Hog Hunt with Cold Steel
You might thing that the knife shown in the above photo was used for skinning the hog. In this case, that was the weapon used for the kill on a hog and knife hunt. When I first learned of an opportunity to take my daughter on a dog and knife hunt, I thought that could be a unique hunting opportunity that would be very memorable among the coolest hunts we’ve ever done. And it was.
When we arrived for the hunt, we meet our guides Brandon and Stephen Davis of “Davis Hoggin N Doggin” along with two more guides. We took a short drive to the hunt location, which was remarkably close to Fort Worth, but when you are using knives this is a non-issue. It was worth the several-hour drive for us and we were allowed to bring a travel trailer for a comfortable night of recovery before our departure the next morning. Their convenient location also offers a variety of hotel options.
We walked the perimeter of large open hayfields while the bay dogs used their innate programming and training to pick up airborne scent, chase down, and corner a wild hog. The two catch dogs were armored up with protective vests and kept on leashes until we were able to close the distance to the bayed hog on foot. Then they would clamp onto the feral hog so it could be restrained and harvested with one deliberate knife thrust to the heart, similar to how a farm pig was traditionally slaughtered before the advent of factory farms and automated slaughterhouses.
You might wonder what kind of dogs they use for hog hunting. Working dogs are usually chosen for their working ability rather than their conformation to any particular breed’s appearance standard. Generally bay dogs have hound genetics and catch dogs have bully breed genetics. A big part of their training is working younger inexperienced dogs with older dogs so they learn much as they way they would in nature with the wolf pack.
We walked miles of farm roads while the guides tracked the location and direction of the dogs. Their radio receiver also showed the trail and routes taken by the dogs. We walked through the cool Texas January night at a quick pace while monitoring the dogs. Multiple times the quiet of the night would shatter with the excited barking of the bay dogs, telling us that they were on a hog. Multiple times the hog broke free of their encirclement before we arrived.
We continued for four hours through shallow streams, mud, briars, and fence crossings on the same property with the occasional rush to catch up to the bay dogs. By midnight, we were ready to call it a night and write it off as good exercise and a fun experience, but the dogs weren’t done. Brandon went to retrieve the truck while some of us waited to be picked up. Two of the guides kept working their dogs and by the time Brandon returned, he reported that their dogs were again on a hog.
We rushed over to their location about a half mile and pushed through briars to reach them as the barking, squealing, and commotion grew louder in the dark night. As we approached, the dogs and the guide had the hog restrained and I handed my daughter the Tai Pan dagger from Cold Steel to finish the job.
She thrust in the blade, but hit a bone. She had to change the angle of the blade to work around the bone and when she did the blade went in with great ease. She worked the blade side-to-side to ensure a quick and ethical harvest. The double edge worked in both directions and it was over quickly. Everyone agreed that the dagger worked well and the blade appeared to be every bit as sharp as before after hitting bone.
You might wonder how we chose that knife for the hunt. I have always been entertained by the “PROOF” video series featuring Cold Steel founder Lynn Thompson. The torture tests of blades and performance tests on massive hunks of meat were impressive. While the videos are entertaining, it does show that they are willing to put their products to the test. Having owned Cold Steel knives for decades, I would agree that they make good knives at good prices and they offer many very large knives.
Carrying of knives over 5.5” is much more practical in Texas since the passage of HB 1935 in 2017 with the help of people like Todd Rathner of Knife Rights. Currently large knives are legally restricted from specific areas such as bars, schools, courts, etc. but can generally be carried in public places.
Mr. Thompson, the founder of Cold Steel, has a background in various martial arts and he has used some traditional designs to influence his product offerings. After studying Filipino Martial Arts for several years, I took an interest in the large daggers that have some of the attributes useful in lawful defensive scenarios such as:
- Double edge – facilitates cuts with reverse edge
- Symmetrical blade – same regardless of which way it’s turned
- An ovular grip – can index the blade edge by feel unlike round grip
- Good point for thrusting – not fragile or overly broad
- SuGicient width for slashing – not overly narrow
- SuGicient length to reach vitals and end an attack
- Guard to keep the hand from sliding onto the blade on a thrust
- Pommel end that is also useful as a weapon
- Non-slip grip
- Stainless and synthetic materials for easy maintenance
I have collected several Cold Steel knives that meet these attributes to varying degrees, such as the 7.5” Tai Pan, the original 7” Peace Keeper I, and 5” Counter TAC. It is difficult to find large folding knives in a double edge configuration, but I have also owned Cold Steel single-edged dagger style folding knives such as the 6” Counter Point XL and the 6” Ti-Lite.
