Shot placement on Hogs

[dozer]

Head shot is a bad idea. I plugged one right between the eyes once because my cam hit my leg sitting in the tripod. The old buff tuff wrapped arrow with a 100 grain muzzy stuck thru his head and neck. followed him down into a canyon bout a mile and half until the trail ran dry. I will take a quartering away shot everytime, rite behind the last rib. Good luck.

[rockco222]

I prefer to take a quartering away shot. The pic below is of the biggest boar I have killed. The shot entered at the back of the ribs and stuck in the opposite front shoulder, almost entirely missing the shield. You can see the red spot where the snuffer entered. He ran less than 50 yards and fell over in sight.



Saying all of that to say, I have also had great success with shooting them in the middle of the neck which is usually a pretty big target. If you hit low, you will most likely cut the carotid a., if you hit high, it is a lost hog.

What broadhead did you use?

[Fishndude]

Only big boars have shields, Jethro. All the little footballs you shoot won't have one.

This is a true statement!! I guess it's true 'cus I haven't shot any boar over about 100 lbs.

Great info Shark........No bait here!! and I'm 45 and not pulling 80 lbs.!

[Slick8]

On Hogs I generally aim for the Black part somewhere between the nose and tail.

.

[Pistol]

See my avatar. That was shot broadside and the pig went another 70 yards. Blood trail was hard to follow for the first 20 yards.

X2; Little sister had one shot the same, and he went 250 yards! Ask her and she will show you the blood trail too! She has pics- it happened!!

[DaveS903]

I try to double lung them. You usually get a pass through and they don't go far and leave plenty of blood.

[huntresss]

We've been outfitting hog hunts for 11 years now and have had to track (and kill) hundreds of wounded hogs each year with our bloodtracking dog, so we've had the good fortune of being able to dissect every wounded hog and investigate exactly why they didn't die. In nearly every case of a "perfect" shot, we'd find the arrow hit only one lung, usually the result of quartering away or severely quartering down (from ladder stand) shots. Unlike deer, where both lungs collapse when you puncture the thorax, a hog's lungs are more like a human beings. If you have an accident and collapse one lung, you're still very likely going to be able to drive yourself to the hospital. We've shot hogs that had a broadhead in one lung that not only were still alive several days later, but were out in the road eating corn, like nothing happened! We find hogs all the time with a small, black mass where a lung used to be (usually with a broadhead in the middle of it). It's actually quite amazing what they can survive. As the result, we started recommending that our hunters only take perfectly broadside shots, aiming about 4" directly above the elbow and noticed a dramatic increase in the number of hogs killed vs. wounded. There really is no reason to worry about the "shield" on a big boar unless you're shooting mechanical broadheads. It's not an armour plating, but rather a layer of cartilage that is only found on the mature boar hog. The older the boar, the thicker the cartilage, in most cases. A good sharp, fixed blade broadhead will blast right through cartilage.

Also, if you look at the bottom picture posted by Lost Buckaroo, you can see that the lungs only extend about an inch behind the elbow. Alot of hunters shoot much further back, like they would on a whitetail. What would be center punch on the lungs of a deer, is a gut shot hog.

Good luck to ya, and hope you find your next one!

-Cheryl Napper/Shiloh Ranch Hunting Camp

[Bonesplitter]

Shot this one broadside,thru the plate with a rage broadhead, no pass thru but there was blood coming out of the opposite side where the tip did exit slightly. He didnt go but about 70 yard's and actually did not bleed a whole lot.

[Dusty Britches]

It is entirely possible that you made an excellent shot and the fat on the hog sealed up the wound to prevent any blood loss. Dead hog - but all of the blood stayed inside.

When aiming at hogs, aim low. And if you think you are aiming low, aim lower. Downwind's drawing is exactly right. And - hogs will jump a string.

