Hog Dangers?

[FrontSight]

Ok, time for a silly question.

Since I'm from NY, the thought of danger in the woods from animal attack isn't a real concern usually. Well, you might run into a black bear, but that's few & far in between, and never really a concern in the back of your mind, and they usually run away anyway. I'll leave snakes out of this for now.

But I keep reading on this forum about hogs & how dangerous they are & how they charge people all the time...

Being from NY, we don't have wild hogs here, so this is just shocking to me...

Are you guys saying that there are some parts of the country where everytime you go for a walk in the woods you run the risk of getting attacked by wild hogs? How often does this happen? How serious of a problem is it? Like, an everyday thing, or few & far between like a bear mauling?

This is wild stuff...

Thanks

[Wild Bill Bucks]

Not an every day thing at all, and I don't mean to alarm anyone with just cause,but like with ANY wild animal(And they ARE wild) they will mostly run from you any time they see you. BUT if cornered up, or wounded, or threatened by dogs while hunting, they are like any animal and will fight for survival.
You don't have to worry about them stalking you down and mauling you, but with any wild animal you should always be prepared for the danger of a random attack under the right circumstances.
You wouldn't go out in bear country unaware of their danger to you, so you should not go hog hunting un-prepared for that once ever-so-often attack.
Hog hunting is an ever growing sport and is a lot of fun provided you educate yourself to them and don't assume just because they run from you that they will not hurt you given the right situation.

Sorry if I scared anyone.

[FrontSight]

Aaahhh, cool, wasn't scared or anything, just fascinated. I'm SO hoping to go on a hunt for them, only bad part is the guy I'm going with can only go somewhere driving disctance from NY/NJ, so that leaves game farms in PA as my only choice, I think, unless anyone knows of anyplace better, that would be a great help...

Thanks!

[MarkTT]

if you miss, or graze the hog and it charges.. just do your best to get out of the way. they do often run AT you, not usually to attack but to get by. they will take a bite or gore ya if given the opportunity. so i suggest you be aware of any low branches or climable trees around you before you take your shot. just in case

nothing to be worried about though, hog hunting is a blast.

[Long Path]

Being from Texas, I know a few bull riders. Some of 'em limp. Most have scars.

I also know a LOT of hog hunters. I don't know of any of 'em with hog hunting injuries. (Though I do have a narsty barbed wire fence scar I got while hunting...)

[Harley Quinn]

You are more likly to fall down a cliff or twist your ankle crossing a open area and not paying attention. If and I say if a hog would charge hold your ground and shoot at his snout.

Try to put something between you and its path. It will go around and believe me they are just trying to get away. As they get closer shoot aim for the mouth or eye and when it goes by stick the gun in the ear and shoot. Talk about an adrenal rush, Huh?

I am just relating a piece of advise from the master himself Ashley Emerson.

I felt and still do if that hog is stupid enough to charge and the experience I have, and that last amount of knowledge imparted by Ashley. I was looking forward to trying it out. Close but no cigar.

HQ

[impact]

I could talk about this topic for a while. I presonally have never been charged. I made a bad shot on a sow one time and she jumped up and ran straight at me. I think just by chance she came in my direction. I jumped out of the way of the running hog. Then she turned around and came back and ran right by me into the thick brush. Hindsight is 20 20. The next time this happens I'm going to get off a few more shots. But at that time the whole situation just freaked me out. That was in my early days of hog hunting.

I like to hunt hogs one on one in the woods but I more often find them in the thick brush near rivers. One thing I learned is that hogs that come to feeders and are around people are different than hogs that live out in the wild that don't see people. Feeder hogs is what I like to call them. With feeder hogs it's more like each hog looks out for it's self. With wild hogs the boar will protect the sows and pigglets. They will stand you off to keep you from the sows and pigglets.

I've only known one guy that was attacked by a hog. He cornered a hog and shot it with a bow. The hog charged and knocked him off his feet. Then the hog jumped on the hunter and then tried to gore the guy. The guy was on his stomach. The whole thing was pretty funny after I found out the guy was ok. But he said the hog jumped off his back after he laid still. he then tried to get up and the hog hit him again. Knocked him to the ground and tried to gore him again. he said he laid still and the hog got off his back. He said this time he just laid there. One of his buddies happen to be near by with a gun and shot the hog. The only reason the guy only got some bad bruises is because the hog had no tusk. The guy was lucky! He said he will not shoot a hog with a bow on the ground unless there is backup

Now this is his story and I didn't see it happen. But he is the kind of guy that you can belive. Or at least he seems like a honest guy.

[FrontSight]

WOW is all I can say

[Al Thompson]

I have a very low opinion of the dangers of hog hunting. I've been among herds and chased down big boars. Know several folks who get them with knives and spears. If injuries were common, we'd see it published.

