My BK9 and a Medium Hog

C

coote

Joined
Apr 3, 2006
Messages
1,465
Finally I bagged a hog worthy of a BK9. It isn't the biggest pig I've ever got, but it is a nice one.

I stuck it with the 9. The knife didn't slide in without an effort.... it caught on a bone, but when I pushed harder it penetrated with comparative ease.

Is a BK9 the ultimate hog-hunting knife? No... a better sticking knife would have a narrower blade and a sharper point. However, the BK9 is a much better all-round knife than a dedicated pig-sticker.... especially for someone like me who needs to chop a few branches to make pegs etc.

And while I could have butchered the pig with the '9, I didn't. I'm used to using a smaller knife.

Now that I've taken the coating off the blade, I have a lot of rust spots and stains. That is what has happened to all the carbon steel working knives I've had in my more than fifty years of hunting. It simply doesn't matter. I wash the knife and give it a smear of cooking oil and it will be just fine.

So.... thank you. Thanks for the forum. Thanks Ethan. Thanks Granitestateofmind. Thanks Cold One. I'm enjoying my BK9. It is a useful, sturdy, good-looking tool with a practical sheath.

If the pictures below are too offensive, feel free to delete them. I moved the animal for the pics and not much blood is visible.

HogBK9_zpsllxt9ayo.jpg


HogBK9a_zpsx4sofuce.jpg
 
that's a lot of pig nipples!
 
If you intend to stab lots of piggies i'd suggest sharpening the swedge. Makes it sooo much easier to reach the vitals on those hogs.
DSC_0465_zpsujrfhfhv.jpg
 
Nice hog! When I was stationed at Schofield Barracks, sometimes we would do land nav at East Range. We always met locals carrying out pigs over their back, by their front legs. All they had on them was a big ol knife! I am a hunter myself and believe that hunting pig with a knife is about as primitive as you can get. Talk about the thrill of the hunt! If I ever hunted like that, I guess I would use a bk5. Would make for a helluva penetrating knife...
 
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Good job! the BK9 might not be optimal as a pig sticker but it looks like it wasn't terrible either. The BK9 is my favorite Becker knife, very versatile for my uses, it will be on my side when I go hog hunting next weekend.

Great story and pics as always, thanks for posting, hope you have more successful hunts in the near future.
 
Didn't Camillus make a BK9HH, "hog-hunter" with a sharpened swedge? I imagine a BK5 would have pretty much ideal geometry for stabbing something to death... :drunk:
 
That's the best size eating hog and sow taste better than boar; congratulations.

If you get addicted to hunting hogs with a knife, you might want to check out the TOPS Wild Pig Hunter knife. Nothing against BK's (I own a few of them) but the right tool for the job when it comes to pig sticking.
 
Nice! Glad it served you well.

:thumbup:
 
Nice to see it getting used, and congrats. I smell bacon!

The only hogs in NH are escapees from Corbin Park (aka "the millionaire's hunt club") - and are property of same. Corbin Park doesn't prosecute hunters who kill them, tho - as the park is liable for damages they might cause and hunters, even though they are killing private property are, in reality, helping the park out. It's funny, because the NH hunting rules have a section about feral pigs and are pretty specific that they are not to be killed - but everybody turns a blind eye and, every year, one or two hunters go home from their deer hunts with a hog that was private property and illegal to kill.....
 
Thanks for the friendly comments. Yeah, those nipples were quite abundant. Plus there seemed to be an extra one between the two rows which you can't see in my picture. I'd have taken a close-up for you Bladite if I'd realized you had a special interest in such things. Maybe the image would have made a good screensaver.

Haven't eaten any of the pork yet, but I agree that sows are often better eating than boars. In fact, I avoid cooking older boar pork when there is a woman in the house.... I think that the odor is much worse for them, and I don't want to do anything to bring my hunter-gatherer activities into disrepute.

I haven't sharpened the whole swedge of my '9, just the first wee bit of it. I think it helped. And I totally agree that the '5 or the '7would be good pig knives. Down here in NZ, Svord make a knife a bit like those Tops pig knives that seem to be popular with the keen dog-and-knife folks. I don't need any more knives, but there are some nice ones out there.

I'm surprised that NH feral hogs aren't meant to be killed. It's not like they're native animals, and they certainly can do some damage.
 
coote said:
Thanks for the friendly comments. Yeah, those nipples were quite abundant. Plus there seemed to be an extra one between the two rows which you can't see in my picture. I'd have taken a close-up for you Bladite if I'd realized you had a special interest in such things. Maybe the image would have made a good screensaver.

