Sorry to hear about your son. That sounds pretty rough. I know it's hard to do but I would'nt put my foot down and say no more hunting and I'm speaking from both sides of the fence on this. I was running hogs at his age and now I have a son who is close to his age that hunts with me. Hog hunting can get pretty western at times and can be dangerous, especially if you don't use your head. I will not go into some of my close calls because I don't want to scare an already spooked mother. I will say that running around town on a Friday or Saturday night like a bored 17 yr old will do when he is looking for some excitement is alot more dangerous most of the time. If he is hard headed and independent like you say then he will probably do the same thing I would of done at his age if my parents told me I could'nt hunt because it was too dangerous. I would of bowed my neck, went to town and showed them dangerous. A kid that age is going to find something exciting to do and there is not much we can do about it. It's part of growing up. All we can do is try to guide them towards the excitement that will get them in the least amount of legal trouble. Hog hunting is not as dangerous as some people make it just because they were'nt using their head and not near as dangerous as some make it out to be when they tell their stories. I am also protective of my children and there are times when we get on a bad boar that I still want to grab him and throw him in the fork of a tree so that he can't get hurt but he weighs 160 pounds now and I don't think my back could take it !
I promise there are alot more dangerous thing on the streets than their is in the woods and I would rather mine be in the woods drinking water with his buddies and looking for hogs than be on the road drinking beer with his buddies and looking for something else. There is not much to do in a small town at night other than drinking, drugs, chaseing girls or looking for a fight and all those lead to bad trouble. Except for maybe the girls, no I take that back, girls can get you in more trouble than anything !
On a serious note, I think I would just threaten him and say that if he does'nt use his head then you will not let him go anymore. It does'nt sound like he did anything wrong in this situation though. It was someone elses fault for not knowing their dog and that can happen and there is not much you can do about it. I would just thank GOD that he is alright and still threaten him !
