If you’re looking for meat, don’t be tpmeted to shoot the big one . It will mean nothing but tough meat that will only be good for sausage. I find that often times I come up on hogs in a group, and will be able to choose between them. picking a pig out that’s mid-size will save a lot of heartache when the butcher is asking how you’d like the meat prepared (assuming you’re taking it to a butcher after cleaning it).Also remember that they are nearly blind but have excellent smell. Keeping tabs on the wind would be a good choice.
We always butcher our own meat, and use all of it. I can not eat domestic pork (probably because of the hormones and such that is added to the feeds), so we make a lot of whole hog sausage. I like the hogs in the 80-120 pound range best for meat. You get the greatest meat to waste ratio in that area. You are right, if they can have the possiblity of being tough, but we made hams from the last ones, along with the sausage, and they were excellent!
huntingmotherearth 
If you’re looking for meat, don’t be tpmeted to shoot the big one . It will mean nothing but tough meat that will only be good for sausage. I find that often times I come up on hogs in a group, and will be able to choose between them. picking a pig out that’s mid-size will save a lot of heartache when the butcher is asking how you’d like the meat prepared (assuming you’re taking it to a butcher after cleaning it).Also remember that they are nearly blind but have excellent smell. Keeping tabs on the wind would be a good choice.
We always butcher our own meat, and use all of it. I can not eat domestic pork (probably because of the hormones and such that is added to the feeds), so we make a lot of whole hog sausage. I like the hogs in the 80-120 pound range best for meat. You get the greatest meat to waste ratio in that area. You are right, if they can have the possiblity of being tough, but we made hams from the last ones, along with the sausage, and they were excellent!