Haven't eaten any of the pork yet, but I agree that sows are often better eating than boars. In fact, I avoid cooking older boar pork when there is a woman in the house.... I think that the odor is much worse for them, and I don't want to do anything to bring my hunter-gatherer activities into disrepute.

I haven't sharpened the whole swedge of my '9, just the first wee bit of it. I think it helped. And I totally agree that the '5 or the '7would be good pig knives. Down here in NZ, Svord make a knife a bit like those Tops pig knives that seem to be popular with the keen dog-and-knife folks. I don't need any more knives, but there are some nice ones out there.

I'm surprised that NH feral hogs aren't meant to be killed. It's not like they're native animals, and they certainly can do some damage.
Click to expand...

The only boars in the state were imported from Europe 100+ years ago to one, and only one, place - Corbin Park - which is a private hunting reserve with only 30 members and a yearly membership cost of $25,000 + shares; calling it the millionaire's hunt club isn't that far from the truth. NH Fish and Game doesn't want to create a demand for hunting boars, so it remains illegal. But invariably some escape from the 26,000 acre, fenced-in preserve - and hunters in the area that see them will kill them. They are private property of Corbin Park, but the park is also responsible for any damage the escapees do outside the park, so....hunters outside the fence are doing the park a favor, really - and game wardens don't seem to care, because Corbin Park doesn't prosecute the hunters....it's all pretty weird. I linked the story in my previous post - it's worth a glance (or listen), IMO. Fascinating stuff. Bankers and tycoons and Teddy Roosevelt and Himalayan Mountain Goats and Buffalo that may have been - "at least according to some — instrumental in restoring Bison to the American West."

Anyway - nice sow. And yeah - Bladite's like that. He's good people, tho....despite the multiple nipple fetish thing.
 
Nice work on the pig.

I agree about boar's having a stronger smell. When my wife buys pork chops or bacon it sometimes smells of boar. She doesn't smell the difference but I do. Doesn't bother me any. I just a different smell.

Clark
BH# 244
 
I've had a few womenfolk in my life who I shouldn't have cooked boar pork for. When my kids were still at home we had heaps of wild pork, and I wasn't all that discerning about what I cooked. My eldest daughter is pretty reluctant to eat it now. Nowadays I try to cook only the best bits at home when someone else will be eating with me. I want my significant others to say 'yum, go and get more of that'.

Interesting about that exclusive private hunting reserve.... and the wealthy early folks who imported game animals. A similar thing happened here.... we probably wouldn't have deer if it wasn't for the 'gentry' who fancied having them to hunt like they did on the estates in the old country. In modern times nobody is allowed to release mammals anywhere. When some fallow deer mysteriously appeared on an Island where my folks had a holiday home, my Dad was very close to being in deep trouble. The government sent hunters down to kill them. (But there are still a few fallow hiding down there in the scrub)
 
coote said:
I've had a few womenfolk in my life who I shouldn't have cooked boar pork for. When my kids were still at home we had heaps of wild pork, and I wasn't all that discerning about what I cooked. My eldest daughter is pretty reluctant to eat it now. Nowadays I try to cook only the best bits at home when someone else will be eating with me. I want my significant others to say 'yum, go and get more of that'.

Interesting about that exclusive private hunting reserve.... and the wealthy early folks who imported game animals. A similar thing happened here.... we probably wouldn't have deer if it wasn't for the 'gentry' who fancied having them to hunt like they did on the estates in the old country. In modern times nobody is allowed to release mammals anywhere. When some fallow deer mysteriously appeared on an Island where my folks had a holiday home, my Dad was very close to being in deep trouble. The government sent hunters down to kill them. (But there are still a few fallow hiding down there in the scrub)
Click to expand...

Pretty much the story of how hogs got....everywhere. Luckily, they aren't well suited to the climate in the here in New England. Funny how animals (and foodstuffs) that are considered ubiquitous in some cuisines/locales around the world are long ago imports from some other place. One could probably trace the history of the Chinese by following the trail of chicken bones. Can you imagine Italian food without tomatoes? Thai (and all sorts of other Asian food) without chili peppers (or even bell peppers)?The Irish without potatoes? Pretty much every place in the world without corn/maize? All of them New World foods, undiscovered by Europe and the East until they were found in the Americas ~500 years ago. OTOH, boars went in the other direction, as did cattle, brown trout, Sika deer and a whole host of other animals (and insects - like honey bees). Glad you are controlling the invaders, Stephen...and putting them to good use as well.
 
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