So, I just taped a hog at a conservative 53” heart girth and a 43” base of ears to base of tail length, which puts the hog ever so slightly over 300 according to the formula. Does anyone know whether the formula is reasonably accurate?

Depends on the region and general health of the population. But I've compared Heart Girth Measurements to actual digital scale weights and found it to be fairly accurate.

It is important to take the taped measurement directly behind the front legs and pull the tape reasonably snug.

Naturally, some hogs are just built physically different than others (some are longer bodied, taller, shorter coupled, etc) but in lieu of scale, you can tape them and get some idea of live weight. Pregnant 'Sows' (depending on how far along they are) will weigh more than the tape indicates.

Taped measurements have been used in the livestock industry for many decades. They are an accurate way to get a reasonable estimate. They are much more accurate than eyeball assessments, lift assessments, and drag assessments. Given the untared spring scales I have seen that some people have rattling around in the back of their trucks getting rusty over the last 10 years, I suspect they can be more accurate than many scale assessments.

I have had 2 or 3 hogs where the tape measurement was not accurate, but you could see that the hog was physically not right. One of obviously starving and another had an obvious swelling in the shoulder that I suspect was a previous injury.

Early on, I measured and weighed about 40-45 hogs until I was sure I was doing it right. I found that the heart girth measurement needed to be the smallest measurement you could find with the tape snug (not super tight) with the tape touching the 'armpits" on each side. Sometimes it takes 2 or 3 attempts to get the tape positioned correctly.

flintknapper provided you with the more complex (and slightly more accurate) heart girth measurement. We do a slightly modified version requiring less math that most anybody can do in the field.

Take the heart girth in inches, multiply by 10, and substract 200. So a 52" measurement would tell you it is 320 lbs. flint's calculation shows it to be 325 lbs. In reality, the calculation is 323.1376. The point here is that it is an approximation. Whether you call 52" 320 or 325 really doesn't matter in the grand scheme as they are both going to be pretty darned close.

Your 53" by the short field method would be 330 lbs. By the long method, it would be 333.3085. Given that it is an estimate, you know that carrying something like that out to 4 decimal places is nothing but false precision, LOL

As with the untared, rusty, spring scales that have issues, if you take the measurement wrong, you will get a wrong result.

Given that I am not in a competition or making money based on the actual weight of the hog, taping in the field is more than suitable for getting a good idea of what the hog weighs. If I ever get a pig that tapes over 400 lbs, I might try to get it to a tree where I can hoist it up on an actual scale, but otherwise, it is all just angels dancing on the head of a pin. With that said, I DID get my first 300+ pig (shot with Pig_Popper) on a scale. It taped 52.25" and scaled at 323 lbs...pretty darned close.

Thank you both for the excellent answers.

The aforementioned porker. Seemed unfair to talk about him and not post his picture.

KEEP KNOCKING EM DOWN.

Seems dubious to me

You can get a nice digital scale With a 600lb capacity for $30 on Amazon. Why second guess yourself on measurements and not just weigh the sucker?

Finding a place/way to hang them is not always easy depending on circumstance. Not a problem for me....but others might not be able to do so. So a Heart Girth Measurement is a handy way to arrive at a decent estimate.

But yes, reasonably accurate digital scales can be had for $50.00-$60.00

What flint said. But let's look at that more closely. How many people shoot hogs under the location where they weigh them? Most hogs have to to be moved to a location to weigh unless you have a hoist on your vehicle and can drive the vehicle to the hog.

Taping can be done in the field, where the hog dropped. Tapes are easier to carry than scales. And let's face it, in the grand scheme, except in the rare circumstance that somebody kills a true monster hog, does it really matter if the hog somebody killed weighs 200 lbs or 190 or 210? When you think about it, few people take the time to clean the mud off and dry the hair of hogs before weighing, otherwise, you are apt to be several pounds off, even with an actual scale.

Putting hogs on a scale will usually be better, but it takes more time and effort for most people to get a weight assessment. Taping provides a reasonable accurate assessment that is quick and easy to do in the field, on the ground, no lifting required, and is more accurate than eyeballing, lifting, or dragging to assess the weight.

+1 on the convenience issue. Fatigue in night hunting is a real thing. A few pounds either way isn’t a big deal.

I agree 100% with this. I typically hunt in agricultural fields, meaning I'd have to drag a hog to the perimeter to weigh it, and there aren't trees at every spot along the perimeter anyway. Taping is quick and easy, and it's definitely accurate enough for my purposes.

