I am still hunting strictly from the ground using the ghillie suit in brush cover, no feeder, and LOVING the show I am getting from it.

I shot this boar right before dark tonight 11/30/2019.

He came by from down wind, and walked by me (from right to left) at 6 yards.

He was paralleling a sow, that was about 20 yards out in the wheat field on the other side of the fence, and both were walking pretty fast.

I throat grunted, and he stopped quartering to, and looking right at me.

To late mr pig, and the arrow was away.

I shot him right in the left shoulder, but I was confident it would do the trick.

I watched the arrow go all the way through, make a little bobble, then disappear into the brush at the fence. When I went to pick up the arrow, I was shocked to find only the back half of it. I saw it go through.

This was laying just the other side of the fence & brush.

15 yards to the left of the arrow lay the pig. I watched him go down. The whole thing from shot to dead still was only about 15 to 20 second. No blood trail, there wasn't enough run.

Entry wound. He was laying on this side.

Exit Wound.

Try as I might, out of all the hundreds of pigs (lots of big ones), I'm still having no luck getting a good tusker. Someday maybe. I'll keep trying.

Top Tusks.

Bottom Tusks.

I got these entry & exit shield sample pictures mixed up, but I think they in order here.

Entry shield.

Exit shield.

After I drug him down to the carnage pit, I went back to look for the front half of my arrow. I finally found it sticking in the tree, which was about 2 yards the other side of the pig when I shot him. I guess it broke when it hit the tree, and that's the bobble I saw as it was going away.

Widowmaker Smash .300's / 30.25" to BOP / Tipped with a 175gr Bishop Archery Right Single Bevel Broadhead / 14.4% FOC / 3 X 4" Marco Vane Fletching / 644gr total weight.

I shot this pig through the on side shoulder, and completely/zipped him out the off side right behind the off side shoulder, then stuck in a tree.

Folks can debate arrow configs for penetration from now till the end of time, but I don't think I'll be changing mine any time soon (if ever).

The Bow is a 21" JC-Optimus riser from Johns Custom Archey. The limbs are Big Foot Recurve SS Static Mediums / 69.5# at my 29.5" draw. It shoots those above listed arrows an average of 215 FPS. I don't think I'll be changing bows any time soon either. 8^)

For comparison - I am just under 6'1", and weight 250 lbs. I figure this pig weighs at least that much, and likely quite a bit more.

It was an awesome afternoon/evening hunt. I saw 26 deer total. 25 (all doe) in range with easy shots offered, but I'm not allowed to shoot them. The one buck was a nice 8 point. He came in range, but at full blast chasing a doe. I throat grunted just as he was getting to me, but he never slowed down (no shot).

Thanks for reading along. Hope you enjoyed it. 8^)

Rick

A very nice detailed story. Thanks for sharing it Rick.

Think you might have a good set-up!

Nice job, Rick!

Great pictures and stats! Darn nice pig also! Good for you, a great hunt and great post!

Good shooting!!

Sounds like you have a good set-up to me. Congratulations.

congrats

Well done Rick

Deno

What a great outing. Quick clean kill and memories to last a lifetime. Well Done Rick. Congratulations. Are you able/allowed to continue hunting pigs or is one the limit where you are? Again, Congrats on nice harvest. MTQuiver.

Nice! You look happier than a pig in....? Oh well... Congrats Rick!

Well done Rick, now go make sausage.

Great hog! Cool story also. Congratulations

Great hog! Cool story also. Congratulations

Congratulations, You Happy Texan.

That’s pretty awesome performance...

The only thing that surprised me was that you used a 2-blade, after your barrel tests.

And the only problem is that with that kind of horsepower, you could probably have killed him with a rubber blunt! LOL..... Kind of like reading an old Ross Seyfried article about hunting jackrabbits with a .770 Nitro stopping rifle...

I think we need to figure out what’s the next best thing to a big piggie and start testing with set-ups where there is at least a decent chance that the arrow won’t kill the tree on the other side...

My other thought was to find someone nearby who processes dear and ask him to save me a pile of upper leg bones from both ends of the animals and see what I can do about shooting through those…

Well done.

