We found no blood but the pig took the arrow. No denying I hit it. I paid the trophy fee. That's the deal. I've got no problem with it.

But is this pig going to die? I won't feel cheated if it doesn't. In fact, I personally believe it's likely to survive. I hit it and I should pay.

Going have a bad leg. But I doubt it going to die from arrow placement. Unless infection sets in a kills it, which is always posssible.

If there are lion, leopards, or hyennas in the area, he will most likely be eaten. That has to slow him down.

They're tough little critters, he might survive.

I think the pig will most likely survive. However, it is Africa and he could be gotten by a leopard, get an infection or just not be mobile enough to get adequate food & water.

Yes they are tough animals but if that wounds gets infected he is done for predators or no predators around.

From placement and the arrow shaft bending (could be due to flight, angle, camera effect as well, not sure), you may have hit the bone, in which case infection/disability is more likely...in other words shitty death for this poor bastard.

Did it run on its leg or did it appear to be less functional when it ran away?

On the other had, if any predators around with a slow leg, hopefully it gets eaten ASAP!

The pig did not limp as it ran off. Apparently the broadhead only connected with bone as it used the leg as if no tendon damage had occurred.

I understand the concern about infection and believe this is certainly valid. But the pigs mobility was not affected at all. So if he lucks out on the infection end of things, I think his chances are good.

There might be a leopard or two in the area. The primary predators there are mostly wildcats and jackals.

I have seen a feral hog who had a healed GSW to a lower hind leg. The bone had been completly shattered.

Another feral, had been caught and castrated by somebody. When I killed him and went to clean him. I found lots of puss, maybe a pint. He had still been making a "living". Did throw him away because of the infection.

Hogs are tough, If the arrow passed through, I would expect no more than a short time limp.

Hog Killer

Be sure to sterilize your broadheads before hunting.

Why dosen't someone put a rifle round in it?

Wolfgar,

With the speed that the action is happening you don't get a picture perfect view like the photo. So how would you know that it was wounded?

Untill seeing the photo

I can see the arrow in the foreleg, but is that another in the hip?

I think it will survive. It's on a game farm, water, food and cover is plentiful, few predators.

If it were to die my first guess would be from another of its own species taking advantage of its injured state. Or, another hunter will drill it, looks like some decent tusks on it.

quote:

Originally posted by Stonecreek:
I can see the arrow in the foreleg, but is that another in the hip?

The green you see over the hip is the nock flying out of the back of the arrow. This often happens when arrows hit something very solid and stop quickly.

I think some are missing that this appears to be a frame grab off video, hence that his not a second arrow in the rump. I'm also assuming Wolfgar was figuring that it came into the water with the arrow already in it, not knowing it was a frame grab.

quote:

Originally posted by Aspen Hill Adventures:
I think it will survive. It's on a game farm, water, food and cover is plentiful, few predators.

If it were to die my first guess would be from another of its own species taking advantage of its injured state. Or, another hunter will drill it, looks like some decent tusks on it.

It is a game farm that receives primarily rifle pressure. In fact I was the first to bowhunt it in quite a while. We had to convert a rifle blind to a bow blind. I wouldn't doubt many a rifle hunter would be happy with that pig. There were some folks from Argentina that were looking for pigs. I showed them the footage. Maybe one of them lucked out.

I would also think this time of year being as cool as it was will keep the danger of infection down.

My bowkilled Kudu is not as fabulous as yours Anne but I'm extremely pleased with him. (53 1/2" with 11 1/2" bases) He came from the same makeshift blind. Kudu that are heavily rifle hunted like these were are very spooky. It was incredibly satisfying to get one there.

I've had a warthog I stalked with a bow get away. I shot it, had a brilliant pass through and then it ran down its burrow which turned out to be right close by. No one would go after him but I know it was a dead pig.

Your 53 inch kudu is a very good one, especially with an arrow. They are as you said, skittish animals at water.

