fence buster eats a .270

[Planetcat]

Congrats. That fatty beats my personal best with my .270 by 150 lbs. I'd probably attempt to grind that boy up into sausage, but I'm not too picky that way. Great shot, too!

 

[bearcut]

Good riddance.

Good shot.

A big boar like that would scare the sh*t out of me if I came across one unexpectedly.

 

[sambo.]

Thanks for the dining report. I had no idea that the big boars (and sounds like the sows as well) are not good table fare. I've never hunted boar personally (although I would love to) and only eaten it once. It must have been a smaller pig because it was some of the best pork I've ever had.

if you can catch 'em live and clean their systems out with fresh water and fresh food for a while they taste good.

for a big old boar, however, this could take a couple of months and you'll still probably want to marinade it for a while (a week or so at least).

smaller wild pigs can taste OK just put straight on a spit after being hung for a bit.

 

[DWK2]

Nice rooter!!!

I have shot several large boar in CA (although I usually try for smaller sows). I was apprehensive about eating the large males but they ranged from edible to very good. I guess they were eating the right stuff.

DancesWithKnives

 

[hunterfisher808]

Now thats a HOG!! We have a problem with feral mountain pigs here. They are destroying habitat and affecting the endangered native plants. We harvest quite a few but they don't get as big as the ones you guys got on the mainland. IIRC your feral hogs have Russian/Prussian blood in them...this genetics makes for a lot of meat on the hoof. Dennis thanks for sharing, nice pic!

 

[DennisStrickland]

hunter fisher your hog problem far predates the one in mainland usa. hogs were running amok in hawaii as early as 1900. the major problem over here started about 1980 when the hogs started ruining yards & gardens in florida, then quickly moved to other parts of country where enough water was available.our biologists said they can have 2 litters a year & if 12 are born 14 survive. only a few years back england brought some of our feral hogs to their land for sport-hunting. the ferals broke into pens of domesticated hogs & interbred with sows . now the english are getting the same massive headache we experience.
dennis

 

[sodak]

Feral hogs are a huge problem, I have absolutely no problem with killing them and leaving them where they lay. Having a rule of eating everything that you kill never made any sense to me. I don't eat flies that I kill...

 

[SkinnyJoe]

Would 000 buckshot work for those things?

 

[SkinnyJoe]

Feral hogs are a huge problem, I have absolutely no problem with killing them and leaving them where they lay. Having a rule of eating everything that you kill never made any sense to me. I don't eat flies that I kill...

ha ha ha :thumbup:

[youtube]ML6oLuLecQ4[/youtube]

 

[Ankerson]

Would 000 buckshot work for those things?

You would want something more than that, I wouldn't even think about using a shotgun unless it was loaded with slugs.

Hogs are one of the most Dangerous things you can hunt in North America, they will kill you.

 

[DennisStrickland]

buckshot wo'nt stop a hog quickly. if you do'nt mind following & good at trailing with the possibility of being charged , buckshot will work. of course we do use buckshot if we have to dig in the bush trying to find a wounded hog. these shots if required will be real close & usually a face on situation. it is best by far to use a gun larger than a 243 [ 270--308-- or 30-06] to put a rapid demise to the critters. mine went 120 feet before falling dead.real serious hoggers like the 45-70 if in the thick stuff & need a real quick stopper.hog attacks are rare but one tex. lad was saved by his heavy duluth trousers last year when the boar went for his thigh [femoral]. they returned the next day with dogs--that hog went 660 lbs.
dennis
dennis

 

[STDK]

That thing is a monster, wooodogggie as Uncle Jed used to say.

 

[ChapmanPreferred]

Crazy. I would love to hunt the small ones you can eat. If I found a big one, I'm not sure I would be too picky but might not eat it if it was horrible.

 

[DennisStrickland]

chapman trust me the big hogs ca'nt even make decent dog food. smell like fresh urine when you try to cook. my rule of thumb is eat up to 120 lbs. the 60 to 80 pounders are great.
dennis

 

[sodak]

chapman trust me the big hogs ca'nt even make decent dog food. smell like fresh urine when you try to cook. my rule of thumb is eat up to 120 lbs. the 60 to 80 pounders are great.
dennis

That's interesting. Most domestic hogs that I've butchered run around 200 to 250 lbs before dressing, and they are wonderful. I wonder what causes the change in the feral hogs.

 

[DWK2]

Would 000 buckshot work for those things?

Some people have used 000 at close range in brush but I personally would be concerned about sufficient penetration on a large male. If you want a multiple projectile load, I believe the best choice would be the Dixie Tri-Ball. www.dixieslugs.com. I use their Tusker slug load when I carry my Mossberg 590 in brown bear country and their Terminator slug for rifled barrels is highly respected. Both give more penetration and deliver greater energy than a 000 load.

DancesWithKnives

 

[kdstrick]

Nice shootin' Dennis! Everyone I know shoots them on sight. The small one's are good to eat but the biguns are left laying where they fall. People that are unaware of the circumstances sometimes don't understand, and question the ethics of such a practice. Consider the facts:



1. At 7 months of age a Sow becomes fertile.

2. An average litter ranges from 4-6 piglets.

3. A feral pig can produce 2 litters per year.

4. A feral pig can live up to 8 years of age.



Now, folks... I am no mathematician. But that means that one pig can produce close to one hundred pigs in it's lifetime.

Now for the bonus question... if one pig can produce 100 offspring in 8 years... how many does that produce when the babies have babies (at 7 months of age) and then their babies have babies... and their babies have babies... etc...

I'd do the math, but it is Friday and math on Friday's is explicitly against my policy.

Their only natural predator is the Mountain Lion (and Dennis ) ... and there isn't many of those around to control the pig population explosion. With their rate of breeding it is impossible to hunt them faster than they can breed.

The thing is, they are very destructive critters. They will tear down fences and destroy crops. They eat EVERYTHING. We had a cow die, and buried it with a dozer about 3 ft deep. They dug it up and devoured it. Most folks say they are smarter than dogs. If they get much hunting pressure they will simply go nocturnal.


Here is a unique picture I pulled up somewhere. It illustrates that they are built very differently than other woodland critters. They are put together like an Abrams Tank. The purple section is a thick 'shield' of cartilage, which is why folks in the know use large calibers for hogs.

And one more thing... if you ever want to REALLY test the edge holding and toughness of your knife, clean a hog. Their thick hair is covered in dirt/mud and their hide is thick. It's a lot of work! Nothing like a whitetail.




.

 

[hunterfisher808]

That's interesting. Most domestic hogs that I've butchered run around 200 to 250 lbs before dressing, and they are wonderful. I wonder what causes the change in the feral hogs.

Testosterone.......That's why if given a choice I'll go for that dry sow anytime

 

[DWK2]

It's true that the mountain lion is the main predator of the adults in the southwest (north of jaguar territory), but I've seen coyotes following a sow with piglets and trying to snatch one. Younger piglets might fall to a larger variety of predators.

DancesWithKnives

 

[sambo.]

chapman trust me the big hogs ca'nt even make decent dog food. smell like fresh urine when you try to cook.

+1.
i love my dogs too much to feed 'em big stinky boar meat.

I wonder what causes the change in the feral hogs.

i rekon it's what ferals eat that causes the change in taste.

in the wild, pigs will eat anything they can get a snout into, including carrion (fetid, rotting carcases). in a sty, pigs generally get fed clean food and have clean water.

an Italian family that lived down the road from me as a kid kept a big pig. for about six months before the father slaughtered it, they force fed it on apples (ones the local fruitmarket was about to toss).

man, that pork tasted sensational.