a small set of limb loppers about 18-20" long that work great for clipping them right along the back bone.
Things I have learned, is that the faster they drop and the faster they are on ice will influence the taste more than anything else.
Sharp knives, coupled with a good steel are a MUST, for getting things done quickly. If I were to suggest one brand it would be the Victorinox. We have tried plenty from cheap to very expensive and have settled on these as the best compromise. We put together a small assortment of them that work great for 95% of how we process. The first and foremost is the 5" curved lamb skinner. It has a nice curve to it and a blunt tip which helps get under the hide and around things without worrying about shoving through and cutting a finger or worse guts. (That might be best the other way around.)
The next one we picked was the 3 1/4" Paring knife for getting into and around the backstrap and in between the ribs for quick removal of meat. It is also very handy for trimming things up.
Last is the 6" boning knife, I like the semi flex as it is similar to a fillet knife. This one is great for final cutting before wrapping and getting the meat separated from the sinew when making cutlets form full muscles. It also works out good hen removing a large back strap where you can work it down along the bone sort of like filleting a fish.
All of these are complimented with one of the fine steel sharpeners. I like the ones with a fine bite to them, as most times it only takes a half dozen swipes to get the above knives back to shaving sharp. They also hold the edges longer than most of what we tried as well. I have easily dressed out 3-5 hogs with no issues before hitting the steel.
Hope this helps, and if you have a chance to put hands on some knives I highly suggest doing so. I'm luck in that I only live a short drive from a butcher supply and can walk in and pick out exactly what I want. If you plan on using them a lot like we do it is important that you are comfortable with them and aren't having to fight both the hog and the tool.
If your interested you can check all of the above out and even order them from the following site. They are pretty nice folks to deal with and carry just about anything or everything you can imagine needing to process meat.
Allied Kenco
Be careful what you wish for! They're like fire ants - if you don't have them now, you will in due time and you won't be able to get rid of 'em. While fun and interesting, they're destructive to property and not wanted anywhere outside of the folks profiting from "allowing" hunts on their land.