My first black bear kill had been shot with an arrow by someone prior to me getting him. Their arrow had gone through BOTH back legs in the hams just above his knees and just missing vital blood vessels. The hunter must have been in a ground blind or stalking on the ground. The arrow would have split his belly open if it weren't that bears have a bone in their privates. I have that item and it is very evident where the broadhead cut across his weenie.

The bear was in fine health even though he had through and through wounds on each side of his legs and across his belly. He was fighting with a sow he wanted to breed when I killed him. His wounds were about 10 days old and not infected.

what's the green spot on his ham?

if the low shoulder shot is it, and he can make it a week, he'll be fine.. i too have recovered ferals with fully healed GSWs in the limbs

jeffe

The wound will go septic and the pig will die. Get on with your life.

Big Guy

What outfitter did you hunt with?

You took the shot, live with it, the fact that that you sent a arrow down range at a live target is part of (hunting or killing)

thebigguy,don't worry about a thing that's a young pig that has a bad splinter.it will do it some good-get those antibodies performing.besides it looks good with them flourescent feathers-attract a mate.may you live long and shoot plenty more in the same place

OK, sorry, I didn't realize that....I'm saying to myself, If he had the time to shoot a picture, why didn't he blast it with a rifle?

He will be sore for a day or 10 but don’t think he will die.

Just my 2c worth...

That was a risky shot to take anyway, I learnt the hard way. I have shot many pigs with a bow and arrow, and on several have got a complete pass through. The pig standing directly behind the one shot would in all lightly hood have been wounded by the arrow if the arrow didn't hit any bone on the first pig.

I shot a Springbuck (yes I know it is not as tough and as wide as a pig) the arrow passed right through and into the back leg of a youngster just behind it. At that time I was not aware of it, a week later the farmer phoned and told me I had wounded the Springbuck.

Always make sure what is behind your target

quote:

Originally posted by cewe:
The wound will go septic and the pig will die.

While I haven't taken a dumptruck load of warthogs, I do know that "septic to death" doesn't actually happen with feral hogs, in any measurable time frame

jeffe

The other unanswered question is should you pay? Yes you should. You took the shot and hit the animal therefore should pay the trophy fee. You should also stick to the best weapon for the job and that isn't a bow. If you are going to use a bow you need to either be a better shot or learn what shots not to take. I think that shows proper respect for both the animal and the hunting tradition.

I shot a three legged warthog that we took, because we thought he wouldn't survive long with a broken leg. When we got to him, the wound turned out to be old, completely healed over and the hog while quite old, in fine condition. There are a lot of things that can go wrong with a wound, and a lot of things that like pork. Sorry for your situation, but that is hunting.
Bfly

/

Isn't this the reason why so many game farmers say: 'No bowhunting allowed on my game ranch'?

In a letter from a game farmer, some time earlier this year in one of the SA hunting magazines, it was spelled out that he should have listened to the warnings from other game farmers before he decided to allow bowhunting. Stopped it since specifcally because of the large numbers of wounded animals and will never allow it again.

I've shot and recovered deer with injuries that were in fine health:-

Lower rear leg missing, healed stump.
High rear leg break, healed with muscle wastage but in ok condition apart from limp.
Front leg broken and healed 180degrees around so underside of foot now to front, limp but fine condition.

That wound is reachable by the animal so it's less likely to get fly blown etc - I'd reckon it'd be fine.

quote:

Originally posted by Jagter:
Isn't this the reason why so many game farmers say: 'No bowhunting allowed on my game ranch'?

In a letter from a game farmer, some time earlier this year in one of the SA hunting magazines, it was spelled out that he should have listened to the warnings from other game farmers before he decided to allow bowhunting. Stopped it since specifcally because of the large numbers of wounded animals and will never allow it again.

Jagter, I am sorry but I cannot agree with what that farmer did say. My personal opinion is that he heard that bowhunting is busy get big in RSA and he wanted a share in it, but he did not do his homework properly

Was his farm suited for bowhunting, was he sure of the ability of the bowhunters he allowed on his farm, did he had properly trained trackers or was it his farmhand that sat with the hunters and did the tracking.

That farmer made very wild statements. More animals are wounded by rifles than by bows inho.

