Look at the size of that !!!!!!!!!!

I would not like to meet that thing anywhere

http://www.news.com.au/common/imagedata/0,,6651706,00.jpg

220 kgs they reckon, i'ld say at least that.


http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,25567372-953,00.html

How would you kill an animal that size humanely? It would be scary to confront. This is another pig photo I posted here ages ago.

The pig in this photo apparently had been living off canola crops.

http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk114/Mantra_2008/wildpig_wideweb__470x3172.jpg

:o Wow!
That's big enough to feed an entire country of starving muslims.

maybe we can export them live, release them in mosques ???

I saw some razorbacks out west many years ago.
One of the ugliest scariest creatures I have seen, vying with stonefish !!!!!!!

PIGZILLA!!! 8-)

Man would I like to bag one that big!

As regards the question of how one would humanely kill an animal of that size, if you are using "enough gun," or a suitable bow and broadhead arrow as the case may be, then a shot to the vitals should do the job quickly.

It would be an interesting challenge for a junk yard chefs to cook it whole. I reckon it should be brined for 1 year and smoked for 2 in she-oak sawdust smoke. The casurina of course should be from mountain ridges and not from river plains. The smokehouse should be designed just for the pig. And no nitrates in the brine only sea salt, brown sugar and Frigate OP Rum.

Tallow - darn, invite me to your next BBQ, I'll bring the champagne !!!!!!

I remember the really big one that the kid is posing with was surrounded by a fair bit of contoversy. Apparently it was basically a tame pig that the owner was paid by the father of the good-ol-boy son to shoot with the .44 Magnum. So I hope that they at least backed up the gutless "hunting" effort by putting the porker to some good use.

Yes Warrigal, there are any number of cartridge or bow/arrow combinations ALONG with proper shot placement that would do the job. I've only ever seen a pig that I reckon appoaches the size of the 2nd pig once. It was probably 25 years ago, early morning and about 600+ metres of the road out near Dirranbandi. At first we all thought it was a cow knee deep in mud until we glassed it. And although we had rifles capable of getting there none were of a decent enough caliber to give a reasonable chance of a clean kill. The heaviest rifle we had with us was a .243 with 80-90grain bullets. The 30/30 too short a range rifle, shooting would have been irresponsible. Never seen another pig of mythological proportions until the above photo.

Hi Locutious.

I never did hear the details about the pig "hunt" you describe.

A .44 Magnum in very expert hands would serve although the circumstances of THIS case sound highly unethical.

Pigs of this size are not quite as exceptional as people have been led to belive.

In 1994 a mate of mine took a porker in this weight division.

A nice one shot kill with a .308 cal Remington from a tad under 200 metres.

Shot placement is critical and not in dispute but if you fail to use an adequate arm for the job then the kill will not be cleanly made.

Game all the way up to African elephant have been and continue to be taken humanely even with bows.

Yes Warrigal ..I was going to suggest a 303 or even a 250..Remington is a good rifle.

As for shooting humanely, possible if the animal is not charging you, but if it is it will get nasty..Ive been on pig hunts and seen a few big boars..but nothing like these 2.

Charging animals are not really that much of a problem but three things need to be inplace.

Adequate cartridge.

Know the kill zones from any angle.

Confidence in yourself and the first two points.

Yes Warrigal, it's all about adequate and ethical matching of cartridge and skill to game. I'm sure that under perfect circumstances that a .22 rimfire will dispatch nearly any thing on earth. But really it is not ethical to use it on anything bigger than a fox, and even a fox is at the very upper limit as far as I'm concerned. That's why we never took a shot at that pig that day, I have every confidence that we could have hit it, but the rick factor of wounding it was too great. And it scarpered into thick lignum, and I wasn't going after it without a coach gun. Even then......

I'd hunt anything in Australia with a .308 including buffalo, but it is not a Buffalo stopper. Even the .338 Win Mag is a bit light on. To stop a charger the guides use as a standard a .375 Ruger or .375 Holland & Holland.

I'm actually looking at a .338 Federal as an option for a next rifle. I am very impressed with the ballistics of this cartridge. Based on the .308 necked to .338.

With a .243, 7mm/08, .308 and .338, just need to purchase the same brass. Even like the idea of the Australian wildcat round the .25/08. Makes for an interesting and fine shooting family of cartridges.

Charging animals are not really that much of a problem but three things need to be inplace.

I must clarify that I say this without ever having faced charging dangerous game. And many of the animals that would fall into this category I have neither means or inclination to hunt even if I had the means.

I would shoot anything out of neccessity, but few things out of want.

