Knife Specific Discussion
General Knife Discussion
Knife for Hog Hunting and Dispatching…What Would You Choose?
Thread starter Nalapombu
unwisefool
MolokaiRider said:
As mentioned, you don't want to use a rifle/handgun because you'll hit the dogs.
Also, you become quite aware how dangerous what you are doing when your up close. It becomes a test of how deep your willing to go in your resolve.
I have literally no resolve, I'd be like ok, bring in the mortars and we'll make some bbq from afar.
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Alberta Ed
We elect ours but there are some silly restrictions about hunting them in urban environments.
Aruulis
Not gonna lie I've tried the knife thing and have to clear my property about once a year don't recommend using a knife unless you put it on a stick had my arm tore up one time and that was enough dogs can't always hold em the spears are a much better option and made for a reason
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Currawong
sgt1372 said:
Just curious . . . I've never been hog hunting (yet) but WHY would you want to "dispatch" a hog w/a knife?
Aren't you using a rifle (308 or better) to shoot it?
If so, if it's down but not dead yet, why not just hit it again w/another round from the rifle (or a handgun that you're carrying for backup) to keep you out of harm's way?
Then, the only knife you'd need would be one that to skin, gut and segment it, unless you're "hunting" at one of those places where they can process the hog for you.
I suppose you can argue that a knife is more "humane" and will minimize the damage to the meat but personally I'd just shoot it again.
In open country you would just shoot it like you say. In heavily vegetated country you will never even see the pigs to shoot them. As soon as you're in overgrown country you need dogs to find and bail them, and as soon as you have dogs you need to carry a knife. By way of illustration, here are some screenshots from some 'action footage' I took on a hunt (in south eastern Australia) to show why....
Below: running through the bush. My mate has a 30-30 and a GPS tracker for the dogs, and I have a knife - that's literally all we were carrying. We had to run about 2 kilometres through this kind of vegetation. You have to run, because bailing dogs will not let a pig go, ever. If its a boar, it will eventually kill them. So you have to get there as soon as they start barking or risk losing the dogs. There is a lot of running involved in pig hunting!!
This sow ran down a wombat hole. I tried to go in the front way but it was trying to bite me. So my mate crawled head first down into the hole from the back with my knife:
Here's a shot from the front as he is sticking it. Note the dog directly behind it holding onto its ear - there would be no way to shoot:
There are four dogs in this pic. They are all down in a wombat hole. All of them are moving about in a frenzy:
Also a knife will kill a pig much quicker than a bullet. Think about how big a knife blade is compared to a bullet, and the fact you rotate and twist it around in the internal organs compared to a bullet which just goes straight through. Also you can guarantee hitting the heart or lungs, whereas with a bullet you might just gut shoot it or it might bounce off bone. You use sights not a scope when you're that close, and it is often dark, your view is obscured by vegetation, and a pig never stops moving - so its pretty hard to aim - and on top of that there are dogs darting in and out. Injured pigs (especially boars) can kill a dog (or you) after being shot, so you want them to die as quickly as possible (also that is more humane). A knife is a quick and sure kill (takes a few seconds), versus taking a bunch of poorly aimed pot shots on a moving pig while trying to avoid dogs.
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CuttingMINIac
It's big here in GA. When you see someone's pit bull missing an arm, it's kinda obvious why....
My dogs may be working dogs(4 GSD), but they're also companions.
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brownshoe
I support this site with my MIND
Hogs are pests. They destroy the environment. All hogs are decendants of domesticated animals, they are not native to any country. They should not be hunted for sport but live trapped and then executed as a passel. That way you can kill the whole pack. They scatter when hunted individually and multiply making their habitat destruction worse as one pack becomes three.
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brownshoe said:
Hogs are…..
But what knife would you choose?
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unwisefool said:
Lol! I'm all about unfair fights! I'll bet our primitive ancestors would be shaking their heads. In either admiration or disbelief I don't know which...
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rustyspike
I really do not think you how bad these guys are. The males with tusks. Will open your stomach up. And or kill your dogs.
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rustyspike said:
This comment is almost like a haiku...I'm digging it
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strategy9
Knives of Alaska Master Boar Hunter...
jill jackson
Pigs, like all suids, are native to the Eurasian and African continents, ranging from Europe to the Pacific islands. Suids other than the pig are the babirusa of Indonesia, the pygmy hog of South Asia, the warthog of Africa, and other pig genera from Africa.
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I remember in the days before interweb forums when we used to get most of our knife information from printed magazines books. Hunting hogs with knives was a thing then, with some notable makers like Larry Harley building knives specifically for that endeavor. It wasn't for the faint of heart, but people definitely did and continue to do it. Back then, the most common misconception in conversations in real life was that the knife was thrown at the pig, rather than used at contact distance as was described previously in this topic.
