# Self Sufficiency/Living off the Land or Off the Grid > Hunting & Trapping >  Hog Hunt

## Batch

Went out Friday for a hog hunt. Shot a hog on Saturday evening. Had to drag this big sow out several miles at night and man am I beat up today.

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## crashdive123

Yummmmmm.  Bacon.

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## your_comforting_company

What a haul!

Do you gut them before dragging them out?
I started carrying rubber gloves in my pack when hog hunting for handling them. It's surprising how much weight they have just in guts. The other hogs eat 'em up. I've field dressed them and left the guts right in the same area, came back the next day, and hogs had eaten the hog-guts I left behind.

Kudos for helping control invasive species!

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## rebel

Nice hog.  It looks like you are holding a pistol in addition to a long gun, what did you use?  What range?  I've never hunted hogs.

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## your_comforting_company

rebel.. when you step into hog territory, your life is in danger. They will attack you and can do some very serious damage with them tuskies. When I go hog hunting I carry my 30/30 for long range, and if one gets too close for comfort, my Glock .40 with hollow points will do the job. Smart to carry a sidearm.
I've had HUGE hogs run out from the bushes within just a few yards of me. I was lucky I wasn't in the path. Had to clean my shorts. they are powerful and merciless beasts.

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## rebel

> rebel.. when you step into hog territory, your life is in danger. They will attack you and can do some very serious damage with them tuskies. When I go hog hunting I carry my 30/30 for long range, and if one gets too close for comfort, my Glock .40 with hollow points will do the job. Smart to carry a sidearm.
> I've had HUGE hogs run out from the bushes within just a few yards of me. I was lucky I wasn't in the path. Had to clean my shorts. they are powerful and merciless beasts.


A side arm sounds like good advise for anyone in hog country.  Hunting or not.

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## Batch

I actually carry rubber gloves in my pack and truck. I usually have the blue thicksters and only had surgical gloves on that day. I always rip the gloves some how. I was videoing a snake and didn't see the wait a minute vines and ripped my hands up a bit. So, I was trying not to gut or cut in the field. Dragging a sow that big is incredibly hard. It will give you the best cardio and grip strength on the planet. It is like a crossfit workout.LOL 

I ended up getting the biologist to check it out with out ever seeing it and quartering it in the field. I had to waste some to save most. If I had realized she was that heavy and I was that far in I would never have taken the shot. But, my brother wanted a kill this weekend and we had worked so hard on the tracking. 

Never again though. I like the little pigs...

It was in the 80's yesterday and it held high enough at night and with a high humidity to make movement through hog country taxing.

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## your_comforting_company

Started my day at 28 degrees, and by 10 I was taking off clothes till I wasn't even wearing a shirt at dinnertime while scraping a hide. When it's hot like that you gotta work quick. Glad you were able to save some of it at least. 

Have you ever heard that you need to , ummm.. castrate, a boar right after you kill it or it will spoil the meat? I was wondering if there is any truth to it. That part makes my skin crawl LOL

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## Pocomoonskyeyes3

Looks like she had some decent sized tusks! Smart move taking a sidearm too. People just don't realize how dangerous they are. I've heard of them killing Bear even, though I don't know if it's true or not. Anyone who's ever watched "Ole Yeller" gets an idea of how dangerous they can be.... those were just "Free range" Hogs in the movie, and not quite as Feral as true "Piney woods" hogs can be. When I was a kid I almost never went into the woods without a gun of some kind. When I carried my 12 Ga. Dbl barrel, I carried it with one chamber of Buckshot and one of Birdshot, no matter what I was hunting.

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## hunter63

Congrats on a successful hunt.
And kudos on dragging it that far...I don't even care to drag a 150 pound deer anymore, if I can help it, LOL.

Guys have been getting a few east of here, NW La.
SIL got a call from a beef rancher, had one in a trap that had been tearing up his cattle feeders.
Rode over there, and sure enough, had a big sow in the trap.
Mean nasty thing and not in a good mood......

So shot it in the head, dragged it out of the cage (located next to a trail) into the back of his pick-up, 300# or there abouts.
Off to do the cleaning, and as this was the 3 or 4th one so far, gave it away.

PS, he likes the smaller 130--170 pounders, as well.

