Wild Hog Weight

[Boggy Creek Ranger]

Every one wants to kill a good eating hog if they can. So, can any one tell how to judge if a piney wood rooter, a.k.a. feral, wild, Russian etc. is fat or not?
BCR

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[Calif. Hunter]

Since we usually spot and stalk them as they com ein from the fields in the early morning, we judge the overall size by which strand of the barbed wire they come up to... a "second strand" pig is usually a good-sized one, and a lot over that scond strand means it's a big one. (They usually go through the fence between the second and third strands, and it doesn't slow them down much. You can often hear the wire "singing" before daylight as the pigs slip between the strands.)
As far as whether they are fat or not, I just look at the body contours to see if the belly is tucked up high or nicely rounded. In general for an eating pig, I like to shoot a smaller hog in the spring when they've been eating grain. They tend to be fatter then, compared to a late summer or fall pig that's been eating acorns and roots, bugs, etc.

 

[hicntry]

It is not hard to tell fat hogs from skinny ones. Higgins and Bond bayed this sow up a couple of weeks ago. This is a big sow! I tip the scales at 240lbs.

[This message has been edited by hicntry (edited 02-14-2001).]

 

[Calif. Hunter]

Yep, Hicntry, that is one huge fat sow! She kind of looks like a huge mouse with those ears laying open that way.

Was she good eating? I agree..it's not hard to tell a fat pig from a thin one, once you've seen a few.

 

[Boggy Creek Ranger]

Around here we generally pick them up by the ears. If his snout goes down he is poor and if his butt goes down he is fat

I thought everybody knew that old joke
BCR