Yeah, I admit.....my initial cynical (critical?) thought was.........if you don?t have a scale, you can tell or let your clients believe whatever they will/want to believe about how big their trophy pig was. Kinda like telling them to sit further back from their animal to make it look bigger in a picture. All those tricks of the trade to boost hunter ego or promote sales/hunts.

Yes. I?m sorry that I?ve been jaded by so many less than honest outfitter practices.

But, it seems I was incorrect as James said they actually do have a scale at the barn. So, I apologize for my unsubstantiated thought.

I do find it odd that they don?t weigh every animal taken for ranch records. Every ranch I have and do work with or for practices this. Just part of a management plan.

I also find the gutting in the proverbial field of a comparatively small high fence operation (are they high fenced?) to be an odd practice. Just from a tidiness/cleanliness/appearance basis. In case another hunter later that day walks by and sees a gut pile just laying around or whatever.

Again, none of the ranches I worked/work/have experience with/for want animals gutted in the field. They have facilities at the lodge or barn for taking care of rumen and by product.

The only places that often don?t care terribly are the farmers I cull pigs for. They tell me to shoot them all and leave them lay in plowed fields or drag them to the edge of planted fields and leave them. They either plow them under or burry them off with a tractor later. They just want me shooting every pig I see.

Now, I don?t typically like leaving them lay. I try to find homes for as many as I can so people can enjoy the meat. But, sometimes there are just too many or nobody wants them. So, I try to consolidate them in one pile in an unobtrusive location so the farmer can carry them off or burry them with a tractor.

I try to weigh any pig I butcher. Just for my knowledge and gaining experience as pigs tend to be on of the most exaggerated animals in regards to weight. They are hard or can be hard to judge and folks tend to err on the side of too heavy.

Anyway, carry on and good work again, James!