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How dangerous are feral pigs?

28K views 66 replies 43 participants last post by  rojkoh 
#1 ·
Got a question for Mike or Tom or Ranch Dog -- someone who knows the truth about feral pigs.

I was reading Ol Remus' Woodpile Report (ol remus and the woodpile report) and down in the "overheard" section (near the bottom) was this:

A Texan, commenting on a guest article in Zero Hedge, said that local pigs run to 500 pounds, are intelligent, hunt in packs, and do not discriminate between human and animal prey. "Children playing in an open field are a particularly delightful little morsel for the bulls. No need to count how many times i have been caught off guard and charged, by a bull, but when your with your child, you know they are not coming for you, they want the easy meat, the child."

This is the first time I had read anything like this. Is there any truth in it, or does someone have a wild imagination?

Thanks,

The Old Guy
 
#4 ·
i'm a serious hog hunter and hog trapper. Been chased by a wounded hog, also been chased by a 175 pound boar hog that answered the distress call of a sow i had wounded: Hogs with Eurasian boar blood have a distress call that will bring the hog cavalry to the rescue. Do not get between a sow and her pigs. A friend from Cache, OK was hit and knocked down by a big sow he hever saw coming.

Getting chased by a hog is good exercise, it gets an old mans heart pumping.


A wounded boar hog can be very dangerous. This GA doctor was badly injured by a wounded boar:

GON.com - Hog Attack! - Georgia Outdoor News

This German hunter was killed by a wounded boar:

Wounded wild boar kills German hunter | Reuters
 
#6 · (Edited)
I can't find any articles on wild hogs eating children and it's only rarely that they attack humans without provocation. Do a search and see what you can find. I think this is about as reliable as Bigfoot sightings.
Can't find any reports of kids being eaten by hogs. Me thinks you are right. But theres that folk saying: "He went to .... and the hogs ate him.":D

This is from india. All kinds of wild stuff happens in India:

Man killed trying to save son from wild boar attack - Times Of India

This one is from Spain, i think. That hogs about an ugly sucker:

Wild boar attack kills man | the courier newspaper
 
#7 ·
you guys beat me to the punch. I don"t think they are dangerous at all but they will defend their turf when cornered, and don't ever get between a sow and piglet..
Two times in my life I was scared by pigs.
1. I shot a 150 lb hog in some high grass once, then went to pick up a hunter. He wanted to see it so I walked over to the spot in the high grass where the pig was shot, only he wasn't dead. I had shot him in the back. The hog let out a scream and came after me with his front legs only. Since my gun was empty(big mistake) I proceeded to set a new world's record for the 100 yd dash in making it to safety over a goat wire fence. I cleared the fence with room to spare. Pretty good really for a fat guy. The hog never made it half way, he was dead.
2. I had set a hog trap on a creek bank and went over to check it one morning. As I walked up the creek bank out of the creek, there was a 275-300 lb boar level with my head 10 ft away. He took a run at the hog trap and it just came apart. Hog was running in my general direction close enough that I broke my own land speed record that was reported in the Jack County Newspaper.
Those are my only two bad encounters, so now, I am always armed. The .22 rimfire pistol has been replaced by a 45 ACP or 357 MAg
 
#10 ·
Hogs are large wild animals with an aggressive nature; of course, they can be dangerous. But by far most of the people who get injured by them have made the mistake of interfering with the hog's natural defense mechanism -- running away. Even a mouse can hurt you if you corner it.
 
#11 ·
TOG I believe a wild imagination in spades. Although an English gent I count myself an honorary Texan having spent a lot of hours in that State chasing hogs. I have had hogs get angry after I or a client has put a big lump of lead in somewhere that hurts, but that can be said for a whole load of 'hurt' animals.
All of the hogs that I have come across out doing their things, feeding in fields or under a deer feeder have certainly run but away from the danger of a human being. A small child on its own, unattended by an adult and crying is going to sound like food, not only to a hog but also to coyotes, foxes etc etc.
In the UK we have had a couple of instances where red foxes have actually entered houses and attacked babies in cots. The babies obviously crying out attracted them. Our town foxes are so used to humans they have no fear and will enter homes. Almost always these stupid people are feeding them scraps every day in their gardens. Almost all injuries by the true blood european hogs are as a result of them being driven to standing guns and maybe wounded or the unfortunate human fails to step aside quickly enough as they charge across the roadways. I know they make one h### of a mess but they really are a great game animal.
 
