Ron L: in a word, yes, it�s very dangerous if the PH doesn`t know his work and/or the pack is bad trained. Try to put yourself behind the beast, never in the front line. If the boar charges you...better to have a very big gun, believe me. Also you must ride very well and the argentinian saddle is very different than the European or cowboy one. Where are you going, may I ask?.

I am going to Argentina on a dove hunt this July. The outfitter has offered us a day of wild boar hunting using dogs with one little twist. The boar must be killed with a knife. Since these are Russian wild boars that average 300 pounds, it sounds interesting. From what I understand, he uses "Argentinian dogos" that catch and hold the animal while you move in with the knife. Has anyone here killed a hog with a knife? Where do you stick the boar or do you just slit their throats? How often does the hog get loose and come after the hunter? I was wondering just how dangerous this really is?

We did it a lot in Austrlia, it's really not that hard.

The most important thing is your fitness, you must be able to get in on the scene quickly, be it on horseback or running.

The best way to go about it is to go in from behind the pig and get hold of a back leg, once you've got that in hand, he's not going anywhere.

After that you can either slip the kinfe into the "armpit" angled slightly upwards or into the throat. I find it easier to go under the arm, into the softer skin in the fold, low on the shoulder.

There will be a lot of screaming and havok, blood and adrenaline.

As to the size, I think you would really struggle with a 150kg pig like what you have been talking about, but I wouldn't bet on you finding one that big.

On my first trip to Africa I was culling wart hogs. I had shot a two at a water hole. One droped in the water..the other was a running shot in the spine. His back end was numb but he was full of life when I walked up to him. My tracker was telling me to stay back and shoot him again. I was a green first timer...not exatly the smartest thing to do but I took my leatherman pocket tool and for the next 5 min. worked to pin the animal on his side so I could kill it. He slashed my boots and missed my leg by milimeters a number of times. I jumped up on his shoulder with my 240 lbs...I was able to pin his neck with my right boot. I being a doctor of sorts knew pig anatomy was very similar to human. I was able to cut the aorta on the second thurst of the leather man..he died in a few min.

This was one of those things that at the time seem to be the right thing......I realize it was one of the most stupid things I had ever done.

....but it was FUN!
Urdubob

Check out the Aussie/NZ forum. Look at Gary Halls posts, most of those pigs have been killed it a knife OR bailed by dogs and killed with a rifle/shotgun at short range.

The dogo's should hold them steady for you to finish off with a knife.

From our experience Express has the right idea of how and were to stick a boar, there are two main ways. Stick the pig while your holding a back leg or tip the pig, then stick it while kneeling across it's neck and rib area.



To stick a 150kg boar you've got to be fit and have complete faith in your dogs.







The photo below shows my boys, Matt and Steve with our good friend Wayne with a 90kg boar that was rolled and stuck.

Wayne with a solid boar that gave the dogs a bit of stick in the river. The third dog of the team Sandy(not pictured)received a serious facial tusk wound in the short confrontation. (It's not normally the big tusks that cause the dog's serious damage its these short sharp buggers).

After a bit of medical attention from Bakes, Sandy was back in action a week later.

Sorry to say a short time later Sandy was gored to death by an agro buffalo while out looking for hogs.

Regarding the quoted Capstick�s article, it should be noted that he was hunting the Allen area at R�o Negro Province, which is rather more open that these at La Pampa. Also he was guided by Amadeo (Chiche)Bilo, the most experienced hunter at that time, who was the owner of the better pack of dogos that ever existed. This notwithstanding, the leading bitch, Day of Trevelin, died at the fight and other dogs were wounded. I don�t know for sure if Capstick was or was not in a dangerous position (he wrote about grabbing the boar by the tail, a most stupid thing to do). I must point out that 150 kilograms is not uncommon for some of our boars. As a matter of fact, several of these have been recorded at 250 kilograms or more (see the records). 30 years ago Mr. Osvaldo Pontecorvo got one weighing 313 kilograms. I�m somewhat worried about Ron L�s incoming hunt and suggest at least a 44 Magnum in his belt. I�ve been there, done that. You follow the pack (dogos are usually silent) riding furiously through the woods and take into account that these trees all have sharp thorns, then must dismount and run very fast to reach the pack fighting the boar. The dogs don�t hold a big beast for much time, you should help or several of them will be wounded or killed.
Another method of killing the hog is severing its spinal cord, not an easy task, believe me.

I have heard that some people choose to cut the throat on a boar...I believe this takes longer to kill it though!
From what I understand you guys are fist grabbing the leg and then leaning forward to stab behind the shoulder...
I have stuck only a couple warthogs and they were easy to restrain by stepping on the upper tusk, then stabbing behind the shoulder...I found the most important thing is blade length, too short and you only piss the animal off!

whoa tiger!
Maybe they were part wildboar?

I am a light weight soooo.... if I could only jump on his back and steer him to the truck... I could ride him and start letting some blood out about 100 yards from the truck sound like a plan?