I hunt hogs twelve months a year- I've shot easily more than 100 of them- friends I take with me have taken at least the same amount.
I hunt exclusively with Grizzly broadheads now. I've used a lot of different broadheads- two blade, three blade, different weights and length to width ratios.
Though I am still PLANNING a trip to Africa- hogs are an old world species and as such are similar to African game in that their vitals are well forward of what we think of as the sweet spot on deer - add to that the fact that they are heavily covered in gristle over the vitals in the case of boars and ALL of them have lots of fat to plug up wounds and they are a true test for any broadhead.
All that said, I believe that close shots using heavy (relative to your bow weight of course) arrows tipped with well-sharpened whatever broadhead you use, and putting the arrow in the proper location MAKES any reasonable broadhead a winner.
The sharpest thing I have ever encountered in this life was a set of woodworking chisels that belonged to my grandfather. He was a hobby cabinetmaker...and those things could cut you if you just looked at them wrong- and they held their edges for so long- I watched him use them for hours without so much as touching them up.
The man knew how to sharpen everything- but those chisels could cut away the hardest hardwood with such ease, and though his pocketknives and kitchen gadgets were sharp as tacks, the chisels were MEAN and I always remembered that.
Then when I ran into the Grizzly, and the fact that it sharpens EXACTLY like a chisel or lawnmower blade I felt that this would be a head that I could learn to sharpen that would RETAIN an edge better- and work through problematical shots for me when they occured, and because of their toughness do the best job possible with the least chance for failure.
Sure, you don't NEED that much broadhead on deer size game...but my thoughts have always led me to plan for the WORST possible outcome in a shooting situation- ie- if I did hit the shoulder bone square on, what would I want on the end of my arrow?-and then if that doesnt happen- if everything works perfectly- the equipment 'overkill' still gets the job done splendidly.
Admittedly, I do not 'stretch' my effective range- I usually get stuff at impossible to miss ranges- I took a 22 yard shot in Wyoming in September and I think thats the longest shot I have taken in many years! Shot the mule deer twice and both shots were pass throughs..he never got out of his bed!
The Grizzly was the ONLY broadhead that got through the Natal Study Dr Ed Ashby conducted during the 80's using set up freshly killed carcasses and putting lots of broadheads through their paces- all the heads he tested failed at least once if my recollection is correct EXCEPT the Grizzly- further studies are being done now in Australia and there may be other heads that work as well or better but in my mind I am shooting the best broadhead I can put on my shafts.
Thats important- YOU must feel that confident about your arrows- they are the only part of your equipment that reaches out and touches your quarry and you must believe 100% that its going to do the job. Experiment, practice, and believe that what you shoot is going to do the job when EVERYTHING goes wrong and you will be doing the best you can do!
Topic: Which broadhead to use? (Read 3406 times)