I shot a 185 pound boar, 20 yards, broadside. The pin was along the bottom of the chest. I shoot 27" arrows with a 27" draw, 56 pounds, Drenalin. 100 grain F15 fixed blade broadhead, CE maxima 250's. Total arrow weight - 320 grains. The arrow went through the heart, clipped both lungs, sliced the breastplate. There was a blood highway and son of a gun still ran 250 yards. When we hung him and cut his head off - there wasn't any blood anywhere.

I like the F15's on hogs because the wound doesn't seem to seal up like on a 3 blade or 2 blade.

[gonehuntin68]

We've been outfitting hog hunts for 11 years now and have had to track (and kill) hundreds of wounded hogs each year with our bloodtracking dog, so we've had the good fortune of being able to dissect every wounded hog and investigate exactly why they didn't die. In nearly every case of a "perfect" shot, we'd find the arrow hit only one lung, usually the result of quartering away or severely quartering down (from ladder stand) shots. Unlike deer, where both lungs collapse when you puncture the thorax, a hog's lungs are more like a human beings. If you have an accident and collapse one lung, you're still very likely going to be able to drive yourself to the hospital. We've shot hogs that had a broadhead in one lung that not only were still alive several days later, but were out in the road eating corn, like nothing happened! We find hogs all the time with a small, black mass where a lung used to be (usually with a broadhead in the middle of it). It's actually quite amazing what they can survive. As the result, we started recommending that our hunters only take perfectly broadside shots, aiming about 4" directly above the elbow and noticed a dramatic increase in the number of hogs killed vs. wounded. There really is no reason to worry about the "shield" on a big boar unless you're shooting mechanical broadheads. It's not an armour plating, but rather a layer of cartilage that is only found on the mature boar hog. The older the boar, the thicker the cartilage, in most cases. A good sharp, fixed blade broadhead will blast right through cartilage.

Also, if you look at the bottom picture posted by Lost Buckaroo, you can see that the lungs only extend about an inch behind the elbow. Alot of hunters shoot much further back, like they would on a whitetail. What would be center punch on the lungs of a deer, is a gut shot hog.

Good luck to ya, and hope you find your next one!

-Cheryl Napper/Shiloh Ranch Hunting Camp

As always, the voice of reason. I couldn't agree more.

[CastAndBlast]

What broadhead did you use?

125 gr. Snuffer.

[CastAndBlast]

I think another thing that a lot of people forget about is that every animal has a diaghram the seperates the cardio-pulmonary cavity from the abdominal cavity. The diaghram sits right behind, or underneath in our case, the lungs. It's purpose is to create a pressure difference within the cardio-pulmonary cavity that allows the lungs to inflate/deflate. The lung is not a muscle, therefore, it can not inflate and deflate on its own. When the diaghram is punctured, the pressure difference between the two cavities is 0. Therefore, the lungs can not inflate/deflate. This is why quartering shots are effective. The problem is that not much blood is produced most of the time. However, the animal usually dies pretty quick.

[BIG BONE]

Just give him a good ol gut shot. give hime thirty and youll find him around 100yds. This shot will produce blood

[quarterback]

I think another thing that a lot of people forget about is that every animal has a diaghram the seperates the cardio-pulmonary cavity from the abdominal cavity. The diaghram sits right behind, or underneath in our case, the lungs. It's purpose is to create a pressure difference within the cardio-pulmonary cavity that allows the lungs to inflate/deflate. The lung is not a muscle, therefore, it can not inflate and deflate on its own. When the diaghram is punctured, the pressure difference between the two cavities is 0. Therefore, the lungs can not inflate/deflate. This is why quartering shots are effective. The problem is that not much blood is produced most of the time. However, the animal usually dies pretty quick.

I am trying to follow you on this but being a visual guy am having a hard time understanding. Has anyone got a depiction showing said diaphram (or diaghram or whatever it is)?

[systemnt]

I am trying to follow you on this but being a visual guy am having a hard time understanding. Has anyone got a depiction showing said diaphram (or diaghram or whatever it is)?

diaphragm.jpg