Hit my first hog with the crossbow

Jeff in TX

Waited for halftime of the Cowboys game yesterday to go bow hunting. There were two hogs under my back corner feeder munching on corn as I parked my 4-wheeler and looked through my binos. The winds were blowing hard from the south directly into my face so I knew they wouldn't wind me. I set my pack and stool down I was going to sit on in my blind and slipped into the woods. I started my stalk and I walked well worn cattle trail, got down on my hands and knees and closed to within 15 yards. I set my Primos tri-legged shooting stixs up and put the crossbow on it. First time I'd ever seen a beige (yellowish) hog. He was the smaller of the two about 150 lbs. I put the cross hair just behind his front shoulder. One small problem, I was having to shoot through a bit of tall grass, which obscured my vision to a degree but not too bad. I knew it wasn't going to do anything to the flight of the arrow as it wasn't thick. I flipped off the safety and squeezed the trigger. TWANG of the bow string and a loud THUNK! I knew I hit him.

One turned and walked west and the one I hit walked east. He walked to the other end of the food plot (30 yards) and just into the mesquite woods and stopped. I kept waiting for him to lay down. Then he'd walk a few more steps and stops for a few minutes. Finally he was 50 or so yards into the woods. I slipped across the food plot and continued to watch his stop wait and take a few steps. He never saw or winded me and I kept thinking he was going to lay down at any point. He walked over a small rise and I decided to give him 15 min. Last time I ever saw him. And no I left my binos on the 4-wheeler so I couldn't tell if the arrow was sticking out of him, but I didn't see the lime green nock when he was walking off.

Since I had been watching him walk away I didn't look for blood. When I got to the rise where he went over I didn't see any blood. I searched the whole back end of my property and never jumped him or saw any sign of him. I went back to the feeder and where he was standing and still no blood. However there was a small berm about 4' taller than his back 5 yards behind where he was standing when I shot. No arrow to be found, so I knew I'd him, not to mention I heard the THUNK! The little bit of grass and recoil from the short shot prevented me from seeing the arrow hit, but it didn't exit him.

My buddy going to come over later today and we're going to search the south section of my ranch. He was right on the border of my knot head neighbor who put the high fence up so I know he didn't cross over into his place. I'm hoping to find him today with two of us looking. If I find him I'll post some pics.

BigDanS

Last pig I shot in Florida a year ago had an arrow sticking out of the back of his ham. I am guessing it hit bone and did not penetrate and hit nothing vital enough to bleed out. The arrow had been there a while and his system had healed over it.

So it happens. They are tough critters.

D

Zee

Interesting and frustrating at the same time.

Six-Gun

Good luck on the search and very nice job stalking in. I'm gonna caution you, however, about those shots through grass: that stuff - even thin grass - saps the hell out of an arrow extremely fast, and can make it fall well low or even short of the intended target. I once made a compound bow shot at last light at a deer that should've been a slam dunk. When I put my light up after sending the arrow, I realized that I shot through some wispy grass. On a 30 yard shot, the arrow fell a full 5 yards completely short of where the deer had stood!

Hopefully, your short distance shot made up for any lost velocity, but from experience I can say that it could have ended up being a low/non-lethal shot if the grass got a hold of that arrow too much.

Fisheadgib

If you aimed for the shoulder, you may not have hit any vitals. Pigs vitals are lower than a deer and an arrow is not going to punch through the shoulder bone like a bullet will. I have also witnessed pigs scraping an arrow off against a tree or fencepost and their fat sealing the hole like fix a flat. When I started hunting with a crossbow, I lost a couple of pigs and a doe before I figured out what I was doing wrong.

Jeff in TX

Fisheadgib wrote: »

If you aimed for the shoulder, you may not have hit any vitals. Pigs vitals are lower than a deer and an arrow is not going to punch through the shoulder bone like a bullet will. I have also witnessed pigs scraping an arrow off against a tree or fencepost and their fat sealing the hole like fix a flat. When I started hunting with a crossbow, I lost a couple of pigs and a doe before I figured out what I was doing wrong.

Actually aiming behind the front shoulder but I understand your point. I thought it was a good shot and I didn't see the arrow sticking out of him. Getting ready to go do one more search!

early

Hopefully he piled up in a hole near by and expired.

Jeff in TX

Update, i found my arrow about 5 yards from where I expected it to be. I think it passed almost all the way through with a little sticking out. As he walked it must have fallen out. It was a pass through, no blade damage so I didn't hit bone. However, after another search today we still didn't find him.

Zee

Then, it obviously wasn't where it should have been.

It happens. Move on. Shoot another one.

:up::up:

Rocketman

This is disheartening as I'll be using a crossbow for the first time this deer season. And its amazing how much a bolt that weighs the same, same length and build will impact the target differently brand to brand. I made sure I bought all the same brand and zeroed with what I'll be hunting with.

Jeff in TX

Just pulled the camera SD cards. The hog I shot is back on camera. Didn't get an angle to see any wounds but it's the same beige hog. Glad he didn't suffer and I'll be back after him this evening.

Six-Gun

Rocketman wrote: »

This is disheartening as I'll be using a crossbow for the first time this deer season. And its amazing how much a bolt that weighs the same, same length and build will impact the target differently brand to brand. I made sure I bought all the same brand and zeroed with what I'll be hunting with.

Don't be disheartened...

http://forums.gunsandammo.com/showthread.php?22815-(VERY)-Late-season-crossbow-hunt-success-(-in-the-name-of-history)&highlight=crossbow+deer+Six-Gun

http://forums.gunsandammo.com/showthread.php?27284-Crossbows-just-amazing&highlight=Crossbows+amazing

You land a clean hit on a deer with a crossbow, and you can expect pure devastation.

twa

Six-Gun wrote: »

Don't be disheartened...

http://forums.gunsandammo.com/showthread.php?22815-(VERY)-Late-season-crossbow-hunt-success-(-in-the-name-of-history)&highlight=crossbow+deer+Six-Gun

http://forums.gunsandammo.com/showthread.php?27284-Crossbows-just-amazing&highlight=Crossbows+amazing

You land a clean hit on a deer with a crossbow, and you can expect pure devastation.

Yep, been there, I do not have the utmost confidence in my crossbow. Would rather have my compound any day.

Six-Gun

twa wrote: »

Yep, been there, I do not have the utmost confidence in my crossbow. Would rather have my compound any day.

I *used* to own a crossbow that sucked and I had no faith in: accuracy was poor and I traded it in on my current one before I ever hunted with it. The new one I own is spectacular - fast and accurate. It's the one I used in those posts. It kills them quickly, for sure.