This Little Piggy

sawhorseray · Post by **sawhorseray** » Wed Jun 12, 2013 22:23

Didn't go to market, and certainly didn't have roast beef. Met up with old friend and legendary hog guide Tom Willoughby at 4:50am at the intersection of Highways 101 and 198 and proceeded to follow him down windy 198 in the dark for about ten miles, then turned into the ranch we were going to hunt. After not seeing each other for two years we said our hellos, had a cup of coffee, then I grabbed my Weatherby and we took off in his truck in search of that perfect sow. The ranch terrain was steep barren hills with not a single tree on the property, Tom said he hadn't hunted that ranch in maybe 35 years. What it did have was a barley field and a mud dam, the hogs would hole-up in the draws of the steep hills during the day and feed and water themselves at night. He said he didn't normally take clients to that ranch because the lack of cover meant any shot was going to be a long one, our past experiences gave him confidence in me. After driving the ranch road for about 20 minutes we finally came to the grain field as there was just enough light to make out the shape of a couple of hogs in the distance. We parked and walked about 300 yards as the hogs were working their way to the fence line right in front of us. Tom said to wait because there was another large group of pigs following these two about 60 yards behind and they'd all be crossing the fence line at the same spot, 245 yards from where we were standing, we couldn't get any closer. Finally a group of 25-30 hogs appeared at the crossing point, wet sows with piglets, a number of medium sized boars, and one off-color fat dry sow. I was set up standing with the shooting stix, dialed my scope up to eight power, and focused on that sow as the herd was quartering away from us and beginning to trot up the steep hill, more a mountain actually. I squeezed the trigger and the pig squealed and fell over, 260 yards, the rest of the herd off at a full gallop at the report, pounding up the mountain and over the top. Suddenly my hog was up and trotting after her pals, I fired three more rounds at the running pig and missed, we watched it make the top of the hill some 500 yards away and disappear. We scurried back to Tom's truck as fast as two 61 year-olds could, which ain't that fast, and took off in a mad dash to intercept the wounded hog on the other side of the mountain. We were surprised to see it had not only come all the way down but was now climbing a huge steep hill. Tom said the top of that hill was the ranch boundry as he slammed on the brakes, we hopped out of the truck and I got set on the shooting sticks, all the time my perfect little sow getting further and further away. Tom was on the range-finder and said "320 yards, and it'll be gone in ten seconds". I squeezed the trigger and sent a bullet right thru the hogs left rear leg, dammit, and it stopped and laid still there for about five seconds. When it tried to get back up it did a little back flip and started rolling end over end down the mountain side towards us, a good hundred yards, we were laughing with glee, until it hit fairly flat ground. We were able to drive the truck right over to it, throw it in the back, and drive a couple miles to the nearest tree to get on with the gutting and skinning. It takes me about a hour to skin a wild hog, Tom had it undressed in the time it took me to walk 40 yards to get the camera, the guy is incredible. Official market weight came in at 74.5 lbs, not my biggest, not my smallest, but a real nice sow. I was blushing with pride when Tom started complimenting my marksmanship tho I must admit, that was some dammed fine shootin'.

Nice white fat!

Cooling down fast

Post by **redzed** » Wed Jun 12, 2013 22:42

Congrats! Sure wish I could get one of those. Should make some superb sausage.

ssorllih · Post by **ssorllih** » Wed Jun 12, 2013 23:20

Long shot at a moving target. Why did she get up after the first shot?

sawhorseray · Post by **sawhorseray** » Thu Jun 13, 2013 02:41

ssorllih wrote:Long shot at a moving target. Why did she get up after the first shot?

I didn't hit vital organs, missed her heart by two inches. Being as the sow was quartering away from me there was no way to put a shot on the shoulder, thereby popping the heart and or lungs. They are very tough animals in the wild, able to run around with their guts hanging out if need be. It's not like pushing the cart down the aisle at the local grocery store, it all comes down fast and sometimes a man just has to take the opportunity presented to him. I'm not at all happy about wrecking one of the hams, that's for sure. Had I let it run over the hill and just gone on after another one the sow surely would have died and been left to the buzzards. I owe it to the animal to bring it to the table.

ssorllih · Post by **ssorllih** » Thu Jun 13, 2013 04:50

Some of that ham might make sausage. I figured that you would study the wounds. You brought the critter home and that is what counts. Well done.

Chuckwagon · Post by **Chuckwagon** » Thu Jun 13, 2013 09:14

Deer, elk, moose, bear, buffalo and all sorts of other critters I know about... but I don't know the first thing about a wild pig. That's quite a story Ray. Is there a limit on them? Season? License? Nice shootin' pard. What's the difference between a wild pig and a Javelina?

