Im going hog hunting. Have a few questions.

D

Derekadavis

New member
I have a friend who has some land near the LBJ grasslands. He has told me there are loads of hog out there. We have made plans to go up there for the weekend.

First off, I have never been hunting before. I've always wanted to.

Do I need a hunting license to hunt hogs on someone elses private land(with their permisson)?
Is there a limit on how many?
If I kill more than 1(I only want to take one) can I leave the dead pig there?
I'm gonna take the one I kill to the butcher near where I live. How long do I have to get the hog there with and without gutting it?
The weather here in N. Texas should be around 30-60degrees at the time of the hunt.


I'm sorry if these are stupid questions.

Thanks!
 
If you kill a mature boar, you might as well plan on leaving him in the field. Yes, there are ways to mitigate the musky taste but to me it just isn't worth it. As to time, in the weather you are talking about I'd say a couple of hours before you have to worry. Any longer and you need to get it gutted and into a cooler.

Most commercial processers I know of will not take wild hog. That is because state agricultural regulations make it really difficult for them to legally process a wild hog. Fortunately, doing it yourself is pretty easy.

The license question has to be answered with someone who has specific knowledge of Texas law. Here in Fl, the answer would be no license required. I'll let somebody else chime in about Texas law.
 
I have killed a 140 pound boar, he was pretty tasty.
But, a really big boar will be inedible.

Your best bet is a 150 pound sow. Watch the piggy for a few minutes before you fire, a boars balls are huge! They are the size of oranges and they stick out the back between his hams, easy to see.

Also, if it is a sow you might not want to fire if she has piglets, she may be run down from nursing.

After you shoot the pig, gut it immediately. You could leave it on the ground for a few hours, but why do that?
One problem is, if you leave that dead hog for a while, it is liable to get eaten by other wild hogs.
Take a 10 foot, 3/8 inch nylon rope with you and drag that hog from the field.

Like Doyle said, in Georgia not legal for a butcher to take in a wild hog.

It is easy to process it yourself.
 
Aren't they a huge nuisance and in serious need of being thinned out in the state. People kill crows and other (unedidble) varments by the truck loads, hell my cousin's alfalfa ranch in Northern California it was open season on pigeons and Jack rabbits for their destructive habits, never tried to eat ant of those.

If a species is as destructive as hogs are said to be it really shouldn't make any difference whether they are eaten or not. If you want good eating meat you should probably take an extra 22 mag for the piglets.
 
you will need a hunting license to hunt hogs. no limits, except those your conscience places on you.

the key to hogs palatability is a good shot that drops hog in tracks or real close to his tracks, quick recovery and field dressing. i have always dressed my hogs before they quit twitching. i had them out of there skins and quartered on ice within an hour of the shot and maybe quicker during the summer. i leave the meat in the cooler for a coulple of days, draining water and adding ice as needed, this seems to clean the meat up some. using these guides i have enjoyed several large hogs, some of which were boars.

the only hogs i thought were unedible were some killed on matagorda island, they tasted like fish, not fresh fish. i guessing those on the lbj will be corn feed or at least acorns.
 
Birdshot hit the nail on the head.

The only thing I would add would be to pour a little lemon juice and vinegar into the water.

Big boars are every bit as tasty as small hogs.
 
A license is a must in Texas. There are no limits. Best to field dress and ice as soon as possible. Why wait?
Feral hogs are a huge problem in parts of Texas. Some ranchers/farmers are known for allowing free hog hunts. I'd like to find one!
There are places (so I've heard) where you can donate the kill. I'm a little selfish and eat it myself.
 
My buddies and I killed over 50 hogs in the swamps in central Georgia back in the eighties.
We processed all that meat ourselves, as the butcher would not take wild hog.
We made sausage with my grinder, we had boneless pork chops, and we smoked many, many hams and shoulders on mesquite or pecan wood.
Most of these hogs were 80 to 200 pounds.
All those hogs were delicious, except one.
That was a monster 450 pound boar that my buddy killed.
One shot in the neck with the 30-06 Winchester Silvertip, the hog dropped.
It was gutted immediately.


That meat was nasty!
The sausage stunk so bad, you couldn't even stand to be in the kitchen while it cooked.
We threw a sausage patty to the dog, he whimpered and ran off, he wouldn't touch it.

We wound up dumping the whole damn hog into a field, I hope it didn't make the buzzards sick.
 
