40lb enough to shot a hog?

[pokeanhope]

I am going on a hog hunt in march and i have 2 bows, One is a 55lb bear , the other is a 45 browing wasp. I can shoot the wasp a WHOLE lot better becouse i am over bowed with the bear. I shot a 612grain arrow out of the wasp. Im just huting ferrial hogs, not russian boars or anything.

[T Lail]

pick your shots carefully and don't shoot too high......put it in the pocket of the leg/chest and you will be fine.......get your broadheads scary sharp too......

[pokeanhope]

I was thinking 15yr max

[T Lail]

on a smaller pig, say up to 100 pounds...I have had no problems with sheild penetration at all....however...a few years ago, I shot a large boar(estimated 250+) .....I hit a bit high and only got six inches penetration....he broke off arrow and the next day I saw the hog running down the same trail following a sow.....bow was 52lbs. at 27" and shot was only nine yards......I could not beleive how tough he was.........

[pokeanhope]

What do you think about only taking quatering away shots? TO slip an arrow up behind the ribs?

[m'gobo]

Get a nice cut on contact head that is very sharp. Remember on a hog that vitals are low and forward. The lungs are behind the shoulder almost completely. With the compounds I shoot, I will pin the shoulders together. Most hogs die in sight.

[Talco]

pokeanhope i would avoid the quarting away shot if i were you.The arrow has to travel a long ways to get to the vitals.I have tried it twice with light weight bows and i will not do it again.The vitals are basically behind the sholders and that is a long way for the arrow to travel.
The sheild that everyone worrys about can be a problem but not as much as some think.
Actually if you shoot low tight behind the shoulder where the vitals are you will miss most of the sheild anyway.
talco

[bawana bowman]

Brandon,

At your age if you would shoot that Bear daily between now and March, you should be able to handle shooting it. I know a lot of folks on this site believe a 10# increase is hard to make in a short time, But at 21 years old, it is not a big jump. Just shoot it and practice drawing and holding and within a month you should be fine. Then you won't have to worry about being under bowed.

[tradtusker]

I agree with Harold i think with little work and shoot you will have not problem shooting the Bear. Your muscle with develop quickly after a month of shooting.

Im 22 and i shoot bows 63lbs to 73lbs for hunting.

[pokeanhope]

Well i got a sting for another 55lb bow of mine and indian archery warrior, and I purchused a new 50lb long bow so these will be the two bows I plan to take, thanks for all the help guys. The problem with my bear is I have a bad target panic problem, and my bow stacks, and it makes it worse, its not holding the bow back thats the problem, its me wanting to relese at befor my anchor. But I have been shooting my 50lb longbow fine now and my warrior, so tomorow I will try the bear and see it the panic issue is gone. Thanx again for all your advice guys.

[straitera]

Minimal exercise will get you safely within purposeful draw parameters within 2 weeks. Given the choice, its always best to opt for the most draw you can handle when hunting tough game. 40# will kill a hog. 55# will dramatically increase penetration. PM sent.

[Terry Green]

There is a difference between saying 'shoulder' and 'shoulder blade'.  I think distinctions should be made.

Vitals ARE behind/under the front shoulder, ...but not necessarily behind/under the shoulder BLADE.  LOOK AT THE STRUCTURE OF A HOG AND YOU WILL SEE WHERE THE VITALS REALLY ARE....and the are not ALL low.  They are at an angle and tricky.  A 'low' shot a bit back can be all guts...but that same shot a few inches higher can double lung them.  Again, LOOK at the vitals offered on this site.  Link provided at the end of this post.

Also, you aren't going to get away from the shield on some boars just by shooting quartering away as the shield extends behinds the shoulder as well over the ribs.  You also can shoot a hog much further forward than most think when they are broadside.  If they are quarteing away, try not to shoot too far forward as you might exit the front of the chest and have a long one lung train that may lead to nothing. See the video in the link below as well.

40 is not too light for MOST hogs, but is to light for some (Large and Shielded) IMO unless you make an absolute perfect shot, and we all know that's not guaranteed.  Hogs move a lot also, making shot placement less guaranteed. Also, large sows can have shields as well.

  Click Here and you be the judge on what you should and shouldn\\'t shoot.

[Cmalone1]

I will be heading to GA with poke on the hog hunt...I will be taking a BP Rogue and my Zona CUstom...both will be 55lb bows and i feel VERY confident with my ben pearson right now!!

shooting 2 blade heads, buzzcuts on the Zona, and Magnus screw ins on the Rogue!!

Hopefully hogs will fall to our arrows!!

[TxAg]

Originally posted by Terry Green:
There is a difference between saying 'shoulder' and 'shoulder blade'.  I think distinctions should be made.

Vitals ARE behind/under the front shoulder, ...but not necessarily behind/under the shoulder BLADE.  LOOK AT THE STRUCTURE OF A HOG AND YOU WILL SEE WHERE THE VITALS REALLY ARE....and the are not ALL low.  They are at an angle and tricky.  A 'low' shot a bit back can be all guts...but that same shot a few inches higher can double lung them.  Again, LOOK at the vitals offered on this site.  Link provided at the end of this post.

Also, you aren't going to get away from the shield on some boars just by shooting quartering away as the shield extends behinds the shoulder as well over the ribs.  You also can shoot a hog much further forward than most think when they are broadside.  If they are quarteing away, try not to shoot too far forward as you might exit the front of the chest and have a long one lung train that may lead to nothing. See the video in the link below as well.

40 is not too light for MOST hogs, but is to light for some (Large and Shielded) IMO unless you make an absolute perfect shot, and we all know that's not guaranteed.  Hogs move a lot also, making shot placement less guaranteed. Also, large sows can have shields as well.

  Click Here and you be the judge on what you should and shouldn\\'t shoot.  

Solid advice!

[rnharris]

i'd do some pushups and shoot lots of arrows and tune the heavier bow imo

if that's not possible go hunting with the lighter bow and have fun!

[Chester Thompson]

http://tradgang.com/noncgi/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=084174

Knowing where the vitals are is more important.

[the longbowkid]

i have and old indian archery recurve , that my brother shot for awhile, it was a 62 # he shot it very well, even though hes 14 just goes to show all you have to do is practice  

[vealboss]

I shot a 200# boar a few days ago at 8yrds. The shot was slightly quartering away. I was about 1in high and 2in back from the heart. Long story short 600 yrds later the small blood trail ran out and we figured out that i got just enough penetration to get barely thru the shield. My bow is 43 lbs and I was shooting woodsmen broadheads that were insanely sharp. If you are going to shoot " trophy hogs" go with the heavier bow. If you are going to shoot "hogs" 150# or less get a 2 blade broad head ie grizzly single bevels ect and practice till you split hairs. If you take the lighter bow be picky about the shot and the hog. Have fun

[hunterjt]

just pick your shot, best to hit the hog going away so you can tuck the arrow angle between the legs

[elkken]

I just came back from a hog hunt and learned first hands HOGS ARE TOUGH ... I killed the first one I shot, a slight quartering away shot but only had about 12" of penetration. I was shooting a 55# ACS LB and 540 grn arrows with 2 blade heads.

The second one I shot broadside, it was a big one, I hit the shoulder and shield getting about 4 " of penetration. I shot a 570 grn arrow on that one ...

Study Terry's shooting diagram and be patient and pick good shots. HOGS ARE TOUGH

GOOD LUCK and have fun