Hugh

Congratulations Rick!

Great story Rick. I would change a thing with a set up that performs like that.

Thanks guys.

Something I forgot to mention in the story is about the sparks I saw fly right after the arrow exited the pig.

Those old mesquite trees are hard, and I've seen steel spark on them lots of times.

What I "think" happened is, the arrow side swiped up a little higher on the tree on the left in the picture. That's when it broke. The front end dove down, and stuck in the tree to it's right, and the tail end flipped on out into the field. Never know for sure, but it seems to fit the situation.

Rick

Awesome!

EXCELLENT!!!!!!! Congrats on a fine boar!!! Super write-up and pics and thanks so much for sharing!

CD

Nice, congrats!

Awesome kill, I have looked at those arrows and wondered how good they are. Must be all right.

Congrats On A nice hog. Well done!

I don't know pigs, Rick, but that looks like a big one to me. You have 66 foot/pounds of energy. I wouldn't think you'd have any trouble with penetration. In fact, on anything in NA.

Sounds like a great hunt.

Bowmania

Nice young boar those long legs look like he could jump a fence! BTW what is a carnage pit?

Grats Rick! Raw power in your hands right there!

Very nice;Congrats.

Congrats Sir !!!!!

That was great, congrats & thanks for sharing. John

Good hunting, Rick!

Congratulations.

Congrats! With a little more FOC, imagine how much more penetration you would have gotten! Lol.

For those who want to come help with pigs in Texas. Rules: Kill every pig you see. With whatever you have in your hands at the time. Whenever and wherever you can. Until they are all gone. Good luck!

Nice hog, Rick.

Congrats Rick

Nce hog and awesome detailed story.

You da' man Rick! Regards

Great shooting, great story. Thanks!

A little more info, and something I am extremely pleased with.

I was using a 15 yard fixed crawl.

The light was very low, but I was able to easily find the crawl simply by hooking the string low, and sliding the tab up until I felt it bump up against the tied on marker.

I did not worry about trying to adjust for the short distance, and aimed just as if it were 15 yards.

Even at only 6 yards the arrow impacted only about an inch above the spot I picked for it. I also know it will only impact an inch or two low using the same 15 yard crawl at 20 yards.

It's a real comfort knowing I can aim the tip of the arrow into the boiler room from almost point blank out to 20 yards (maybe even 25), and know it's going where it needs to go.

Rick

kginrick my experience is the opposite once a hog is hanging from an actual scale.Most way overestimate weight.

Nice pig Rick.

Great shot, very nice boar and will be some excellent eating!!! I was going to ask if you used one of your tabs...but I see it on the lower part of the quiver!!!

Way to go Rick!!!

Funny, the hogs on my property don't have big tusks but get huge. I can go 40 miles down the road and the hogs are smaller with BIG tusks.

Seems more these days the hogs are all half race horse with all the doggers out there :)

Congrats Again, Ben

“Seems more these days the hogs are all half race horse with all the doggers out there”

All part of a healthy, low-fat diet!

Actually, it looked like there is a piece of wood next to that tree that looks like it has a pretty good cutter on it ;)

Weee Ooooh

LOL - Ok y'all can stop PMing me about the weight now. I said "I figure", which is just a guess.

My fat a$$ weighs 250#, and he is/was bigger than me. I can also throw 200# around pretty easy, and drag it even easier. He was a workout to drag, so (I guessed) at him weighing that, or more. Guess being the key word here.

I "guess" I'm gonna have to buy me a winch truck to go hunting in, and keep a good "certified" scale on hand. LOL

8^)

Rick

I can't believe you broke a Widowmaker! Then again, it is mesquite.

Congrats on harvesting a Big O PIG.

Nice Boar, that Ghillie on the ground is some fun stuff, I don't even own any tree stands anymore.

Are you guys (Rick & David) using homemade Ghillies, or store-boughten?

Matt, mine is store bought, but so old now I don't remember where I got it. I think Rancho Safari.

It's the long coat style with all the burlap jute tied into a net suit.

I modified it some. I removed the jute from my left chest area, and from the inside of the left arm. I cut the hood off of it, and sewed it onto a camo beanie cap. I split the coat from the bottom on both sides up to my hips.

