Where to Shoot a Hog with a Bow

A bow, a quiver of arrows and some tough broadheads is all you really need to hunt hogs. The archery gear you use for whitetail hunting will do the job. While the same gear will work, a different mentality is needed. Hogs are not deer, and if you place your shot like they were, you may be trailing a hog a long ways. Tracking an animal that takes a long time to die and likes to charge hunters can turn a fun hunt into a grueling, dangerous affair.

Hogs have bigger digestive organs and smaller lungs than a whitetail. To make room, a hog’s vitals are located farther forward and lower than a deer’s, between the shoulder blades. A broadhead that hits a hog where a deer’s vitals would be usually results in a gut shot.

On sows or boars weighing less than 125 pounds, a broadside shot will penetrate enough to kill the hog. Follow the front leg up to the mid-point of the chest and aim here. You will not hit the heart (it is below this area) but you should penetrate both lungs, resulting in a good blood trail and quick death.

On bigger boars, broadhead shots have to deal with the storied plate of armor protecting the vitals. Pigs develop this buildup of cartilage behind their shoulders to protect them during fights with other boars. On big boars, and even small ones, the best shot opportunity is while the pig is quartering away. Place your sight pin on the opposite shoulder and your broadhead will hit the chest cavity while driving toward the far leg, damaging vitals on its way. 

Hunting hogs with a bow appeals to many bowhunters. They’re fun to stalk, they’re great to eat, and abundant. Archers from the North or Midwest frequently take advantage of hog hunts in the south. These spring break hog hunting trips are an economical cure for cabin fever, and a good tune-up for your bowhunting skills before turkey season starts. Just keep correct hog shot placement in mind when hunting, and you will find these animals are not as invincible as some say they are.