The myth of hogs as "dangerous game" (semi-long rant)

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DigMe

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What is with this!? I'm following this thread in general discussion and once again people are characterizing feral hogs as some kind of invincible and deadly game. Yes, hogs are tough, and yes, they've occasionally been known to charge but I've been hog hunting plenty and I've never felt that my life was in danger hog hunting. I think it's these occasional extreme anecdotes that get people all fired up about hogs and thinking this way. Some guy in the thread says "if you value your flesh then you'll only hunt them from treestands"!! :banghead:
Also people exaggerate how hard they are to take down. Anyone who's been will tell you that there's the occasional tough old bastard that won't go down even with a shot from a large caliber gun but most hogs could be taken with a shot to the vitals from a .223. Now of course I'd use something bigger just for the sake of consistency and to inflict greater damage but I've been with my dad who's taken them down with a single shot from a .223 and my friend who's taken them down on the move with his .22 mag. I usually hunt with my Blackhawk .357 mag which will cut through even boars like butter with a good 180gr bullet. I used to use 12 gauge with 00 buckshot and that worked fine at the distances that we usually shoot at on my land, which are usually 30 yards...maybe 40 due to thick trees and scrub where the hogs usually are.

What do you people think...I'm asking EXPERIENCED hog hunters here...I don't want to hear from people who've been once or twice or people who have a brother that goes hog hunting and I don't want to hear what happened "one time to my cousin". My experience says as long as you use common sense then hogs are only marginally more dangerous than say...deer.

H&HHUnter,

What do you have to say about this. I've been hog hunting a lot but you've been way more than me. If you say hogs are dangerous game then it will make me rethink it but sheez....these people act like they're lion hunting.

I feel like the exaggeration comes from people who want to feel like they're doing something daring and dangerous without actually doing something daring and dangerous. Or maybe people who would like to hunt grizz or African game but can't afford it so they settle for hogs and then exaggerate to themselves how dangerous they are.

rant over

brad cook
 
Hello. In most of the instances where I've hunted them, they tried mainly to get away. Doesn't mean that one absolutely won't charge, particularly if hurt and/or there's no way out, but I've not found them particularly "dangerous." I do make darned sure they're dead before cleaning them.

Best.
 
That's been my experience too...and what animal WON'T attack when cornered and wounded, right?


brad cook
 
Hello. Yes, or defending young if cornered or one of them is squealing or some such. I suspect that if a feral hog was running right by you in the brush while escaping your hunting buddy, etc , it might take a bite or three out of the nearest leg. I do think that if a fellow was out and got himself hurt to the point that he couldn't get to his feet and a group of ferals found him, there could be a big problem, but in general I personally do not view them as dangerous game. Just large animals with the potential to be dangerous if wounded or cornered. I treat them with that respect.

By the way, the meat is excellent for those who've not tried this and I truly think you'd be doing farmers, ranchers, and landowners a favor by shooting as many ferals as you can...with permission of course. It is amazing the amount of damage these things can do. It simply has to be seen to be fully appreciated.

Best.
 
I saw that thread too. I find it amusing, frankly. Anyone who has hunted them much at all knows that they just aren't that dangerous. People hunt them with spears and knives, for crying out loud. Some of the guys on that thread are saying buckshot from a 12 gauge just ain't enough? hehe....I wouldn't shoot a cornered ticked off 300 lb boar with a 22lr necessarily, but I'd feel perfectly well armed with a 12 gauge loaded with 00 Buck, 'specially at close range.

I've taken them with a bow, a 30-30, a .270. Dad's taken them with buckshot, bow, a 30-06. They're not cape buffalo.
 
Hello. Yes, saw a couple cleanly dispatched (body hits) with a .223 using 69-gr. Hornady TAP. These were not monsters; they weighed around 200 lbs or so. Found one at a bit less than 200 yards on a still day and had a perfect rest for the handloaded .222 I was using. It was a single shot. I'd planned to hunt hogs that afternoon and critters in the morning, thus the deuce. (Thompson Center Contender that had been converted into a neat little carbine.) I decided I'd either kill it or miss completely so I cranked up the scope and used its ear opening as the target. Luck prevailed and the hog dropped and never twitched.
(SUPERB BBQ'd ham latter that week!)

If hunting hogs primarily, I'm happy with anything from .308 to .30-06 and wouldn't feel "bad" with a good ol' .30-30. Some guys who hunt them like .45-70 Marlins and I'd reckon those would put the medicine where the pain was, too.

Best.
 
I don't "hunt" hogs...I shoot them.

I have shot them with everything I own. 223, 22.250, larger .3x and .4x bores, shotguns, and handguns.

I haven't had many run off. I have never had one charge. I have walked within 20ft of grown bores and sows only to have them break and run.....away from me, never towards. Even sows with litters will run away usually.

I have hunted behind dogs some and if they get a pig cornered the pig might turn aggressive and fight....sometimes.