When I was young and immortal we used to hunt wild boars with sticks and axes. The trick is to make the pig to go where you want it to be, which is not hard considering the charging nature of the animal and the bigger they are the easier it is due to inertia of the mass.
The skill required is to be able to annoy the pig and swift feet.
Make your sticks as sharp as lances and dig them into ground at right height and angle. Incite your pig to charge you and jump over it just before the sticks. Finish it off with single blow by the butt of your axe at ~90 degrees angle slightly in front of it's ears.

oceanz wrote on Jun 2^nd, 2009 at 12:10pm:

Yes Warrigal ..I was going to suggest a 303 or even a 250..Remington is a good rifle. As for shooting humanely, possible if the animal is not charging you, but if it is it will get nasty..Ive been on pig hunts and seen a few big boars..but nothing like these 2.

Yes the .303 is certainly adequate medicine for any pig out there, again bullet placement and proper bullet contruction is important. I know I harp on about this but it is vital for clean kills.

Oceans, are you talking about the 250 Savage cartridge in a Remington rifle which is certainly up to the job for pigs or the Remington cartridge 22-250. Which even though I have seen a lot of pigs killed with this cartridge, I think is actually a little light for pigs. Better for medium sized soft skin game such as roos. The blokes I used to hunt with were all extremely good shots but also knew the limitations of different cartridge and bullet combinations.

I used to really dislike the .243 as nearly everyone that was a shooter used to own one and I got sick of hearing about the cartridge but down the track realized that it is an excellent all round cartridge for Australian game except for the very biggest deer and cattle animals. The same could be said for the 25/06. The larger animals require a .30 caliber round as a minimum.

tallowood wrote on Jun 2^nd, 2009 at 8:19pm:

When I was young and immortal we used to hunt wild boars with sticks and axes. The trick is to make the pig to go where you want it to be, which is not hard considering the charging nature of the animal and the bigger they are the easier it is due to inertia of the mass. The skill required is to be able to annoy the pig and swift feet. Make your sticks as sharp as lances and dig them into ground at right height and angle. Incite your pig to charge you and jump over it just before the sticks. Finish it off with single blow by the butt of your axe at ~90 degrees angle slightly in front of it's ears.

Tallow, that sounds positively medieval. I imagine a climbible tree located nearby would have been an essential part of any plan.

tallow - pretty exciting but  :-)

:o That's a helluva method Tallo.
I think it was Braveheart that they used a similar method to that against charging horses.

*

Prior to the widespread availabilty of EFFICIENT firearms in Europe, methods similar, if not identical, to those described by Tallo were widely used by huntsmen.

Enticing a large animal to charge onto the point of a spear or specially designed hunting sword was pretty much how a lot of people took game and as regards the reference to the film "Braveheart" which depicted Infantry using pole-arms against charging horses and armoured knights...well...there was a time when that is pretty much how men often DID fight.

And for quite a long time after the gunpowder revolution.

Just regarding Ocean and Locutious's thoughts on charge situations.

While Loc is correct that a combination of good marksmanship, confidence and a sound knowledge of kill zones will reduce the dangers of a charge, I must also agree with Ocean that there is no such thing as a "clean" charge situation.

Best case scenario:

You will need multiple shots to put the animal down.

Worst case situation:

Both the hunter and the hunted may die.

This doesn't just apply to the big game hunting fields either.

Even charge situations involving drugged up and/or psychotic humans often result in double fatality as any copper who has had to shoot for his life under such circumstances will confirm.

mantra wrote on Jun 1^st, 2009 at 12:05pm:

How would you kill an animal that size humanely? It would be scary to confront. This is another pig photo I posted here ages ago. The pig in this photo apparently had been living off canola crops. http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk114/Mantra_2008/wildpig_wideweb__470x3172.jpg

I may be wrong, but I am almost certain that photo has been debunked.

The photo is the opening post has been confirmed as real.

locutius, as Rambo, you suck.

tallowood wrote on Jun 2^nd, 2009 at 8:19pm:

When I was young and immortal we used to hunt wild boars with sticks and axes. The trick is to make the pig to go where you want it to be, which is not hard considering the charging nature of the animal and the bigger they are the easier it is due to inertia of the mass. The skill required is to be able to annoy the pig and swift feet. Make your sticks as sharp as lances and dig them into ground at right height and angle. Incite your pig to charge you and jump over it just before the sticks. Finish it off with single blow by the butt of your axe at ~90 degrees angle slightly in front of it's ears.

So how do you get the pig to hang around waiting while you dig lances into the ground? I always thought the charging thing was exagerated. All the wild pigs I've seen have fled when I approached. Charging doesn't sound like a useful instinct with humans around.

Aussie wrote on Jun 5^th, 2009 at 8:25pm:

mantra wrote on Jun 1st, 2009 at 12:05pm: How would you kill an animal that size humanely? It would be scary to confront. This is another pig photo I posted here ages ago. The pig in this photo apparently had been living off canola crops. http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk114/Mantra_2008/wildpig_wideweb__470x3172.jpg I may be wrong, but I am almost certain that photo has been debunked. The photo is the opening post has been confirmed as real. locutius, as Rambo, you suck.

:-* :-*