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## BH51

Oh Yea!.......that a good'n, Batch........I can see why you was so beat-up.....
I avoid huntn' no further from my pick'm-up than I care to drag something that
big.....Tho, most times it just don't work out that way.........................BH51

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## beetlejuicex3

I believe you are supposed to castrate them 6 months before slaughter to get the effects of testosterone on their meat out of their system.

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## hunter63

> I believe you are supposed to castrate them 6 months before slaughter to get the effects of testosterone on their meat out of their system.


I asked a couple of big boars if they could stop by to be casterated 6 months before hunting season.....They declined..... then chased me up a tree. (sorry couldn't resist)

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## rebel

> ...the effects of testosterone on their meat...


...that and alcohol has been a bad combo for any hog.

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## Batch

I never heard of castrating a sow. I spent the last couple of days in the hospital. I passed out Monday at work and went to the ER. I got out today and they said it was exhaustion from the hog.

I don't know why the effect was delayed. But, I got messed up... I had Cat Scan, EKG, Blood tests, ex-rays. cat scans, MRI. MRA, ECG, EEG, scans of my carotid artery.

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## crashdive123

> I never heard of castrating a sow. I spent the last couple of days in the hospital. I passed out Monday at work and went to the ER. I got out today and they said it was exhaustion from the hog.
> 
> I don't know why the effect was delayed. But, I got messed up... I had Cat Scan, EKG, Blood tests, ex-rays. cat scans, MRI. MRA, ECG, EEG, scans of my carotid artery.


Dang!  I hope all the tests come out OK and that you are feeling better.

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## Rick

Just saw this post. Hope you're okay. Maybe dehydration? That's a nice sized hog. Couldn't you make a drag to pull something that heavy? Something like a travois?

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## your_comforting_company

A rope with a handle, like used for water skiing is a BIG help when dragging out a heavy animal. I started carrying one in my hunting bag just for that purpose. I find that I can go 100 yards or so without a break, as opposed to 25 or 30 yards hunched over.
Tie the legs to the body to keep it compact and you can stand erect.

Get well soon!

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## hunter63

WOW, Hope everything works out for you.
That is why I don't drag heavy stuff any more, no animal is worth having a attack of some kind.

I pick my spots, have a 2 wheeled cart ( never used it), but more importantly, hunt with a partner (younger, LOL).
Get well soon.

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## Pocomoonskyeyes3

Man! I'm sorry to hear that and hope all those tests come back fine. Get better soon.

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## Camp10

Hope all is well with you Batch!  I do the same as YCC, use a rope.  The snow helps with the dragging as well!  LOL

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## Batch

The tests all came back good. I am all good with the cardiologist except that I have the normal expected plaque build up for someone my age in my carotid arteries. Heart is rock solid healthy. All tests neurological came back good and despite my mom's talking, they did find a brain. They said over exertion and dehydration. Though I drink a gallon of water a day minimum and it happened two days later. 

That picture is now of a $7,000 hog. Which is what my maximum out of pocket for the year is on insurance. At least the rest of the year is all free for medical for me. So I am going to take advantage and have every thing checked as best as I can over the year. LOL

BTW, my friend catches barr hogs with catch dogs. Now, Poco, I have been between sows and their babies and the sow has run. I have never had a boar chase me. Though I have had them bolt out a head straight at me until they realized that I was there and then they braked, shaked and baked. 

You can see a friends 275lb barr hog on this page. http://www.gladestaxidermy.com/about_us

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## COWBOYSURVIVAL

I am not sure what a Barr Hog is? Here in SC the clubs imported russian boar hawgs and they breed with domesticated wild hawgs. They ran each time I walked them up. But can be over 1000lbs. I always carry 2 guns when hunting them. Here you cut the nuts and around the hooves to let them bleed out. Hawg Dogs are some of meanest animals on earth, usually Blueticks or labs crossed with pitbulls.

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## Rick

So, it looks like about....what....$450 a pound? (snort, giggle). I'm glad everything checked out okay, though. Is it possible they mixed the neurological test results with someone else? I mean, I've read some of your post. (snort).

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## crashdive123

Glad all the tests came out OK.

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## Batch

> So, it looks like about....what....$450 a pound? (snort, giggle). I'm glad everything checked out okay, though. Is it possible they mixed the neurological test results with someone else? I mean, I've read some of your post. (snort).


Rick, I have read some of my posts and I agree with you. LOL

A barr hog is a barrow hog. Its nuts but has none anymore. LOL

Hog dogs are usually pits and currs from what I know...

