Going Piggy hunting next month!

[benenglish]

I'm not a hunter so my opinion doesn't count. That never stopped me from having one, though.

I was under the impression that all feral hogs killed are eaten. I figure carcasses should be dragged out of sight and smelling range of humans. After that, though, carrion birds are a valuable part of our ecology and giving them a meal counts, to my mind, as an honorable way to dispose of deactivated varmints.

OTOH, given my druthers I'd rather kill animals that I'll eat rather than feed directly back into the ecosystem. I like to eat; ask anybody who's met me.

I've actually been thinking about these issues lately since I stumbled into a good buy on a very nice hunting rifle and I'm slowly developing an itch to use it in the field instead of just off a bench.

 

[Governors20]

Dead pigs make good Coyote bait.

 

[dee]

I'm not a hunter so my opinion doesn't count. That never stopped me from having one, though.

I was under the impression that all feral hogs killed are eaten. I figure carcasses should be dragged out of sight and smelling range of humans. After that, though, carrion birds are a valuable part of our ecology and giving them a meal counts, to my mind, as an honorable way to dispose of deactivated varmints.

OTOH, given my druthers I'd rather kill animals that I'll eat rather than feed directly back into the ecosystem. I like to eat; ask anybody who's met me.

I've actually been thinking about these issues lately since I stumbled into a good buy on a very nice hunting rifle and I'm slowly developing an itch to use it in the field instead of just off a bench.

Depending on the ecosystem it might not take long at all to dispose of the carcass. I shot one that was well over 200 and likely over 250 it took 4 days to be reduced to bones and hide.

 

[Vaquero]

Some things just need killin'.
Sustenance is one thing. Protection of life and property is another.

 

[robertc1024]

I'm not a hunter so my opinion doesn't count. That never stopped me from having one, though.

Made me LOL. Pigs are incredibly destructive and reproductive. We shoot all we see down in South TX. Little ones get eaten by us, big ones feed the buzzards.

 

[Hoji]

Apart from one that I shot through the back legs, every hog that the wife and I have shot have died from single shots. I am a firm believer in bringing enough gun to the fight, and if you're using .223, maybe that's the reason why it takes more than 1 shot to drop one. Upgrade to an adult caliber like .308 Win.

Boars are going to be gamey and tough, but the sows don't get to fighting like the males do, so they're better eating. Boar meat can be dealt with with a little more cook time or preparation.

Personally, I'm not going to shoot an animal just for the hell of it, I was brought up that you eat what you kill regardless of whether you consider the target to be vermin or not. If you don't want to eat it, don't shoot it. I'm also all for dispatching my quarry quickly and humanely, even for "vermin" which is why I don't use smaller calibers like .223.

I tend to agree, with the exception of vermin. Pigs are vermin. Kill every one you see, and leave the carcasses for coyotes and vultures.
Treat them the same way you treat rats.

 

[Fullretard]

Well how did the hunt go?
I would kill to go on a pig hunt but work is killing me.
I am trying to put together a trip in October.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[40Arpent]

I was brought up that you eat what you kill regardless of whether you consider the target to be vermin or not. If you don't want to eat it, don't shoot it.

Spoken like someone who has never had to protect their land, crops, or livestock from vermin/predators.

 

[jordanmills]

Oink oink.

My M1A wants some loud hogging action.

 

[jordanmills]

Some things just need killin'.
Sustenance is one thing. Protection of life and property is another.

It's okay to humanely kill for food. Either because it is food, or because it's eating your food.

 

[TheDan]

I call them pig-sicles ... skewer the little feller and grill it ...

Do you skin it, or burn the hair off (or boil & scrape) and cook it skin on?

 

[dee]

Do you skin it, or burn the hair off (or boil & scrape) and cook it skin on?

I skin when I do it. I also smoke them. Big pigs i typically only cut backstrap out or sometimes a ham or two.

 

[mitchntx]

Bare carcass only. Caped and de-hooved.

 

[ElevenBravo]

Spoken like someone who has never had to protect their land, crops, or livestock from vermin/predators.

No, I'm not a farmer or rancher. What of it? Doesn't mean that you can't eat the hogs you shoot.

 

[dee]

No, I'm not a farmer or rancher. What of it? Doesn't mean that you can't eat the hogs you shoot.

You can only eat/keep so many. A friend killed 11 a few nights ago and left them all lay.

 

[hellishhorses]

When they're coming in by the dozens and you've got cattle and turkeys to protect, you dispatch them with any means necessary. If it means the coyotes, cougars, buzzards and catfish have a meal, so be it. I'm not going to fill my freezer with rat meat when I've got organic turkey and grass-fed beef. It would be a full-time job just skinning lice-infested pigs and I'd have no place to store it. If you like lice & worms in your meat, have at it.

 

[dee]

When they're coming in by the dozens and you've got cattle and turkeys to protect, you dispatch them with any means necessary. If it means the coyotes, cougars, buzzards and catfish have a meal, so be it. I'm not going to fill my freezer with rat meat when I've got organic turkey and grass-fed beef. It would be a full-time job just skinning lice-infested pigs and I'd have no place to store it. If you like lice & worms in your meat, have at it.

Turkey's they might hurt but with cattle pigs aren't really a threat. I have yet to see pigs do anything with cattle and thats out of several thousand head. They will eat some of their natural grazing or wheat but not much.

 

[hellishhorses]

Turkey's they might hurt but with cattle pigs aren't really a threat. I have yet to see pigs do anything with cattle and thats out of several thousand head. They will eat some of their natural grazing or wheat but not much.

While not a direct predator, they will consume turkey eggs, cattle feed, destroy habitat and natural watering sources.

ETA: certain common bacteria found in pig feces & urine can be harmful to cattle. Rabies & ringworm are also a concern.

 

[mitchntx]

Turkey's they might hurt but with cattle pigs aren't really a threat. I have yet to see pigs do anything with cattle and thats out of several thousand head. They will eat some of their natural grazing or wheat but not much.

Pigs are not a direct physical threat.

While rooting for grubs, an even small group of pigs can destroy a coastal hay field. It looks like the place has been plowed under.
During the drought, ranchers were lucky to get two cuttings off of a hay field where in normal years they could count on four cuttings, depending upon which part of the state you lived.
So every bale of hay counts for winter feeding domestic animals.

In this case, a pig is not a pig. Ferral hogs may look like regular pigs, but they aren't.
Like packs of wild dogs, they become aggressive, carry diseases and breed like rabbits having a dozen piglets a couple times a year.

 

[breakingcontact]

I tend to agree, with the exception of vermin. Pigs are vermin. Kill every one you see, and leave the carcasses for coyotes and vultures.
Treat them the same way you treat rats.

I run mouse traps.