Good eats await! When I was a kid growing up in GA, we ate lots of wild pigs. 

I've cooked several sections (tenderloin, ribs, loin, shoulder) from hogs about that size and one whole 20 pound wild pig.  

The meat is very lean and dries out quickly.  As a result, when I cooked the loin and tenderloin like I normally would they came out "decent" but certainly not great.  The ribs have virtually no meat or fat (at least that's how my buddy who hunts the hogs butchers them) and I've pretty much given up on them.  The best results have come when I have cooked large chunks of meat like a shoulder and pulled it.  For best results I use a pre-cook injection (I get a lot of BBQ related gifts and I just grab whatever I have in the cupboard) and then a foil wrap after the temp gets to 160 or so.  The resulting pulled pork is outstanding.

Foghorn said:

I've cooked several sections (tenderloin, ribs, loin, shoulder) from hogs about that size and one whole 20 pound wild pig.  

The meat is very lean and dries out quickly.  As a result, when I cooked the loin and tenderloin like I normally would they came out "decent" but certainly not great.  The ribs have virtually no meat or fat (at least that's how my buddy who hunts the hogs butchers them) and I've pretty much given up on them.  The best results have come when I have cooked large chunks of meat like a shoulder and pulled it.  For best results I use a pre-cook injection (I get a lot of BBQ related gifts and I just grab whatever I have in the cupboard) and then a foil wrap after the temp gets to 160 or so.  The resulting pulled pork is outstanding.

This is exactly why I like it ground so much. You have the chance to add in additional fat to keep some moisture but you don't lose the flavor of the meat! haven't done pulled pork from a shoulder or ham, but it's the only other option I would even consider if i was focusing on the Egg. 

Cheers -
B_B

I will follow this.  Me and a buddy decided we would (try) to hunt some feral pigs.  He said he do all the field dressing and I said I would do all the butchering and sausage making.

I could be wrong, but I think that would work.

@nolaegghead What caliber?

That's big enough. Try to hit them right behind the ear going forward if possible and it will be lights out. As I'm sure you know they have a very thick shoulder blade and it is hard to penetrate sometimes.

Just something to think on. 300 Blackout. You can buy just the upper and use everything else you already have, even the same mags. It's based on a .223/5.56

ScottNC said:

Just something to think on. 300 Blackout. You can buy just the upper and use everything else you already have, even the same mags. It's based on a .223/5.56

@ScottNC Good idea.  I think I can pick up the barrel for $100.  At least that's the price at Anderson (but they're always out of stock on half of what they sell)

http://www.andersonrifles.com/product/16-inch-300-blackout-barrel/

Dyal_SC said:

@Nuke1855 is an avid hog hunter.  Any suggestions for him, Kurt?

I've done a whole ton of wild boar recipes brother from bacon wrapped wild boar "meat" loaf to apple smoke boAR lasagna to smoke whole hams. I'll post some cooks. I may have the recipes or photos on my websites.
Wil boar lasagna ^^^

A 5.56/.223 will work fine for feral hogs. Even the .22 LR will work on them with a head shot. Only the big boars have the fat shield on their sides, sows do not. The thing you have to watch out for is their heart is very low in the chest. It's not like heart shot on a deer. So most hit the lungs and watch the pig run away on adrenaline. I have shot hundreds of them and I highly recommend either a head shot (in the ear hole) or neck shot (spine runs in center, not on top). They will drop right on the spot. I also recommend not going over 100 pound hog if you want a good meal. Up to 150 is OK. 20-50 lbs is good split or whole

You can go 300blk but it's not needed. I own 2 of them and several 5.56. Not a big difference inside 200 yards shooting supersonics. Lots of people have had 300blk bullets pass through pigs/deer with no expansion so pick your 300blk ammo wisely. Most 7.62/308 bullets don't like expanding at the lower 300blk speeds. If you want to permanently change caliber to 300blk, a barrel swap is all you need. It takes the same bcg and mags. If you want to go back and forth between calibers, get a 300blk upper. And PLEASE keep the ammo and mags separate. A 300blk will go to battery in a 5.56 upper and bad things happen when the trigger is pulled.

As for cooking, best to slow smoke it. Either split small pigs or large shoulders. We normally do it in offset stick burners. Not much there for pork chops and t-bones even in the big pigs. It's good, but more of an appetizer than a main course. And if you grind it, you will need to add domestic pig fat to it.

For many years, I would drive from MN to TX every Jan to hunt feral hogs for a week with my Thompson/Center Contender pistol. I took two barrel chamberings on these trips, a 10" .223 and a 10" 7-30 Waters. I went for all head shots since I had only a single shot. I have eaten a lot of wild boar from these trips doing my best to try to keep the population in check.