Bummed and confused....help please!

[Wild1]

About this time last year I whacked my best hog to date on public land (see 5-25-09 thread titled "DIY Public Land Success"). I recently started scouting again, and had them patterned pretty good. Last weekend I went back to try my luck, and sure enough, I got a shot off. But, here's the details: 25 yard shot (new Z7 bow), slightly downhill. Four hogs in the group, the one I hit squealed loudly (the rest remained silent) and they all bolted. I drilled this pig. I waited a bit, went to the kill site and no blood! Not even a drop. Also, no arrow! All my recent kills have been pass-thru's - because of the angle of the shot, finding my arrow should have been easy. I looked for an hour before it got dark, went back the next morning and looked for four hours! No blood, no arrow, no nothing! I'm kind of sick about it. The only thing I can think of, is that I made a less-than-perfect shot - maybe stuck it in the ham (no blood) and the arrow stopped at the opposite hip bone (no arrow). Hate the thought of a wounded animal, maybe I can learn something here so this never happens again. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Rex.]

I'm not an archer but I remember seeing these lil goodies and thought they were pretty cool. If I were to ever get into bow season I'd carry em. Hope your next hunt goes better for ya.

40 hours flash time.

http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_10200187____SearchResultshttp://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_10200187____SearchResults

G5 G-Force Lighted S Nock : Cabela's

 

[Redneck75]

It's just one of those deal with bowhunting...hell, with any type of hunting. Sooner or later you'll lose one. It sucks. We all practice and do everything possible to make sure we get a clean, humane kill every time but it doesn't always go perfectly.

I can't recommend the lighted knocks. They do make finding your arrow easier but they also put extra weight on the back end of your arrow, harming your accuracy. I'd rather have the best chance at a perfect hit than be able to find the arrow.

 

[gatorfan]

Congrats on finding the public land hogs!!! (again)
Yep, it's happened to me and there is a very high percentage chance that it will happen to most. It definitely sucks though!

 

[mike_cook82]

i shot a hog in february at cedar canyon ranch, i punched a 7mm rem mag straight through both lungs and watched him run 50+ yds away. when i got to him there wasnt a drop of blood. ive also shot one in the right ham in florida, and he hauled ass. when i finally found him 3+ hours later, i didnt see a drop of blood anywhere. i couldnt figure it out to save my life. i hear lots of good things about the luminok arrows but i also hear the same thing as posted above, that your accuracy goes way down. it sucks. i can safely say that ive lost a few to the forest before and it weighs heavy on your heart. but at least the coyotes have some easy grub. sorry about your hunt, man. congrats on your finding pigs though!

 

[Wild1]

I agree with Redneck about the nocs, not my thing. Appreciate the comments, wondering if anyone might have a theory as to why there was zero blood and, believe me, no arrow (?).

 

[Forest Crawler]

I can't recommend the lighted knocks. They do make finding your arrow easier but they also put extra weight on the back end of your arrow, harming your accuracy. I'd rather have the best chance at a perfect hit than be able to find the arrow.

Hitting an animal and not recovering it does happen. I have had that happen and it made me sick. With hogs, their fat will sometimes plug up the wound channel so fast you won't find blood. You also said you shot slightly downhill. That would make the entrance hole angle up. If you hit bone on the other side you would have a hard time finding blood without a pass through.

Unlike Redneck75, I would recommend the Lumenok or similar lighted nock. It may add a little weight, but if you practice with them you'll be able to adjust. I have used them for two years and I have no issues with them. Arrows fly true and the lighted nock is a valuable tool.

 

[Wild1]

Thanks for your insights guys, apreciate it. I think that arrow might still be in the pig, and no blood because of a ham shot. Thanks again and if anyone else has some insights, feel free.

 

[spectr17]

That sucks Wild1. The fat just shuts off the skin and plugs up any oil leaks.