[armedtotheteeth]

this was from another one of my posts, but

I was hunting hogs here in Tx and tried to sneak up on a bunch of fat ones. Within 30 Carbine range, I had it one my back( I have several 30 round mags). I heard some little piglets to my left . and then i heard a very angry Sow to my right, Running at me out of the weeds. I grabbed my 45 auto and shot her right tween the eyes at a range of about 36 INCHES!. The bullet kinda peeled the skin off her head and dropped her head down. She was promply up and after me before the slide on my 45 closed. So i did what any self respecting gun addict would do and shot a few more times at a range of about 36 inches. Well, after i peeled all the skin off the top of her head and put out one eye and shot an ear off, she decided it was a bad idea to try to eat me. I was glad, cause the magazine on my 45 was empty. 45 no worky for pigs! Especially if they are charging you. Im looking for a 50 BMG handgun.

They are dangerous if you get between them and their piglets, or you injure them and walk up on them.

[Harley Quinn]

I understand they get pretty good sized, in Texas. I think I would have had a different shooter and a better handgun or the other way around.

Both of those are considered not mad pig friendly. As in putting them on the ground kicking and dying. But Go one with your story???

What happened? Did you deprive those piglets of a Mother?

HQ

[impact]

What happened? Did you deprive those piglets of a Mother?

Harley you must not hunt hogs When you shoot the sow the pigglets stay around. Then you shoot as many as the pigglets as you can.

[Jack O'Conner]

Years ago we lived near Napa, California. I recall an article in the Sunday San Fransico Chronicle about a hiker near Los Gatos that was treed by a feral hog. He stayed in the tree for a couple hours before the hog left. What caused this hog to become so aggressive is anyone's guess.

We often hunted wild hogs at Sonoma Lake (reservoir) from canoe. We'd go into the feeder streams to the marshy portions and find hogs in shaded places. They tend to run downhill when hit. If you're standing downhill, it could appear as if being charged.

I killed a couple with 30-30 but switched to .308 after one episode. That 150-ish pound hog absorbed two good double lung hits yet ran off about 100 yards before collapsing. I decided more power was req'd!
Jack

[Rich Lucibella]

Well, I once had a 400 pounder put a hunting buddy down and start shooting at me with his rifle. Luckily, the distance was about 650 yards and he couldn't cheek the gun well. Shot him with my 22-250....in the eye. He died right there. Unfortunately, he fell over on my partner and, by the time I got thru the 650 yards of thick brush, he'd suffocated to death. I ended up mounting 'em both.

Seriously, I've seen sows turn and stand their ground, grunting in protection of young-uns; but a deliberate charge? Never.

My feeling is that hogs are single minded. When they decide to un-ass an area they do so; if you happen to be standing in that 1/360 degree of the compass, they MAY be single minded enough to go thru you rather than around you. That is then labeled a deliberate "attack".
Rich

[Long Path]

During a bungled spot-'n'-stock with Rich and Ashley, I stalked up on a group of hogs in a clearing. The biggest was probably about 200+ pounds, at the rar end of the clearing (~80 to 100 yards) and I was trying to stalk up into pistol range to use my .44.

The nearest was about 20 yards away, and was only about 100 to 120 lbs. I was basically in plain view of it, but was moving carefully, and thought that I could get closer (I was downwind). Suddenly, the porker saw something strange, and focused on me. He snorted, which got the others' attention. Then he quickly advanced toward me for about 3 to 5 yards. I remember thinking, as I began to draw my Super Blackhawk, "A charge? No kidding? How cool is that?!?" I stepped behind a small mesquite bush to try to give myself more concealment, and he figured out what I was, immediately reversed direction, and sounded the alarm. I switched to rifle and launched a poorly-shot round of .35 Whelen after the big hog running across the clearing. Never cut hair.

That smaller pig that "charged" me wasn't, IMO, actually charging. He was acting as a sentinal, trying to quickly find out what I was, and then even quicker running away. That 10 to 15 feet of advance toward me (made at a short sprint, BTW) was the equivalent of someone saying, "what is that? What IS that??? Oh, crap! RUN!"

But it was pretty nifty, nonetheless.

[Harley Quinn]

Really that is what you, seem to remember.

I had a skunk charge me one time. I ran like heck. I was deer hunting with a bow and it was in the roadway looking straight at me I loosed an arrow right in front and under it.
It jumped up and ran straight at me LOL. Like I say, I ran. Went back later and got the arrow. Funny.

On another Hunt with quite a few guys over at Catalina Island. We were hunting pigs and goats. Narrow trails.
A fellow hunter was in the trail and a pig came thundering in his direction and he jumped into the cactus. Prior to his leap he loosed an arrow and it went home, and he had a pig.

It ran for awhile and bled out and he got it, arrow looked like a pretzel (twisted) we picked catus needles out of him by flash light and fire light that night. LOL

HQ

[armedtotheteeth]

I never found the sow i emptied my .45 on. it got dark and i was alone in a very large field with limited visibility , with a useless 45 with no ammo and a 30 mag of 30 carbine. I headed to the truck and went home and had a beer.

