The Hog Killin’; or Bubba, the Hogs and a Blowtorch.

[20cows]

The Boy and I went out to take care of the hogs we trapped Thursday.


The Boy took one with Puzzle Two with a really reduced .30-30 load.

One through the top of the skull did the job well.


I decided I’d do the other one with the Ruger Single Six in 22 mag.

It did the job just as well, though the soft point jacketed bullet bloodied a little of the meat as far down as the neck that the .30-30 cast bullet did not. Both shots went from the top of the skull and exited just behind the chin.

The only other feral hog I had ever butchered up to this point was a smaller china pole (sp?). Skinning that one made me decide not to try to skin one like a deer again. I had been reading over on Jr.’s website (I miss hearing from him over here) how he singed the hair off with the burner on the stovetop after cutting a hog into manageable pieces. That would have worked on the one I killed years ago, as it didn’t have much hair.

Two problems- I don’t have a gas cook stove and these hogs had HAIR.

No, make that three problems, these girls had LICE big enough to use as house pets.

I decided I would burn off the hair before taking them to town. I hung them in a tree and ran home and got my little propane blowtorch. This didn’t work. WAY too much hair.

Call me Bubba, but I took them to the alley entrance of my shop and did the work with my cutting torch.

That worked.

I shoulda’ made the boy get the camera.

[Old Ironsights]

Awww. Too bad you had to go and do it that way...

Much more interestng would have been to tie an ARF to each tail then let them out before shooting the dangeous critters.

After all, can't have ARFs running loose in the wild.

[20cows]

ARF?

[Old Ironsights]

ARF?

Animal
Rights
Freak/Fanatic/Farkwad/******* Moron, etc...

You know... Cougar Bait.

[AmBraCol]

Next time, get a 50 gallon barrel and set a few tires around it, fill it with water and set the tires on fire. When they burn down the barrel will be full of boiling water. Lower the pig down into the water for a few seconds, pull out and scrape with a knife. If need be, dip again. Works great. Those ARE hairy hogs indeed. Look like good eating though.

[20cows]

Sounds interesting. I know in the old days it was done in a cast iron wash pot.

I think burning tires around this county would be strongly frowned upon. We go back and forth with burn bans and the smoke of burning tires would gather a bit of attention.

[AmBraCol]

Sounds interesting. I know in the old days it was done in a cast iron wash pot.

I think burning tires around this county would be strongly frowned upon. We go back and forth with burn bans and the smoke of burning tires would gather a bit of attention.

Yes it would draw attention. You'd probably have the fire departments from three counties rendezvousing on your place. But that's the way granddad did it back when - before we globally warmed and all that. One advantage of the water over straight fire is there's no burning hair smell, the skin doesn't get scorched and the critter's clean and ready to be cut up. In Brazil we would sometimes use dried palm fronds to singe them with. General practice was to pile some palm fronds around the carcass and set them on fire. Move the carcass around as the fire burned to get most of the hair and then finish up by pouring water over the carcass from a five gallon can that had been brought to a boil on a wood fire. A dipper was used to pour the water and a machete was used to scrape. Didn't use a lot of water and got the critter clean too.

[Old Savage]

That is the same 22 mag model I will be getting - appreciate the test.

[AmBraCol]

That is the same 22 mag model I will be getting - appreciate the test.

Actually, in that situation, the Mag version's a bit of overkill. I've put down same sized pigs with a 4" 22 LR. Placement, placement, placement. A 44-40 will work too... down through the skull, neck and chest and deep enough into the dirt underneath that I never DID find that slug...

[gcs]

I used to build a wood fire under the barrel to scald them, takes a couple hours usually to get a high enough temp.

I was doing that one morning, getting ready for that days pig, when my old man stopped by. He asked if there was something wrong with me, I asked "how else am I going to get this water hot?"

He said, "you dummy, you have a perfectly good hot water heater in the basement, just turn up the thermostat to the temperature you want, and the water will heat up quick, fast and in a hurry."

You can learn a lot from an old guy, .

[Comal Forge]

We split the hide at the belly and the back so it comes off in halves - much easier to skin.

If you plan to catch a bunch of pigs, you might want to do what a friend of mine did and build an A-frame just for skinning animals. The basic design is a three sided pyramid about 12 feet tall and 6 feet on each side at the bottom. He put a boat winch on one leg at elbow height, with a pulley at the top and chain links at the base. The cable is looped through the pulley and brought down to be tied to the animal's head (while the carcass in on the ground). A chain is fastened at the base and brought to the neck. The skin is partially peeled then wrapped into the chain. At this point, the winch is used to peel the hog in one long pull. The skin falls to the ground and the animal now is hanging head up to be gutted and/or processed. I'd post a pic but the rig is out on his deer lease and not anywhere near this computer...hopefully, the description is enough.

[20cows]

The Boy and I spent most of today with knives and a meat grinder today. My electric grinder broke (just ordered a new part to fix) so we ground around 30 pounds of meat by hand.

The only things that ended up keeping it's skin were the four hams. I figure I'll cook them just like a brisket and really sere the rind before slow cooking the rest.

The hand grinder was work, but, as I explained to The Boy, seldom does one see so clearly the fruits of his labor.

[AmBraCol]

The only things that ended up keeping it's skin were the four hams. I figure I'll cook them just like a brisket and really sere the rind before slow cooking the rest.

We like to take one of those hams with the skin on and toss it in the oven, no searing, just straight in a roasting pan into the oven. Cook at around 300 degrees or so until done clear through. By that time the skin will have crisped up nicely and the fat runs down into the roaster. Pull it out, break off the skin in chuncks (great eating in and of itself) and slice the rest or shred it. It's great as is or you can add bar-b-que sauce of your choice. With the skin on we've never had to baste one and they come out nice and juicy too.

[m.wun]

I saw a butcher shop scald a pig with a big hand held weed burner
hooked up to a 5 gallon LPG tank. Nice big flame but not too hot.

[20cows]

The cutting torch had a purty big flame. Purty hot, too!

[AJMD429]

A chain is fastened at the base and brought to the neck. The skin is partially peeled then wrapped into the chain. At this point, the winch is used to peel the hog in one long pull. The skin falls to the ground and the animal now is hanging head up to be gutted and/or processed. I'd post a pic but the rig is out on his deer lease and not anywhere near this computer...hopefully, the description is enough.

Anyone ever use the 'truck bumper, rope, and a rock' skinning method we use on deer, on hogs?

[Dirty Dan]

I skint one on the first of the month. Go to the hardware store and get the cheapest utility knife with replaceable blades. Hang the hog like you would a deer, but cut the hide off in strips about three inches wide, from head to tail. Works for me.