How to field-dress a hog

[DeeRedRaider]

I have hunted whitetails for years and have of course field-dressed many deer, but never a wild hog. I have an opportunity to take a hog (or several) in a couple of weeks, so I'd like a little advice please. Is it pretty much like a deer? I'll be hunting at night so I'll have to field dress the animal, then deliver it to a near-by processor the next day.
Your best tips please.

 

[Shot]

Yup, its pretty much like a deer, but much harder to skin. If you have field dressed many deer in the past, then you shouldn't have any problems.

Make sure to post of pics of your hunt. Good luck

 

[HOGHUNTER714]

Pretty much the same as a deer. The "Strip" method works decent on removing the hide on a hog. There are some good books out there on field dressing a hog. Go to google and do a search. I think "Rob Bob" puts out a good book on hunting wild hogs, I think field dressing is in his....Goodluck

 

[SierraExplorer]

I have a question-

If in an isolated camp- with no ice. say maybey you boated back into some part of Lake Sonoma. Can you place in the lake to keep cool? Or would you need to cut/quarter/cover and make tracks back to the nearest ice?

When hunnting bears in Washington we would place the gutted bear in a river with the carcas weighted down with river rock (and a rope tied around to something on shore "just incase") up to 3-5 days before we pulled it out and skinned it before comming home. I know the river water was cold- but how long can you keep one submerged in say 58 deg water?

 

[Shot]

Sierra,

You can do that. In Iran when we would go on 4 day pig/bear hunts that is exactly what we did. We would cut chest cavity open remove everthing and place in a river untill ready to skin and quarter. When it would snow we would pile all the pigs on top of each other and shovel snow on them untill covered.

 

[dogboy925]

Hey SE,

Yes we have done much the same back in Utah when we hunt Mule Deer. Usually it is cold enough so you can hang'em but. We have had a few hot years where we ahd to submerge the carcass in water of a local river/stream using rocks to keep it submerged. We've done it for only 3-4 days and never lost any meat due to spoilage.

 

[Welby]

Wow, I've never heard of doing this before...does the meat suffer any at all from being submerged? How about the taste? And do you have to worry about impurities or pollution in the water?

 

[Timjackson]

DeeRedRaider... Hope you are getting into some of those big west Texas hogs.. We hunt about 8 miles from town and I always take mine into town to the carwash and give them a good pressure washing before skinning and gutting them.... Sure does help get a lot of the mud and crap off of them... If you are going to get it processed I would just gut it and take it to the processor.. Let them do the rest of the work... Kind of like taking a deer there.. They will probably gut it for you as well, just charge you more... Let us know how the hunt turns out...

 

[dogboy925]

Never notice a change in taste. Meat turns a different color on the inside of the carcass.