I don't run dogs but usually have a dog with me when I walk the creek bottoms. Never had one try to eat my dogs.

I've not seen aggressive hogs. Ours are predominantly ferals with a russian mix.

Thats my experience.

Smoke
 
Stephen,

I like the meat too. Usually if I get a boar I just leave it though because the meat is tougher and not as tasty. If I get a sow I'll sometimes take the meat. There've been times when I was out camping with some guys and we shot some hogs and didn't have any room to take and ice meat so we just cut out the fresh backstrap and marinated it and cooked it on the campfire that night. That was probably some of the best I've had. Nice and tender. I've had some great sausage too.

Yes, or defending young if cornered or one of them is squealing or some such. I suspect that if a feral hog was running right by you in the brush while escaping your hunting buddy,
Click to expand...

I've seen this scenario too and the hogs just kept running. No attacks.

brad cook
 
I have hunted behind dogs some and if they get a pig cornered the pig might turn aggressive and fight....sometimes.
Click to expand...

Yeah I think dogs are more likely to get injured just because of the way they physically latch onto pigs up close and force them to fight, or corner them.

brad cook
 
Well here is my take on hogs. They are to be respected as is any animal. And I think we can all agree that A hog has the tools to inflict damage if it ever comes down to it.

But overall hogs tend to be pretty timid and would rather run than fight. But guys like to make more out of hogs than they are in the danger department.

I have had a hog charge me on two occasions. Once in the open and once when one was cornered. I don't know how serious these porkers were but they sure can make a god awfull racket when they're riled. Niether of these hogs got very far before they fell over with an acute case of lead poisoning.

I hear stories from people all the time about being treed by hogs and I just have to laugh to myself. Hogs just ain't that tough or mean and I seriously doubt that a hog would hang around and keep our hero treed for any amount of time and the most likey scenario is that our hairy chested hero just panicked because most likely the hog was just passing through.

I'd have to say that of 99% of the charge stories I hear are either grade A BS or the hunter is mistaking a mad rush to escape with a charge. When I hear these wild stories of daring do from hairy chested hog hunters I figure that they are just looking for a little adventure and want to hunt a "dangerous" animal so they make the hog into one.

All in all I don't consider hogs to be very dangerous at all. Of course with hogs or any animal they can and will hurt you if you get ignorant with them.

Craig Boddington claims that the closest he's ever got to being injured by an animal was with a ferral hog his son wounded in CA and he went into the brush with a .38 to sort it out at close range cornering the hog.

Once again a lack of respect can and will get you hurt

The way I hunt hogs you don't want to use a .223 or some such as I tend to jump them at close range and wind up shooting them in the wrong end alot. A .223 doesn't have the penetration to get the job done in those circumstances. I like the .308 .30/30 as a senible minimum. Now if you're hunting hogs from a stand off a bait , shoot them with whatever you want as you'll have the time to place your shots very carefully.

I tend to use all sorts of wierd stuff on hogs like Nitro's and Lotts and H&H's and such but every one needs to understand that I do this for practice and familiarity with these rifles not because it's neccesary to use a heavy to kill pigs. Hogs are a great practice for dangerous game shooting as the shots tend to be close and fast the because of the way I hunt them.

As far as using 00buck I have not had any luck with it but it is done all the time. My thought is why use buck when we have slugs. Just a better deal in my opinon.

PS

I still get a kick out of hunting hogs. I really enjoy it.
 
One of my coworkers claims to have been treed by a hog. He shot it with a rifle and wounded it then killed it from the tree with a revolver.

I wouldn't swear that he's never embellished a story in his life, but he's generally reasonably reliable.

All of the other "personal experience" stories I've been told tend to paint feral hogs as a bit more timid.

I don't think hogs are quite as tough as some would have you believe. A friend of mine shoots them with a .30 carbine to keep them out of his orchard. He's killed a fair number of them even though he's not a very good shot. Another coworker recently hunted a buckshot only public hunting area for hogs. He and his party killed something like 5 hogs with buckshot. There's an outfitter in the area that sells hog hunts which use dogs. They recommend you carry a "small caliber pistol" to avoid shoot-through injuries to the dogs.
 
THe last time I took a group out on my land we killed four over the weekend and two of them were taken with 12 gauge 00 buckshot. One of them was probably about 220lbs and the other was smaller. Both fell and died within ten yeards. The third was shot in the leg with 7mm mag by a friend and I finished it with .357 mag to the head at 10 feet. The last was killed by me with two shots from my .357 mag. She jumped up and ran and my first shot wasn't that good but it crippled her and that gave me the opportunity for a headshot at 20 yards.

brad cook
 
As has been stated, other than possibly a hurt or cornered hog, they don't normally pose much of a threat. They just want to vacate the premises as did this one.

f72674e9.jpg


f72672c5.jpg


Since hogs have poor eyesight, when they spook, they are apt to run straight at you if they do not smell or hear you and I think this is often mistaken for a "charge".

