I have taken quite few deer with my bow but never a hog. I hunt from the ground 100% of the time. My question is the quartering away shot the best on a hog or do yall recommend something else? My buddy says he has a terrible time finding hogs after he shoots them behind the shoulder. He says he is going to start aiming for the ear. What say yall?

take the same shots as you would at a deer...only aim a little lower.

My cousin shot a hog about 3-4 years ago with his bow smack behind the shoulder, and about 2 inches high of the point on the shoulder.

He ran off and we couldn't find it. Fast Forward 2 months to late December we go down in the creek bottom and scare up some hogs shoot 2 and lo and behold but what does one boar have stuck 4-5 inches into his side behind the shoulder. An arrow shaft with the broadhead still attached.

Hog was still in good shape, but damn that must have hurt him. I had pics on my old phone which no longer functions. Wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it. Had to use vice grips to grip the shaft and pull the dang arrow out.

Another cousin (other one's brother) shot a hog square in the butt with his bow. Hog wasn't found shot 6 weeks later in gun season. Same thing looked fine. Arrow entered inch to the right of the anus and penetrated about 7 inches before stopping.

Sooo..... I don't know where to tell you to shoot. Just don't shoot em high behind the shoulder or an inch to the right of the anus.

Their hearts/lungs sit alot lower than deer. Aim about 3-5" up from the bottom of their chest BEHIND the shoulder. There is a massive shoulder 'plate' that your arrow will NOT go thru enough to cause enough damage. If you are an EXCELLENT shot you can hit them in the ear hole. I ain't good enough to do that.

X2.. all good advise, I couldn't add anything to that! personally I like to take the ear shot.

A lot of it depends on the size of the hog. Smaller ones (~80 lbs or less) don't have much of a shoulder plate so you can usually shoot through it. One big hogs, I've had the best success shooting low with a quartering away angle. Their vital sit a bit lower and a bit more forward than a deer; right behind that shoulder plate. The hog in the pic below was shot center mass just at the back of the shoulder plate while standing broadside; a bad shot placement but I didn't know it at the time. It took me a 1/2 day to find her. She had traveled almost a mile and was still alive. I honestly just happened to find her by accident; not by my superior tracking skills. She ran off into a swamp and was standing in water up to her chin; absolutely no vital spot to aim at. I had one arrow in my quiver. My killing shot was taken fron my knees, bow held completely horizontal, under a bunch of brush. I hit her in the neck, she started thrashing and lost her footing in the water. She went under and actually died from drowning instead of my shot. This pic is a scan from back before the digital days (over 25 years ago) and that's a hunting buddy that was going to help me process her. I didn't weigh her but from to tip of her nose to her butt, she was over 6' long.

The heart sits lower and tighter in behind the shoulder, its sort of similar to African game where the vitals are a bit forward in comparison to our North American species.

I have shot and killed many hogs with a bow. On smaller sizes like, <100# you can afford to stick the arrow a bit forward and puncture the shield of the shoulder blade. In fact I put a G5 Montec 100 gr. all the way through one with my new Z7 a few months ago.
When you get into pigs with any size, avoid broadside shots at all cost IMHO.
1. You will hit forward and the shield will kill all momentum of arrow
2. You will shoot to far back and miss key vital allowing pig to make good ground. (with excessive fat pigs tend to bleed less than more lean game)
3. You will shoot high (if in a tree) and again miss vitals.
*NOTE- the vitals are in a more compact layout than what we are used to with whitetails, a larger body target still has a smaller vital region MORE COVERED UP BY SHOULDER!

Personally, on big pigs (from tree or ground) I like the quartering away about 3 ribs back. Ther more extreme the angle the better. Imagine where the arrow will exit, I like it to come out just inside of far shoulder, tuck the arrow in the rib cage and wait for animal to die. I have had good luck with this shot.

...result

here is a video of this pig gettin punctured:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6M-3st3n6QE

I have attempted the head shot many times now. On one occasion I put a 60ish# hog DRT. I have shot a bigger sow in the ear and never found her. I have missed the shot high. I DO NO recommend this shot if you are trying to kill pigs.

Good Luck! hope this helps

ac

I'm in the process of making a little hog slop/feed area that you need to come out & practice w/your bow on. It's in/next to a hog woller that's about 30' in diameter & 2' deep!

c 15 nailed it

I shot the attached hog this past Monday while bow hunting at my lease in Baylor County. I was hunting for deer, but this thing came in to the feeder and I had to shoot him. I had NEVER shot a hog this big with my bow. In fact, I have never shot a hog this big with a rifle either.

Anyway, the photo shows the hog at the instant before I let the arrow fly. I was to the left in the picture about 31 yards away in a ground blind. I put the pin right behind his shoulder and let the arrow fly. I watched it absolutely disappear into this pig and he ran off.

I stayed in the blind hoping to get a shot at a deer later. Anyway, I never did find this thing. After reading what some of you had said, I don't think I ever stood a chance at getting this hog because of where I shot him. I have shot alot of 60-80 pound East Texas "eating" hogs, but never one this big.

If I ever get another shot at one this big I think I will go for the ear hole. From what I saw with my own eyes, that is the best chance at getting one of these big ones with an arrow.

big teeth on that sucker

I shot this oinker at 23 yards Sunday morning. It dropped right in its tracks. I have only shot 1 other pig with a bow it was quatering away it took a finishing shot to kill it. Pigs are tough animals to kill no matter what you shoot them with.

Hit them in the ear. They will go straight down 99% of the time.

You want to shoot at least a 100 grain Broadhead. I've had better luck with fixed blade BH on hogs.

I shot a BOAR Monday evening about 6" from my ladder. I was 17' up and drove the broadhead directly between his shoulder blades. He ran off with my arrow which I found the broken piece, however never found him. About 2 mins. later I shot a sow at 22yds. through the heart and recovered her within about 45 yds.Shot placement is everything. They were shot with a 100gr. broadhead.