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon

sawhorseray · Post by **sawhorseray** » Thu Jun 13, 2013 13:30

That ham meat will make great sausage once I cut away the bloodshot meat from around what's usable. Fact is, aside from the hams I wanted the entire rest of the pig for sausage meat, even the backstrap will get tossed into the grind, I'm aiming for some high-quality wild hog sausage. It's a nice cool morning and I'll get started on the basic butchering in my garage in a hour now that the hog is cooled overnight, I'll debone in the kitchen later.

There's no season or limit, you can hunt them all year. They require a hunting license and wild hog tag, those are $19 a pop now. Until Arnie became governor I would buy a book of five pig tags for $7.50, go figure. I've been told there's quite some difference in what a javalina and wild hog taste like, I know javalina are much smaller. I've killed about a half dozen wild pigs that went 300 pounds or better. The boar in my avatar was all of that with four inch tusks, we call him Mr. Handsome. Time to get butchering! RAY

Blackriver · Post by **Blackriver** » Thu Jun 13, 2013 15:05

Congrats on you pig! Great shooting! That will make some fantastic sausage!

sawhorseray · Post by **sawhorseray** » Thu Jun 13, 2013 17:57

Man, I'm having a blast! Aside from getting a bit of grief from the boss about a wild hog with one good ham everything is working out perfectly. I got things parted out and back on ice in no time before 6:30 am, just set up shop in my driveway and wash all the blood down the gutter. What would life be like without sawhorses?

Some of the folks on their way to work slowed down to do a bit of gawking

The little ham that wasn't, will still yield some good sausage meat

The boss says I can go back down there in four months and kill another for my 62nd B-Day present, looking forward to collecting my carpenters union pension and social security.

ssorllih · Post by **ssorllih** » Thu Jun 13, 2013 18:16

Use that bloodshot meat in some blood sausage. You have just tenderized it a bit . What were you shooting? that seems like a lot of damage for an entry wound.

sawhorseray · Post by **sawhorseray** » Fri Jun 14, 2013 08:34

I shoot a 270 Weatherby Mag Ultralight with a 4x16x50 Swarovski scope, it's a premium weapon and will kill anything easily in the lower 48. Because of the California condor, I have to shoot a 130 grain copper hollow-point bullet, the Barnes-X, mandated by law to protect the over-sized buzzard in any area of the state it happens to frequent. Does the bullet work? Yep. Are they necessary to protect the stupid condor? Nope. Are the bullets as effective as lead? Nope. Do they cost twice as much as lead bullets? Yep, $4.00 a shot for me. I hate it!

No blood sausage for me. I'll cut away the meat I have no use for and cook it up for the dog. She's a happy dog, and a great eater! Tomorrow I debone, a 11 lb. ham is brining, I'm thawing 8 pounds of porkbutt right now, heading out in the morning to secure ten pounds of domestic pork backfat. Upon sectioning the hog out it appears one of the shoulders suffered extensive damage from the roll down the mountain, a gelatinous bloody mess that will lead to even more tail wagging. RAY

ssorllih · Post by **ssorllih** » Fri Jun 14, 2013 13:18

That is a very nice rifle set up must shoot fairly flat pushing that light slug with a magnum load.
Dog will be pleased.

sawhorseray · Post by **sawhorseray** » Sun Jun 16, 2013 01:19

I was committed to throwing everything into the sausage, even the backstrap

Loads of damage to the left shoulder. Turns out the bullet thru the butt found it's resting place after obliterating the ham bone and a couple of ribs, in the shoulder blade joint.

The sow had so much fat on her I've decided I won't be using the backstrap I bought yesterday, I'll save it in case I have to take a boar next time. 70 / 30 ratio of wild hog to domestic porkbutt, it all looks just the same.

All ground, seasoned, and mixed ready for stuffing in the morning. Fathers Day Wild Hog Italian Sausage with Cabernet and Garlic, 24 pounds worth.

This has been fun! RAY

ssorllih · Post by **ssorllih** » Sun Jun 16, 2013 02:14

Does it taste as good as it looks? It looks grand!

sawhorseray · Post by **sawhorseray** » Sun Jun 16, 2013 16:21

The test patty I made for dinner was fantastic Ross. The sow had a really thick layer of fat all over her body from feeding in that barley field for awhile, as fine a wild pig as I've ever taken, and I've whacked about 70 of them. The acorn drop usually happens in September so I'll go again in late October or early November. Wild hogs that have been feeding on a acorn diet have a distinct backround to their flavor, kind of sweet and nutty. Oh, it's all organic too! RAY