Here's an older topic (2013) with some discussion about hog hunting knives: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/knife-for-pig-hunting.1059794/
I'm sure the OP is aware if he's researched it enough to go and actually do it. Not sure where he's going but if it's like where I hunt in SC (Woodbury WMA), most of the time we're chasing the hogs vs them coming after us. Had a few times where we've taken shots right at our feet almost but those hogs are running to get away, not come at us intentionally.
It's amazing how big some of them get! When you finally see that 250-300lb pig, it's incredible, but the small ones taste better.
OP, I usually carry this knife, 4.5" W2 blade made by Josh Fisher MS. More for field dressing and skinning after the shot but it would work. If I was going with the sticking route, I'd want something with more blade, probably 6"+.
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veryquietdude
The Cold Steel Warhead would be ideal for this with modifications. Mine has rather slick poly grips. I have seen people remove the grips and slide some car heater hose on the steel tang. I would use a bolt thru the lanyard hole to retain the hose No longer made but probably available on evil bay.
KELAMA
Nalapombu said:
Hey all.
I might be going on a hog hunt in the coming months. This is the kind where you use a few hog dogs that bay it up, turn a catch dog on it to hold it and then come in with a well placed blade to the heart or largest vessels in the neck area. I've never done it. I have watched several videos on it though.
If I do go, I'll need a capable knife. I have a Kabar that's old, but in great shape. I think the tip would have to be sharpened though. I'd prolly screw it up if I tried something like that.
If you were going to go in a hunt like this and needed an appropriate knife to do the job, what would you pick?
If you have knives that would do the trick, please post pics as I'd like to see them too.
What knives would you suggest if the budget was $150 ???
^ Thank you for starting this thread NB! After reading through all of the posts, with keen interest, it prompted me to call my brother.
My brother, lives near the South/West part of the Salinas Valley. He pretty much takes care of our families piece of property, which is close to 1200 acres, located near the mountain range separating Big Sur & the Salinas Valley. He's the hunter/guide in our family, & when he was younger (before his wife & kids), he lived & breathed, wild pig/deer hunting & would take/guide people mainly City people from the Bay Area or SoCal for hunts out on our property .
Anyway...we just got off the phone after for speaking for well over an hour....
I found it rather kind of funny, with me being a knife nut & all, that he doesn't put a lot of thought, or money, into knives. He said as long as it's a mid-sized fixed blade & it's sharp & could also be used as a skinner, that's all that mattered to him. He couldn't even tell me a brand name he uses....so no help there.
FWIW: My brother was in a horrific accident not long ago, with burn injuries he was very lucky to have survived. He was actually driving with his wife while we were on the phone, on his way up to Santa Clara Valley Memorial, to see his Doctor & PT....everyday he's alive and breathing, is a blessing. We speak with one another every single day now!
My only advice to you (after speaking to him), is: BE CAREFUL!
I'll see if I can get a couple of pictures from him to post here; until then, this will have to suffice.
Currawong said:
Any pointy knife 7"+ would do the trick on most hogs. For a full grown boar you'd want the traditional bayonet-style or other super-pointy knife because they have a lot of 'armor.'
Make sure the knife isn't longer than the hog is wide - there's a chance you'll stick your dogs. Dogs get real close when they're bailing, and everything is moving around in a frenzy.
A fuller can help introduce air into the heart. This will kill it much quicker.
The idea is to twist the knife around so you cut both the heart and lungs, which both sit in the same area (directly behind the shoulder).
Stay behind the hog. Pick up its back legs if you can so it can't move around. Don't stand in front of them, they bite just like dogs.
Take a belt or something, a dog collar will do. You thread it between the bones in the back legs, and use it as a handle while dragging it out (if you want to keep the meat). Much easier than just grabbing the legs. Hogs are heavy!
Excellent post, CW!
Have no clue why you would want to get that close to Hog/Bore. They can gut you in a hart beat. That being said I am a bow hunter. Lived is SC for 23 years. Any time big game was open you could hunt them. And they are nasty.
Rich K.
^^ I'd have to agree with you here, Rich. There's no way in hell, I'd ever want to purposefully go out on a hunt, and have to kill a wild boar, with just a hunting knife. But like all the other hunter's here, it's the dog's he owns (Border Collie/Australian Shepard/Catahoula mixed breeds) that do the really dangerous work & most of the time, in his word's: "have the hog all stretched out," by the time they catch up to them.
tokerblue
That kind of hunting seems like it takes some intestinal fortitude.
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LuckyC
I've never hunted hog, but a KA-BAR Ek Model 4 might work for you.
Sidehill Gouger
jill jackson said:
I saw some pony size wild boar in the jungles of Viet Nam I don't think were escaped domestic animals for sure.
JParanee
I had a Dogo named Jack that would hammer hogs but one bad night we lost a good dog and Jack and I didn't go hog hunting anymore
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