Bill Butler is in hog heaven.

For the past seven years, a feral hog has been eluding the Cedar Grove resident and last Friday, Butler got his revenge as he shot and killed the biggest hog he’s ever seen near his Yellow River home.

“I’ve been hunting this hog for seven years,” Butler said. “This hog was a rogue hog. He tore up a lot of pens and property. He was a rogue.”

Butler’s weapon of choice was a .22-250 caliber high-powered rifle.

Butler said he first saw the mammoth creature when he looked at photographs on his camera card.

“I hunt hogs behind my house,” he said. “I’ve been killing them down there for 29 years. I went down there one day and got my (camera) card out, and saw the biggest hog I’ve ever seen was on there.”

Butler said the hog liked to come out during all hours at night.

“This hog would never come in in the daylight hours,” Butler said. “He never would.”

The hog was well known up and down the river, Butler said.

When asked what he plans on doing with the animal, Butler said he’s going to eat him.

“Usually with one this big, you can’t find any that haven’t been cut (castrated),” he said. “This one has already been castrated and about three or four years ago, I saw him on film; I thought he didn’t have anything.”

In fact, Butler said he used to trap the hogs, castrate them and cut them loose about 10-20 years ago.

Those who had seen the wild hog venturing out at night up and down the river say it’s the biggest one they’ve seen, Butler said.