Big Boar Shields

[Mint]

Why is it on every thread on shooting a boar there is always a couple of people that advocate shooting them quartering away to "avoid the shield".

Every Boar I have taken that was large enough to develop a serious shield had one that reached almost to the front of the rear legs. I've never seen one that the shield stopped and just covered the front shoulders only that would allow you to shoot "behind the shield" and into the lungs.

I talked with my guide from my annual Florida hog hunt and he has probably examined thousands of  125lb plus boars and all of them had shields that extended back into the gut area. He said he never had a problem with people penetrating a shield on these hogs if they just shot through the shield. He does have a problem when the try to shoot behind the shield and will almost always lose that boar.

I shot a 140lb boar this trip with my 47lb palmer recurve pulling 26" with a 520gr arrow with two blade phantom and had a complete pass through with the arrow mostly sticking out the opposite shield.  

Has anybody shot a boar hog that had a shield that only covered the shoulders and would let you shoot the boar quartering away allowing you to avoid the shield but still hit the lungs?

[Terry Green]

Mint...Exactly!!!...and when you DO shoot quartering away and still have to go through the shield, the depth is longer though the shield being that you are angling through instead of taking the straight perpendicular route.

This info is on the Hog Shield info thread stickied near the top...there's a video I did and some pics of another TX hog showing how far back the shields go.


Here's a preview of that thread....

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 Shield Hardness and Location VIDEO - Click Here

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I've seen this posted for years on web sites...

"I like to shoot them quartering away to avoid the shield".

I've tried to explain that this is not the case on a shielded boar....So at Solana I got pics of Michael's boar to add to the shot placements thread sticked at the top, so they can do the talking.  

This is a pic of a shielded boar and the location of just how far back the shield goes and that you are not going to avoid the shield by shooting quartering away unless you shoot behind the rib cage, and that is a dicey shot.

           

         

           

Also, if you do shoot quartering away, your are actually increasing the thickness of the shield you have to pass through because you are making the shield thicker by the quartering away angle.

I am not condemning a quartering away shot with this post, I've shot plenty that way.  I'm  just making folks aware that you are not going to avoid the shield.....unless of course you shoot that little soft pocked in the clip posted on the shot placement thread...and that soft spot can be shot broadside as well.

[Sean B]

This is all great stuff, I'm heading to Ga next month for a few days of hogs and a little warmer weather!!

NOW, my woodsmans are scary sharp, I'll be pulling 60# and shooting a 550 gn arrow.  I'm hoping that'll do the trick!

[Mint]

Thanks Terry! The pictures show it perfectly.

[Terry Green]

 

The yellow outline is the shielded area...YES, it went that far back on that hog.  The red circle is 'the soft pocket'...and as you can see it is not that large.  So, you are bound to hit shield if you are off your mark just a tad, or the hog takes a step like they often do while the arrow is in mid flight....AND!, Note the mud cakes in several areas that you might also hit.

[Kingstaken]

Nice post Jeff & follow up Terry.
Never understood the quartering theory for hogs as said you are likely to increase the shield thickness by 50%.

[pdk25]

Hey Terry, I agree the shield goes far back, but don't you think it can be different in character.  The stuff further back that I have seen is more like a thick rind of tough fat, whereas that stuff on the shoulder can be more like plastic football pads.  At least that is what I have seen on some big nasty boars.  They are the exception, rather than the rule, in any case.

Penetration is not usually the issue with big boars! The problem I have had when I hit a big boar in the shield is that they run off and don't leave enough blood for me to find them. Hitting them low in the armpit, slightly quartered away has yeiled the best results on big board for me!

