... from what I've seen of true "big game dogs" they can be way too gritty to make a good hog hound.
I suppose that depends on each persons individual qualities in what they feel MAKES a good hog hound. Some people prefer the grittier the better (and catch lots of hogs with those type dogs).
To me personally, breed is not near as important as is a good historically solid line of dogs. It just so happens I found what suited me in a line of Blackmouths. Heck, you can even look at it backwards and say hounds are best suited for bear hunting. Fact of it is, that two of my blackmouths parents are bear dogs for the state of Lousiana, and a belly mate to one of my dogs is a bear dog for the state of New Jersey. There are also people who coon hunt with blackmouths (lots of Ladner bred dogs) and you couldn't convince them that they're not using the best there is. It can work both ways if you look past a particular breed and find a line of "whatever" that pleases your taste.
