Same here, is there something in particular your watching out for in the summer? I always try to make sure the feral hogs we butcher look healthy, just curious if I need to be looking for something else.

a lot depends were ya hunting ? my ta go to place was WMA... When hunting for (any type) warmer the weather faster on ice, main reason did the Jan. Feb. & March hunts... Key word in OP cooler... people get hung up on grammer...

have cooler & ice on hand, don't pass up hams & shoulders, easy way to do,you don't have to skin the whole hog

I've got over 100lbs including brats,breakfast sausage and italian sausage of hog in the freezer,(its now dog food). Make sure like has been mentioned they are small 80-100 pounders and sows! Me and mama cannot get past the smell when its cooking. Weirdest thing though is it doesn't bother my son and daughter in-law!

Oh I have no intention of harvesting big smelly boars. They can feed the buzzards and other critters.

I kill hogs year round and smoke the hams and backstops and have never had an issue regardless of time of day or year. Get then iced down quickly and wear gloves in case they have trichinosis.

What do the big commercial hog processors do in the summer? Close doors until fall?

indoors, they keep temps down..

People who like to justify killing pigs and not eating them usually like to spread rumors about how nasty the meat is. The pigs we shoot taste just like store bought pig just without as much fat. Now, anything over 200#'s, I wouldn't eat. But the smaller ones are delicious. Some people are narrow minded.

See that's extremely narrow minded to me. Elk stink like hell but they are one of the Tastiest wild game animals. Fish stink. Cows stink. Sounds like something a little girl would say

I dont even bother to justify it to anyone, shoot every one I see and let 90% of them rot away. No obligation to harvest meat in my mind.

I've never seen a slaughter house keep their live animals in the AC. They kill them and start cooling immediately, what's the difference? Kill it, get on ice ASAP and enjoy. Lots of folks make lots of excuses to not clean an animal, they just wanna kill and tell their buddies. Ive killed hogs from 50 pounds to 250 in July and they are all just fine if put in ice within a few minutes. All hogs smell on the outside I don't care what the temp is but I don't eat the outside.

I eat most pigs I shoot. If there is a sow in heat around the boars will stink and I don't mess with them.

You just need to get busy as soon as you shoot one. You can't go driving around and leave it sitting a long time. If you get to work within an hour after killing it you'll be fine...no rush.

Man I highly recommend throwing a cup of baking soda and a half a cup of salt in with your quarters. This brines the meat and tenderizes the meat. Really helps with the flavor in the end.
It's hard work cleaning pigs. Most guys would rather shoot them and use the excuse they are nasty. And some people really need them off their ranch. No judgement there.
In my opinion most guys are just lazy or not educated on how to take care of them. When done right wild pork is the best eating thing you can hunt. Pm me is you would like some cooking instructions I can give you a few flawless recipes that will make you want to keep every hog you kill.

its nothing about being close minded... iv skint and ate coon, armadillo, field rat, skunk pig, bobcat and plenty of more... which all taste better or about par of any wild pig I have had... and i keep plenty of wild pig in the freezer... there are plenty better things to be eating in the summer than pig... but more power to you lol

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lol funny my freezer stays stacked full of it and other meat... just not enough room and too many pigs to shoot... buzzards gota eat too

I like shooting hogs most of them I give away

I don't eat those nasty things anymore. Pork is cheap...........but I do shoot everyone I see

could be because he heard of that poison their using ta control hogs...
Seen it on FB, or maybe a hog had that tick they discussing in section... ..

its nothing about being close minded... iv skint and ate coon, armadillo, field rat, skunk pig, bobcat and plenty of more... which all taste better or about par of any wild pig I have had... and i keep plenty of wild pig in the freezer... there are plenty better things to be eating in the summer than pig... but more power to you lol [/quote]

Pics of the skunk pig?

Pigs are hot animals and will start to rot from the bone out if not cooled down really fast.
I would debone one as fast as I could and get it iced.
If it is a wet sow leave it. If it is a dry sow eat it up.
Don't just cut off the back strap, cut the hams out. Just skin it back and cut it off the bone. No need to gut it either.

Pics of the skunk pig?[/quote]

Hey no judgement if you don't eat them, i understand they are a nuisance. Just don't go around telling everyone they are not good to eat and too hard to clean. I can quarter a pig in less than 30 minutes with my benchmade knife. I understand the big boars can be nasty but the smaller ones are pretty dang good, atleast where I hunt. I personally feel weird about leaving good meat to waste, I'd rather give them to charity then let them rot.

Never said they were hard to clean... that's no issue... and they don't go to waste.. lots of wildlife get fed by them

I understand the importance of getting game cool as quickly as possible, especially in summer. I don't eat summer killed pigs because of what is available for them to eat, which being summer, isn't much. I tend to see pigs eating grubs under cow patties, and eating crawfish from overturned mounds. They will eat a fawn or litter of rabbits if they find them. There are very few feeders full of corn or protein in my neck of the woods. There is no mast in the summer either. I just can't get past a summer hog's diet enough to enjoy eating it. YMMV.

he probably supported bernie