# Stalking 'Wild Boar'



## hobbsy1010 (Jun 4, 2011)

Is the Vizsla too small a breed to stalk 'Wild Boar'?

http://k9adventurestore.smugmug.com/photos/i-MXcN5hn/0/L/i-MXcN5hn-L.jpg

Your thoughts please!

Hobbsy


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## dmak (Jul 25, 2012)

Nice pic. It depends on how your going to boar hunt with your pup. I do a lot of boar hunting and personally don't take Kauzy with me. He would be more than able to track it no prob, but typically on a BH the dogs track then flush the pig. The dogs will then chase and herd the pig while the hunter shoots or stabs. Boars are big, mean and unforgiving and if he has tusks can be very dangerous to the dog. The guys I go with use Argentine Dogos, which have been bred specifically to boar hunt. They wear Kevlar vests and are just as mean as the pig when on the hunt. I'm not sure a V is strong tempered enough to coral and manage a 400 lb voracious Razorback.


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## Ozkar (Jul 4, 2011)

We hunt pigs here in Oz. However, we don't use the same methods Dmak speaks of. We stalk in on the pigs, so the pups are really only there to find the downed animal via a blood trail if they dive into scrub before expiring. 

Having said that, I actually don't enjoy having the pups with me when on pigs, as I am worried about a large boar turning on them. It's not so much that they herd or corral the pigs, but sometimes if busted by a boar, they will have a go. If you move, your gone. I know my pups would not stand statuesque in the face of a charging boar. So I tend to only target pigs when I am certain that we are not going to be spotted by them. Otherwise I stick to Deer, rabbits, Foxes and Goats.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

To many dogs get hurt or die hog hunting for me to want to use one of my dogs. My brother inlaw has Curr's for bay dogs. They chase the hog, surround it and in general just tire it out. After the hog is tired he releases the Dogo. It goes in and catches the hog by the ear. Then holds it until made to release it.


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## hobbsy1010 (Jun 4, 2011)

Watched quite a few hunting boar vids on youtube and the like. Have noticed a couple of things that have got me thinking!
Lots of footage taken of shooting the boars/pigs shows on most occasions it takes more than one shot to take the animal down let alone stop it.
A lot of the footage shown on hunting this sport seems to show quite a high percentage of poor shots often to the rear of the boar/pig and not to the more humane and conventional kill zone the head.
Is this something to do with the speed the animal travels at or just poor sportsmanship?
With regards to hunting with a bow, does it take on average more than one shot to take the animal down in most cases?
Is a head shot also out of the question with a bow?
Apologies to anybody in advance if they find my questions offending, just very interested.

Hobbsy


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## dmak (Jul 25, 2012)

Curs and catahoulas make the best bay dogs cause they are fearless in the fight, which can be their downfall. Watching a dogo work is an amazingly scary sight.

The vids you've probably seen are probably drunk good ole boys working to take out a ferile hog problem. Hogs destroy millions of dollars worth of crop here in Louisiana. Hogs are considered nuisance animals and can be "hunted" year round. Most of the time the "hunter" uses an under powered rifle on a moving, charging hog causing the obviously poor placed shot, not caring about the meat or a humane kill. A true boar hunter seeking that trophy pig will use a high powered rifle or bow and properly dispatch the poised animal with one well placed shot. Or as Red said his dogs will tire out the hog and then use a high caliber pistol or spear to dispatch


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## Ozkar (Jul 4, 2011)

hobbsy1010 said:


> Watched quite a few hunting boar vids on youtube and the like. Have noticed a couple of things that have got me thinking!
> Lots of footage taken of shooting the boars/pigs shows on most occasions it takes more than one shot to take the animal down let alone stop it.
> A lot of the footage shown on hunting this sport seems to show quite a high percentage of poor shots often to the rear of the boar/pig and not to the more humane and conventional kill zone the head.
> Is this something to do with the speed the animal travels at or just poor sportsmanship?
> ...


That's just very poor hunting practices mate.  Disgusting actually. With a rifle, you have to be blind not to be able to place an effective kill zone shot on a pig from 100metres. I would never forgive myself if I shot a pig with a rifle anywhere outside the kill zone. To be honest, I can't stand the squeeling. The noise is bone chilling. I only bow hunt now. Gave up the bang sticks when I left the farm. Never on a hunt have I placed an arrow anywhere but in the kill zone. If I am not 100% certain where it is going to hit, I don't release it. that's ethical hunting. Shooting any animal with a gut shot is just inhumane and not necessary.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

In Texas and other places the hog population is booming.
They are costing farmers and ranchers thousands of dollars in damage and they want them killed by any means possible. The hunts you are watching are not meat hunts where the hunter goes for the quick kill, and the good shot placement. They are out there to cause as much collateral damage as possible on the hog population.
Your right its not a pretty sight or what I call hunting. It is a person trying to save his livelihood by calling people in to thin the herd as much as possible.
The problem with posting those videos is, One/ the animal rights people have a hay day with them. And Two/ others watch them and then go out and hunt that way.


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## hobbsy1010 (Jun 4, 2011)

Very interesting reading guy's.

The Dogo seems to be a bread on it's own, sounds like more than a match for it's quarry. 

Probably right dmak with regards to 'Good Ole Boys' and 'Fat Wallet Hunters' when it comes to poor shooting skills and bad sportsmanship! 

