[StretchNM]

Here's my little morning story: I went out this morning to a place in the mountains...recommended to me by a friend. It's a Lincoln Natl Park road that turns off the highway and goes for a couple of miles through some private land. I no sooner turned off the highway, about 200 to 300 yards in, when I see this boar, rooting under some small junipers. He wasn;t but about 35 yards from the truck.

I unzipped my rifle and got it positioned. I had just taken the scope lens covers off and shouldered it when a lady in a pickup comes driving up right at me. Well, private land or no, I can't go shooting with a lady sitting in her truck in front of me, so I slipped back into the case and she drove past, waving. The boar had sauntered off to the north by now and I let off the brake to coast east. Looking in my rearview, I saw that the lady had stopped back there, so I backed up. She was out of her truck and walking up to mine. She said "He's going to cross the road, shoot him!". I asked if I was on private land or public, and she said "It don;t matter. Shoot all them pigs you can. We don;t want them around here." So I pulled over and got out. By this time, the pig had circled around and was fixing to cross the road. I couldn;t get a shot at him. He crossed and I started after him uphill. He was going UP to the place that I would eventually have ended up hunting in. About 50 yards uphill from the road, he gives me a nice broad-side shot. Boom! and he's off like a rocket. I swear I missed him! But....I've got to check. Heading uphill in the direction he took off, I saw some sign in the dew grass and followed it. After about 5 minutes of traipsing around, I found him. The round went in right behind his right shoulder and came out clean through his left side, just behind the shoulder. It was 0800 hours.

I dragged him downhill for a few yards, then realized I was going to need a rope...and to drop off my rifle. So I hoofed it back to the truck, got a rope and camera, left the rifle, and went back. I dragged him downhill for about 130 yards to the truck and spent more than an hour trying to get him in the back.

Finally, since nobody was coming along the road that I could humbly beg for help, I untied him and dragged him off ontto the west side of the road. There I skinned his right legs and cut them off. About that time, two elk hunters drove up and helped me lift him into the truck. Then, the lady's husband came driving out. He said she had called him and told him about me. The elk hunters guessed him to be over 200 pounds, but the rancher said he thought about 185 with 200 pounds at the outside. Anyway, he said he wouldn;t eat him - he only eats the younger, smaller ones, but I drove off with him anyhow.

In the end, I decided to leave him on a back forest road, keeping only the shoulder and hip that I skinned and cut off earlier.

That's the first animal bigger than a jackrabbit that the .35 has claimed!

 

[crazydave]

Salt-marinate the ham over-night, then dry-rub seasoning-salt and pepper into it.

Sear on the grill, then crock-pot on high for 4hrs....

Take a taste, then cry over the rest of that deliscious animal you left in the woods....

 

[StretchNM]

Here he is a few yards out from where I first saw him. You can see the little black spot just to the right of the center tree. He ended up circling around to the right.

IO found him way up by the top tree in the photo (the one to the right of the leaning pine). This picture is about halfway between him and my truck.

Here he is dragged down. The next picture shows the exit wound....sorta. It was a clean, bubbling hole when I found him.

About where I'm standing taking this photo is about where I saw him first....right out my driver's side. He circled and crossed about 15 yards in front of my truck there.

This is the trail he came down off the hill on, and most likely the one he planned to use to get back up there.

MIKE G - I'm sorry to post so much and so many pics, but I'm a tad excited! Here's a picture of my rifle just so maybe this thread can stay in this subforum for awhile (if it doesn;t really belong here). I'm kindly afraid it'll get moved to the story telling forum but I like it here if it can stay.

 

[StretchNM]

Thanks Crazy Dave for the recipe. I'll tell you why I decided to leave him.

First, the rancher was asking if he smelled bad. Well, yes I said, he did. He was extra musky and stank alot. THen he said he was talking about "the meat". I said I didn;t think it smelled bad. He said these pigs can carry some 40 different kinds of bugs. Then these elk hunters chimed in about taking him to the vet and the health fair and maybe even the phsycologist or something (ok, I'm embellishing a little). But anyway, so much doubt was caused in my mind, plus it'd been 1-1/2 hours since I killed him (by now it was 930) and I still had another 1 hour drive home to Alamogordo.

I'll probably regret it. But I'm really a rookie at this pig killing business and pork meat is a scary affair if it aint cooked right anyway. So that's why I left him, I suppose. I was thinking next time I wouldn;t be temped by a an older boar - I would just go on up the hill and look for the sows and young boars. Or maybe I would just shoot him and leave him lay. Everybody around here says they want them gone bad enough to do that. I don;t know.

 

[MikeG]

They all smell bad on the outside. Trust me! But one of the best eating hogs I have killed was weighed at 275 lbs, and it was a boar.

Next time, quarter him out. Put all of the meat in a cooler in ice. Dump LOTS of ice on top, then an entire container of salt. Drain it in a day or two, and cook'em up!

 

[StretchNM]

Thanks Mike, I didn;t do that but there's always tomorrow!

