My dad's side of the family has hunted hogs here in FL and south GA going back to just after WWII well before I was born; over 75 years since my grandfather shot his first one. They've come from south east FL, central FL, north FL, and south GA near the state line. Big pigs pushing 250 lb, little pigs in the 35-40 lb range, swamp pigs, hardwood creek/river bottom pigs, Kissimmee prairie pigs, pine woods pigs and it hasn't mattered. Every one got processed and only a few in all that time were "rank", the rest went to sausage, backstrap, tenderloins, and roasts. One of the nasty ones was a big sow I shot that that had just weaned a litter. It's not only boars that can be off.
Some were certainly better than others for flavor; diet related we always have assumed; but only those few noted were discarded for nasty. Notably, a few of the best were boars in the 90-120 lb range, so we don't discriminate. My youngest son shot a 104 lb boar two weeks ago that falls into that group, as well. Plenty of fat on the hog and good flavor from the first cuts we've had.
If there's a choice for me to make in deciding which one of a group to shoot, I'm more concerned with how tough the meat might be than afraid of the flavor.
Last edited by FLNative; 01/16/19.
