Big hog

[Bedrock Bob]

My son and his cousins have been hunting hogs for a few days. They have killed several. Tonight they got a pretty big one.

Not an air rifle kill but I thought someone might get a kick out of seeing this big rascal.

 

[Vetmx]

Even though they are 4 feet behind it so the reality of the picture is distorted, that’s still a serious hog.

 

[BlackICE]

Even though they are 4 feet behind it so the reality of the picture is distorted, that’s still a serious hog.

Maybe they are 20' back.

 

[Bedrock Bob]

Even though they are 4 feet behind it so the reality of the picture is distorted, that’s still a serious hog.

An old boar. About 325# or so. His cutters are worn down to nubs.

They shot 4 so far. This is the only big one. The rest were about 150-200. The guy in the center killed a 500# a couple years back. I think he shot this one too.

You don't hold a big bass up against your chest for a photo do you?

 

[Bedrock Bob]

Here is a little sow my son got yesterday...

They'll be out for a couple more days. The hogs are thick. Maybe they'll get a whopper.

 

[Vetmx]

An old boar. About 325# or so. His cutters are worn down to nubs.

They shot 4 so far. This is the only big one. The rest were about 150-200. The guy in the center killed a 500# a couple years back. I think he shot this one too.

You don't hold a big bass up against your chest for a photo do you?

A 500lb hog is crazy. A 500lb black bear is a brute. I wonder how old a hog is that reaches that kind of weight. I don’t long arm anything. Because someone will eventually see it on my wall and I don’t want them to be disappointed. Or not recognize it.

 

[Hal4son]

A 500lb hog is crazy. A 500lb black bear is a brute. I wonder how old a hog is that reaches that kind of weight. I don’t long arm anything. Because someone will eventually see it on my wall and I don’t want them to be disappointed. Or not recognize it.

Long arming is a just another variation of liar. Bass fishermen are the worst kind of proud liars and have normalized it.

 

[Bedrock Bob]

Long arming is a just another variation of liar. Bass fishermen are the worst kind of proud liars and have normalized it.

Come on man. A guy catches a big fish and he takes the best photo he can. So what?

The fish is as big as it is. A hog too. It's as long as a tape measure says it is and as heavy as the scale says it is. If you are confused by a photo that's YOUR problem. Not the fisherman.

Characterizing a group of sportsmen as "liars" is tacky crap and I'm calling you out on that. If you don't like the pictures then don't look.

I shared a photo I thought might be enjoyable. You start calling people liars. It's not good conversation and you are being a huge drag. Please ***move along.

 

[kayaker]

Tell the boys congrats for me, you can tell by their smiles they had fun. Nothing small about that brute, do they eat any of them ? also, care to say what state they are hunting ? thanks for posting.

 

[Bedrock Bob]

Tell the boys congrats for me, you can tell by their smiles they had fun. Nothing small about that brute, do they eat any of them ? also, care to say what state they are hunting ? thanks for posting.

It's Fayette Co. Texas. These three own a ranch about 900 acres there. They all get together at Thansgiving each year for a hunt. They have been hunting together since they were kids. They have whopper whitetail deer on some fantastic food plots, turkey everywhere, big hogs, a couple fishing ponds with bass and catfish.

The hogs are periodic.sometimes they just aren't there. Then one day they are everywhere. They ruin the food plot, eat the turkey eggs and foul the ponds.

They butcher the young ones. A buddy in Fayetteville makes Geman sausage and cured ham and jerky. Those big old boars aren't fit to eat.

 

[Vetmx]

Deceitful photography is common amongst all things fishing and hunting. My taxidermist gets all the deer from local outfitters to cape. They send a photo before they bring it. It’s hilarious comparing the photo to what they actually bring. We all get good laughs every year. But those photos make it to the eyes of new clients and keep the ball rolling. But like Bob said, a photo can lie, but not a tape measure and scale.

Here’s the last bear I shot. And this is one of the photos that friends and family received. Nowadays, I know I’m in the minority. I could have blown it up in a well posed trophy shot. I just don’t.

I would still like to know the age of a 300+ pound hog and that 500 pounder. A 500 pounder is just incredible.

 

[Ricklin]

I have heard the little ones are quite tasty, or can be depending on their diet. I'm jealous we have no feral hog opportunities here. Not envious, it's about the last thing you want in the woods. Seems like the trapping is finally denting their numbers some. Fun to see some good old boy trap 20 at a time on youtube.

 

[Hal4son]

Come on man. A guy catches a big fish and he takes the best photo he can. So what?

The fish is as big as it is. A hog too. It's as long as a tape measure says it is and as heavy as the scale says it is. If you are confused by a photo that's YOUR problem. Not the fisherman.