Oz, it must be quite a 'Rush' to see your pack in such a hunting mode on boar/pig, there must be a small worry in the back of your mind regarding how your dogs will play different situations?


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## Ozkar (Jul 4, 2011)

TR, I understand what you say, but I still think it's wrong. 

Here in Oz, a professional feral animal culler would be embarrassed to show stuff like that. They just don't need to do that to cull large populations. Regardless of the damage. In Oz, we the general population are not allowed to kill native animals. It is against the law to hunt ANY native animal. However, farmers can apply for a cull quota if they have a kangaroo population problem causing damage to crops and equipment. There are licenced cullers who they hire to do the job. They use high powered semi automatic weapons. They never miss. I mean never. They are amazingly accurate. Not only that, but they desimate a Roo population rapidly. They are paid per head, so it is in their best interests to be fast and efficient. 

So to me, regardless of the desire to limit damage, inaccurate shooting is just plain wrong.


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## Ozkar (Jul 4, 2011)

hobbsy1010 said:


> Very interesting reading guy's.
> 
> The Dogo seems to be a bread on it's own, sounds like more than a match for it's quarry.
> 
> ...


No mate... not a rush.... normally I am fair crapping my dacks!!!  We only target one if it is absolutely needed or we stumble across one while looking for other prey.

But, I prefer to hunt Deer. Mainly as they are so difficult to hunt. Seriously wary creatures. Pigs however are dumb arses. It's no fun to me. If I had to cull a population of them, I'd get out the bang stick and shoot the lot from 200 metres.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

Ozkar 
I didn't bother to watch the videos. I have seen plenty of them before. I don't care to hunt that way but Im not loosing money because of them. Most farmers charge the hog hunters. So they are getting paid to fix their problem. 
The guys that do it right have thermal vision scopes and suppressors on high powered rifles. The hogs never know what happened. 
The hog population is so bad you can hunt them out of helicopters. I guess its fun for some people.


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## hobbsy1010 (Jun 4, 2011)

Dont think poor shooting practice or poor sportsmanship is just a stateside problem.
Many of the vids I have seen are hunting in Hungary and other Eastern European countries!
Maybe it's time there was a basic standard of shooting skills that had to be reached before an issue of a shooting or shotgun license??

Might not be a bad idea to start any shooting/hunting skills at an earlier age!


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## Darcy1311 (May 27, 2012)

I think in Scotland before going on a deer stalk, the hunter has to prove they have a good shot before being allowed on the hunt..


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## R E McCraith (Nov 24, 2011)

another no win post - I love pork & wild boar is the best - when it comes to pups never want to see one hurt - as usual it's a balancing act - having seen the damage feral hogs can do - the only place for them is on my plate !!!!!!


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## sniper john (Jun 17, 2010)

hobbsy1010 said:


> Is the Vizsla too small a breed to stalk 'Wild Boar'?
> 
> http://k9adventurestore.smugmug.com/photos/i-MXcN5hn/0/L/i-MXcN5hn-L.jpg
> 
> ...


Hobbsy,
Sorry, I am late to the dialog, but since I do this I will respond. Before my Blaze lost her sight she was used for stalking hogs. Stalking feral hogs or big game is a very different kind of hunting than typical American hog dogging. Those hog doggers use tracking/chasing dogs paired with catch dogs that hold the pig until the hunters catch up to kill it. Though much of the time they are rather "hog tied" and taken alive to be sold to licensed buyers often destined for the European market. I have not watched the YouTube videos either, but I am an ex houndsman as was my grandfather, so I know what it is about. It is very unfortunate if they are making some poor kills and double bad if they are posting them online giving ammunition to those who wish to take our hunting traditions away. My grandfather earned enough from the bounties to put food on the table and cloths on my mother's back during hard times in the 1950s using **** hounds to first locate coyotes, then his sight hounds said to be Irish wolfhound/greyhound crosses would be turned out to run them down. Just as effective as it was in my grandfathers day to run hounds on coyotes, running hog dogs on feral hogs is even more effective today. I would say only second to helicopter hunting. Hog dogging has it's place and purpose with the right hunters with the right dogs. And no, a vizsla would not be the right dog. 


But for hog stalking, that is an entirely different thing and no different than using a Vizsla for any kind of big game stalking. Hunting hogs with Blaze I would work field edges on the downwind side of creek bottoms and stalk right in behind her when hogs were scented. She never engages a hog directly and has never been allowed to. Most of the time I could read my dog and know when we were close, wait the dog, and walk past her or around to the hog for a clear shot. Generally one or more hogs in a herd will focus entirely on the dog and ignore me. You might say this puts the three of us in a sort of "Mexican stand off" until the shot is made. I have never seen one charge that was not wounded or being attacked. My goal is to make a single quick well placed kill shot. There are times the hogs are "jumped" in thick cover by surprise for all sides at close quarters. Almost always one or more will only go a short distance then pause to assess their situation. Again the dog is given a wait, just with a more firm voice, and a quick close range snap shot taken if a safe accurate clear shot is possible. If I can't take the shot, we pull back run ahead and attempt a second stalking attempt if possible. It is a very exciting way to hunt and the dog is never put in danger. She is not even allowed to touch the hog after it is down.


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## Rudy (Oct 12, 2012)

Sniper ;D


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## Rudy (Oct 12, 2012)




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