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## hunter63

Hey Batch, $450 bucks a pound sounds about right,.... my first wild turkey was about $1000 bucks a pound.........and I don't really like turkey all that much.
Glad to hear you are doing OK.

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## your_comforting_company

Went up to grampa's old place this weekend and found some VERY disappointing news.. Wild hogs have moved in and are increasing numbers very rapidly. A few months ago, there was no sign of feral hogs on the land and now it looks like a sizable herd is living there. I was bowhunting so if a deer came by, I could legally _try_ to harvest one, but I also had my sidearm ready in case that huge boar came through. Judging by the rubs on the trees his back is more than knee-high. Gotta be at least 300 lbs.
So two days of still hunting early and late in the day and a bit of stalking down the trails didn't reveal any of the beasts but we did get to see some hawks and foxes. Next step is to borrow / rent some cattle fencing and set up traps for the blighters. I can't let "Pa's place" turn into the WMA on the river where 4' wide trees have been uprooted and viney plants have taken over because of the soil disturbances. Not to mention what they are doing to the ponds. Our pond is mostly dry, but had enough water for bullfrogs to raise.. That's some good eating, but their habitat is being trampled by the beasts. Across the fence, the neighbor has cows raising in the same nasty water that hogs are stomping and defecating in. 
They pose a real problem and this year the laws have changed regarding hunting them. On private land it is now legal to bait them, and hunt with firearms all year long. Got some good info on corrall traps from the University of Alabama (one of my bee mentors is the extension agent) as a method to get as many as possible in one place and dispatch them. They will be donated to a local food bank. One of the farmers not far from here says he's already lost an acre of crop to the beasts, so I might have yet another career building endeavor.. Hog removal! So far I haven't charged anything for bee removals, but I know a fella who is making a living right now, doing nothing but bee removal jobs. I think it's time to expand my operation to hog removals. I am certain that a farmer would gladly pay good money to remove hog vermin from their fields and woods.
Feral hog population is exploding and we, as sportsmen and lovers of the outdoors, need to be proactive in control and management of this invasive species. If you ever needed a reason to start hunting, we have one here, now.

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## TheWaywardOne

It's a shame to hear that the hog population has exploded that way.  I lived in Texas for a few years and saw first hand the damage they can do.  Also learned a good deal about hunting and trapping them.  I was fortunate enough to fall in with a group of guys who hog trapped.  They introduced me to it, as well as knife hunting (one of the biggest adrenaline rushes you can imagine in my opinion), and even used an atlatl from time to time.  They trapped most of the farm, ranch, and dairy property in the area.  We ran portable box traps with a spring gate primarily.  Taken down we could fit 4-5 of them in a truck.  We also used heart or teardrop corral traps with swing gates.  The down side of swing gates is you have to "teach" hogs how to use them, but once done they are incredibly effective.  On really big operations we used drift fences that terminated into corrals.  They were cumbersome, and took a lot of time and material to construct, but running bay dogs we could hem up 40 or so at a time on a good day.  Many hogs fell to ARs as well.  I applaud your inclination to expand your business into feral hog removal, I've had similar thoughts myself.  The depredation permits have proved hard to get in my area though.  The Fish & Game and USDA seem to think that two aerial hunts a year are good enough..they evidently need to spend more time in the woods and less time behind a desk.  So continues the eternal battle between biologists and outdoorsmen.  Rather than learn from each other, both factions seem stubbornly intent on butting heads.  Either way, I completely agree with your last statement.  We need to be proactive.  As humans he have the capacity to drive any species to the verge of extinction, with that in mind I find it difficult to believe that we cannot find a solution to our invasive species problems.

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## your_comforting_company

"they evidently need to spend more time in the woods and less time behind a desk."
... and then there are the humanitarians, and animal rights activists... I wonder sometimes if they are also all existentialists...

hopefully across the next few years I / we can afford to buy some panels and stuff to start setting up traps. I'm gonna miss the bullfrogs this year. Good eats, but living in feral hog swill / cess, I think I'll gladly decline.

Last weekend we hunted out there. Let 3 does and a yearling walk. Really want to get the hogs OUT before putting pressure on the deer (like they aren't under enough stress with those nasty beasts). Dad popped a shot at the alpha which turned and ran. Don't know if he hit him or not, but didn't find any blood, so likely not. Thing stood almost waist high.
It's gotta go.

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