#12 ·
Yes, wild hogs are dangerous to humans. they are somewhat aggressive naturally; but when a human encounters one, the hog often goes into a aggressive mode (maybe it is defensive, in response to a perceived threat). I've kill quite a few hogs, and hunted them in 5 states. these are wild feral hogs, some Russian or European blood, some domestic pig (escapee???) mostly I shoot all black feral hogs.

I've been chased 5 or 6 times with very aggressive hogs, none were cornered by me, just encountered. If one runs away fast they usually do not follow far (bad eyesight). The secret is to climb a tree, you don't need to climb high and a 4 inch diameter tree is enough. Just jump to get your feet 18-24 inches off the ground. If the hog is real mad, he will slash at the tree, usually about to about 14 inches high with his tusks. These are sharp enough that he can rip the bark off. I had one chase me up, and he spent about 5 minutes trying to tusk the tree down to get me.

Once I climbed down as the hog walked away about 20 yards, he heard me and charged back...back up the quick jump/climb. He was mad, not wounded.

They also eat anything, especially meat, I've had a single hog eat a dear gut pile in 10 minutes.

One of own party, was hunting them when a pig charged, he ran but fell across a log. The hog was on him quick, as they do have a pretty fast sprint. To ward off the tusks, this dude started kicking at the hog as it kept swinging his tusks at the guys legs. It is in Florida and locals only wear tennis shoes when hunting. The hog ate the front half of the shoe, including 2 toes, before walking off mad as heck.

When wounded, they squeal loud and take off, never had one attack me...but I'd believe it. when hit they are hurt and usually seek thick cover and burrow into a blowdown, etc. Often they seek water. but all the wounded hogs I've seen, were easily approached and dispatched or even grabbed by the back legs to get out of a tight place.

Just my personal experiences, certainly others will have different experiences and beliefs with wild feral hogs. Today lots of hogs are hunted in small 2-5 acre pens, those hogs maybe quite different than wild hogs.

Mean animals, but tasty!
 
#13 ·
I had extensive experience with feral hogs in east Texas (Sabine river bottoms) in the 1970's, Are they dangerous ? You bet. They're like sharks, you never know what they'll do when you encounter one. They'll either run, fight or ignore you. But do NOT turn your back on one. If you shoot it, shoot it again to make ****ED sure it's dead before trying to field dress it,touch or move it. The hogs there can and did get up to 500 pounds,(if not more). We saw one cross the highway one morning that I'm sure went bigger. Would they eat kids ? Never heard of that happening, but I wouldn't leave a young child out if there were hogs running around loose. They are omnivorous, they WILL eat anything. Kill a deer, field dress it and come back the next morning and the guts will be gone if there's hogs around.
 
#14 ·
I am late on this thread but a ferral hog can indeed hurt you just as quick as a Russian Bore if he has the intent to do so. Now if this hog has been out in the wild for sometime and has their tusks growed out, makes no difference to them because they can come on you just as quick.

I would wear 16 inch boots with shin guards made of aluminum, carry a large caliber rifle like the .444 or 45/70 Marlin as they make a big hole and tranfer energy faster too.;)
 
#15 ·
The boots and shin guards aren't going to help you if you get "up close and personal" with a pissed off hog. He'll have you on your back before you know what happened, then you're done for, unless you can manage to hang onto your gun and kill him with it then. They might help with the shoats, but you don't want to tangle with a full grown feral hog of any size.
 
#16 ·
Hogs my favorite animule to hunt,kill n eat, yummy!!! A feral hog is a domesticated hog gone wild. Hogs will go feral quicker than the rest of farm animals, and when hunted turn nocturnal. There smart,and will chrarge you if they feel cornered. Hogs bite and the males will use their tusks to rake you . They have a bacteria in their genital area that needs to be avoided , the use of gloves are suggested while gutting them. I have found that Marshalls .452 300 wfngc at 1250 fps takes the biting,rakinga and treeing you right out of em.
 