From the Texas Hunting Regulations

EXOTIC ANIMALS AND FOWL
Exotic animal refers to grass-eating or plant-eating, single-hoofed or cloven-hoofed mammals that are not indigenous or native to Texas and are known as ungulates, including animals from the deer and antelope families that landowners have introduced into this state. Includes, but is not limited to feral hog, Aoudad sheep, Axis deer, Elk, Sika deer, Fallow deer, Blackbuck antelope, Nilgai antelope, and Russian boar. Exotic fowl refers to any avian species that is not indigenous to this state, including ratites (emu, ostrich, rhea, cassowary, etc.).
There are no state bag or possession limits or closed seasons on exotic animals or fowl on private property. It is against the law to:
Hunt an exotic without a valid hunting license.
Hunt an exotic on a public road or right-of-way.
Hunt an exotic without the landowner's permission.
Possess an exotic or the carcass of an exotic without the owner's consent.
Penalty: A person who violates these laws commits an offense that is a Class A Parks and Wildlife Code misdemeanor ($500-$4000 and/or up to one year in jail).
 
I would shoot every hog I could get in my sights and have no qualms about leaving them laying for coyote food.... and then I'd shoot every coyote that I could get my sights on and have no qualms about leaving them for crow food.... and then.... well, you get the idea.
 
First of all, forget about laws in other states, they don't apply. Second, the law is purposefully very lenient when killing hogs. Here's how this works. If you can legitimately claim that the hogs are a nuisance and destructive to the land you shoot them on, and you have the permission of the land owner to kill them off, then you do not need a license. But if you make it out to a game warden like you're doing it for fun, you're so screwed. It must be that you are killing off a destructive specific species of animal. If the warden knows it's hogs, then you'll probably be fine no matter what you say.

Second, processors will generally take hogs, but often they will want you to skin and quarter them first. Third, the sows are best. You can eat any hog and it won't be too bad, but boars over 200 lbs start getting bad. My brother took a 400 lbs boar, and thank god we didn't try to eat it. It just smelled bad, as in really really bad. Sows of almost any size are very good. 100 lbs hogs are about the best to eat, try to get one of them.

Also, you at 40 degrees, you'll have 3 hours easy to get the hog either to a processor, or skinned/quartered and on ice.

The way the law works, technically you shouldn't be able to shoot anything without a license, but there are provisions for killing things that are destructive to your property without a license. The laws are somewhat unclear and conflicting, but the hog problem is so out of control that every single game warden in the state would be fine with you killing them.
 
Last edited:
The funny thing is that greed is going to make the problem even worse. :barf:
I know in California, the only way to have consistant success hunting hogs is to pay an outfitter close toa grand per head in the party.
 
Yep- If you want a decent chance of killing a pig in California, it is best to pay a guide with access to private land. The one I use in King City charges $575 for a weekend hunt. If you get a Trophy( long tusks), it's an extra $100. We have 100% success with them. If you don't get a pig, it's because you missed. I also pay a local butcher $100 to cut and wrap the meat for me. It is cut and wrapped in butcher paper and labeled. He uses part of the meat to make what he calls Swiss Sausage. Deelish. I also make my own sausage. I mix the wild pork 50-50 with pork clods I buy at Sams club to make sure it is juicy.

The best thing about the pigs in this area, is the pigs feed in barley fields by the ranch. Grain fed organic pork!! Worth the money paid.
 
yall texas boys dont get enough, i own 900acrs on the red here in Vernon texas. i shoot one ever day just about. might let some of yall come up if i got to know yall.
 
I have as of yet not eaten a gamey hog. One of them was a huge boar! I pressure cooked/canned it and so far every meal has been fine. It would have been tough had I not cooked it under pressure, it was barely tender as it was. I haven't had the backstraps yet, I expect them to be better.

If you get more than one hog I would just save the backstraps. Like others said, they are a pretty destructive pest. There is not need to take anything but the best parts.
 
Nasty

I'm the type that can clean my plate and say "That's wasn't very good". In other words I'm not picky. But I cannot eat wild hog. Here in Mississippi crazy rednecks sick Pit bulls on them, handcuff them and capture them alive. Then they feed them out on corn for a while and butcher them. I can't even eat the piglets that way.
 
Yea the land owner wants as many hogs gone as possible. I was talking to my brother, and he is going with us. He knows how to clean an quarter them. We only have 3 ice chests. So we will be taking 3 hogs, leaving the rest.

I have had wild hog before but it's been years.

One more question: I'm shooting a Sks scoped zeroed at 50yrds with wolf 122 gr hp. I'm getting 1/2" groups at 50yrds. Would switching to soft point for the hunt make a noticeable differance in accuracy at 50-75 yrds?

P.S. Thanks to everyone for the replys and help.
 
Last edited:
You can legally let them rot if you want.

I would advise you not to change your ammunition before the hunt unless you plan to re-zero the gun.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top