Yet again, I absolutely drilled a boar at 15yds or so. Used my BW carbon PCHX and was shooting single bevel Silver Flame on 603 gr arrow, 16.8% foc same as last time. Sharpened all my broadheads to 8000 screen DMT stone. Crazy sharp. So I hit this hog midway between his left elbow and top of the back slightly quartering away driving towards his right rear. Lung and liver pretty certain, I got at least half the arrow in him this time.
I have never heard a broadhead hit muscle and make a stabbing sound like that in my life. Not a THUMP. Meat slicing sound as it entered the animal, and he takes off. Another 4 groups twice as big as the first dozen hogs in the first group. Two big boars in the first group were skittish and walked off.
We were stuck in the blind, literally b/c of hogs at the feeder. We finally call it at 9pm and go look for the illuminated nock and pick up a blood trail, followed it about 400 yards through dense brush and cedars. That hog was dripping steadily,drops of blood the whole way, laid down twice at least, and left more blood. Eventually it crossed a road and the blood kinda petered out. It was dark and late, and my guide has a dog so he went looking today so I could get that expensive arrow back.
How that hog didn't drop is a mystery. I wonder if no pass through keeps the wound "plugged" with the arrow shaft?
https://vimeo.com/1181428500?share=copy&fl=sv&fe=ci
https://vimeo.com/1181428414?share=copy&fl=sv&fe=ci
https://vimeo.com/1181428412?share=copy&fl=sv&fe=ci
Going back for round 3, early May, probably going to shoot a 57# instead of 49# BW recurve or PLX 54# and heavier arrow than this trip, likely silver flame XL convex grind. I practice standing crouching sitting every day, 20-30 shots. Gotta get some of these arrows back!
Do you have a video of the shot? Their kill zone is way forward. The shot you are describing sounds like gut to me. I remember my guide telling me anything behind the leg is gut. Believe me, I learned the hard way after hunting them for 23 years and have hit them exactly as you described with the same result. I now aim right up the leg and I usually wait for them to me be slightly angled away. If the shot was the hog slightly quartering away that would have been a dead hog. I think your current set up is fine. Keep after them and I know how hard it is with them moving around but pick your shots carefully. I like to wait to where the corn is almost gone so they stop moving as much.
Need to set up something so that you can video the shot. There is nothing wrong with your setup, other than a narrow 2 blade which are slightly less reliable when it comes to bloodtrails.
I have to agree with it being a terrible shot angle. I don't know how many hogs i've killed, but I would never take that shot you described ever.
You live, and you learn.
The real challenging part is that hogs have a very tricky vital layout, and their shield can seal up the wound after a pass through causing tough blood trails. It sure would be nice if hog vitals where laid out like whitetails.
BTW, how far is your blind from the feeder?
The barrel is 25yds, the closest leg of the tripod is 17yds. I didn't get the GoPro on my head so no video of the shot. Too many groups came in after the initial group and single boars, my guide shot the video. Both of the shots were too far back I think. I'll wear the GoPro next trip. My aim point is the elbow. If I could use a tree stand rather than an enclosed blind, I would. This place doesn't have the insurance to cover it. I shoot 2-3 dozen arrows daily, and picking a spot to focus on is what I train for. Thanks for the advice everyone!
OK, 1st, that's too bad that you have to sit with a guide. Next time see if he will let you bring some extra corn to spread out closer to your blind. 25 yards to the barrel is a bit far for hogs. Best of luck next time. :campfire:
Yeah, get some corn closer to the blind if the blind can't be moved closer.
That would really suck to have to hunt with a guide in the blind.
I would advise that aiming for the elbow is a recipe for disaster, IMO. Try the crease just below mid body. Maybe a third up for such a long shoot to compensate for ducking. This applies to broadside and slightly quartering away. I wouldn't take any other shot. Be patient.
By crease, are you meaning behind the front leg?Above the shoulder or back a few inches....?
I mean the crease, for exactly what you see. The crease that you see where the body meets the front leg/shouldee.
Some pics pretty close to hog anatomy. Aiming just below mid body on the crease gives you one of the most forgiving shot locations for broadside or quartering away shots, and it doesn't take much thought.
Just a few examples. I wouldn't steer you wrong.
Just a lot of room for error, and they don't go far when hit here.
SUPER HELPFUL THANK YOU!!!!