Characterizing a group of sportsmen as "liars" is tacky crap and I'm calling you out on that. If you don't like the pictures then don't look.

I shared a photo I thought might be enjoyable. You start calling people liars. It's not good conversation and you are being a huge drag. Please piss off.

Not surprised you don't get it. I know a guy that asked the taxidermist to lift the horns an inch or two on a pronghorn. Fake is more than skin deep. Not all sportsmen are liars but there are sure more than enough that are that deceptive photography has become the norm.

 

[Bedrock Bob]

I have heard the little ones are quite tasty, or can be depending on their diet. I'm jealous we have no feral hog opportunities here. Not envious, it's about the last thing you want in the woods. Seems like the trapping is finally denting their numbers some. Fun to see some good old boy trap 20 at a time on youtube.

They are a scourge on the earth. Especially here in the New Mexico wilderness.

In Texas it's all private land. Farms, plots, roads everywhere. They push from one little rachito to the other. You can hunt them fairly easily or run them down the road.

Some of those Texas hog hunters in the 80's had resort property in New Mexico. They brought a few hogs to hunt and turned them loose. Miles of track less wilderness. Many millions of acres. Very few roads. No private land to speak of. 7000 ft. Valleys and 9000 ft. peaks. You have to hunt on foot. It's remote. You are 60 miles from outer space and 100 miles from a post office.

Those hogs go wild here. They don't multiply as fast because of the cold weather. It took 20 years and millions of dollars to get rid of (most of) them in the mountains. In the flatlands on the Pecos they are still thick. A sub zero blizard is the only thing that can really slow them down.

We've had feral lard hogs here since before 1900. The miners ate elk and preserved it with a thick coating of lard. They bred lard hogs and of course some got loose. There are still lard hogs on the Grey Ranch from the old mining days. They are feral domestic hogs though. Not hogs with European boar ancestry. They haven't spread far from the location they started 125 years ago.

 

[Bedrock Bob]

Not surprised you don't get it. I know a guy that asked the taxidermist to lift the horns an inch or two on a pronghorn. Fake is more than skin deep. Not all sportsmen are liars but there are sure more than enough that are that deceptive photography has become the norm.

Thank you very much for your opinions. They are truly a gift to this conversation.

How you feel about another man's game photos is of utmost importance to us all. I'm so happy you took the time to share!

Now that you have got it off your chest can we return to the topic? Or you can bitch some more if you like. Either way is fine with me.

 

[Hal4son]

Thank you very much for your opinions. They are truly a gift to this conversation.

How you feel about another man's game photos is of utmost importance to us all. I'm so happy you took the time to share!

Now that you have got it off your chest can we return to the topic? Or you can bitch some more if you like. Either way is fine with me.

The topic about airgun hunting? Yes please.

 

[beerthief]

I enjoyed seeing these pictures even though no air gun was used , and personally i do not think Air guns have any business being built to hunt large game . Interesting fact about "lard hogs" never heard of that before .
Thankyou Stan in KY.

 

[Bedrock Bob]

I enjoyed seeing these pictures even though no air gun was used , and personally i do not think Air guns have any business being built to hunt large game . Interesting fact about "lard hogs" never heard of that before .
Thankyou Stan in KY.

They were bred for their fat rather than their meat. Kinda like Waygu beef cattle. They are slow lumbering butterballs. The cowboys on the Gray rope them and hogtie them for sport at the Rodeo N.M. rodeo. Kinda like a cross between a greased pig chase and bulldogging event.

They butcher a few and have a big matanza (BBQ) at the rodeo. The meat is delicious and completely shot through with fat. Like waygu beef. They put the whole hog in a big pot in a hole over a mesquite fire and cover it with dirt for 6-8 hours. Then pour off the fat and fry the meat in it. It's called carnitas and is the traditional way to cook a pig.

The miners at the turn of the century ate mostly elk meat and kept it in the root cellars underground. They salted it good on the outside and spread a thick layer of lard over it to keep the air out. That's why the lard hogs were important. They provided the only source of fat for diet (game has little fat and its mostly inedible) and served as a preservative.

When the ranchers moved in just before WW1 they had cattle for meat but still used the hogs for fat. They didn't have refrigeration or electricity until well into the 1950's so the hogs were important. As soon as they got electricity the hogs went feral and are just a vestige of the old times in the Chihuahuan desert.

 

[tibor]

thanks for the education..

 

[Ricklin]

Bob,
Great post. History has always been my fave, used my love of history a lot in college to knock out requirements. Still don't have a degree. Making money got in the way.