wild hog attack

deerefan · Jul 29, 2009

We have been having a bit of a wild hog problem in my neck of the woods. I have been eradicating some for a fellow who owns 47 acres that adjoins my property. I hunt them on foot with a 45/70 lever action marlin rifle. Have never had a problem...until now. Yesterday at dusk I saw some cross the road onto his place while driving home. I went home and immediately changed and grabbed my rifle. I followed my same routine and came out to a clearing where they have been frequenting a small pond (100x100ft) and there they were. I picked the boar out, leveled off, and dropped him..one shot in the ear. Out of no where I was hit at the back of my knees by a large sow. It was like I was ambushed. Had she not slipped when turning around to come back at me, I would not be typing this now. From my knees, I shot her in the snout and deposited the rest of her head/brains all over the brush behind her. I really think she was going to kill me. I think I will rethink my hog hunting approach. I've been doing it this way for 15 years and was taught by one of the best hog hunters/trappers I've ever known. Maybe time for a stand....ooops sorry meant to put this in related topics forgot i was browsing photos!!!

J_J · Jul 29, 2009

Good thing you have nerves of steel. If I would have been there, that hog would have been sliding in poo poo as I was making tracks.

LBrown59 · Jul 29, 2009

deerefan said:
We have been having a bit of a wild hog problem in my neck of the woods. I have been eradicating some for a fellow who owns 47 acres that adjoins my property. I hunt them on foot with a 45/70 lever action marlin rifle. Have never had a problem...until now. Yesterday at dusk I saw some cross the road onto his place while driving home. I went home and immediately changed and grabbed my rifle. I followed my same routine and came out to a clearing where they have been frequenting a small pond (100x100ft) and there they were. I picked the boar out, leveled off, and dropped him..one shot in the ear. Out of no where I was hit at the back of my knees by a large sow. It was like I was ambushed. Had she not slipped when turning around to come back at me, I would not be typing this now. From my knees, I shot her in the snout and deposited the rest of her head/brains all over the brush behind her. I really think she was going to kill me. I think I will rethink my hog hunting approach. I've been doing it this way for 15 years and was taught by one of the best hog hunters/trappers I've ever known. Maybe time for a stand....ooops sorry meant to put this in related topics forgot i was browsing photos!!!

Glad you are ok.***********

cowboy357 · Jul 29, 2009

Good thing You were at least prepared & had Your senses with You . Glad it worked out . Its easy to say what one would do , But I might of been right in front of JJ ,

. You never really know untill Your in that situation . Bob

MossRoad · Jul 29, 2009

deerefan said:
....ooops sorry meant to put this in related topics forgot i was browsing photos!!!

Your wish is our command!

deerefan · Jul 29, 2009

thanks...appreciate that!

SkyPup · Jul 29, 2009

As a veterinary microbiologist, I worked with the Federal and State Infectious Disease Diagnostic programs and handled all sorts of domestic and wild animals, incluiding most exotic zoo species.

Each year, we would lose two or three of our hog farmers to sows that attacked them in the breeder pen. A piglet would squeal and the sow would take 'em down and dismember them.

I always worried about the boars tusks, but to tell the truth, heard of more disasters casused by the sows over the years.

The only thing that worried me more was if the ketamine dart from my air rifle really injected the male babbon I shot in his cage before I was going in to draw a blood sample..... I was scared to death to face off a male babbon.

Bird · Jul 29, 2009

I've heard rumors of our feral hogs attacking people and I had some neighbors who worried about their grandkids riding 4-wheelers and possibly having to walk home if a machine had died on them. But I never met anyone who had actually been attacked before.

I guess you've heard the old joke about the fact that a hog can't bite you if you're standing up. It's true because their neck doesn't allow their head to turn enough to get your leg in their mouth. Of course, if they have tusks, they can tear you to pieces with those, and you won't remain standing upright very long if you're attacked by even a very small pig. They'll knock you off your feet so fast, you won't know what happened.

When I was a kid, I was in the 4-H Club and raised registered Berkshire hogs. Mine were usually very gentle, handled and petted regularly and became pets. But once I had a problem with a sow with a new litter, 4 or 5 days old. Now she was so gentle that I could crawl under a shed we had for her and pet her and her new babies. However, I had her feed trough out in the middle of the pen and when I put out feed for her, the chickens would also try to get into the feed trough. So one day, I put the feed in the trough, the sow was eating (some 15 or 20 feet from the shed with little pigs), and I was running round and round her, yelling and waving a stick to chase the chickens away. (Yeah, I know now that was a dumb thing to do, but then I did a lot of dumb things when I was 12 years old). As you might guess, I got on that sow's nerves and she suddenly whirled around as I ran behind her and knocked me off my feet. I hit the ground rolling, came up on my feet running, and barely beat her to the fence. Now that old fence was only about waist high and I was accustomed to running and jumping over the fence, but I was in such a hurry and was off stride, so I didn't slow down, didn't jump, just hit that fence so hard I flipped over the fence and landed on my back on the other side so hard it knocked the wind out of me. All I could do was lie there and look at that big mouth open trying to push through that fence. I was one thoroughly terrified 12 year old.

Even though she was always gentle after that day, I didn't get back in the pen with her for several days.

LBrown59 · Jul 29, 2009

deerefan said:
thanks...appreciate that!

Looks like you hold the distinction of being the only TBN member attacked by a wild hog.

Ridgewalker · Jul 29, 2009

Bet you got a nice adrenaline rush out of that encounter! Nice reflexes

Hogs can be dangerous, my BIL was treed for several hours once while working on a water drill rig in FLA that was out in the boonies.

When I was a kid my uncle raised hogs and one came up behind him and took a nice bite out of him, it was a big sow.

I used to hold the little ones legs when he would cut the boys. They sure could wiggle and mom was very unhappy but couldn't get to us. I remember him popping the oysters out and his Irish setter catching them on the fly...can't beat a hot lunch served up fresh!