Even though Cottingham’s mega-hog was, at that time, the biggest hog that had ever been killed on the property, an even bigger hog was killed the following year.

“My dad invited some bear hunters from North Carolina to come down and hunt hogs on the property. They showed up with some pit bulls in Kevlar vests and took off out in the swamp. They brought back a hog that weighed an incredible 706 pounds,” Cottingham said.

Well, that settles that. Yes, we do have some incredible mega-hogs in South Carolina. Let’s say, just for the sake of argument that you have read these big boar tales and you still want to go after a big hog. Here are some hog-hunting tips gleaned from many, many years of chasing hogs from the Carolina Lowcountry swamps to the high mountains of the Jocassee Gorges.

First, don’t take a knife to a gunfight. Make sure that you have a weapon suited to the task. Wild hogs, both boars and sows, have a tough leather shield about the shoulder area and it takes a heavy .30-caliber bullet, at least, to penetrate the hide deep enough to create a mortal wound.

Secondly, you can waste a lot of time looking for big hogs in places where there are only small and medium-sized hogs. You will encounter 100 run-of-the-mill hogs for every mega-hog.

Big boar hogs and big sows with piglets tend to be loners. Sort out the sign until you’re sure the tracks and mud rubbings on trees indicate “big hog.” Then start following that sign back to the big hog’s hideout.

Finally, and this cannot be stressed enough, make a plan for how you are going to get the hog out of the woods. When you are scouting, try to find a place to take a stand near a four-wheeler trail or an old logging road. And if you didn’t learn anything else from these harrowing hog tales, bring a good flashlight, or two or three -- and some backup batteries.