Yes there are bowhunters that should never have put their hands to a bow, but to say that all bowhunters are irresponsible, like that farmer claimed is damn unfair to the bowhunter comunity.

Not trying to hijack the tread

Please let me make this absolutely clear!!!

I am not complaining about having to pay for the pig. I shot him I have to pay. I'm fine with that. The same would be true with whatever weapon I chose to hunt with.

My original intent was to kill him. If he dies, he dies. But just because I won't get him doesn't change my original intent. Yes, I didn't want to inflict a lingering death that wasn't my intention, but intend to kill him yes I did. A lingering death is truly a shame if that is the result. I'm not loosing sleep over it.

I posted this still frame from a video of the hunt for discussion purposes not because I was searching for some answer that would make me feel better.

I took three other animals successfully with a bow on my Safari. In addition, I took an animal with a rifle. I enjoy both pursuits. One other pig was lost on this safari by someone else in the group. Incidently, this pig was shot with a rifle.

I think you are just rationalizing. So what if another pig was wounded and lost and was shot with a rifle rather than a bow. One would be very foolish to profess that the bow was less limiting than a rifle. Both require skill. I have lost one or two animals in my life of 45 years of hunting. I learned long ago to disipline myself and to take reasonable shots. As my skill became better my shots got a little longer. That being said, I do not get my game every season regardless of technique. The reason we use high powered rifles for game hunting is because it is a vastly superior weapon. Those that use a bow or a hand gun to hunt animals are just short stroking themselves unless they have the proper disipline for the job at hand(pun intended). Everyone that hunts Africa complains when an elderly hunter shoots close to the road or near the safari car. To me that is no worse than sitting in a blind near a water hole and potting game as it comes to feed or water. The bow hunters think that it is very sporting for them to hunt this way. Just because someone can hunt with a bow doesn't mean it is the best weapon for the Job. I am not trying to be arguemenative, just pointing out that if you had a choice to hunt a fine animal why do you choose a lessor weapon if a suitable rifle is at hand?

Considering the title of the topic I thought this might be another Mugabe story...

What seems to be missing from this entire story, is the process of attempting to locate your wounded animal - after it presuambly ran off. In all the hoolabaloo about having to pay for the wounded animal, or whether the animal will survive the wound or not, this essential part seems to have been lost.

But maybe it is just so obvious that you spent the next three days looking for the animal,that you simply forgot to mention it? Pity about the lost hunting days, that plus the bad conscience of having caused unnecessary suffering is what helps us try to avoid mistakes next time. Yes?

- mike

"Is this pig going to die?"

I've said those very same words myself...

The pig is certainly going to die. I'm absolutely positive about this.

Every living thing dies sometime, the question is whether the pig is going to die sooner than it would have had it not been hit with the arrow.

I'm a Family doctor and I once outraged a room full of emergency physicians who were going on and on about saving lives. I pointed out to them that all their patients would eventually die and that they were delaying death not saving lives.

mike

quote:

Originally posted by lb404:
The other unanswered question is should you pay? Yes you should. You took the shot and hit the animal therefore should pay the trophy fee. You should also stick to the best weapon for the job and that isn't a bow. If you are going to use a bow you need to either be a better shot or learn what shots not to take. I think that shows proper respect for both the animal and the hunting tradition.

The "unanswered question" was answered in the second sentence of TheBigGuys post, he said "I hit it and I should pay"

At the correct distance a bow will kill anything that a correctly placed arrow hits. In this thread it sounds as if no animals are wounded with rifles.... I have seen more animals wounded with rifles in a similar amount of animals shot. I shoot rifle, handgun and bow, all are just as effective if used within their capabilities.

TheBigGuy,

It happens, yes it is always disappointing, its called hunting. We try our best not to wound regardless of weapon used but unfortunately things do go haywire sometimes.

ghundwan, I am sure that there are many animals that have been wounded with rifle shots. Be that as it may, a good archer will never be as effective as an equally skilled rifle man. There is a reason we are not in the stone age now and it isn't because of hunting skill it is because of advancements in technology and a bow is the best of all sporting weapons. Even a kid knows that.