You sir are a menace....to hogs.
No problem. Around 260 of them with a stickbow and counting. Lots of fun.
Quote from: Terry Green on April 11, 2026, 10:49:31 AMOK, 1st, that's too bad that you have to sit with a guide. Next time see if he will let you bring some extra corn to spread out closer to your blind. 25 yards to the barrel is a bit far for hogs. Best of luck next time. :campfire:
1000% !!!!! Years ago we started putting some corn closer to blinds and it made all the difference on the kill percentage. Try not to touch it with your hand, I use a red solo cup and just spread it around. Go for that 10 yard to 15 yard shot. The other plus about putting corn out is if hogs come in before the feeder goes off they will stick around and give you a shot instead of walking away.
I usually hunt them at night with thermal imagers and NV binoculars on foot. I go find them. I forget how many I've knocked off that way and a few huge ones. Got tired of it after a decade or so, picked up the bow again and I'm hooked all over again.
I need to be patient with the shot and pick them carefully. We just have so many and all the commotion and movement can make it pretty tough, but they do get close enough, and they are hoovering up that corn....
I got an enormous Tidewe blind that was damn cheap, and turned out to be great, and ventilated, and you don't feel like you're in a blind, and you can see everything going on rather than peering out of a little window while suffocating, oh and Double Bull is like $600 now.
Quote from: highpoint on April 14, 2026, 11:13:20 PMI need to be patient with the shot and pick them carefully. We just have so many and all the commotion and movement can make it pretty tough, but they do get close enough, and they are hoovering up that corn....
I found that if i let them feed for a few minutes they actually calm down and slowly circle the feeder in widening circles trying to find every last bit of corn. That's when I make my shot.
Yes the initial singles or first group we let them feed so others join them eating what has been spread around when we first get to the blind. Several groups always show before the feeder goes off. I tend to stay in the blind until dark, so maybe I'll try to not do that any more.
Hello sir, i'm confused on not staying until dark. Can you expound please?
Yes. Tough to understand that. Are you worried about spooking hogs on the way out? I can't control where you hunt, but it would be great if the put a really dim red or green led feeder light and let the hogs get used to it. Then you could have an opportunity at those hogs that show up a little later.
We have the green light and the hogs stay at it, they don't mind. I've taken a couple shots at them in the dark like that and it's really hard to pick a spot to hit. Again, distance and shot placement solves that but taking longer shots is tough enough in daylight! I've missed 3 or 4 shooting under the green light. For whatever reason I shoot low in the dark. Last time out I watched the hogs at the feeder with my thermal imager which killed my natural low light adjusted vision in one eye, making things difficult for me. There are so many pigs at this place you're basically stuck in the blind after you shoot. We got out to go look for the last one after the hogs scattered, and we're sorting things out in the dark and while I was standing there looking for blood I smelled the pigs, then I could hear them coming back to the feeder yet again. I was maybe 15' from them before they smelled me. I heard that same guttural note descending that you hear in one of those videos very clearly. The last shot I took was very dark and close up. I saw the illuminated nock disappear and then reappeared past the hog I shot at broadside. I thought "well that's a clean pass through, I got him, we need to find that one." Arrow was lying there in the dirt, clean. That one was a head scratcher.
Moral of the story is choose shots carefully so they don't get far. I'm heading back out again on the 28th.
Do you ever practice shooting in the dark? I have no idea how many hogs i've killed at night.But I can tell you, I haven't missed more than two. I'm really not sure what the issue is, but I don't understand missing all these hogs, just because it's dark. You have them lit up, I can't figure out why you can't shoot them in the vitals. A correctly shot hog should go no further then, thirty the thirty five yards period end of story.
We're all about success, stories and hero pictures. But please do not bring back another story of how you wounded one and didn't find it. Thank you.
So many things. If you are missing hogs after dark, you need to practice, but you also need to start using references on your bow. The hog will be illuminated, but you won't be able to see your arrow. That doesn't stop you from seeing your site window and figuring out your elevation. Based on that figure out the height on your site window for your point on at your desired shooting distance. I know this for all of my bows, because I used to kill a lot of hogs at night. And here is another thing. You really don't need to be sitting in the blind after dark. Get closer if you have to.
Dark practice starting now......and I hate the blind for sure. Have to also practice shooting our of the window.