I would like a little advice from you guys:
I killed him at 0800 and got him "half"-quartered (the two left-side shanks) at about 0930.
Then I drove to a tiny town and bought two bags of ice and dumped them into a large black trash bag with the hams. This was at about 1000 or 1015 maybe, I don;t know. I got them home and laid the bag on plastic on the tablesaw in the shop. I had some things that had to be done in town.
Then, at 1500 or so, I took them out, rinsed them with the hose, took them back to some clean white plastic and picked ALL the little black hairs off. Man, they get embedded in the fat layer!!! Then I rinsed and put them in large pans, covered with cellophane, and put them in the fridge in the shop where they sit now.

Am I ok do you think? What's my next step....lots of salt and back in the fridge?

I really appreciate any advice because this is my first pig. I don;t want my family or friends getting sick. I'm really worried about bugs and such (micro-organisms).

 

[broom_jm]

Stretch,

First of all, congratulations on making a great shot and tracking your kill to where it expired. Amazing how little those pigs bleed, even when hit just right, huh? No wonder a lot of guys go for the neck or base of the spine, though I've never tried it. Great job with your 35 Remmy!

Wild hogs are a big enough menace that you can leave 'em lay like they were any other kind of varmint, but don't let anybody tell ya they don't taste good. If the animal is in good health, as that one certainly appeared to be, the only thing between harvest and fine table fare is doing what Mike said. Next time, go prepared with a large cooler. As warm as it is down there, have the tools needed to skin and quarter, then get ice on it, ASAP. If you've got a gambrel, hoist, bone saw and sharp knife, you can have an animal in the cooler and ready for 2 or 3 bags of ice in half an hour, or so.

There is another thread on processing deer. Replace that word with "hog" and follow the rest of the advice listed there. Black garbage bags are far from ideal, as they tend to hold in heat that you want dissipating. The ideal situation is a layer of ice on the bottom of the cooler, then the various pieces of meat, then more ice on top. I've never used salt in any of the meat preparation I've done, although I've heard it helps with displacing blood from the tissues.

 

[StretchNM]

Yes, I think a large cooler, a hoist, and a gambrel is on the shopping list. Thanks for the thoughts, Broom.

Forgot to mention the load. This was Hornady's 240gr XTP over 23.4 grains of H-110, WLP, and 1.600 OAL. By the book (because a chronograph has been on the shopping list for so long), it's listed at about 1670fps.

In all the excitement, and with levering in another round, I lost my brass in the grass!!!! A price to pay, I suppose.............

 

[Athos]

Looks like too much work to me just for a few strips of bacon!

Seriously, nice shooting. Come on up to the AR and take a few here as well.

 

[broom_jm]

Yes, I think a large cooler, a hoist, and a gambrel is on the shopping list. Thanks for the thoughts, Broom.

Forgot to mention the load. This was Hornady's 240gr XTP over 23.4 grains of H-110, WLP, and 1.600 OAL. By the book (because a chronograph has been on the shopping list for so long), it's listed at about 1670fps.

In all the excitement, and with levering in another round, I lost my brass in the grass!!!! A price to pay, I suppose.............

When hunting in CA what we would do is place 2 full 7lb bags of ice in the hog, shoving one up into the spot where the lungs were. If it was really hot, we skinned 'em right away.

That load looks an AWFUL lot like a 44Mag load. Didn't you use your 35 Remington for this hog?

 

[StretchNM]

Good eye Broom! In all the excitement, I opened up my spreadsheet and just looked at the first FTX bullet load that came up. The spreadsheet was last closed while I was working in the 44mg sheet!!! ((( ))) What a dummy.

Here's the correct load:
Hornady's 200gr FTX, over 36.8gr IMR4064, WLR, 2.510" OAL, 1900 fps.

Thanks Broom!

 

[broom_jm]

Well, I had an advantage...I was loading up some W296 (same as H110) for MY 44 Mag, earlier today. Not only that, but I did my own "dummy" thing. I have a shotgun-type sling on this gun because it doesn't have a front swivel stud. The sling came loose as I was walking from the range (back deck) to the reloading bench in the garage. I caught the gun, but it was swiveling and I couldn't quite keep it from smacking into the roll-away toolbox. Fortunately the gun was completely unharmed because it was the vertical adjustment dial on the scope that took ALL of the force. Now my crosshairs look more like a 5 year-old's tic-tac-toe grid.

I put a backup scope on it and dialed it back in pretty quick, but I'm now down a rifle scope.

 

[MikeG]

Thanks Mike, I didn;t do that but there's always tomorrow!

I would like a little advice from you guys:
I killed him at 0800 and got him "half"-quartered (the two left-side shanks) at about 0930.
Then I drove to a tiny town and bought two bags of ice and dumped them into a large black trash bag with the hams. This was at about 1000 or 1015 maybe, I don;t know. I got them home and laid the bag on plastic on the tablesaw in the shop. I had some things that had to be done in town.
Then, at 1500 or so, I took them out, rinsed them with the hose, took them back to some clean white plastic and picked ALL the little black hairs off. Man, they get embedded in the fat layer!!! Then I rinsed and put them in large pans, covered with cellophane, and put them in the fridge in the shop where they sit now.

