A new thread on hog hunting with knives. At the request of LittleLebowski I thought I would put some info out there about pig hunting with dogs and knives. I have the privilege go being able to hunt on 24,000 private acres on the east coast of Florida near Viera Florida. Its a mixed grounds of pine flats, swamp, scrub flats and pasture land. We usually hunt from 9pm to 4 am, cool nights are the best for the dogs. We run 1 tracking dog ( blue tick hound) and 2 catch dogs ( black mouth cur brother 65lbs and sister 50lbs).
Florida is rampant with feral pigs and can be hunted year round on private land. A normal night consists of going to a section around 100 to 200 acres and letting the dogs out of the truck, we use GPS collars to track the dogs. When the tracking dog gets a scent he will start barking initially, this lets the catch dogs know to get on his ass and start following. The catch dogs will then follow and corner the pigs, hopefully. The dogs then bay the pig, letting us know they caught a pig. We then run to there location through swamp, pine trees, more swamp and eventually locate the caught pig. It's imperative to get to the dogs fast before they get hurt or killed.
Once we locate the pig we grab the hog by the back legs and a second "knife guy" steps up and stabs the pig behind the shoulder, about 1/3 to 1/2 the way between the spine and the belly. This should hit the lungs and heart. Thus all takes place with 3 dogs barking, one hunter hanging on to the pig trying not to get slashed by the pig and in the middle of night, with mosquitoes.
Me and the dog owner are very particular on who carries a side arm on our hunts. Don't shoot the dogs or people, simple rules. We actually use a milk jug tied to a rope, them pull the milk jug towards a shooter to get used to shooting an object that closes with you faster than you can run or move. There is a picture of me on Off The Grid concepts holsters Facebook page with a pig we killed. I always carry a G17 x300U with reanger bonded 147gr. No problems putting down charging pigs that got away from the dogs.
A word on pig size, I like to call the 125-180lbs pigs the most dangerous of any pigs we run across. They are faster than the 200-300lbs pigs and way more athletic. There teeth tend to be straighter and pointer allowing way more damage to be done with the teeth on flesh. These are the most challenging pigs to kill in tight quarters, think scrub palm and mud. Pigs remind me of miniature buffalo, they are all neck, head, and front shoulder. A 125 lbs pig will run a 200 lbs man over, and bury him in the ground. I have killed a 300+ lbs pig with a knife and the smaller ones are way more mean and dangerous... Just my 2 cents.
There is tons more info and gear if you have any other questions.
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