[impact]

I never found the sow i emptied my .45 on. it got dark and i was alone in a very large field with limited visibility , with a useless 45 with no ammo and a 30 mag of 30 carbine. I headed to the truck and went home and had a beer.

Sounds like you made some bad shots and gave up to easy. And was more worried about the beer. :-)

[Hkmp5sd]

The only hunting injury I know of was a buddy of mine that shot a hog and then followed its blood trail to locate it. He came up behind the hog, which was laying on the ground but still alive. My buddy pulled his knife with the intent of cutting the hog's throat. As he leaned over the hog, it spun on him and in the ensuing battle, the hog managed to rip gashes in both of my buddy's forearms.

[Wild Bill Bucks]

Most of the hog hunting injuries sustained around my experiences has been somebody doing something pretty stupid at the time like reaching for a dog that is doing battle with a hog and getting bitten, or cornering a wounded animal with the intentions of capturing it alive.
Some of the guys around here ride horses and rope the hogs, and once they are roped they will hold the back legs off the ground and walk them like a wheel barrel back to the truck, alive. They tell me that you can control them this way because a hog can't turn it's head around to bite you.
This is something I will NEVER have any experience with, so I don't recomend that any one else try it.
Evidently horses will not tolerate a live hog being put on their backs, and they don't like to drag them either, so I guess that is how they get them to the truck.
I'm to big a COWARD to even go with the guys that do this, so I sure can't tell you how it works from experience.
I have asked around and talked to about a dozen guys who trap and hunt hogs and so far EVERY time someone mentions getting hurt it is because they are not paying attention or they are doing something stupid.

[swampdog]

I saw this in a hunting video several years ago and have never forgotten it.
While the charge might have been staged,
it certainly didn't reflect well on the "professional" hog guide.
This guy and his buddy go bow hunting for hogs. Buddy, intelligently, chooses
to hunt from a tree stand over bait. Pro chooses to spot and stalk with 2 camera
men in tow. Pro shoots pig. Pig runs off. Pro follows blood trail down into a small
ravine. Pig goes down ravine and circles back to the top off one of the flanking ridges,
were he waits for pro and camera crew to come by. As the pro comes didi-bopping by,
with a running commentary no less, pig charges down hill and precedes to chase
one of the camera men. He looks to be goring the hell out of this guy, who is running
away as fast as he can. Every time the pig swung his head up it looked like someone
kicked the guy in the butt.
The cameraman finally shook him off by grabbing a sapling,
bringing himself to a quick stop, raising his legs off the ground which the pig promptly
ran under. I don't remember if the guy finally got the pig, as I was laughing too hard
and busy rewinding to see it again. Pig got the wrong guy, IMO.
His buddy, meanwhile, had shot a couple of pigs, which had dropped like they were
hit with a baseball bat, from the safety and comfort of his treestand.
I don't know if this proves how dangerous hogs can be, but it certainly proves
how dangerous "professional" hog guides can be, to cameramen at least.
I can't remember the name of the video, but it sure shows they'll let about
anyone make them. Glad they weren't going after Cape Buffalo or it wouldn't
have been funny.

[roger1shot]

On a hog hunt down on the coast of Texas.
I shot one hog behind the ear,drop like a rock.The other ran and I fired a shot at the hog running.
Reloaded my 7Mag and took off looking for blood from the running shot.
Walked up on the sow no more than 10' from me in the tall salt grass.
Man the sow spun around at me fast.All I did was point the barrle at the head and shoot.
The hog drop loke a rock,but man what a rush ,I was shaking for a good while after the hog fell dead.The sow was about 150 lbs and had about 1" tusk.Not big tusk but big enough to do some hurt.
I had shot the running sow in the side far in the back,with the 7 Mag.

[shureshot0471]

I have been run back up in stands before bu sows they can be hostile and dont take away from the boars they can be equally mean been chased by them in the creek bottoms before so you do have bad experinces

[armedtotheteeth]

HEY!! Beer is important! It was calling my name. Anyways, If you've ever been in a field full of 6 foot high Hay at night alone, with coyotes howling and 30 or so rather upset hogs looking to make a salad out of you, You know it is a bit creepy place to be, Specially with no sidarm. (as inneffective as it was) I might as well have shot that SOw with a Daisy Red Rider. No doubt it died, eventually. I need to find some better bullets or something. Tried a few, but the "Good " ones rarley feed well in my Charles Daly 45. I just cant figure out why that 45 didnt penetrate her forehead.

[impact]

If you've ever been in a field full of 6 foot high Hay at night alone, with coyotes howling and 30 or so rather upset hogs looking to make a salad out of you, You know it is a bit creepy place to be

I actually feel more safe in the woods at night than I do in the city