boarattack

BOAR ATTACK
by DR. Mike Wayte

A personal account/encounter of our fellow bowhunter reminded us of potential danger that we as bowhunter may face in the pursue of our passion. - yk

Last weekend,as you know, Aldo Bosio, Steve Scholz and I hunted on a friends cattle station on the edge of the Mary River Flood Plains. It was yesterday and we had spotted a good size boar out in the flood plains, feeding to the right of a mob of about 25 pigs about 300 meters out. Steve followed me out and I stalked to within 25 meters of the feeding boar. I was crouched down in a patch of grass that was about two feet high in water that was almost a foot deep. It was muddy under foot and the thick tangle of grass tends to trap your feet. The pig looked up once from feeding but after gave no indication that he had seen anything or was alarmed. He went back to feeding. I drew from a kneeling position and came up slowly to get a shot clear of the grass and hit him low and side on in the front leg with a three bladed Wasp. The boar exploded out of the water and ran to the right of me in a direction that looked like it would take him between Steve and I, who was about 10 meters behind me getting some of the action on his SLR camera. I had gone right down low in the water and grass when the boar suddenly veared towards me. I thought for a second that he was going to go by but then I saw he was on a collision coarse. At the last second I got up and pushed the end of the bow in his face which he bit. I then realized that I would not have time to get the bow up to swing it and grabbed the riser with both hands pushing it in his face as he bit the sights and I somehow got it under his head and scooped him up over me as I was knocked back into the grass. I remember seeing his under belly and legs going over me at the end of my outstreched arms which held the bow. As he went over, the bow got caught on him and it was pulled from my right hand. This spun me around as the boar came in for another go. I pulled the bow back to me as all the arrows fell out of the bow quiver and I pushed it in his face. The force of the attack knocked me back into the water as my feet were stuck in the mud and grass. As he was coming onto me I remember thinking that he would be on top in a second ripping at my front and my last defense was to get to the pepper spray in my left front pocket and give it to him in the face. Parts of the attack seem to be in slow motion. As he was on me he suddenly spun around to the right and ran about ten meters out, spun around and fell over and I saw Steve hit him with another arrow. Then it was all over, a few kicks and the boar expired. What I had not seen or heard was Steve's first arrow striking him in the chest from ten meters out, just as he hit me with the second charge. It was a great bit of shooting on Steve's part and a shot I shall always be greatful for. Miraculously I escaped with out a scratch on me. My arrow had passed through the leg and through the front of the chest cavity only an inch in front of the heart and had penetrated right through the other leg without exiting. I don't know how long he would have been able to go with my arrow in him but it was not slowing him up much to start. Broke some pins and gashed my pin guard when he bit the bow. I have yet to check the cam and the idler wheel but I have some repairs to do. A couple of things stand out to me. It all happens real quick and when you least expect it. Keep that bow in hand because it is real handy to fend them off with. Don't hunt dangerous ferals on your own, have a mate there as a backup. Steve was shooting his Mathews Ultra Max at 70 pounds with a 24/19 XX75 Easton and two blade Ribtec. Both his arrows passed right through. I was shooting my Mathews MQ 1 with 75/95 Gold Tips at 63 pounds. More later - Mike Wayte.

<< MIKE HAS PLENTY TO SMILE ABOUT!! THE BOAR THAT ATTACKED HIM CAN ATTACK NO-MORE!!
STEVE DID A TREMENDOUS JOB OF SAVING OUR DOCTOR'S BACON!

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