When I got an opportunity to take my 13 year-old daughter on a hog hunt with dogs, the knife I selected was the 7.5” Tai Pan. It hits all my preferred selection criteria above as well as coming with a sharp factory edge on its remarkably tough hollow-ground CPM 3V super steel blade. The main criticisms of the knife center around its weight and concealability. The Peace Keeper comes in at 7.9 oz and 12.3” overall length and the Tai Pan dagger is 10.8 oz and 13” overall. That extra length does however give you a pointed metal pommel end that is also useful as a weapon. The added weight does give you a more substantial metal guard, which does build the confidence that your fingers won’t slide down the blade. A few ounces of weight and extra length were not an issue for openly carrying the knife on a hunt.
Tai Pan CPM-3V Specifications
- Blade Length: 7.50″
- Blade Thickness: 5.0 mm
- Overall Length: 13.0″
- Steel: CPM-3V Tool Steel
- Weight: 10.8 oz.
- Handle: 5.50″ Long. Kray-Ex
- Sheath: Secure-Ex
- Made in Taiwan
The included sheath with the Tai Pan is a Secure-Ex injection-molded polymer. It retains the blade well enough that I would not be afraid to carry it upside down. I was unable to shake the blade out of the sheath in testing. It appears to use the guard for the retention friction, so if you really wanted less retention, you might be able to do some fitting to the sheath in that area. Using the thumb to release the retention on the sheath by pushing it away seems like a good way to smooth out the draw stroke.
The sheath also It has an attached nylon belt loop that allows it to flex and move, much like traditional bayonet sheaths. For concealed carry, I would prefer something that helps keep it in place on a belt and ride higher. Fortunately, the Secure-Ex sheath does have many eyelets and slots that would allow a person to easily mount it to some other belt attachment system such as Blade Tech’s IWB/OWB belt loops with Pull-the-Dot snaps or their Tek-Lok locking clips. An aftermarket solution like that would allow you to find the knife grip in the same location for a consistent draw stroke.
Even with a nicer belt attachment system, you would have to put some effort into concealed carrying a blade this large. It might work with a light jacket or concealment garment. Off-body would work in a backpack if that’s something you do for a firearm anyway. People do keep truck guns and in a similar role this knife would be great as a truck knife. Folding knives are popular for a reason and are easier to carry. They are also common and socially acceptable in far more environments. As an example, the 7.5” Cold Steel Espada XL disappears into most pockets very well, especially with clip oriented blade-forward yet it opens to a machete-like 17” overall length. Of course, the down side to folding knives is you have to unfold them for use and they could theoretically fold up on your fingers if the locking mechanism fails.
The Tai Pan is a beautiful knife with its shiny steel finish. With such an effective and practical design, I would like to see it also offered in a subdued finish. It has been said that knives used for lawful self-defense are better to be felt before they are seen. On the other hand, knives with subdued finish are more easily lost in the field on hunts.
My daughter and I were proud of her hunt, the test of physical stamina and resilience and her working up the courage to take a hog at contact distance in dark, tangled briar patch in a way that was much more akin to how our stone-age ancestors may have hunted. It was a rare opportunity to hunt in a way that few hunters experience and will always rank highly on our list of most memorable hunts. I like the Tai Pan dagger for hogs or defensive purposes and the Davis Hoggin N Doggin outfit didn’t let us down. They also run gun hunts for hogs and have gotten us on hogs every time on their gun hunts.
Tai Pan Dagger at KnifeCenter.com
Davis Hoggin N Doggin: 1-817-225-5227
Mike Marks
Latest posts by Mike Marks (see all)
- Hog Hunt with Cold Steel – January 28, 2026
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