Going out this weekend and had a goal this year to get my first animal with both my crossbow and my .44 mag. Made a set up over the summer with a concealed 20yd shot and have a decent boar coming in like clockwork.

The laws of hunting say that when I’m there he won’t show up, but provided he does, which should weapon do I break in first?

Crossbow if a deer shows up first and the 4 mag for the pig.

It would take one heck of a boar for me to burn another $30 arrow and broad head on one. It gets expensive quick!!! Pop him with the 44! If the 44 is open sights its more of a challenge anyway.

.44

I quit shooting pigs with arrows. Arrows are too expensive and the pigs have a tendency to run off with them.

I keep a couple of the cheapest arrows and broadheads that I can find at Walmart just for the piggies. Keeps the noise down if I'm seriously deer hunting. But I also carry a 45 in case a wad of them show up or if I happen not to care if I make a bunch of noise.

Shoot him with the crossbow and then take off after him with the 44 for the coup de grace!

Well I caught up to the big hog and two of his buddies. Probably a low 200# boar. Shot him with the .44 mag open sights at 35 yards. Pig dropped immediately and could tell it was a shoulder shot. After a minute he started rocking, but I assumed that was him in his final moments. Next thing I know he is on 3 of his feet trying to Saturday himself. Hit him again on a steep quartering to shot that I anticipated to be immediately lethal. Boar had other ideas and squealed and took off into the creek. Heard him crashing and then it stopped what I thought was 50yds into the woods. Waited a few then go after where I heard the sounds coming from. By now it’s almost dark, I didn’t bring a flashlight, and 10yds into the creek I almost step on a copperhead. Will go back out after the morning hunt to look in that area.

Curious about the shot placement and bullet performance. 1st shot clearly lacked penetration for the pig to get back up like that but still not use the leg. 2nd should have missed shoulder and entered the chest and continued through the cavity so hopefully he is piled up down a trail.

(Me gloating before he decided he still had energy left in the tank)

Was using manufacturer Hornady 225gr FTX for those curious

Yeah I usually shoot them twice while they’re in the trap (9mm). Shot one in the neck with a hollow point and he still had some life left in him. Rammed the cage door with a broken neck. Tough animals for sure.

Shot one a couple years ago with my muzzleloader. Pig thrashed around for a few seconds and then quit moving. After about an hour, I climbed down to go check. Just as I got within 10 yards, pig popped up and hoofed it right past me and into the woods, never to be seen again. Crazy tough critters.

I don’t like those bullets for pigs. Way too soft. I shot 3 at 100 yards with my 460XVR, all shoulder area shots, pigs ranged from prob 135-180 pounds. 1st pig fell right over, few minutes later he stood up and ran off. Next 2
pigs just ran off. A few days later I found them thanks to the buzzards, they all ran under a large cedar tree and died.

A quick necropsy of the shoulder showed minimal penetration with tons of fragments.

I’ve since gone to either the 275 gr Barnes Expander or custom poured 325 gr SWC. No pig has walked away from either of those with shoulder shots.

I keep the FTX for coyotes and plinking.

That was my suspicion and I’m gonna be looking for vultures the next few days. I have used the 325gr FTX out of my .45-70. Lethal and most where DRT but rarely exited. Can’t say I’m surprised. I’ve got some tougher +P rounds I’ll use for hunting now, just gotta figure where to hold on those.

Funny....44 would have been my choice too.

Its threads like these that confirm my mossberg 500 12 ga with staggered rounds (rifled slug/buck) is the best choice for ferals. I aim for head.

Bet your glad the copperhead encounter didn't turn ugly.

Buckshot is my favorite for bow season. You know your shots will be close since you are bow hunting so the shotgun is a perfect cheap alternative to an arrow.

I popped this one yesterday at 28 yards with 00 buck. Hadn’t seen a deer in over an hour so wasn’t worried about the noise. He took pellets from his ear all the way to his tail on a quartering away shot and dropped in his tracks.