41 year old "Newbie"

[357tracker]

Hey guys. New to the board and new to hog hunting. I've lived in Montana for the past 23 years and hogs weren't on my list of critters to hunt. I've hunted and killed Elk, Whitetail, Mule Deer, Antelope, and Black Bear but have never tried for hogs. I'm now in Florida and would appreciate advice as to the proper care and handling after I get one on the ground. I've read of the numerous disease issues and am sure that some of you savy hog pros can help me out. Thanks in advance. 357tracker

 

[sdbowyer]

When I first started I had people warn me that I had to have the meat tested for trichonosis at a butcher shop. Then I realized that there are countless folks who do their own processing and never do any testing. At the end of the day you have to make sure the meat is fully cooked and if you're concerned cook it more than you would store-bought meat. I'm sure you've had people caution you about deer and elk meat in your neck of the woods and recommend using gloves for field dressing. Seems that every type of game has its own set of concerns and warnngs regarding the meat. Not much different for hogs. Just know that there are thousands of people that never use gloves and process their own meat and never have a problem. Kill those microbes in the pot!

 

[dhall61]

Ask the meat man

Jack

Scroll down on the Jacks page, it goes into detail on dressing.

 

[One Track]

Hogs are easy to field dress, same as a deer. I always have gloves in my pack, but forget to use them. Have fun!

 

[BDB]

Same as deer for the cleaning. As for the meat, I don't worry about trichonosis from wild pork, I think that is more of a domestic pork issue. I cook it less than domestic pork almost all the time. Overcook any wild game and you may as well eat shoe leather

 

[SDHNTR]

If you can dress a deer or anything else, you can handle a pig. The process is the same. The only thing I've seen some guys do differently(especially if the hog has been wallering, which of course is common) is hose off all the dirt and mud off the hide first. Then when you skin the pig it is easier to keep dirt off the meet.

Like anything else, but especially with pork, get the hide off and get it cool asap.

I've skinned probably close to 100 pigs, if not more, and I rarely wear gloves, but I certainly should. The chance of contracting something is very slim, but gloves are a very simple solution.

If you make a big mess out of your hog like coues does, you might want the elbow length calf birthing gloves. Makes cleanup a lot easier too.

 

[Bwana Turtle]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div>

As for the meat, I don't worry about trichonosis from wild pork, I think that is more of a domestic pork issue.[/b]

You should. Wild pigs are omnivores and next to bears have the highest incidence of trichnosis.

 

[500+grns]

Wear gloves-plenty of cases of blood poisening from critters and fish.
After photos,treat it like a bear.Get the hide off ASAP.
In warm weather hogs are known to go sour in as little as 30 min.
I've run accross some nasty smellin hogs full of puss pockets and tumors and have had to question if I would even feed my dog the meat.
Be your own judge of that one.
If you score a trophy,cape it from the hine quater out to the head.There are some great new offset full shoulder mounts that require a little more hide than usual.(Shov a rock down it's throat to keep the mouth open for pics.The stick thing looks like crap)

 

[RLL]

I guess I'll give the contrarian view ... I never field dress anything. Not deer, not hogs. I skin them then gut them. It is much cleaner that way.

 

[357tracker]

Hey BDB. AMEN! I sear EVERYTHING and ENJOY it! Thanks everyone for all of your help! I knew I came to the right place. One more question though. In Montana, we let ALL animals "AGE" for a while. Of course, it's usually 30 degrees or colder so it's not an issue. Do Hogs require aging in order to get the most tender and flavorful meat? I butcher all of my kills myself. Can't see paying a butcher/processor $40.00 to $100.00 to cut and wrap a critter I paid $7.00 to harvest.

