'Gargantuan' wild hog weighing nearly 800 pounds caught in Texas

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A ginormous hog that tipped the scale at 790 pounds is living carefree, and getting fed and watered down in his corral – for now.

The hog was bagged after what could be a catch of a lifetime for Blaine Garcia and Wyatt Walton on a ranch Jan. 16 in De Leon, a town about 35 minutes west of Stephenville and 95 miles southwest of Fort Worth.

That Friday was an ordinary day of hunting on land owned by Comanche County Commissioner Jimmy Dale Johnson, until Garcia found the signs of a large hog in the area.

“I did a double take. I couldn’t believe his size, and he took off running down a draw. I tried to walk up and get a better look but he kept running off as I approached,” Garcia told The Flash Today.

Garcia then called his “good buddy” Walton for help to take down the hog, he said in a phone interview with the San Antonio Express-News.

Hunters Blaine Garcia and Wyatt Walton caught a 790-pound boar on Friday, Jan. on a ranch Jan. 16, 2015, on a ranch in De Leon, a town about 35 minutes west of Stephenville. Garcia and Walton are debating the fate of the male hog, but the hog is getting around-the-clock-care. less Hunters Blaine Garcia and Wyatt Walton caught a 790-pound boar on Friday, Jan. on a ranch Jan. 16, 2015, on a ranch in De Leon, a town about 35 minutes west of Stephenville. Garcia and Walton are debating the ... more Photo: Courtesy Photo: Courtesy Image 1 of / 26 Caption Close 'Gargantuan' wild hog weighing nearly 800 pounds caught in Texas 1 / 26 Back to Gallery

He added that they caught the hog with their two bulldogs, a technique used often to help take down a hog while hunters tie the animal’s legs.

“When I first saw him, Blaine’s dog looked like an earring or some kind of jewelry hanging off the hog’s head, but it really wasn’t until we got ahold of the hog that I realized how big and powerful this animal was,” Walton told The Flash Today. “We’ve tied hundreds of hogs and there has never been anything like this boar.”

Steve Lightfoot, an information specialist for the Texas Parks and Wildlife, said the department does not keep record of boar measurements, but he has heard of hunters capturing hogs weighing about 1,000 pounds.

“Anything that is this size is gargantuan,” Lightfoot said about Garcia and Walton’s catch.

The two had to use ratchet straps to secure the hog, and then they shipped it to its now-temporary home, a cattle corral.

Garcia said he and Walton are debating the fate of the male hog, but the hog is getting around-the-clock-care.

“We may end up doing that (selling the hog) in the future, but for right now, we’re undecided on what we’re going to do,” he said. “It’s something that maybe we’re going to think on for a little bit.”

He adds: “Me and Wyatt do this as a hobby, but we also do this as a business.”

The two long-time hunters recently started their business, Boar Collector Feral Hog Removal, because of the large amount of feral hogs in Texas.

Over 2.6 million feral hogs roam Texas, and they have been making headlines because of their damage to crops and fields.

Because of the problem, Texas Parks and Wildlife and the U.S. Department of Agriculture has looked into using bacon preservative to poison feral hogs and started a yearly “Hog Out Month” in October that puts no limits on hog hunting.

rsalinas@mysa.com