What would you do under this kind of pressure?

[musketman]

Let's say you are out in the woods hunting with your favorite muzzleloader...

Let's also say that a pack of wild hogs (20+) suddenly come charging at you from the nearby field...

Do you:
(a) Run for the nearest tree and wait it out.
(b) Shoot the biggest one and then run for the nearest tree and pick off the rest of the pack one-by-one.
(c) Hold your ground, shoot the biggest one and use your ramrod as a sword to defend yourself.
(d) Shoot the biggest one and then charge them with your knife a-swinging, barking like a junk-yard dog the whole time.

This is just for fun, a thought experiment.
There is NO correct answer for any one person.
Just something to get a responce.

 

[tg]

i have never delt with theses critters as we have none in my area, but I think my first priority would be to climb the closest tree... then commence to makin' bacon,

 

I Beleave I would Climb the tree
Then decide what to do next
(after I changed my pants of course!)

 

[shaylynn]

Well since curling up in the fetal postion isn't an option I'd say D not that I'd ever do it

 

[Regulis7]

I have been caught in this situation several times in the past, although it wasnt 20 hogs and I didnt have my ML with me.

Several years ago during small game season I walked upon a very irate feral hog, not the pig type but the domestic style BIG hog. All I had was a .22mag bolt rifle and about 20 yrds of running room.

My first reaction was to run fast and hit the nearest tree like spiderman. After I was safely out of his reach I proceded to send 2 well placed .22mag rounds into him, which did the job.

I have had several expierences like this and always during small game season when centerfires or buckshot is illegal to carry. Our feral hogs range from the European style pigs to full size wild hogs. They can be very honory critters when suprised and become very terrortial, a sow with pigletts can be as mean as a bear with cubs.

Best option is climb fast if charged, this usually happens pretty fast and under 25 yards. My prefered hog gun is my SKS with 10 rounds of 154gr soft points. Not sure I would want to take on a charging boer with the smoke pole and no place to climb, makes for a bad dream.

Regulis7

 

[Rancocas]

There are lots of feral hogs in my area. I killed one last year that field dressed at 125 pounds, but they come much larger than that. The ones that weigh around 100-200 pounds are the best eating ----mmmmmm, good.

In most cases the pigs are like most any other wild animal and just want to get away from you. They have excellent hearing and sense of smell, but their eyesight is rather poor. If they hear or smell you, they are gone.
However, cornered, or especially wounded and cornered they can be very dangerous.
I shot a sow sometime back, and she ran into the thick brush along the edge of a swamp. I took my time reloading my .54, and then started on her trail. I hadn't gone far when I heard her grunt.
I decided to back off and wait a half hour. When I finally went back into that jungle I found the sow lying dead. She was facing her backtrail. She had been waiting for me!
There are actually some guys around who use hounds to corner a hog, then they go in themselves with spears!
That's not a game for me!
Anyway, to answer your question - go up a tree. If you are in the field and don't have time to get to a tree, make yourself look as big as you can, and make a lot of noise. I think 9 times out of 10 the hogs will swerve away from you.

 

[Chuck Deaton]

I don't know much about a hawg's seeing, just never pondered it one way or another. We had a bunch of hawgs when Uncle Connie and Uncle George were living on the ole Roger's place on the Oauchita River there in Dallas County. That was before the stock law in 57. We always worked hawgs off a mule with dogs, just throw a towsack on ole Bird and use the plow reins. Ole Bell was a heller if there ever was one, that bulldog could hold an old tush hawg by herself. Notch em and nut em and let em go. Usually carried a double barrel with buckshot and a few six's for squirrel. Sometimes just the 22.

Always had an ole curved upholstery needle and some fishing line for sewing up dogs. Sew um up and put some high life on um.

Some fatback and cornbread in a lard bucket for eats.

 

[Gray Beard]

None of the above. I'd draw my 44 cal. cell phone and call 911!

 

[Zonie]

I'd be heading for the trees.

I think I would reverse the old saying about "Sh***n and gettin" around to "gettin and Sh***n". That would give me the advantage because I would be up to full speed before the Sh***n started.

I don't think the WILD hogs know anything about running around in a pile of Sh** so this would be a new experiance for them and they would be slippin and slideing all over the place. Hopefully some of them would stop to see if there was any Corn was in it.

Course if the tree were further away than about 35 yards it might be a close race because I don't think I could put down my defensive spray much more than 20 yards worth.

It might take me a while to rest before I got to shooten at them because I think I would be totally "exhausted" by the experiance.

 

[Deadeye]

If you'd been around hogs much you'd know there would be no reason to run unless you were trying to catch one. If you shot they be gone in a heartbeat, if you didn't they would just go right by you on their merry way, probably never even see you. When I lived in northern Calif. pigs were thicker than fleas on a dogs back. Many times when deer hunting I've had 20 or 30 come right by me all around me and never thought much about it unless I wanted to shoot one. About as dangerous as a deer.
Deadeye

 

[Chuck Deaton]

The biggest problem with pine rooters is that they will eat anything and I mean anything. When we ran hawgs in the river bottomsand there were literally thousands of hawgs and there was a bad year, drought and no mast, you had to be careful with childern and small animals, dogs, chickens and calves. The hawgs would get em down and eat em.