 

[BDB]

Hey don't take my word for not cooking it enough, that's just how I do it. As for aging. Everyone seems to agree with not aging hogs even if they normally age deer and elk. I age deer and elk if possible but never hogs. Aging at all is always a hot debate, some do, some don't. Do a search you can read about it for days

 

[357tracker]

Thanks BDB. I figured there would be no need to age since they don't with commercial operations. I'll cut a chunck and throw it in the smoker as soon as it's clean. Thanks again. M

 

[SDHNTR]

You can age venison if you want, but do not age pork.

 

[Coues]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (SDHNTR @ Dec 12 2006, 01:17 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

If you make a big mess out of your hog like coues does, you might want the elbow length calf birthing gloves. Makes cleanup a lot easier too.[/b]

 

[Speckmisser]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (RLL @ Dec 12 2006, 01:27 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

I guess I'll give the contrarian view ... I never field dress anything. Not deer, not hogs. I skin them then gut them. It is much cleaner that way.[/b]

RLL,

In Texas and some other places it's very possible to drop a hog close enough to the barn (or skinning shed) to retrieve them whole and do the work in nice, clean conditions. That is definitely ideal.

When I lived and hunted back east, I never field dressed an animal. Everything came back to the barn and the skinning tree. Since coming to CA, a lot of my hunting techniques have been updated.

In many CA hog hunts (the majority of these guys are from CA), retrieving the animal intact is not an option. Many of us travel long distances to hunt, and hauling a whole pig back home would almost guarantee spoilage. Also, a lot of our hogs are shot quite a ways from the road, and dragging an extra 40-60 lbs of guts is hardly worth the tradeoff. It just doesn't make sense...they're heavy enough without the guts. Dress him in the field and reduce the load. Quartering or even boning out an animal in the field is not too unusual either.

Oh, by the way... I gotta concur on not aging pork. Venison is like beef... under decent conditions it generally takes a long time to actually spoil. Pork and bear meat, on the other hand, will start spoiling shortly after the blood stops flowing.

 

[beastslayer]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Speckmisser @ Dec 13 2006, 07:53 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

In many CA hog hunts (the majority of these guys are from CA), retrieving the animal intact is not an option. Many of us travel long distances to hunt, and hauling a whole pig back home would almost guarantee spoilage. Also, a lot of our hogs are shot quite a ways from the road, and dragging an extra 40-60 lbs of guts is hardly worth the tradeoff. It just doesn't make sense...they're heavy enough without the guts. Dress him in the field and reduce the load. Quartering or even boning out an animal in the field is not too unusual either.[/b]

So very true. My hog at Tejon JHO POR must have been 240 pounds on the hoop that I cannot even turn it to load into my sled. I actually weight my options of just quartering and getting only the hams. And, imagine this, I was in a relatively flat ground while Tejon is a true deep canyon country. Well, the good people of JHO came to the rescue to haul my pig.

 

[larrysogla]

In Texas, you bait the hogs to come to your feeder and then pop it with your weapon. Then walk back a short ways to your truck or ATV and then load the sucker or drag it back with the bumper to the barn and then gut it at the barn with a steady water hose cleaning the wound channel(non-lead ammo), the body cavity, the exposed meat and the bloody cement where you did your work. We have a 40 gallon black plastic trash bag to catch the guts and innards when we gut the hanging pig. Then we just dispose of the contents at the middle of the ranch for coyote and varmints feed. They clean it up fast. The fun is when the pig herd comes at night and start snarling and biting each other for the best place in the corn. You don't know which pig to shoot first. They are all tasty. Heck it is fun for me. I am a lazy bum, if the bacon will come to me, why torture myself over hill and dale trying to bring Mr. Piggy to the skillet. I am a hunter, yeah, but I am lazy too. I love Texas and night hog hunting. I love popping Mr. Piggy point blank with major caliber artillery. That is just me. No going down the tree stand and tracking a wounded 200 lb. boar in the dark. I am a coward when it comes to facing fangs, tusks and teeth at 3AM in the dark trying to aim the spotlight and the gun barrel at the same time at the 30MPH black colored enraged slasher. I hate knife fights. Pop it with enough gun and the job is done. God Bless Texas.