Jaydog goes hunting: Wild boar with a knife. (Pig down! and finally some pics)

A couple hours later we came across the second pig. It was a sow that the dogs chased down hill across a huge sunlight clearing and it looked like a cartoon character as she ran leaping and bounding with the dogs hot on her heels. At the last second she looked back at the dogs closing in and ducked into the forest. We were running full out downhill behind all of them trying not to break our ankles on the loose lava rock or take a tumble and do worse. Eventually she ran into thicker bushes, got under a log and turned to fight the dogs. We caught up with her there and I had to squeeze behind the guide under the tree as he got a hold of the dogs and I grabbed ahold of her hind legs. I fought with her for a few minutes just to give them time to get the dogs to release their hold on her and then got her pinned on her side in the cramped quarters. Far from a huge pig but very nice looking we decided that she was a great meat pig so I stabbed her, cleanly taking out the heart and lungs in one push. The custom knife I had made for my last hunt is completely Crocodile Dundee ridiculous, but damn its exactly meant for killing pigs like this! After a two second break for a handshake and a shameless trophy photo, they held the pig and I did the gutting- a guy has to do his own dirty work, you know. :) After field dressing her, we carried her out to the side of the road, left her and continued hunting.
 
I realized today that I had never finished writing up this hunt and needed to get my act together. Sadly I had a setting wrong on my GoPro and ended up with four blurry photos instead of complete video of two of the hunts. Such is life and I have the memories, but it still was a pisser!

Pig number 3 was another sow. She ran for quite a bit, getting in three skirmishes with the dogs while running up and down lava ledges through the forest. This of course had us scrambling behind her on the slippy ground and by the time we caught to her and the dogs my lungs were on fire again. I grabbed the hind legs and after some struggling the guys broke the dogs free and tied them off. In hindsight I should have taken my second meat pig of the day as she was a nice size but it just felt greedy and it was early enough in the day thst the odds of turning a large tusked boar was good so we released her unharmed. After the run and the fights this sow was so exhausted that I couldn't get her to wheelbarrow walk up the hill in over a log so I could find a safe place to set her free and I ended up having to flip her on her side again drag her up, over the log and then push her down hill. Quite the workout! Despite the handling I'm sure she was greatly relieved to be on her way unscathed. :)

Pigs number 4 and so were a series of piglets that the dogs kept bumping into as the wiley sows ditched their offspring and snuck off downwind. Nothing like the love of a mother........ Of course a 45lb dog grabbing a 5lb piglet isn't a gentle thing so those dogs got a rather rough lesson on leaving the little ones alone.
 
Finally some pictures. I apologise for the super crappy quality, but their all I have.....


First off credit goes to the dogs for their hard work. Cross a Catahoula with a Whippet, throw on a cut collar and voila- you have a pig dog. (My houndsmen friends just died a little reading that) :)


A crappy photo of where the sow decided to turn and fight. The more awkward the spot the more they like it! Wrestling her all hunched over under that tree wasn't my first choice and is a great spot to stumble and get torn up by a pissed off hog. Dang that sow looks tiny in this photo!


Notice the scars on this tree go chest high. There are some big boars out there waiting for me!


Not a big pig, not a small one either. Just right for the freezer!! Too bad the WWF logo on my hat didn't come out clearer. :)


Nap time after a hard day's work. :)
 
The sow doesn't look so small on your back on a mountainside! Nice work! Yes, too bad about the WWF logo. Hey...... didn't you wear a Nature Conservancy hat on you last foray into Hawaiian pig-sticking? Hah - good for you for reminding them that you're doing their conservation work for them!
Dave
 
Yup, last time I was sporting a Nature Conservancy cap! Conservation occurs in many beautiful forms and I'm only too happy to do my part. :)
Tonight's dinner is chorizo made from that sow. She is delicious!!
 
This was my freezer in the rental after a week of the missus and I feasting on pork every night. :) Our grocery bill for the week was next to nothing and we ate like kings off the BBQ.


We brought home 1 3/4 of those big Sobey's soft sided coolers of frozen boneless meat. The import regs allow for 42lbs per person for personal use and while the guy at the airport is intrigued at me showing up with coolers of meat it took less than ten minutes for him to verify what I was saying and send us on our way. I had printouts, but didn't actually NEED to bring any paperwork and he sure could care less about my hunting licence.
 
Unscathed is always a good thing. ;)

Along those lines, it was interesting chatting with the guides this time since we 'knew' each other. It turns out they only take a couple guys a year after pigs with dogs and a knife since the owner is afraid of the liability and turns pretty much everyone who asks down. He actually told me no too when I first asked years ago and I had to call him back and explain my experience wrangling pissed off creatures. :) Both guides come from pig hunting families and have little cottages up on the mountain that they spend weekends in. From their stories, I don't think there is anyone in their family who hasn't been busted up by a hog at some point!
 
This was my freezer in the rental after a week of the missus and I feasting on pork every night. :) Our grocery bill for the week was next to nothing and we ate like kings off the BBQ.


We brought home 1 3/4 of those big Sobey's soft sided coolers of frozen boneless meat. The import regs allow for 42lbs per person for personal use and while the guy at the airport is intrigued at me showing up with coolers of meat it took less than ten minutes for him to verify what I was saying and send us on our way. I had printouts, but didn't actually NEED to bring any paperwork and he sure could care less about my hunting licence.

Is that across the board or because you had to travel by plane? To be most forward, this is something I want to do (with my own rifle and revolver in Texas or thereabouts) so naturally this thread furthur infects me with the bug to just go. But I wouldn't eat that much of a hog and travelling by land I'd very much like to return with whatever I didn't eat of one hog, and (it'd be nice to have two) so ... {hoping} that the import regulation you mentioned is not some across the board illogical Canadian reg.

Congratulations being able to enjoy a superior "tourist" trip to Hawaii, that's my idea of a good trip.
 
Here is the website that the border guy will use to figure out what and how much you are allowed to import to Canada:
http://airs-sari.inspection.gc.ca/airs_external/english/decisions-eng.aspx

Its a bit of a weird way of classifying critters, but you will get the hang of it pretty quick. From my exploration the default import limits for personal use are 42lbs per person. Of course this makes no sense for a guy from Alberta doing an elk hunt in Montana and trying to comply with the laws to remove all edible portions!!!

My guess is that if you show up with the entire animal they are going to be reasonable since the website is more aimed at commercial people, but like every border crossing its a total crapshoot of what kind of mood everyone is in. :) Good luck!
 
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