3 blade heads for hogs?

[hunt it]

Two blade all the way!! Stack the odds in your favour not against you. Every study on earth has proven two blade out penetrates three blade when going gets tough. RC shoots alot of hogs, experience makes up for alot. My guide in Wyoming uses a .243 to kill all his elk - does that make it good - he says NO - " I live here and can hunt elk any day and only take perfect shots - you bring a .375H&H".

[Rob DiStefano]

Originally posted by hunt it:
Two blade all the way!! Stack the odds in your favour not against you. Every study on earth has proven two blade out penetrates three blade when going gets tough. ...

if that were the sole reason for shooting twins, then i doubt there'd be a need for 3 blades, where the difference for me is the large hole and blood letting that triples make.  

imo, a 3 blade needs more horsepower to get the job done on certain critters, and i carefully respect that consideration.

[hunt it]

Rob,

Not to argue with your statement, BUT on tough/thick skinned/heavy boned game - using same poundage bows the two blade will out penetrate the three blade every time.

On deer, antelope, black bear, liitle hogs and thin skinned game three blade gonna make em deader and bleed better for sure.

Big hogs are in the thick skinned/tough category in my book. I shoot 70 to 80# and I still would prefer a 2 blade over a three for big old hogs. My opinion of course, each to his/her own.

[Rob DiStefano]

Originally posted by hunt it:
Rob,

Not to argue with your statement, BUT on tough/thick skinned/heavy boned game - using same poundage bows the two blade will out penetrate the three blade every time.

On deer, antelope, black bear, liitle hogs and thin skinned game three blade gonna make em deader and bleed better for sure.

Big hogs are in the thick skinned/tough category in my book. I shoot 70 to 80# and I still would prefer a 2 blade over a three for big old hogs. My opinion of course, each to his/her own.

the key, for me, is to wisely choose the right broad head for the right game, with the right arrow and the right bow.  

if hog hunting and i come across a really big hog, i'd want - and do carry - a pair of proper 'n' heavy twin blades (typically a tusker concorde double bevel).  

but for the smaller, thinner skinned critters, the difference 'tween 2 blade and 3 blade and 4 blade has been proved well enuf for me ... big holes, lotsa blood, faster kills.

aaaaa, it's all good, and sometimes this stuff can border on nit pickin'.  :D

[David McLendon]

The slimmer Woodsman might be OK, I like the 160gr Snuffer but on something as potentially tough as a boar I use 60# minimum behind the big Snuffer with no problems so far. Below 60# I have some of the original Zephyrs (two blade) that are 130gr.

[Southern Sam]

Thanks for the replys fellers! 3 blades let more blood out and that's the reason for me wanting to use them.  Simmons are on my list for the 2 blades for sure.

[RC]

That pic I posted was with a Big snuffer like Guru shoots. The smaller better penetrating woodsman would do fine. Face it...if you hit him in the shoulder you made a bad shot. Would a two blade matter then? A pig hit up in the shoulder up high will not usually be recovered because you shot over the lungs anyway.RC

[RC]

I`ve killed a few large pigs with a Magnus I but the two largest pigs I`ve killed both pushing 300 pounds were killed with 3 blades. One a Muzzy 125 three blade out of a 51 pound bow with a 625 grain arrow and the other with a 52 pound longbow with a woodsman and 670 grain chundo arrow.We try to make up for a bad shot with slim broadheads but I bet if you gut shoot him you`ll wish you had a snuffer on the end. So why not shoot a "medium" head and hit them where your supposed too.RC

[KentuckyTJ]

RC is definitely the "Hog Man" on here and I agree with 99% of what he usually posts but not this time. Hogs don't stand still long and are small targets, bad hits are imminent. If a two blade went 1 cm. deeper and cut an artery on a bad hit that may be the difference between recovery and a lost animal.

Just my two pennies.

[StanM]

One of our staff shooters in Texas hunts with a Horne combo hunter in both recurve and longbow @ around 50# pounds and has done well on deer and taken hogs as well, though I don't think any of the hogs have been large.

As Terry first mentioned keep to heavier arrows with either style of head.  I would also add that penetration can be *severely* limited if the arrow flight is not true. I think this is sometimes the determining factor in arrow penetration failures that often gets blamed on the broadhead. Good luck to you.

[Mint]

I'm always a little conflicted with this subject since I like having a multiple blade head for the smaller hogs and two blades for big boars. I'm shooting two blade muzzy phantoms that are a pretty big head to try to get a bigger hole and so far the blood trails have been great.

 I did shoot a big boar with a woodsman once and it didn't make it through the off shield. That arrow banged against the palmattoes and brush as he ran away and the broadhead was bouncing around in the body cavity and just turned the heart and lung area into chop meat when we did an autopsy.

[Terry Green]

Originally posted by KentuckyTJ:
 Hogs don't stand still long and are small targets, bad hits are imminent. If a two blade went 1 cm. deeper and cut an artery on a bad hit that may be the difference between recovery and a lost animal.

