What do you think? Are wild hogs really dangerous? Just because some people say they are, are they really? Or is that just an old story told by testosterone deficient guys looking for a way to build their own egos? Meet officer Andrew, checking in at six feet six inches tall. He’s a police officer in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. His answer to that question is based on a personal encounter with 200+ pound offender.
Just like any other morning, Officer Andrew showed up at the station that day and began loading up his patrol unit. Immediately, he received a call for service involving a loose animal. There was “a pig running through a neighborhood.” He placed his gear bag in his patrol unit and responded to the location where the animal was last seen. “In my mind this was probably a small farm pig and this call would be no big deal,” he remembers. Reality would soon interrupt that train of thought.
Officer Andrew was the only unit dispatched to the call. When he arrived, instead of finding a cute pig from a movie farmhouse, he found a medium sized wild hog. Medium is relative, but when you look at these pictures, remember that Officer Andrew towers six feet six inches tall. This feral offender was the real deal and cruising with impunity through the neighborhood at a nice trot. That neighborhood had a high population density and plenty of kids to complicate the situation.
Officer Andrew had been exclusively a bird hunter since childhood. He had no experience up to this point on hunting wild pigs. “I only knew two facts to be true at the time of the situation: wild hogs are very dangerous resilient animals, and I probably needed a whole lot more than a .40 caliber police service pistol to deal with one effectively.”
Given the safety concerns for the people in the neighborhood, Officer Andrew radioed for assistance. One Detective Sergeant named Tom, who Officer Andrew had worked closely with for the bulk of his career, responded to the location. En route he quipped over the radio, “what’s the matter, you can’t handle a little ole pig by yourself??” Tom didn’t know yet just what kind of pig he was soon to confront. When he arrived his demeanor changed.
Both agreed that this animal was a serious threat to the area and needed to be handled quickly. Officer Andrew was armed with a Glock 22 .40 caliber with 46 rounds of total ammunition. Tom had a compact Glock 23 .40 caliber. They were feeling a bit under equipped suddenly. “Not realizing what I would be up against, I failed to check out the Remington 1187 12 Gauge shotgun that the department provided prior to responding to the call.” You know what they say about hindsight being 20/20…
There was no question that this animal needed to be neutralized immediately. The two law enforcement professionals followed the animal for several blocks, waiting for the safest possible chance to take action. They were able to corner the animal in a partially fenced in space. Tom fired two rounds both striking the hog. Officer Andrew fired once knocking the feral hog down. These rounds were fired from approximately 20 yards. The first responders then both retreated around a corner where the hog was out of sight momentarily. “I looked at Tom and gleefully exclaimed, ‘he’s down!’ Tom looked back at me with a look I’ll never forget and said, ‘no the **** he isn’t, you’d better climb up on something.’” Tom was climbing atop a small Geo hatchback. Officer Andrew saw nothing sturdy enough to support him. All this happened within a few seconds, followed by the angry return of the wounded feral fellon.
The hog came from around from the corner alley where they initially engaged him. He seemed more energized than before and began running directly toward Officer Andrew at a speed that would make the Roadrunner look slow. Determined not to be this offender’s victim, he drew his Glock and began sending Winchester SXT hollow points in the hog’s direction. Tom engaged the wild pig from atop the vehicle. Despite both of them connecting with each round, the hog still continued to charge. Without a tree or car to jump on, Officer Andrew retreated back a few steps, continuing to fire, as the hog closed the distance. “I was backed into a fence and I knew it would soon be time for a magazine change which I would not have time for. I knew that if he was able to reach me, that a tusk to my femoral artery would certainly make me a life insurance sweepstakes winner.”
The offender got within two yards of Officer Andrew before he fell over, still giving it his best to get up and continue the charge. The feral offender was then dispatched with three more rounds. Twenty-three total rounds were fired to stop this hog: 10 from Tom and 13 from Officer Andrew.
“I chalk up my success in the situation to two factors,” he says. “I had a partner that could shoot accurately and the Almighty was watching over me that day. I’m thankful that we were able to prevent any citizens – especially children in the neighborhood – from getting seriously injured or killed by this animal.”
So, are hogs dangerous game? You decide. But you might want to be well armed when making that assessment.
