hunting and eating wild pig?

[Rob Eades]

I'm not really a hunter,but I love good BBQ and DNR is practically begging the folks in upstate SC to thin out the pig population.Also,there just might be a fun factor that you can't get sitting in a deer stand.Is it safe to eat these pigs? I always take my BBQ slowly to 190-200 degrees so will I kill all potential bugs?

Also,I'm looking forward to dusting off my 7.62X39's and I hear that pig hunters don't look down on commie guns.It must be a hillbilly thing!

Do any of you gouys hunt pigs?

Rob

[Prarie Dog]

I've hunted, killed and eaten a bunch of wild pigs, and as long as it isn't a big ol boar, they're good eating. We always look over the liver and kidneys to see if they look healthy. As long as they do, they're good to eat. They say that meat temp needs to be over 170 degrees to kill trichonosis (sp?).

When you cook them you have to remember they're wild and much leaner than store bought pork, so you have to keep that in mind when your cooking them. I've seen a few with lots of fat on them but most are very lean. They make excelent sausage!!

[Cracker Larry]

I've been hunting them all my life in GA and SC, Rob. Not in the upstate like you, but coastal. We have a lot of hogs here. I've also caught quite a few and pen fed them for a while before butchering them.

They are perfectly safe to eat, but they are proven to sometimes carry diseases such as brucellosis, which are supposed to be transferable from pigs to humans through blood or fluid contact, like aids.If you do a search on your local DNR site, they will tell you the precautions, which I have never much followed, nor does anyone else that I know But that's not a recommendation. Here is what the GA DNR has to say.

SWINE BRUCELLOSIS
Swine brucellosis is caused by a bacterium similar to the brucellosis
organism in cattle. It causes abortions in sows and infertility in boars. Wild
hogs in 10 southeastern states, including some areas of Georgia are infected
with swine brucellosis. It can be spread to domestic swine if infected wild hogs
are introduced into or near local herds.
Other farm animals are rarely threatened by swine brucellosis, although
cattle can become infected if they are exposed to the afterbirth of infected wild
pigs. Humans can get swine brucellosis through handling infected tissues of
wild pigs. Hunters are at risk when they clean or process wild hogs and should
take the following precautions:
1. Always wear disposable plastic or rubber gloves when dressing and
cleaning wild hogs. Avoid direct skin contact with blood and
reproductive organs.
2. As soon as possible, wash hands with soap and hot water after
dressing wild hogs.
3. Burn or bury gloves and carcass remains from dressed wild hogs.
4.Cook meat from wild hogs thoroughly (minimum temperature of
170 degrees F).

Item 1 and 3 I've never worried about, and neither does anybody else that I know. Never know anybody to have a problem either.

Wild hog is much leaner than domestic and probably a lot better for you. I've been eating it for almost 60 years and still kicking Never once wore gloves cleaning one either.

[Cracker Larry]

as long as it isn't a big ol boar, they're good eating.

Exactly. Big boar hogs are good for 1 thing, hanging a head mount on the wall with it's tusks showing. They aren't fit to eat. Try to pick a young sow for the best meat.

[Rob Eades]

After finding a DNR hog distribution map,it looks like you guys in the lowcountry swamps have hogs coming out your ears. I'll try to hook up with some ole boys up around Pickens and contact an old friend down in Marion.

I understand and appreciate the etiquette of traditional southern hunting traditions,but these "grab ass" pig hunts look like the kind of fun I could use in my life.I put on a starched shirt and a tie five days a week!

Rob

[Cracker Larry]

I understand and appreciate the etiquette of traditional southern hunting traditions,but these "grab ass" pig hunts look like the kind of fun I could use in my life.I put on a starched shirt and a tie five days a week!

I don't even own a starched shirt, nor a tie younger than 20 years old, and it's been 10 years since I've tied one. If I did, I'd go hunt some hogs with a good pack of hounds and a piece of rope. That will get the juices flowing again

[mechdave]

I like wild pig better than deer since i found this recipe. Take a backstrap and poke a hole through it length wise with your fillet knife, rotate the blade 90 degrees and repeat. This makes a passage into which you will stuff your favorite sausage. Coat with spices you like and wrap this whole thing in bacon. Wrap in foil and throw on the grill for a couple hours or so. I just got 2 does this weekend so I'll be making sausage next weekend. I guess I'm gonna have to go look for some pigs next.

[Swamp Skiff]

Last Tuesday I was still laying in bed listening to the news on the radio when I heard a grunt by the window(window is 2-3' away). When I looked outside there where hogs everywhere. Got dressed and put my contacts in. The 270win invited a 73# boar to dinner. He will be slow smoked and then poached in a cider vinegar and apple juice mix to make pulled pork. Darn good stuff. I do add just a touch of BBQ sauce.

The first hog I ever shot out here was a boar that weighed over 200#, he was playing with a basket ball on my porch 4' away from the front door. By the time I changed to slugs in the 12 ga, got dressed, and put my contacts in he was on the back porch. I actually shot him through the corner of the porch as he stepped back onto the grass. He flipped over and was done. He never had a chance to run or anything. He had no gamey flavor whatsoever, I mean zero, just a little bit more texture than store bought. So I just sliced the tenderloin across the grain a little thinner.

If you are going to run hogs with dogs then yes, I agree stay away from the boars. If you don't let boars run and drop them in their tracks then they are just fine. Most folks around here who hunt with dogs around here just bar the boars and then let them go. Much of it also depends on what they eat, don't hunt next to the city dump or when there is a fish kill etc.

I agree that wild hogs tend to run lean unless they are stealing feed or some such. Get some hog fat from the butcher if you want to make sausage.

Oh just a word of advice do not stand in the "firing zone" when you are removing certain parts on a boar that reside on his belly. You can aim it at someone you don't like though. Talk about a musky nasty smell...

Swamp