What features does a pig hunting knife have?

anyone ever heard of a fellow name of ben lilly?

he was from TX and hunted bears and mountain lions with a knife lol, j frank dobie wrote a book and its pretty good if ya are into that kinda thing.

he also personally made all of his hunting knives, IIRC the ones i saw had a kinda elongated "S" shape, hard to describe,
 
The November or December BLADE magazine has an article on Condor knives, and mentions that the Condor Pipe Knife is popular with pig hunters. (Google Condor knives.)

thx - cpr
 
I admit I was inexperienced when I went on hog hunting with friends few years ago. Each of us was equiped with M16. We all took several shots at that hog, which only irritated that hog more. Eventually it charged toward a guy standing next to me and, although it took all the bullets in my magazine, knocked that guy down. You guys are right. M16 is a good gun. I should not lose confidence in it just because I did not use it properly.
 
do ya mean an AR15 or didja actually go hog hunting with an select fire M16??

i would suppose an M16 would do the job lol, imho an AKM would be better though lol.
 
ArmaLite sold its rights to the AR10 and AR15 to Colt in 1959. Colt marketed the AR15 rifle to various military services around the world, including the U.S. Air Force, Army, and Marine Corps. The AR-15 was eventually adopted by the United States military under the designation M16, although I am not sure whether AR15 and M16A2 are the same.
 
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Thanks everyone, I now have a more definitive idea of what it takes. Interesting reads, leads and links.
 
DRMUDD said:
Having shot a hog with a 45-70 and the have it chase myself and a buddy into a mesquite tree, I'll agree with you on the "not for the faint of heart" part. After turning its head into a popcorn bowl with my buddy's 357, we spent the better part of that afternoon and evening laying naked on a picnic table while his mom (a RN) pulled thorns out of our respective asses, giggling the entire time.
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What load were you using?? Where did you hit it?
 
Although any good 9+-inch Bowie knife would do the job, I would prefer if that knife was strapped onto a .454 Casull, .475 Linebaugh, or something like that....
 
Do wild hogs taste pretty much like their domesticated counter parts? I believe we are getting more and more wild hogs in Ohio and I love to hunt.

Bill
 
Camillus made a version of the Becker BK-9 with a sharpened swedge.

It was designated the BK-9HH (Hog Hunter). I have one around here somewhere.
 
Bumppo said:
Is there a definitive "Pig Hunting Knife"? How exactly is a pig hunted with a knife? Does the hunter just confront the animal and stab it in the neck, or is the animal pinned by dogs and the throat slit? Excuse my ignorance, but every once in a while pig hunting is mentioned, and when I try to look up pictures of pig hunting knives I am seeing either classic bowies or knives that look like space fantasy knives. What actually makes a good pig knife, and how is it used? Any examples?
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1 Yes there are knives specifically designed for pig hunting with dogs - they're called "pig stickers" and they're usually fairly long and dagger shaped (although not usually double edged). Muela and Nieto have made Aussie designed "pig stickers" specifically for the local market - the Muela is the longer one in the picture
http://s623.photobucket.com/albums/tt313/antonio_luiz/?action=view&current=MuelavsNieto.jpg

2 Theory is:- dogs grab hold of the pig's ears and hold on while you run in and "stick it". One of the preferred killing strokes is the same as that used by bullfighters - facing the front of pig and stabbing between neck and shoulder to pierce the heart. The long narrow blade is ideal for this. I've seen pigs killed this way but never done it myself - too much snarling, squealing and dust. Besides, those monstrous pig dogs are stupid-savage. I've seen what some of them have done to their owners and don't trust them one bit. Prefer to avoid their redneck owners too.
 
I went hog hunting in Northern Florida about 10 years ago with my brother who lives there. He shot a 110 lb hog with a Glock 10mm at about 25 yards.
All I can say is get a knife that is easily sharpened because hog skin is tough.
Secondly get a knife that is easy to clean. Hog gutting/skinning is dirty business. He/We used a Buck 110 and it worked well but I would suggest a fixed blade.
 
Hitthespot, it's been my experience that feral hogs run a wide spectrum as far as how the meat tastes. I've eaten hogs that were hanging out around pecan orchards that tasted fantastic and I've eaten hog meat that was from hogs that were running the river bottoms feeding off of who knows what. That meat was pretty rank.

I really think a lot of it depends on the diet of the individual hog and possibly the age of the animal as well. Although my experience is that older/bigger hogs doesn't affect the taste of the meat as much as whether it is tough or not.

Again, this is just my own personal experience.

SDS
 
You don't need a sword to kill a pig. Once the dogs catch the pig by the ears/snout/legs, the pig is more or less immobile and you can walk up and grab the back legs "wheelbarrow" style. Then you twist the back legs and push with your front foot to flip the hog onto its side. At this point there are dogs everywhere jockeying for position and it can be dangerous to have a spear in the mix. Once the pig is down on the ground, you unsheath your knife, place the point low on the chest right in the soft arm pit. Don't stab the pig, but rather just push on the back of the knife. If you put your blade vertically it should go between the ribs like butter. Then the knife is thursted in and out at varying angles to ensure sufficient damage. When you hit the heart you will know. Blood will gush out onto your hand and knife handle. Then you sheath the knife and hold the pig down until it expires. It is relatively safe for the hunter to do this when done correctly.

I have been hunting hogs since high school and have seen at least a hundred killed by knife. My friends have used every knife under the sun. I'd say as long as the thing has a secure grip that will keep your hand from sliding up the blade, and a minimum of a 6" blade it should be fine. Anything over 10" you run the danger of sticking all the way through the pig and cutting your own dog. it HAS happened. I think the ideal length would be between 7: and 8.5". I would prefer around 7.5". It also should be pointy enough to penetrate and SHARP.

My friends have used Kabars, different types of bayonets, RTAKII, Buck 119s, modified machetes, schrade deerslayers, generic military kabar type knives, benchmade skinners, screwdrivers, just to name a few...

I've even seen a small 2.5" blade pocket knife do the trick (jugular), as well as a normal ontario machete. The machete was used to slice through the pad, then with the existing slice it was easily stuck into the heart area.
 
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My opinion is pretty close to SDS's. The largest male wild pig I ever shot (around 275-300 lbs live weight) tasted darn good. He was taken near farmland in a wet year and had been eating well.

Generally I try to shoot a sow under 200 lbs for the best chance of good meat.

Most of the wild pork I've taken has had a bit more intense flavor than domestic pork but not terribly different. If you can shoot some, it is well worth getting. Any extra can be donated to groups like Hunters Against Hunger.

DancesWithKnives
 
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