#21 ·
Saw a video of a herd of hogs feeding. One of them attacked a hog maybe 1/3 smaller, a 300 pounder versus a 200 pounder. The bigger one sunk his tusks into the smaller ones ribcage and just flipped him over his back, maybe 3 feet in the air. Was lightning fast, almost a blur. I would say be careful around them.
 
#22 ·
A bull hog? they aren't bulls but BOARS (adult Male) and sows (adult female) and they rarely will attack a human, but sometimes is too often to take a chance. They do kill small calves, and lambs. They cause most of the damage to crops. They will destroy a watermelon or canalope field in one night. There is a show on either the history channel or A&E called "American Hoggers" about catching ferrel hogs, usually the avrage ferrel hog runs 120 to 250 pounds, however there are some of 500 pounds and every once in a while a huge one of 1200 pounds are discovered in remote areas ,like river and creek bottoms.
 
#23 ·
We raised hogs for a while. Kind of a funny thing for a Montana cowboy to say, but none the less, we did. Not feral hogs, but Hampshires and those funny black and white belted ones that look to be 10 feet long. A momma with lil'uns is one of the scariest things there is. We had this one sow named Lucy. Eat out of yer hand, ride her like a shetland pony, but when she had lil'uns? LOOK OUT!!! NO ONE could get in the pen with her, NO ONE.

The two boars we had, Clyde and Rufus, you wrangled them with a 2 foot buy 2 foot piece of 3/4 plywood, used like a leg shield and a hotshot. One of them got out one night and we ended up shooting him a couple three days later. He had no respect for a horse a'tall. And quick? Man he could disappear in sagebrush and never make a sound. His demise? Shelled corn and a 180 grain Hornady from the '06 AI.

Hog hunting (if I get the chance) is as close as I want to get to hunting something that might be hunting me. I've never had an elk or deer turn around and chase me, only cattle or pigs.

RJ
 
#25 ·
My hog hunting Buddy sent me this link yesterday. We talk a good bit about the size and nastiness of some hogs we've seen or taken. This is about a fella who wounded a boar, less than 200 pounds, and when he went to find it, nearly lost his life after being repeatedly attacked by the wounded boar. I only shudder to think of what a 300, 400 or 500 pound boar might do in the same circumstance. Pic is my Buddy and I with his 260 pound boar that carried a 1-1.5" thick shield, fully covering the shoulders and neck. I had read this article before my Buddy sent it, prolly when I had a subscription to GON for a few years.

GON.com - Hog Attack! - Georgia Outdoor News
 

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#26 ·
I put a 170 gr 30-30 round into a 400+lb black and white belted feral hog once in the Sabine river bottom, right behind the shoulder, never drew blood, & he immediately took off running in the opposite direction from me. My Dad found his carcass two weeks later about 500 yds from where he was shot. He never showed any sign of being hit when I shot him. I was just glad he took off in the direction he did as I was hunting from a ground blind with a broken ankle.
 
#27 ·
Well we raised hogs for several years back in the 50's and I can sure tell you I never went into the pen of little pigs without my "shinguards" either, even though those little guys had no tusks showing. The mother had been separated from them at this time.

Those shinguards are still worn by me today, it just might keep a leg or 2 from getting sliced up like salad on a chopping block. My advice carry a big enough pistol you can shoot accurately besides your big bore rifle.

Years ago went muzzle gun hunting with a friend of mine, came across a big bore coming up the creek by himself. He seen me and I saw him at 50 yds then I raised my 54 cal Hawkin and fired......NO Cigar! I missed his vitas on the head on shot cutting his shoulder up almost 2 inches deep.

I dropped my rifle and jumped into 2 ft of water, then climbed upward holding on to tree roots. I did shout for my friend and he came running over and shot that hog twice from above with his .50 cal Hawkin and 50cal pistol. The hog was not dead yet!:eek: It just stood there looking at me hanging on the bank. Tommy then reloaded his rifle and shot it in the head. He was a 330 lb tusker.:)
 
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