Bisch

[pdk25]

Yeah, I am not sure how much of a problem any 140# boar is going to cause regarding penetration, and have seen alot of folks shooting much larger hogs with relatively lightweight setups.  I have shot some pretty big hogs with different setups, some light and some heavy.  I really like getting complete pass throughs with big 3 blades using my heavy setup.  Always nice to have an arrow on the ground rather than in the pig, but certainly not necessary.  Just makes me feel better.  Last 2 hogs have been less than 140#, using what for me is an intermediate weight bow of 62#@29".  That is what I plan on using for hog hunting over the winter, and I am not worried in the slightest to take either a broadside or quartering shot, although I probably would not chose a large 3 blade for a quartering  shot, given he choice.  That is most of what this is anyway.  Most hogs that are lost are just from not hitting them where we wanted to, anyway.  At least that is my opinion.

[Terry Green]

Yeah Bisch, that's why I use multiblades,....course I shoot enough bow and arrow weight to blow through unless I peg the off leg bone.  AND!!!...in that case there is usually still a good blood trail....

I shot one once with a wide 2 blade with a thick shield and pegged the off leg bone and the arrow left in kept the shield open and when the boar took off every time his legs closed in together blood literally SHOT out of that hole left open by the arrow shaft.

I had to unscrew the arrow and pull the bhead out of the bone with a pair of pliers.....I'll see if I can find that thread.

[Terry Green]

pdk25....if you click that video I did, you can hear a sound difference, but its still shield.  Maybe not quite as hard, but still shield none the less.  Its not 'soft tissue' for sure.

[pdk25]

No, definitely not soft.  When you skin those big ones, the hide doesn't fall away.  More like a piece of plywood slowly tipping over, lol.

[Terry Green]

Here's the info on that hog Bisch....

***Joey....get this.  One of the BEST two blade blood trails I ever saw was that hog in the video....shot with a WIDE ACE Super Espress shot from a tree with NO exit hole!!!  However it was NOT a high hit as you described.....but a mid-level entrance...

The arrow pegged the off upper leg bone.  I could not believe the blood trail left till I figured it out. The shield was held open by the shaft and when the boar brought all of his legs together on his death dash, the blood was forced out the wide gash in the hard shield.


   
 
     


   

     

     

 

       

[pdk25]

That is a really nice boar, and blood trail as well.

[habujohn]

Good subject matter for me as I will be heading down to Texas next month to chase hogs.  Shot my first last spring with a shot tight behind the shoulder.  My equipment was a 57 lb habu longbow and a Ace super express head on an axis shaft.  The big two blade left one heck of a hole in the big ole boar and he did not go 100 yards.  Not very much blood though but I attributed that to the sandy soil soaking it up.

[Aggie1993]

I've been fortunate enough to hunt the last 20+ years on a ranch here in South Texas that has an nice hog population.  I have shot too many hogs to count with my traditional equipment.  The big boars and I mean the big ones that are literally 250+ pounds have proven time and time again to be a problem if the shot is in or directly behind the shoulder. (I say literally because we have a scale). That's using 51# and 545g two or three blades and 60# and 610g arrows. Look at my avatar, that's a smaller boar and I hit him nearly in the hip and buried it deep. IMO that's not the best option. Like Bisch said, the soft spot directly behind the elbow is the money shot. We have shot many really big boars right there and they rarely make it over 75yds. It takes the heart out and it's soft tissue all the way thru. We strung up a big boar years ago and were testing penetration with our trad gear. If you can hit a softball size target, I recommend that area behind the elbow. Now the 100-150lbers, like some of the ones in the pics, I'd bust them low in the shoulder and have no worries. Good luck!!

Nice boar Terry!

Believe me, if I could shoot 55, or 60, or 70 well, I would! And I would use big ole 3 blades too. But I can't, so I tend to stick with what works best for me.

Bisch

[beendare]

I think many of the comments regarding poor penetration on a boars shield are NOT with a tapered trad type BH.

Compound guys shooting those short chisel heads or mech heads can get more plowing- which can be a problem with these hogs- especially when you compress the blades against a tough hairy, muddy hide. Try cutting your way in from the outside with your skinning knife....doesn't take much to dull that knife....and many of that style head are just replaceable razor blades.