Valid points. I guess I am spoiled. I make sure I either have a tractor with a loader or a skid steer at the ranch at all times. I use the loader to cart off the hogs anyway so it is no big deal to lift them on a scale but I realize not everyone has that option.

Yep, sometimes its easy...sometimes not so much.

Most of the hogs I kill are back in the woods. At times I can drive up to them....but more often I have to drag them a short ways.

This one I snared in a very wet, muddy spot on my property. No way to get down there in a vehicle (and not have to winch yourself out), but I was able to get the 4WD tractor close enough to skid him out with a long rope. And since he had been caught by the snout (it happens) I just hooked that off to the bucket.

There wasn't any way I was going to hand drag this one very far.

Some folks are hunting planted fields or cropland that they are not allowed to drive in/on, so all of their hogs must be removed manually or left.

I rarely bother weighing or taping a hog any more unless I guess its weight to be over 250 lbs anyway. And honestly don't really care what they weigh. Kill them all, large or small. Do it as often as you can. They are a scourge.

This - as long as they are dead each one is one less.

I probably would not either. However in doing videos, everyone seems to want to know the sex and weight of the hog, plus the distance of the shot. My landowners also seem to want to know the sex and weight. So, I collect all that data to keep from getting hammered with queries. I used to scale my hogs. The hassle involved made it impossible to do on a regular basis.

Understand completely. Your situation and hunting circumstances are much different than mine. Its to be expected that Landowners and those who view your videos want 'details' and in that venue it lends to the story and accounting.

In my case....virtually all of my hog hunting is done for the sole purpose of preventing further damage to the land I live on. I'd much rather be tending to other things that need to be done.

To me, there is little distinction between a 25 lb shoat and a 250 lb Boar. They will both cause damage and contribute the population at some point.

IF there is a preferred target it would be a Pregnant Sow with some number 'on board'. Actually, if we were to think it through carefully, PIGLETS would make the best targets as they are not yet of breeding age, haven't yet consumed much forage and haven't YET created much damage.

For MY purposes....all of this is in the interest of reducing the population as much as I am able.

For the sport hunter interested in the meat resource or a 'trophy' animal the interests naturally change. They will want a mature animal in good physical shape.

Your videos (quite well done I might add) cover a broad spectrum of age groups and hunting situations. I can see why viewers would want to know the details....as many watch in order to enjoy the hunt vicariously.

Whatever the case, keep up the good work. You are in fact putting a 'dent' in them....and IMO that's a good thing.

Sorry flint, no thumbs up button here, so you get this emoji...

Not trying to get too pedantic about this but at the end of the day the weight only matters if you have a huge one IMO and want to know. Big pig? Maybe. Exact weight only matters in a contest. An "accurate way to get a reasonable estimate" is confusing to most folks - I would word that to read "this is good method to get a reasonable estimate". Accuracy and precision are often confused with one another. Accuracy is the ability to hit the target at which you are aiming. Precision is the ability to repeat the process and get the same results - one can be precise but at the same time not accurate. [Source: Professional estimator and hobbyist lexicographer].

I love it. A comment on accuracy from a man who shoots blindly into the bush..

Flintknapper...thanks for the tape measurement conversion chart and the tape placement tips from Double Naught Spy! Practical and easy...both are a great fit for me.
I am now adding a flexible measurement tape to my pig bag!

I'm into elimination and not trophy hunting but will take the big ones when presented with the opportunity.
The tape method seems to be reasonably accurate for me and gives me a good idea of weight.
I usually don't bother to measure unless it looks like it will go over 250.
If the tape says it's heavy, I grab the Kubota with FEL and scales and get a more accurate weight.

+- 10 pounds is good enough for my braggin. I did shoot a 48.5 incher. I like the X10-200 method, so I called it to be 290 lbs. I also use the brother method. I have him stand next to it and guess to mate it either under or over 250. lol This one is definitely over 250.

From what I have seen the tape measure method is a joke. It almost always results in a heavier weight that what the actual weight is. Everyone I know that uses the tape method kills a dozen 300 pounders a year. Those that use a real scale might kill 5 in a life time. True 300 pounders are rare.....unless you weigh them with your tape measure.

What is actually taped or scaled and what is boasted are often two different things. Once should not confuse the two.