Advice for Picnic Shoulder

[StickyDan]

Hey Hey
Picked up a big old Picnic shoulder for 10 bucks.  I've never cooked one before so I'm looking for a little help.  I plan to make pulled pork with it. 
Do I trim off the skin? 
Should I cut it in half to help it cook faster?
What should my final temp be?  190 or 205?
Do I need to FTC before pulling?  How long  should it rest before pulling? 
I plan to smoke/cook at 250 deg.  How much time per pound should I give myself? 
What wood do you recommend and how much smoke would you use?

Thanks

[Habanero Smoker]

I can help with some questions. I always trim the skin and fat off, or you won't get much smoke flavor. I generally will render the fat down to lard, and if you search around YouTube, you'll find recipes on how to render the fat, and how to make crackling out of the skin.

If it is just the picnic, and not the whole shoulder; I wouldn't cut it in half. If by chance you have the whole shoulder, It would be better to separate the butt from the picnic.

I'm not one for using the FTC method. I generally will cook my butts ahead of time, until they reach the point where they are tender enough in which they can be pulled. After taking them out of the smoker I just loosely tent, and wait until they have cooled enough to be handled.

I find almost any wood flavor goes with pork, except for mesquite. My favorite wood for pork is pecan (hickory can be substituted), if by chance I don't have either of those I will go with apple.

[StickyDan]

Thanks Hab.  Due to scheduling conflicts, I'm gonna have to freeze this one until I get some more time on my hands.