Hog weight estimate guide.

LONESTARBOAR

Grand Poobah
Carry a cloth measuring tape with you when you go into the field. For a fast and 95% accurate weight within +/-10 pounds.
Formula used to estimate a hog's weight.

Heart girth is measured in inches using a cloth measuring tape. The tape is placed directly behind the front legs, wrapped snugly around the heart girth, and read directly behind the shoulders.

pig weight = 10.1709 x Heart girth (inches) minus 205.7492.


Using the above formula, we get the following:


40 inch = 200 pounds
42 inch = 220 pounds
43 inch = 230 pounds
44 inch = 240 pounds
45 inch = 250 pounds
-------------------------------
46 inch = 260 pounds
47 inch = 270 pounds
48 inch = 280 pounds
49 inch = 290 pounds
-----------------------------
50 inch = 300 pounds
51 inch = 310 pounds
 

Afalex1

LSB Active Member
SUS VENATOR CLUB
There was a time I would carry a hoist that attached to the hitch of my pickup and a scale. I would drag the big nasty hogs up the hoist with a winch and fight with straps and cuss the whole time. Then I found this method. It is 10X easier and just as accurate.
 

Afalex1

LSB Active Member
SUS VENATOR CLUB
The irony of your post is that the only clothe tape I could find on a quick rum to Walmart was PINK! So now I carry around a blood stains pink measuring tape in my truck. Anyone who sees it instantly asks "what is that?" Then I have to explain. Some people just don't get it.
 

PRyan1877

Roselle, Illinois
SUS VENATOR CLUB
LoneStarBoars Supporter
I too went to Walmart and the 60" was pink and the 120" was yellow, I bought the yellow and cut it down to 60" and never had any one ask a thing. You could tell people that with all of the bloody hogs you've killed the stain just won't come out.
 

Ratdog68

LSB Official Story Teller
LSB TURKEY BUZZARD PRESERVATION SOCIETY
SUS VENATOR CLUB
LoneStarBoars Supporter
Ya know? That's pretty close to "jacket size/weight
 

Brian Shaffer

Hog Hunter
SUS VENATOR CLUB
LoneStarBoars Supporter
I use this formula as well. I think it is one of the best ways to get reliable estimates of weight without the use of a scale and it is easy to do. I don't use a cloth tape because of stretching, however. I carry a small metal tape measure in my kit.

Do note that accurate measurement is critical for accurate weight estimation. You want the smallest circumference of the hearth girth or you will overestimate.

Also it should be pointed out that the smaller you go, the more problematic the measurements become and pregnant sows don't seem to measure as accurately either. If you get a 19" heart girth measurement on a piglet, he comes out to be negative 10 lbs. :)

You must measure the hogs ON THE GROUND. If you measure the hog while hanging, the weight will be skewed significantly depending on whether the hog is hanging head up or head down.

Also, if you measure the hog on the following morning after you kill him and finally find him, the bloating will artificially inflate your estimate. Hogs need to be measured when freshly killed.
 

Pootie

Santa Fe, TX
LoneStarBoars Supporter
Pig-measure weight.jpg
Don't remember where this is from, but if you don't want to do the math...
 

Pootie

Santa Fe, TX
LoneStarBoars Supporter
Sorry, the 325 rounding didn't fit with the patterning of the rest of the sheet.
No problem - I didn't produce this - just a pic of someone else's work. I didn't check but a few before posting, so coulda' been an error. Any dead hog is a good hog!
 

TEXASLAWMAN

Lone Star Boars Owner
LSB TURKEY BUZZARD PRESERVATION SOCIETY
SUS VENATOR CLUB
LoneStarBoars Supporter
I just round down to the ten pound increments myself.
 

PRyan1877

Roselle, Illinois
SUS VENATOR CLUB
LoneStarBoars Supporter
I printed several copies carrying one with me and another copy in the truck.
 
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