Wild Hog Safety Tips
When you decide to hunt wild hogs, commitment to safety is paramount not only to succeed but also to get back home in one piece.
An adult feral hog is a formidable enemy that might surprise you in the bushes, turning your situation from hunter to hunted, so being alert is critical to avoid dangerous encounters with a wild pig.
These animals are really fierce and if they get wounded and angry, will become deadly, fighting to death with all their power, and you must be ready to manage such a critical situation to get out from there with a wild pig as the only casualty.
To achieve this goal, try to follow these tips:
1. Keep open communication
It's vital to keep communication with other hunters, especially if your group splits
into two or more subgroups. Perhaps someone else may see something you can't from your position, and having an alert on time may save you from being trapped by a hogs pack or being embushed.
In this regard, don't trust cell phones for this purpose, especially in lonely, far areas where the signal may be weak or null, instead, radio communications are trustworthy for this purpose.
2. Firepower is the key to win
A 300 pounds hog won't stop with one single shot, especially if an angry one decided to take you out of its way, moreover, a small caliber gun will be useless against such a formidable enemy, so bring with you the proper gun to stop a hog.
The minimum firepower you need to accomplish this is a .260 caliber, but this is not the only feature you need to keep in mind; as it was mentioned, usually a single shot won't stop a wild pig and that's why you need a firearm with multiple, rapid shots capability.
3. The escape route must be upwards
Wild pigs are powerful and fast, you have no chance to run away from them, especially in a dense forest.
If you are surprised by one or more hogs and it's impossible to fight them back and win, you need an escape route, but don't think about running, they just will get you by your back!
Instead, you need to go upwards, since hogs are unable to climb rocks or trees, and that's what you need to use as an escape route, especially trees.
Some hunters prefer to stay safe from the very beginning and decide to hunt from an elevated position using a tree stand. This way, they will have a better field of vision while staying away from hogs.
But if you are more comfortable hunting from a ground position, it's very important to look around and decide which tree will be your escape route in case something happens.
It's important to choose a tree near enough to reach before the hog catches you and even more important, one easy to climb for you, otherwise, you'll get trapped between the tree and the hogs, rendering the situation even worse.
As you may see, wild boars hunting needs careful safety planning and this must be a top priority, after all, being safe is the only way to have another day to go out for those pigs!
