wild hogs, as opposed to the ones that some people "hunt" inside of a fenced enclosure, will react to you exactly like any other wild animal. they run. I've done a fair amount of hog hunting with a bow and arrow in SC, encountered dozens of wild pigs at close range. only one time was I ever fearful for my safety. I had snuck into good bow range, less than 15 yards, on a small sounder of 5 medium sized pigs that were busily feeding, nocked an arrow and waited for the closest target to turn broadside. while I waited, one small, errant wind gust gave me away. they all went on alert and promptly ran like hell upon smelling me, except for one big black boar that I hadn't even seen until the others fled. he spotted me from about 30 yards away, stared me down for about 5 seconds and started coming. no where to run, nothing to climb in middle of real SC swamp, so I held my ground and was prepared to shoot him in forehead in self defense. scared shitless, as I drew my bow, I yelled at the top of my lungs when pig was 20 feet and closing fast. when I did, he put on the brakes and turned tail. I was awfully close to getting hurt that day, but it was a fluke, as that practically never happens when you are stalking/still hunting true wild pigs. pigs will run from you as fast as any game animal. you need a sidearm for pig hunting about as much as you need one for deer hunting. now, if you are running them with dogs, a large pig that is bayed can be very dangerous for obvious reasons.