The growing epidemic of feral hogs in this country means an increasing number of close encounters with the large omnivores. While some fear bears, pigs can be much more dangerous and far more destructive. Consider this recent close call with an 820 pound hog an Alabama man killed in his own front yard.
Wade Seago is no stranger to hunting. He’s a taxidermist. He himself hunts deer. But he wasn’t hunting when his dog Cruiser began barking.
Then his daughter began screaming.
“I jumped up to see what was going on,” Seago told AL.com. “I looked out the back window and saw nothing, so I ran to the front of the house where my daughter was looking out the window. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.”
The hog was about 15 feet away from the house.
“Cruiser had this huge hog confused with all of the barking and movement,” Wade continued. “It was not a good situation.”
Seago grabbed a .38-caliber revolver headed outside. “By the time I got in a position to shoot, the hog was about 12 yards away,” he said. “Cruiser was out of my line to the hog so I fired.”
He shot the hog three times with the .38 caliber pistol. The well placed shots took down the hog. Students of terminal ballistics know that the .38 caliber bullet is not known for its stopping power. As handgun rounds go, it is considered under-powered by many. Yet the round is still popular in self-defense revolvers. Killing an 820 hog with a .38 is an accomplishment.
Seago weighed the carcass at a local peanut company, which was the only place he could find with scales large enough.
As he is a taxidermist, he is going to display the head at his shop. The rest is going back to nature. “It’s so humid down here, it had to hang all night. I wouldn’t trust the meat,” he said.
Alabama, like many states with a hog problem, have open season on hogs. Hunters may kill as many as they want on private land. Despite their efforts, populations continue to swell, and the feral animals continue to forage for food in more densely populated areas.
“I didn’t think twice about taking down this hog,” Seago said. “I’d do it again tomorrow.”
Source: Tribunist