Am I ok do you think? What's my next step....lots of salt and back in the fridge?

I really appreciate any advice because this is my first pig. I don;t want my family or friends getting sick. I'm really worried about bugs and such (micro-organisms).

He'll be fine. Salt helps, but cooking them thoroughly is what is important. OK, if you don't have a crock pot, go get one That will solve most culinary problems......

You can still pack in salt / ice for a day or so. Won't hurt a bit and may make it taste better.

Don't feel too bad about leaving some of it in the field; coyotes gotta eat, too.... Mother Nature never wastes protein. OK, on the next one, be sure to get the backstraps, at least. That's pretty good eating.

Shoulder recipe..... here's one I haven't done in a while, but it sure is good. Get a big turkey roasting pan, or similar. Lay the shoulder in the bottom. Cover it, I mean bury it, in either 1. peaches, or 2. apples. Tart apples like Granny Smith work well. 10 or 12 wouldn't be too many for a shoulder. Slice them up and cover the meat. Sprinkle a generous amount of brown sugar on top. Then, dust with some cinnamon.

Set oven for, oh, 325 to 350 or so. 3 or 4 hours later, when you can't stand the smell anymore, it's done

That works good on a thin flat piece like a shoulder. For a ham, if you have a smoker, try that. One thing with a smoker, if it's kinda lean meat, you can make a 'boat' out of foil to help keep it from drying out. Pour, oh, anything you like in there to keep it moist.... beer, wine, Italian salad dressing, brisket rub, etc. - doesn't seem to matter. Leave the 'boat' open at the top to allow some smoke in.

Marinate the ham, and the cook.... and it'll come out great!!

Have fun. Shoot some more, there isn't any shortage.

 

[MikeG]

I see your truck has a receiver hitch. Lots of people make a 'game hoist' that slides into one. BIG help when dealing with pigs! Get one and it will make your butchering chores easier. They are basically a crane with a geared winch (like you use for pulling boats up on trailers).

Scroll down to the bottom of this page:

http://www.hickbuilt.com/gamehoist.html

I won't say who this is, but rumor has it that the hunter in the photo is known to whisper to hogs...

 

[StretchNM]

Mike, thanks for the thoughts (and recipe!), I know you've killed one or 100 of these animals, so I was kindly hoping you would chime back in with exactly what you did.

The receiver hitch looks like a great idea. I really needed something like that this morning... I COULD NOT get that heavy pig up onto the tailgate. I finally gave up and just decided to butcher and take at least what I did, if not more. That bore in the picture y...."he's" got....looks just like mine!

I am impressed with the .35 Remington, and now I'm hooked on those hogs! I have some friends that want to go, so I think after the first snow (or maybe right after Feb or March's snow) I'll be going back to that spot. This time I'll have some help (and a cooler....and gambrel...and bone saw....)

 

[MikeG]

Forget the saw. Learn how to separate the joints with a knife. End up with a lot less bone crumbs in the meat.

For separating the ribs, and splitting the sternum, nothing is as handy as a pair of tinsnips. Bet you can find some at a hock shop for a few bucks.

 

[StretchNM]

I've really been studying that receiver hitch/hoist setup Mike. I was thinking the long tube could even be cut in half and then a smaller diameter tube could be welded inside the bottom half so the top would slip over it. Some holes drilled for a hitch pin so you could assemble it. It would make it smaller to transport. Did you make that? Or...is it one of your buddys that makes it?

I learned how to cut around the hock with a knife and then snap it off pretty clean. I learned it from a you tube video.

I'm cooking some of that pig today using the apple/sugar/cinnamon recipe ((( )))

 

[MikeG]

Mine is two-piece, as you describe. My dad made his out of round tubing. Mine is square, but the guy building them doesn't do it anymore that I'm aware of.

You should have no trouble getting one put together.

 

[Sinbad12-2007]

I've never shot a hog. That said, I'd treat it the same way I do venison. I have a large galvanized tub that I fill with water and KOSHER salt and let the meat soak in that. I change the water out several times for a day or two, always adding more KOSHER salt. It draws all the blood out of the meat and tenderizes it a bit. It won't taint the meat with a salty taste either.

 

[SFT]

Gut a hog as quickly as you can, then if possible, skin it. You want to cool the meat as quickly as possible, and fat insulates. It is that fat that breaks down, infiltrates the meat and renders it gamey. If you want to make your ice in the cooler last as long as possible, put a chunk of dry ice on top and duct tape the lid around the edges first thing in the morning, then you'll still have frozen ice for days after that if you don't open it up for when you get your next hog. Always cut with the hair, not against, hog hair will dull knives in no time flat so don't go against the grain.