Mostly sows and shoats were pretty shy though. Running an old boar with dogs would always get a good fight going. Somebody always needed the upholstery needle.

 

[TwoShadows]

Deadeye, Californy hawgs must be different than the ones i been around. Saw my maw get bit plumb through the hand by a sow when we wuz breaking tha tushes out of her little ones...seen a couple get right mad bout other things too. Got a couple southern buddies with lots of scars on their legs from swine with attitudes.


I made a lots uv muney NOT raising hawgs... Givermint would pay ya for not raising hawgs on yer farm years ago. I started long easy....just not raising about a hunnert.....done so good at that I commenced to not raising 1000 the nex year.
"course i had to get a new pickemup truck to not haul the feed i was not feedin em. Thats where I went wrong. I decided to not raise 7000 hogs....but then I needed one uv them big dooley pickemuptrucks to not haul all that feed and a big ol tractor and tools to not raise all that corn i wuz not gonna feed em. Even hired a yung gal to hep me not feed all them hawgs. Wal, tha bottom dropped outten hawgs right about then, and I lost muh butt and had to give up the pickemuptruck and tractor and stuff....course I et a lot of pork for a long time....heck, thet must be whar the term"porkeater" cum frum. Had to let tha gal go too....she wint to work at a chicken ranch tho, and she wud come around and visit...'n we would party down wif our bad selfs on ham 'n eggs!

 

[Zonie]

TwoShadows, yer a braver man than I!
I would 'ave been a feared them burrocrats would a come out ta count all o them hogs I wasn't a rasin n wit my luck he would ave only counted 4997 o them!
Then ah would a had ta give back ma new store bout steel ramrod 'n gone back ta usin hickery lik Voyageur wants me ta do..
Does ye hav ta build the pen downwind from the house ta keep out the stink they don't have?

Iffen we ever meet ye wil have ta show me am scars ye dont have whats been caused by em pigs ye ain't raised a chompen on ye wit em teeth they ain't got.

Must be a site fer sore eyes!!!!

 

[TwoShadows]

Naw, yew dont kneed ta build tha pin downwind....iffn ya waller in poop long enuff, ya begin ta smel tha same and yer nose dont know tha differense. onliest thang is yew sea uther folks snurling thar nose whin yew cum aroun.

Frow away thet steel ramrod! Iffn yew must hev sumpin beside hic'ry, thin git yew a brass rod.....mor rag nosed guns is wore out frum rubbin tha rifflin with furin stuff thin boollits ennyhow. wun uv them lil collar thingy's ta keep tha rod center uv tha boar at tha muzzle is a gud idee too. At air newfangled luminum er fiberglass is dist ez bad. Hyar's a 'zample...ah bin shutin this hyar riflegun fer ovar 30 year...never used ennythang butt hic'ry er brass rod on her....still in gud shape 'n accrat...why she will skin tha fuzz offn tha test tickles uv a black widder spyder at a hunnert yards in thick fog. Muh fren Mad Dog hez tha same barrl..same calibur 'n everthang...same brand etc...'n hisn shows a lot uv ware...we thank hits a'cause uv him usin that al-yew-minnyum wipin rod. Hit ain't rocket surgery....thank about hit...

 

[TwoShadows]

yep, tha furst pome i ever lernt wuz:
A B, C D puppies?
L,M N O puppies.
O S A R, C M P N ?

 

[Stumpkiller]

Well, I figure iffin I was hog huntin with 'Zonie and we was set on by this score o' fire-breathin, mother stabbin, father rapin bunch o'hogs. . . Why, I'd just whomp 'Zonie a smart one on top o' his foot with the butt o' my rifle and then I could out run him to the nearest tree. While the hogs is worrying his carcass I could pick 'em off till they give up or he gets the upper hand.

An I hope he would, too. 'Cause 20 is a lot o' hogs to dress out and drag to camp without having to eventually go back and sew him up.

 

[Zonie]

Ah allways use at lil coney shaped slip n sliden thin that comes wit the rod whan ye buy a good-un.

Food ta thin about wit them wood ramrods is iffen the outside are at all rough tha can pick up dirt from 'bout anywhar. That dirt are one o the best abbrasives ye can find fer waarin out yer muzzle.
At's why my wood uns allys gots lots a good coats o linseed on em.
Slick are good!

Bi tha way as yer from tha South ah'm a bettin ye can read this: U C M E D B D Is? I C M E D B D Is! R U Cn D both of M? yp! wal Il B !!!

 

[musketman]

What if there were 20 Naugas charging?

Could you shoot them fast enough?

I would skin them out and tan the hides and cover my couch with them, or my steering wheel, or golf club handles....

Yep, you could cover a lot of things with good ol' Nauga hides...

 

[Stumpkiller]

On a somewhat related topic. Does anyone know a good bait for faux? I see a lot of faux furs on ladies coats, but I haven't had a faux step into one of my traps yet. I ain't even seen no faux tracks around the traps or in the mud near waterholes. They're mighty clever, or maybe we just don't get them hereabouts.

Mebbe a cubic zirconium? They seem to be offered together at the girlie sutlers.

 

[musketman]

quote:Originally posted by Stumpkiller:
Does anyone know a good bait for faux? Glaze seems to work for me...

"At least we're not talking about jackalopes..."