What those things have done for me are (1) make it easy to shoot with it on, (2) allows me shift/position it in different ways on my body, and (3) allows me to manage how it want to use it in the field.

With it split on the sides like it is, it makes a fairly large camo netting if I want to use it that way, and I have a few times.

Rick

Sounds pretty slick!

I really probably ought to build myself one… Carting a tree stand around on my back just really isn’t my cup of tea... Great thought, though, to configure it such that it can be an instant blind when you want it to be....

I have several, one I built off a BDU with net and jute,it's heavy and hot and best for crawling with a rifle. One built off a mesh bug suit with jue and synthetic fiber, which is not quite as hot and lighter. I have two Marc Anthony Ghillies that I bought right before they got really hard to find, one still unused and the other which I regularly use. They are built off a lightweight mesh suit with net, synthetic yarn and some leafy material. I didn't add any jute to keep it light, matter of fact I did a lot of trimming on it as I practiced while wearing it. Sometimes I might temporarily add a little local natural material.

I switched to the ground in 2007 after a ruptured ACL the week before bow season, bought a Primos Dark Horse blind nd hated it. Now it's used to get grandkids into the woods and hunt while still giving them a little figgiting room. 2008 I started with the Ghillie and have not climbed a tree since 2007, way too much fun on the ground.

Matt, here's a picture of mine. I knew I had some pictures, jut had to find them.

Rick

Congratulations Rick that’s a nice hog , I have a lot of hogs at my place in Grosvenor but have been to busy to hunt.

Rick is that the old Cocobolo/Yew BW? That's been a while ;^)

That's one of them David.

That was spring 2010.

I didn't have the beanie hood mod for the suit back then.

Rick

That bow arm looks pretty bare in the picture, but you're looking at the inside of the arm in the up position. There's lots of jute on the back side of it.

I also wear a leafy suit under my ghillie now days. It really adds to the breakup.

Rick

Dang that's quite an exit hole, well done,,don't know that I've ever seen an arrow footing like that before, that just has to add to the punch when that shaft hits something.

Nice Rick!! Thanks for sharing!

Nice work!

Congrats!!

Thanks again folks.

I cut out a new spot to ghillie set this afternoon, and will hunt it in a few days. It's 115 yard north of the spot where I took this pig, and on the other side of the wheat field.

The original spot was ok, but this new spot is going to be very interesting I think.

Should have another pig to show in a few days, and maybe a buck. We'll see.

Rick

Nice hog!

ttt

Great shot and penetration! Congrats

Not a footing on a Widowmaker but an outsert.

Imagine that one is aluminum but they can also be had in steel.

I sold every 300 spine I had but I may have enough 250 spine for our penetration challenge, or subchallenge since I mouthed off about 900 grainers.

DDave

Well how did I miss this post until now? Nice story and photos Rick, and congratulations. Good luck on your next outing. Lance

How does the size of those wounds compare to the width of the Brodhead itself? They look a LOT bigger...

Matt, some of those pictures were taken after I dissected the entry & exit wound to show the shield.

But, both the entry & exit were a little wider than the broadhead itself. I attribute that to it being a quartering shot, but I could be wrong.

Rick

Could be due to rotation. I don't know.

Rick

Angle should be a big factor… Otherwise, I’ve always assumed that it has something to do with the hide being stretched before it gets cut. Ideally, a properly sharp COC head should keep that to an absolute minimum.

Which is actually not that great a thing, if you think about it… at least not if you figure that a large entry or exit wound will allow more blood to leak out onto the ground.

But I’d rather have an animal move off a lot slower than bleed a little faster ;)

Matt, you got my curiosity up about the difference in the size of the cut, and the size of the broadhead.

The cut is the exit wound, and since I had my finger laying across/below it, I thought I would try to get a picture of the broadhead (same broadhead used to kill the pig) in the same position as it relates to that finger.

This is as close as I could get it, but as you can see, there's not a lot of difference in the size of the cut, and the width of the broadhead. Some (cut is wider), but not much

Rick

Beautiful Rick.

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