Hey fellow bow hunters,

I have been contemplating some different options on shot placement for hogs. I always try to tuck it into the pocket right behind their front leg and a little down. I like to try and make this shot either straight side view or quartering slightly away from me. I have been pretty successful with this placement, but I was wondering if anyone has had success with either neck or head shot? My problem is that a few of the hogs I've put good shots, confirmed double lungs, have been able to run at least several hundred yards into some almost impassible mesquite thicket. One of them I could not find till the next day and was inedible by this point. I shoot a bear anarchy with 63 pound draw weight and a 29 inch draw. I use either slick tricks or rage hypodermics. Anyone have any experience with putting a slick trick in their ear hole or a rage through their neck to create a d r t or at least minimize the distance traveled after impact. I do not want to sound morbid or cruel I just want to know if it would cleanly kill the animal and prevent spoiled meat.

Thanks,

Matt

If you hit just right I'm sure it will. However I've known of several hogs shot by friends of mine where they didn't and the hogs were not recovered.

Some will some won't.. You got a better shot at trying to spine one.. Their heart sits in the middle of those big plates but with good stout brodheads you can get it done.. Won't be much blood or penetration but good thing is they are short animals and you only need to get through the plate to get the job done.. Iv had pigs drop within ten steps by shooting them dead in the shoulder.. Arrow goes in they start running making that arrow tear everything up inside the sternum.. I will not shoot pigs with mechanicals unless it's all I have.. All about crushing bone and penetration with those big boar plates

My buddy has a skull mount of a pig he shot that had a broke arrow and brodhead inside a boars eye sockets.... And it wasn't a fresh wound

I feel like busting the shoulder is the best bet with a fixed head broadhead as well.

I have some Magnus stingers that I have thought about putting through one but they don't fly as well. Maybe I should get a heavier splined arrow to put them on. I have watched my slick tricks go in and out the off side shoulder and still watched them run into the black hole thicket. I think shooting them in the eye is not the right choice, but wondered if perhaps a jugular or side of skull shot was feasible. I'm going to test my theory tomorrow night at the lease. I'll take pictures if I remember to bring my phone.

I shoot'em right behind the shoulder, they usually make it 30-40 yards then they're done

What do you shoot them with? I want some.

I got tired of losing hogs by sticking them with arrows. They just don't leave a blood trail most of the time.

.243 or .308 to the head on sows and to the neck on any boar you want to save the skull for a Euro. I have never shot one in the neck or head and had them take another step!

2 blade rage

This. Everything else is usually a wounded and lost hog. Head/neck shots are especially useless 95% of the time. An arrow ain't a bullet.

Quartering away slightly, tucked behind the shoulder and center punch the lower 1/3. Most probs associated with lost hogs are ppl shooting them high, punching a shoulder and getting no blood or shooting them too far back.

With my recurve I like to shoot them middle of the ribs quartering away and run my arrow up into the offside shoulder. Normally they give it up within 50-100 yards. If you want a hog to drop dead a bows is probably not the weapon to use. With my compound I shoot them right behind the shoulder with a Spitfire and recover most within 40 yards.

Clay

The spine as someone mentioned. I like to be really high in a tree (if possible) and shoot straight down on them when they're facing towards or looking away. Only way I see them tough buggers going down without tracking. Def a fixed blade and my choice are G5 Montecs. IMO

This^^^^

Or go for the ear, if you miss you get your arrow back most of the time.

Good luck on that head/neck shot. Those buggers don't hold still for long.

That's some good hogs thundervee it looks like that rage did a number on the first one. I think I will just keep putting them behind their shoulder. I know a gun would probably be the way to go, but to me it's not as much fun. Thanks everyone for the input.

I still want to try a head shot just to see what happens.

We had trapped 6 pigs in a large circle trap one time and was having a friend shoot them with his bow for some live animal practice (fairly new to bow hunting). On the last couple of ones he had missed a couple of shots so I asked him WTH? He replied that he was trying to head shoot them and so I told him he would need to sink one in their eye to do any good. He called BS so I pulled an arrow and let it fly at 20 yds. Well that pig shot straight up in the air and was stone dead before he hit the ground. I hit about a 1/4" above his right eye and drove the arrow in about 8 inches. Mind you that they were in a trap so a follow up shot was possible but would not recommend on a loose pig.



Look at the first brown pig for the entry wound. Yeah, he was looking at me like 'are you really going to try that shot'.

Nice pigs. Thanks for the info.

Good info here! Love the six pigs laying dead, cool pic!

My tree stands are not high enough for spine shots straight down. We are lucky to find a sturdy ten foot tree. My tallest bowstand is probably 15 feet up. It is in the biggest tree on the lease. My lowest one is probably seven feet. It is in a well concealed thicket.

Machete

I always carry my Bowie knife, just for the occasion.

I don't have big trees either, I use pop ups mostly, I also have a couple of tripods, 12 footer 8 footer