Hogs don't stand still long and are small targets, bad hits are imminent. If a THREE blade went 1 cm. SHALLOWER and cut an artery because of that 3rd blade that the 2 blade might have missed on a bad hit that may be the difference between recovery and a lost animal.

As always, arguments can be made either way.  I've also passed through large boar hogs with lighter weight bows than Hunt It stated with FOUR blades.

-------------

I still believe in this case my original statement of a non-wide 2 blade in case he runs into this.... Click Here


.....but I also know RC, and would not question what HE used based on his experience. if I needed more info *I'd* ask RC!!!    :D    

 My answer is based on the set up and my lack of knowledge of the experience of the original poster on hog hunting.

So, please post your thoughts on what your opinion is based on the info above, and don't turn it into a bhead debate.  That serves the author no purpose.

Thanks.

[BobCo 1965]

I believe that I read in Hunting the Hard Way that the number one reason for lost game in Hill's opinion was lack of penetration. I understand that equipment may have changed slightly since then, however if it were me and I was unsure of penetration potential on certain game, I'd set my mind at ease (one less thing to have in the back of my head) and go with the two blade non-vented single beveled head (based on Ashby studies).

[RC]

I don`t mind anyone not agreeing with me. TJ has a point as well as TG. That is the beauty of this site that we can disagree without wanting to fistfight and smart people learn from these discussions.

  Its seems when we talk about hunting pork everyone thinks penetration and that boils down to shoulders and sheilds. Totally forgetting about the other 2/3 s of the pig.I`ve liver and gut shot way more pigs than shoulder shot because I tend to shy away from it. Kinda like shooting at something close to a tree. I find them all with a very rare exception.I`ve gut shot hogs with a snuffer and big simmons that went less than 100 yards and laid up with good sign to trail with. Its not whats nice to see but I`ve shot a few hogs with a 4 blade interceptor in the paunch that the insides came out of the hole and it did not go far at all.Shooting a narrow head I`m not sure if I would have found the pig. I usually use redneck logic and a shoulder shot pig will usually live. a gut shot ones gonna die. I want a BIG hole.

  I am down to shooting 50 pounds and less.I shoot more accurate with this weight. I decided to shoot the zwickey no mercy head early in the year because I was "worried" about penetration. After and hog and mature buck I killed with the arrow passing completely through and sticking 6" in the dirt on the deer I decided I was wasting a lot of energy.I added about 40 grains arrow weight which does not matter to me because I ain`t gonna shoot over 20 yards or so and put the big Magnus I heads on and the last two with Woodsmans.The no Mercy heads are great and I would use them if I ever get to hunt elk but the blood trail did not compare to the magnus or woodsman.They all work just hit them where your supposed too. Good hunting,RC.

[Terry Green]

Robert...was that a no mercy 2 or 4 blade you used.

Bobco....in my experience....most lost animals I've PERSONALLY been involved in are from lost blood trails from 2 blades....not just animals I've shot, but mostly trails I've been on from others.....not just hogs either, deer and bear as well.  I have to base my hunting on MY studies, not someone else's.  Lots of other folks that kill a lot of stuff here also subscribe to their own studies.  Not all game and terrain is the same for every 'study'.  Easter state thickets and TX Scrub aint like the west and Aftica. And live animals really tell the tale over shooting ones that are already dead.

[BobCo 1965]

Not debating anyones opinion (including my own      ) .

[Terry Green]

Originally posted by BobCo 1965:
Not debating anyones opinion (including my own          ) .

HA!....Good Policy!!!...maybe I need to adapt to that.    

[Southern Sam]

Great posts!  I have good experience with hogs with a compound.  this will be my 1st attempt at hogs with my recurve.  I know my limitations and wont be shooting over 20yds. My 125gr buzz cuts penetrate great! My favorite heads are 4 blades!Like another poster said..hogs move alot and bad shots happen sometimes, 1/4 away shots are always the key to stay away from the shield I have found. My biggest hog to date is 305#.
I really dont think my setup is all that light considering my drawlength is pretty much 29in. I'm getting better or comparable speeds amd KE to guys that are shooting 50# with shorter draws. I wish my Silver Flames were alot heaveir instead of 100grs!haha.
I really like the different oppinions from you guys and also like that it can be discussed in a civil manner unlike other sites.

RC what Magnus are you shooting?

[RC]

TG, the no mercy was a 2 blade.Sam I was shooting Magnus I heads. I`ve used them a lot mainly because I can sharpen them without trying it seems.
  A 4 blade no mercy would be a heck of a low poundage broadhead I believe. I`m thinking about trying them on some summertime pork this year.RC

[traditionalman]

When I hunted hogs in Alabama the man who ran the hunts said no switchblade type heads and best to use a 2 blade for penatration. They lost too many hogs with thoes open on contact heads and also with 3 blades. My friend Ed Fox got an 115 pound sow and a 6foot rattlesnake and I shot a 160 pound sow but we did loose her as it was right at night fall and it started raining and it was the last day of the hunt.Sucks to be me.