Posted on 04/28/2020 4:08:43 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Wyatt Walton is busy right now. The founder of Lone Star Trapping has set up shop in south central Texas, but makes his living capturing feral hogs across the state.
Trappers have expanded company to help provide food Want to provide knowledge on consuming meat On top of the traps and late nights collecting the animals, Walton and his partners have branched out, launching Texas Specialty Meats--processing wild boars and shipping the meat all across the country.
"You know, these feral hogs were brought to America for meat," said Walton. "Well, when the stock laws came, and you had to fence everything, these wild herds of hogs that they used for a resource over the years just went wild. That's where we got to where we are now." And where we are now, is an abundance of hogs amidst a global pandemic.
But Walton thinks he's in a perfect position to help.
"In this pandemic, in the shortage, we piled our resources and made it available. There was kind of like an overnight demand, people asking for it," said Walton.
He says the most difficult thing is convincing people that wild boars are good eating, especially in Texas, where more people have seen them running along the road, rather than being put in the oven.
"I've got to take some hogs over to the processor this next week that we've sifted through, and I'm going to get my cameras out and show a lot of that process, just because people don't know, and people not knowing is the biggest hold back," Walton said.
At the end of the day, Walton is a businessman, and hopes this venture goes as planned. But he's also aware of the situation we're currently in, and was the first to get involved and give back.
"We're partnering up with Feeding America, so portions of the box or portions of the meat are going into the hands of the needy that can't provide for themselves," said Walton.
It's the way he's seen this business going since he started it, and now that it's taking shape, he's hoping it's something he can hang is hat on.
"If [they] can say, 'that guy was a steward, he did something. Not only was he removing them and impacting Texas, but he impacted the long-term fight of this epidemic by creating a market.' I think I'm going to be proud of that if we can get there," said Ward.
For more information, log on to texasspecialtymeats.com or lonestartrapping.com
I thought boar meat was seriously tainted (as in rank as a billy goat)
A 300-400lb sow is decent eating, but it has to be cooked very well to avoid trichinosis, and then it gets tougher than I liked it. Had it BBQ-d once. I’m not a big fan of deer, caribou or black bear, either.
I am told the very large boars are not good eating.
Pigs under 150 lbs are excellent eating.
“...I thought boar meat was seriously tainted (as in rank as a billy goat)...”
It is...unless they’re killed instantly. Otherwise, that gland excretion ruins the meat making it pretty nasty.
But a young 200-300lb feral sow is pretty darn good eating. While working in south Texas, ranchers would bring em by the oil well pads we were working at and just give em to us. We’d butcher em, cook em and eat em right there....not bad at all.
In the early 60’s I had a neighbor (country Neighbor), who caught wild hogs with a pack of dogs. They would literally catch them by the hind legs.
They would put them in a pen for a month or so to get the wild taste out of them. Then slaughter and eat them.
“...In the early 60’s I had a neighbor...”
-
I currently have a nephew who will corral wild pigs,
and feed them out for a few weeks before slaughter.
Hudson’s On The Bend near Lake Travis made wild boar sausage that was delicious! Not sure if they are still in business as all the wild food was delicious.
The bacon cut is also good.
This thread is every bit as awesome as I knew it would be
Around 25 years ago I bought a really pretty pack of bacon at a local grocery. When I cooked it, there was a raunchy taste.
I returned it and the butcher said someone had slipped a boar hog by him. As I said, it was really pretty and had no odor uncooked.
I’ve got a friend in TX, and I’ve been thinking about asking him if he knows anyone who’s doing hog hunting. I don’t have any larger caliber rifles outside of my husband’s Kar98, and I know my .223 isn’t recommended.
We slaughter the wild hogs here in Texas and on a good night can kill 30-40 in a night. For eating we just cut the hind quarters off the 100-150 pounders. This is helicopter hunting. For eradication not fun.
They cook up really well on the grill. Gas or charcoal.
I currently am plagued with feral hogs. We trapped and killed two. The rest are too smart to be trapped.
I imagine younger ones taste a lot better.
When I was a kid we ate a lot of wild game mostly squirrel. The young ones were much better in every way.
“...and I know my .223 isn’t recommended....”
Dunno about so called “recommendations”, but a .223 loaded with 50-60 gr. Nosler ballistic tips seems to work just fine on em. It’s more shot placement than anything else. I’ve seen one guy take one with a .17HMR round right to the head and she dropped like a rock.
It’s all about shot placement...
Where do you think Boar’s Head meat comes from?
/s
I know a government (Texas) trapper that runs ‘em down with dogs and sticks a knife in them.
.223 or 5.56 is THE preferred round for shooting pigs from helicopters. Must be hollow points. That is about the only round used to kill pigs from helicopters, and that round kills many per year!!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.