Gun for hogs?

[jmar595]

Do you need a gun when you go out hunting for hogs. I was talking to my Dad the other day and told him I went down a hog trail deer hunting. He said, "Wow, I wouldn't even go into the woods without a 357 magnum or something like that." Do you really need a gun like that when hunting? The area I am deer hunting is covered in hog sign. Please advise?

[Danny Rowan]

NO! You do not need to carry a gun while archery hunting and in most places it is illegal during Archery season.

Danny

[MrBadExample]

Never been hog hunting, but you will likely have problems with the game warden if you have a firearm on your person during archery only season.  Up here you may carry a handgun concealed if you have a license to do so during archery season, but it is for self-defense only, not to be used for hunting or for "finishing shots".  I would suggest you contact your local fish and game office for your local rules and to clarify any questions you may have.

[Benny Nganabbarru]

No, you don't need back-up for hunting pigs, you just need to stay on your toes. Some of us hunters like to talk it up a bit on the ferocity of the pig, and indeed they can get cranky; however, in reality, there is a very small chance that one will have a go at you. It can and does happen, but it is rare. I suppose if you hunt them long enough, you'll encounter an occasional drama, but hopefully nothing that a bit of running or climbing or whacking won't fix.

[Roger Norris]

The only time I carry a handgun when bowhunting is when I'm concerned about 2 legged predators.

When I turkey hunt, I pack into the woods and stay for a bit, sometimes a week. I usually have a .45 stuck in my bag somewhere.

[Ian johnson]

I carry a ruger 22 pistol on me while stump shootimg in the summer or hunting like right now, have had a few close encounters with snakes, but would not carry a gun for pigs

[wingnut]

Nope hogs will run if you let them smell you.  It's good to be aware of what's out there though.  I've exchanged stories with the guys here in Texas that have hunted hogs all their lives and they couldn't believe we hunted black bear and didn't carry a gun.  But the hunt big hogs with a knife.  It's just a matter of getting comfortable with the animals that are out there.

Only time I carry is when I'm in Grizz country.  Now they have my respect.

LOL

Mike

[Tom Leemans]

Yep, I wouldn't be that concerned about hogs in the wild, but I'd reconsider if I were walking around in a hog confinement. I'd rather have an automatic weapon on me there.  :eek:

[Keystone]

We don't carry hand guns when we hunt hogs. We have had wounded hogs come at us though.

[Ray Hammond]

no.

[Martin Farrent]

The woods around my home here in Germany are well populated with wild boar - some big ones, too. You can get up in the mornings sometimes and see a field they've destroyed overnight.

Hardly anyone is allowed to carry a handgun here... let alone children, of course. But I've never heard of mothers not letting their children play in the woods for fear of hogs.


Best,

Martin

[Nakohe]

Jmar,

You will not need a handgun for hogs. The arrow will do the job. They are more afraid of you than you of them. Just be on watch, a realy big one may mock charge, but when they smell you they are gone.

[Big Dave]

Yeah and their smellers are just as good if not better than deer

[RC]

Its a sin to shoot a hog with a gun.RC

[hoebow]

I always carry a small semi-automatic .22 cal pistol while bowhunting. Here in Texas I have killed a 4' and a 5' rattlesnake while bowhunting. I am not going to ruin a 7$-10$ arrow on a rattlesnake when a 30 cent shell will do the trick. I have never had a gamewarden jam me up.

[trashwood]

If you go all the way down I35 to very near the Mexican border, then go 30 or 40 miles out into the country to hog hunt, you are out of your mind if you don't carry a pistol.  IMO.  I got a permit just for hog hunting in south texas.  of course if has nothing to do with hogs.

rusty

[draco]

I`m with RC on this. It would be a sin to shoot a hog with a gun. As for the snakes,you should practice your close range snake shots with Judo points in dirt or sand or just stick your bow at them to make them strike and then just step on their heads and cut it off with your pocket knife. You dont need a gun for snakes,they cant outrun you. Now,about the illegals,I`m with you.

[jmar595]

Thanks all, I haven't been hunting long, twice really. I have heard some horor stories in the past, but I have talked to alot of hunters now and you all say the same thing. I am thinking about going hunting in the morning, I work nights so I will have the woods a little more to myself during the week I am assuming. Would anyone like to go hunting with me? I asked this in another thread but noone responded.

[Martin Farrent]

I really don't know about the US. I believe (but I may be wrong) that your hogs are either ferals or crosses between ferals and European wild boar. As such, they may be bigger or more dangerous than the wild boar over here.

But one hears few (almost no) reports of people being attacked by wild boar in European countries where they are widespread. Personally, I suspect that tales of their lethal potential may stem from the days when 'gentlefolk' hunted them extremely close up with swords.

But I do know that these animals have a truly nasty bite - they rip, I think.

Best,

Martin

[NDTerminator]

I'm more worried about running into a pot grow or meth lab operation than I am with aggessive 4 legged critters.

I've bowhunted hogs twice, taken 2, and one (a 100 lbs little squealer) came at me on the follow up. He was hurt pretty bad and I was able to get an arrow off (from a compound, no less) and then I set a record for the 100 yard Mesquite Dash.  When I went in again I found that by pure luck, the second arrow had hit him between the neck & shoulder and did the job.  Even if I had a handgun I don't think I could have gotten it out and put rounds on target in time, and I carry one for a living.

Conversely, I was later in on a follow up with the ranch owner on a non-fatally hit 200 lbs sow (no, I didn't shoot it).  When the dogs caught up, it was a bloody fight that I don't have words to describe.  The rancher dove in and cooled that beast with two contact shots from a 357.  Had that pig targeted me, I wouldn't have stood a chance in hell of stopping it with the bow in my hands, and there was nowhere to run.

This hunt, BTW, was the beginning of my change from the Dark Side.  The rancher was a Trad guy who shot a beautiful Palmer recurve.  During the week of rubbing shoulders with him and hunting hogs with a compound, I began to see how much better a hunting tool Trad was than compounds.

As an aside, the ND legislature just this year passed a law whereby it's legal to carry a handgun while bowhunting.  This was in response to the boom in the cougar population and the attendant incidents of bowhunters bumping into them out in the Badlands...

I share Matthew Quigley's opinion of handguns. That being said, I do have a S&W Mountain Gun in 44 Mag.  It's about the perfect pack gun, and if I were to carry a bellygun while bowhunting, this would be my choice.  It's light, compact, carries easily on the belt either crossdraw or behind the strongside hip, and has plenty of stopping & firepower if something goes south on me...