quote:
I knew someone would ask that question. The meat on a boar that big is nasty unless you can 'sweeten' them by penning them, castrating them, and feeding them sweet feed like sweet potatoes for a month or two before you slaughter them.

That's not an option here. I don't have a way to carry a live dangerous animal out of those woods, partially because you can't get a truck in there now because the hogs have destroyed the road. And he wasn't going in the trap anyway apparently. So when I got the chance to shoot him, I took it.

The reason I kept trailing him into that thicket was because I WANTED TO EAT HIM! Didn't realize he was this big till I got up to him. Had he been smaller I could have drug him far enough to reach with a four wheeler. That was the plan but when I tried to drag him, it was obvious immediately that was not going to be happening without a draft horse or something to help, and I don't have one. Had he been edible and I couldn't move him, I would have cut him up and packed him out in pieces. I was really disappointed when I realized I wasn't looking at a couple hundred pounds of sausage.

Now as for the coyotes I expect to come to him... Gonna shoot them too if possible because the deer have been run off this place by the hogs and stuff and we want deer. Not hogs or coyotes.

We own the land. We get to manage it how we like. And the hogs are causing a ton of damage to the roads. They've got wallows in the middle of roads that completely cover the whole road and are two feet deep in spots. So yes, I'm going to kill every last hog I get a chance to shoot. If they are edible, they will ALL be eaten. But if they aren't, I'm not going to lose any sleep over it.

Fantastic Post.

So, many people fail to see just how much of a pest these things are. They can have 2-3 litters of 8-12 hogs each in a year if the resources (like an agricultural state) will support them. They can start this alarming rate of reproduction at only 12 months old. They are omnnivorous and outcompete nearly all native wildlife for food due to numbers and size and diet. They kill many of the natives they feed on becasuse they not only graze but they uproot the plants especially in the late spring and summer when mast is absent and rain is short. They destroy habitiat that is essential to native birds, amphibians, and reptiles. They increase erosion by wallowing out streams and runoffs. They drastically increase the cost for farmers, ranchers, and land stewarts through mechanical damage to equipment caused by hog wallows and ruts. With the exception of large cats, and alligators there are no other predators of adult wild hogs.

Dont be surprised when your game camera shows hogs feeding on your hog carcass in addition to the coyotes and buzzards.

My advice:
KILL THEM ALL AND LET GOD SORT THEM OUT. (fill the freezer too)

The pig's (and bluebell's) motto:
Kill and eat all you want we'll make more.