Fending off a boar with an axe?
So, this is likely a very very dumb question but I came across this question about wild boars while researching boar hunting and I was wondering if an axe would be at all useful against a boar if it was the only weapon/tool you had to use? I know that when hunting boar spears and bows have been used in the past but I can't find anything on how effective an axe might be. Because of the tough hide, I am assuming the axe wouldn't do much but, could it be used to at least distract the boar long enough to run for the nearest tree? I have no hunting experience at all, so like I said at the beginning this could be a very dumb question.
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Not going to distract with an axe and then climb a tree. You got to the tree or not before the hog got to you. Hogs are usually in brush without a lot of trees you can climb.
An axe is a formidable weapon. You would need to time the charge but you can break flesh. If it does latch on to you then strike the hind quarters.
I would certainly want more than an axe but I would take that over nothing.
I certainly would not hunt boar with an axe. Most boar (and feral hog) hunting is with an assault rifle or small deer rifle. For defense my weapon of choice is a shot gun with light shot then stack a bigger shot behind the first two. The light shot will take out their eyes so they can't see you. If they keep coming keep shooting.
They do not attack often. Piglets are what you need to stay away from as mama will defend her piglets.
I ran the numbers a boar can get up to 30 mph but that take 1000 meters to get up to speed and they are just not likely to attack from that distance. So more like 20 mph. That is 30 ft / second. Can get off 3 shots from an automatic rifle or pistol in 1 second and 2 from a manual shotgun. A body shot from 30 feet is an automatic from good marksman and head shot from a top marksman. I was going out for target practice at my friends 300 acres and it turns out some other people were hunting and scared one to me. I dropped to my butt clicked off 2 and dropped him. Not a chance in hell I could have climbed a tree in that time even if there was tree. I would take my chances with an ax over no ax. Another time my buddy that is better marksman and hunter than me dropped a boar attacking my dog with a shotgun in two shots without even blinking.
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The most useful thing you can do with an axe in case of a boar attack is throwing it into the bushes and climbing the nearest tree.
Trying to melee with a charging boar is a bad ideaTM, regardless of what kind of weapon you are carrying. This mostly includes guns also, as a charge by a boar will not give you enough time to do much of any thing before contact...
I.e. if you want to be safe in the face of wild boars, think of prevention instead of defence.
For example as suggested by this site:
- Be calm and move slowly away from the animal. Do not approach or attempt to feed the animal.
- Keep a safe distance and do not corner or provoke the animal i.e. by using a flash while taking pictures of it.
- If you see adults with young piglets, leave them alone. These are potentially more dangerous because they may attempt to defend their young.
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RE: Fending off a Boar with an Axe. Sure, you could do that. BUT... chances are high that you will likely not incapacitate the Boar enough immediately since you may not penetrate deep enough with the blow to deliver an immediately incapacitating blow.
NOTE: An aggressive Boar will use their tusks and attempt to gore you in the area of your femoral artery (inner thigh). IF they successfully manage to target this area, you will likely bleed-out very rapidly and likely die from the blood loss.
IF you're going to have to go toe-to-toe with a pissed-off Boar, and all you had was a Hatchet... I'd probably try like hell to land strong blow to the base of his neck, hoping to damage the CNS (Central Nervous System) for a rapid incapacitation. I'd have to imagine the head would move too much as he was approaching to be a target that you'd be able to effectively score a hit on it in the heat of the moment.
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