Regards,
hps
 
The "normal " methodo f hunting pigs in this country is witha pack of dogs and a knife. The terrain tends to be steep and scrubby and carting a rifle through the vegetation is too darned difficult. Its also extra weight. A handgun might be ideal, but highly illegal in this country.

The pack of dogs has finders (they find the pigs), bailers (they chase and bail the pig up or stop it) and holders (they hang onto an ear or nose until the boss gets there). The hunter then dives in and sticks the pig with a knife.

You need to be very fit to follow a pack of dogs and to carry the pig carcass out of the bush as well. Lots of dogs get ripped, the occasional hunter gets torn, but the pig usually comes off much worse.

Spinner
 
spinner,

that's pretty common around here too. I just like to shoot them because I enjoy shooting. Also, I don't have time or money to train dogs.


brad cook
 
well DigMe,
back in my younger days, a few buds and I skipped school and went to Palm Valley, (its along the StJohns River in Duval County.) We were in the palmettos just north of SR 210, looking for hogs.
We found one alright. A fair sized boar charged, and cought one of the guys with a tusk, just above his knee. That tusk opened his leg like a watermelon.
I killed the hog with 6 rounds from my K38 Smith. We got our friend out of the scrub, and across the St Johns on the SR210 bridge. A really fast run up A1A, and into the emergency room at JaxBeach Hosp. Heck of a time explaining to the lads parents why we were in the scrub along the river, and not back in West Jax in school.

I for one, still believe that a feral hog deserves a little respect.

Other's opinions may vary.

Oh, I have taken a lot of hogs since then, so I think I do know a wee bit about their behavior.
 
Oh, I have taken a lot of hogs since then, so I think I do know a wee bit about their behavior.
Click to expand...

Mannlicher,

I have also heard of isolated cases of guys getting cut by hogs. they sure as heck are capable of inflicting damage as they do it to other hogs all the time.

My question is how often in your years of hog hunting have you had a hog get seriously aggresive with you?

And I agree that hogs should be treated with respect but the stories and the danger level is often blown way out of proportion.

Just my $.02
 
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I used to work for a farmer and one of the things we had to do was go out and capture or kill feral hogs. I've seen a lot of hogs shot with 22s and I've seen even more caught with rope, tied up and brought home alive. Not something to do alone, but it is do-able.

In retrospect, I've got to admit teen agers are pretty gullible and naive. A hog witha 22? Sheesh! :what:
 
And I agree that hogs should be treated with respect but the stories and the danger level is os often blown way out of proportion.
Click to expand...

And that's my whole point with this thread.

brad cook
 
Brad, I've not hunted them nearly as extensively as H&H Hunter has, but my experiences have been largely in line with yours.

I've dropped hogs cleanly with a single shot of .22 Honet and with a single shot of .30-30. I've seen a big sow hit too far back with a .30-06 go running into the bush, never to be found, too. I've seen a good sized sow hit with 000 buck go down cleanly (with pass-throughs, surprisingly enough).

I agree that most hogs just want to go root up something else.

That said, a lot of hogs are used to being the biggest thing around them. A friend of mine unloaded his Glock 21 into a large hog one night. I've no doubt that his aim in the dark was poor. The hog wandered into the brush. My friend ran after it, hoping to get another shot, and was surprised to find it just a few short yards into the brush. It snuffed at him, kind of mad. My friend emptied the rest of his magazine into (or "at") it, and realized he had no spare mags. The hog watched him, and wondered off into the brush. Hm. My buddy might well have put himself into the lore of The Dangerous Swine!, had that boar decided to charge him in those close quarters. But even then, it took off. My buddy never found it. He said that its back was even with his belt, and Steve stands about 6'4"
 
I laugh at danger! No 2-300lb wild hog is going to scare me. I hunt them here in the Jersey Pines with nothing but a slingshot and a Leatherman. I haven’t seen too many, but I’m ready for um.:uhoh:
 
Granted, it's been a few years since I hunted any

And they may have gotten bigger and meaner (I know I have), but I've never seen a pig charge a hunter. They'd get real aggressive with our dogs at the end of a chase tho'. I always used a .444, dad used either his 300 Savage or his 444 Contender, if my brother was along he used my 35rem. We were overgunned for hogs, but wanted to drop them quick so I wasn't stitching up dog the rest of the day. I can't think of any of them we took that wouldn't have died just fine with a good hit from a .357.
 
JohnBT,

We had a thread about that picture and there's debate about whether it's real or not.

brad cook
 
I thought it was 1200 pounds back then. :eek: It still makes a good picture.

I still think anything that weighs more than I do is dangerous. When I was little my daddy always told me not to climb on the hog pen and fall in. They looked dangerous then and anything that weighs as much as an NFL lineman has got to be dangerous now. With my luck I'd get run over by a half-blind one and shoot myself in the foot on the way down.

There're definitely some out there that are way too big for house pets.

3.jpg
 
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