More hog guns: .30-06, .357 Magnum, Taurus “The Judge.”
and in the Taurus Judge revolver, a 255-grain Cowboy load. Hogs have very poor eyesight
but highly developed senses of smell and hearing. Camoufl age dress from hunting cap to boot tip is not a require- ment. Take the same steps to mask or eliminate your smell as you would when you go bow hunting for deer. Keep the wind on your nose, and move slowly and carefully to minimize the amount of noise you create as you move around. Stop frequently and study the surroundings in detail; if the hogs are hunkered down for the day, they’ll be diffi cult to spot. When they’re out and feeding, they make quite a bit of noise. They grunt, squeal, and are in constant competition with one another for the best feeding spot, so you’ll hear the sound of a lot of short skirmishes among them. Once you’ve successfully located
some hogs and it’s trigger time, here are a couple of tips to keep in mind. Hogs are heavy bodied animals and can absorb an amazing amount of punish- ment, particularly if that punishment is not directed correctly. A good rule of
thumb is to, if at all possible, place the bullet somewhere between the front of the shoulder and the eye socket. This placement will pretty much guarantee a “one shot, one kill” event. If you are presented with a head-on shot, place the bullet right between the eyes or be- tween the shoulder blades if the angle will allow such a shot. Bullets placed just about anywhere else may result in a kill, but it will be messy and potentially dangerous. The hog will run off and you’ll be presented with the challenge of tracking it into the deepest brush it can force itself. Finding it and then fi nishing it off in close quarters like that can be exhilarating, but I suggest you consider sky diving if you need a rush. You have your feral hog down.
Bob Moss • 620-428-5401 1003 S Adams • Hugoton, KS 67951
Visit us at
www.mossrifles.com to see a photo gallery of our Custom Built Rifles.
Page 100 July — September 2011
Now what? First of all, if you are not experienced in butchering an animal of this size, you should call around to see if any of the local meat process- ing operations will accept a wild hog. Chances are, unless you live in a rather rural area, they will not. Diseases car- ried by wild hogs are generally not a threat to humans, but they can infect other game or livestock, and the meat butchers have a healthy concern for the spread of disease. You can get detailed instructions from the Internet on how to butcher one yourself. Field dressing a hog is no different from fi eld dress- ing a deer. It is strongly suggested that you wear disposable plastic or rubber gloves during the cleaning process. Several unpleasant diseases have oc- curred in wild swine, and protection is called for. I also make sure that I have a container of water handy to wash down my gloved hands, any splatters,
and the body cavity, once the entrails are removed. Hog skin is considerably tougher and thicker than that of a deer, so it is extremely important to have a sharp knife and a sharpener to touch up the blade’s edge if required during the cleaning process. Wild hog meat is very good to eat, but I have found that the larger they are, the less palat- able they become. Given their eating habits, it’s no wonder that the big, old hogs can be pretty rank. Over the years I have learned that any of them larger than about 50 pounds are not worth the effort. Feral hog hunting has become a
fast growing business in many of the southern tier states. To fi nd a place to hunt and/or an outfi tter to work with you, performing a keyword search on your favorite search engine will reveal many opportunities. I tried “Hunt Feral Hogs” on Google and got multiple hits in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. Do your search by state to narrow down the number of hits you have to sort through to fi nd someone close to home. If you choose to work with an outfi tter, they can give you all the necessary information about licens- es, regulations, seasons (if any), and fees. Should you elect to hunt without a guide, on public or private lands, be sure to contact the state wildlife depart- ment to ensure you are in compliance with their laws. Containment of the feral hog
population in the United States is criti- cal in protecting property, crops, and the indigenous wildlife of the areas they invade. For varmint hunters, it’s an opportunity to participate in some exciting hunting that will benefi t the ecology and, at the same time, put some excellent food on the table.
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