Best way to field dress a hog. Any Tips/Tricks?

[reddog1]

When you gut a big hog you better have a strong stomache and or some nose plugs....
Who who that smell... smell is all around you...
I would only do the 150 pounds or smaller and then I just cut the backstrap and the hams off... no gutting.

[Bulldog7906]

once we got them back to the barn we would poke a hole in the skin, small enough to put an air chuck into, and turn on the ari compressor. the air would separate all the skin from the body which helped out a lot! one time we put on the compressor and walked off to clean another and forgot bout it, next thing we know we hear a loud explosion! went back and the air made a 5 inch exit hole!!!

[Wiederhold]

Hook a chain up to them and drag them far enough away that you can't smell them from your stand!!

[HSULongbow]

No need to gut.Lay hog on its side,cut from neck to tail along back bone.Skin back till ham and shoulder is exposed,remove them and then the backstrap.Flip hog over and do the same.Do this to a couple hogs and you will get the hang of it.You can make some cuts on the inside of the legs to speed things up.No mess no smell.

X4
You can hang it and do the same thng. No need to gut; just cut off all the meat you want and leave the rest for the coyotes. no mess, no smell, and you can do it at camp without fouling the campsite.

[ArrowRanger]

I hangem and skin'em just like deer.
But as we all know they are tougher/thicker hide than deer and the course hair and mud etc...sure makes work for a knifes edge and a pair of hands can really cramp/fatigue yanking the hide down.
Have done the rock under the cape rope pull method. It works if you make the relief cuts correctly. And your "meat pole" is solid and secure.

[Dirtymike]

X4
You can hang it and do the same thng. No need to gut; just cut off all the meat you want and leave the rest for the coyotes. no mess, no smell, and you can do it at camp without fouling the campsite.

I would do this if one public lands where no atv, tractors or what not. Also during the summer. But when it is winter and sausage time at the farm I hang them from the loader and skin, gut, no matter how big. Yea it is dirty job but the ribs taste great also and there is a lot of meat for the grinder. We made 500 lbs of sausge last year between 3 of us. I have some pics but dont know how to post them just yet.

[trozy55]

I will gut them on the ground then hang and skin. I found that gutting on the ground is easer for me because when there on there back all the guts get pulled away from there belly by gravity so I can make my incision without having to worry about nipping a gut with my knife. You can do it lots of other ways but I really like the ribs so I do it this way so I can keep them, to me there better than store bought ones.

[ajavelina]

I gut in the field. it takes away alot of weight when dragging or loading. i always start by cutting in the pelvic region to the bone split the leg tendons right there to the guts, slide my knife up in and run it all the way up the the center of the ribs then split the ribs up to the neck. it makes it easy to cut the esophagus and diaphram to pull the guts down to the pelvic region and either just cutting the intestine as close to the end as possible or break the pelvic bone in half and cutting out the private parts. it helps to keep a little bit cleaner. then back at camp hang by back legs skin around legs and pull the skin down to get desired meat. if its a big boar and the meat has a little taint to it keep it in a cooler with ice for a week draining the excess water every day. that really helps get the smell out.
Good luck and happy hunting!

[EnglishRedneck]

I also dress in the field, but I don't gut. I skin either from belly back or back front depending on how it drops, and quarter out the hams and shoulders right there. I take the loin (Backstrap) and then dig in for the tenderloin, and leave the rest for the yotes. I suppose if I had somewhere nice to hang it up and butcher for ribs etc, I would! I still wouldn't gut though - no need to get into all that stink and mess when it's just not necessary or helpful. The only time would ever gut an animal first is if I know I will have to make several long trips hauling out meat, and it needs to cool rapidly. JM2C!

[jpetty]

we never hang. we take what we want with it on the ground

[conroetomkat]

These guys are dressed for the field.

[TxouT]

It's nice when it's cool enough to allow for dragging out the whole pig. If it's hot I shoot for a smaller pig that I can throw over my shoulder or drag easily. I'm always prepared with a large cooler in the boat to throw the whole pig on ice ASAP. (gutted) The ribs are the best part IMHO and I would hate to leave them for the scavengers.

I hang my pigs by putting a rope through the jaw and pull the hide down. I use a box cutter with a linoleum blade and cut around the neck, feet and anus. Then I cut the hide into strips. Big pig small strips; small pig big strips. I use channel locks to grip the strips and peel them down.

I think everyone has their preferred way to get it done, but there are some good tips here. Great offseason thread, thanks guys!

[jreyna920]

No need to gut.Lay hog on its side,cut from neck to tail along back bone.Skin back till ham and shoulder is exposed,remove them and then the backstrap.Flip hog over and do the same.Do this to a couple hogs and you will get the hang of it.You can make some cuts on the inside of the legs to speed things up.No mess no smell.

exactly..... ive been watching this thread because i just randomly started doing it this way one day and its so quick.... clean..... and easier. i knew someone else had to do it this way

[rtwhitesell11]

ribs

[casper]

I hang by the head and don't gut. Cut the Hide from top to bottom down the belly and back to pull the hide off in two pieces. Cut the shoulders off, the backstraps out and then the hams. You can then reach in and pull the tenderloins out. Discard the rest. I have a weak stomach when it comes to cleaning game and this works best for me.