Hog hunting question

My brother was a bush pilot in AK and was given moose all the time by his customers. They were all huge trophies. He gave me some from a front leg which probably had something to do with it and I had no idea how to cook it. I took a steak and threw it on the grill. You could not chew it. I probably should have beaten it with a sledge hammer before grilling but I did not know. I have tried ribs and roasts. All needed to be cooked until the meat broke down. I never got to try loins or tenderloins. A friend from newfoundland says they cook them until falling apart but they do that with everything I think. Moose is one instance where I would rather kill a small spike (where legal) than a trophy. I don't have wall space for a mount anyhow.
I cook all mine steaks and roasts to medium rare at most. All have been delicious and very tender. Have never aged any of it.

The only game meatthat I have found to be tough was a caribou and it was very tough and difficult to chew. I think I burnt more calories eating it then I got consuming it.
 
We all know shot placement is key. If you plan to make a heart/lung shot, you want a .270 at least. If you are taking neck shots, a .223 HP does a great job. I've had many hunters tell me that they consistently drop pigs using .22 lr and .17 HMR in the ear or just behind the ear, which is my preference. They are DRT and no meat is damaged. No chase, no mess, no lost meat.
 
We all know shot placement is key. If you plan to make a heart/lung shot, you want a .270 at least. If you are taking neck shots, a .223 HP does a great job. I've had many hunters tell me that they consistently drop pigs using .22 lr and .17 HMR in the ear or just behind the ear, which is my preference. They are DRT and no meat is damaged. No chase, no mess, no lost meat.
Yep. I kept a dozen pigs I trapped in a barn/corral. Wormed them and fed them. Tried to feed them and fatten them up, to no avail. I don't think they gained an oz.

Anyway, we would ear-hole one with a 22LR occasionally to eat.

DRT is right.
 
Funny story … two of us hunting hogs. We did the 1 … 2 … 3 shoot drill (rarely works right). Two pigs fall down dead. We gut his first, then mine.

Get back to camp and skin his.

No bullet hole. Anywhere. So we investigate. He says he was facing him when he shot.

Where did you aim?

His head.

Looked at his forehead and a 270 bullet clearly ricocheted off his head, knocking him out. Not even a drop of blood. Just a big skid mark with no hair.

We gutted a sleeping pig.
 
Funny story … two of us hunting hogs. We did the 1 … 2 … 3 shoot drill (rarely works right). Two pigs fall down dead. We gut his first, then mine.

Get back to camp and skin his.

No bullet hole. Anywhere. So we investigate. He says he was facing him when he shot.

Where did you aim?

His head.

Looked at his forehead and a 270 bullet clearly ricocheted off his head, knocking him out. Not even a drop of blood. Just a big skid mark with no hair.

We gutted a sleeping pig.
Holy crap !!
 
Just read this whole thread and alot of good points are made. I guess the bottom line is you can shoot them with anything if you shoot right behind the ear, or if you dont care to retrieve them.

One point about shooting them behind the ear- make sure you can make the shot. Its not as easy to hit an unpredictable moving target from a tree stand as it is to hit the bullseye at a range. Ive seen more than one hog that got shot in the face/mouth by someone trying to hit them behind the ear. The animals cannot eat and die slowly of starvation. They may be a nuisance but they deserve more humane treatment than that imo.
 
I shot all of my pigs with 6.5 Creed, 458 SOCOM or 45-70. It's comforting to know you have enough gun. LOL
I bought a Savage AR-10 in 6.5 Creedmoor a few years ago and plan to use that for 'far feeder' neck shots on hogs.
Otherwise, my goal is to do head (ear area) shots with .17 WSM as well as .22 mag (100 yds max). I have spoken to many hog hunters that swear by the small caliber head shots (not in a trap).
 
I bought a Savage AR-10 in 6.5 Creedmoor a few years ago and plan to use that for 'far feeder' neck shots on hogs.
Otherwise, my goal is to do head (ear area) shots with .17 WSM as well as .22 mag (100 yds max). I have spoken to many hog hunters that swear by the small caliber head shots (not in a trap).

After the first shot there is so much high speed chaos that I'm lucky to hit a pig at all, never mind in his ear hole. :>)
 

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