Any chance you can go back and see if you can track the sign left? This is where learning to track without blood comes in handy. Blood isn't the only thing an animal leaves behind, especially when they are in haul azz mode. Look for where the pig may have stumbled. Broken brush etc. Also don't just look at the flat ground for sign, get down on your knees in some places and look around at hog level, you'll be surprised what you find sometimes on the side of trees and grass.

Tom Brown has a couple great books on tracking, every hunter should have at least one in their library.

 

[sancho]

yup^^^. i arrowed a big boy. i rushed the 35 yard shot, and the animal turned quartering away, just when i fired. he bolted. we relaxed, and waited. finally we hiked in. zero blood, arrow gone! we searched and searched, finally calling it off. friend i was with went back for a week. on the last day, he shot a big boar. he found 8" of my arrow! it got deflected by the shield and was running along side his body. the boar was eating and humping sows, before my buddy put him down for good.

next time, i wont rush it.

 

[slanttop357]

I have a question how long can a Pig live and how far can they run or just hold up in the brush before they Die or do they die ? with a lung shot or to some other vital area.

 

[Rex.]

I have a question how long can a Pig live and how far can they run or just hold up in the brush before they Die or do they die ? with a lung shot or to some other vital area.

Hogs never die (completely). They just go possess a different body. Hogula forever! Muhhahah!



Sorry I couldn't help myself.:bag-on-head:

 

[Wild1]

Spectra (J.), thanks for the insights and suggestions. I did the "hands and knees" routine, except for the tunnels (no side arm). I thought for sure I'd find it, I mean I drilled that pig! I looked for five hours, then another hour on Monday evening (6 hours total). In all that time, not one spot of blood, or the arrow. I did find some broken branches, but I honestly don't know if I broke them, other pigs broke them or my wounded hog did. Oh well, tough one to deal with - you just never stop learning hunting lessons. Thanks again for all the advice and suggestions.

 

[Live2hunt]

I think this is what you need.
Tracking Equipment Article

 

[freezer]

The first pig (and last pig) I saw I shot with a 168 gr 308 at 40yrds. I blew him of his feet and he tumbled into a draw. When I got there no pig...No blood. I searched two hours and only found two small drops of blood. Tough criters.

 

[boar slayer]

pigs are extremely tough there are many reasons for no blood trail first off is bad shot placement, in ham in backstrap leinghtwise between shield and ribs on quatering shot through front shoulder not penetrating bodycavity on and on .
other things include fat clogging hole hair holding blood pig got mud packed in wound.
and here is more food for thought a hunting buddie of mine is a vascular surgeon and he had stated to me it takes three minutes to die if that pig ran for 45 seconds before he fell down it could be half a mile away .
my thoughs on tracking
1 know where that animal was when you shot
2 wich way did it go watch till you cant see anymore
3 dont expect to see blood off the bat look for any piece of that animal bone chips hair etc
4 keep looking
5 if it was taken out of a herd it will try to keep up follow the herds tracks
6 be ready for a charge at any time
7 if charged try to keep wits and shoot it in the face and prepare to jump out of way
if all else fails keep looking heading in the direction they went you may find it or other pigs .
some times things just dont work out ive lost more than one even with well trained dogs

 

[STICK&STRING]

very good info so far. I bowhunt pigs alot, and yes, I have lost one to date. What pisses me off most is the shot was video taped by a buddy and it was a clean lung very good possibility of a heart shot. The fat on hogs SUCK. They can really close up a hole in a hurry. Ive also had hogs that bled like a water hose. Look at brush that is roughly the height of the wound. ive found blood in VERY weird places. Just because the blood is not dripping on the floor doesn't mean there is no blood on the hair. Any twig or leaf that pig runs past or rubs up against will most likely have very small drops of blood.

Good luck!

 

[spectr17]

I think this is what you need.
Tracking Equipment Article

Them string trackers dealios aren't worth the time IMHO. More crap you don't need to hang on your bow. Buddy tried to use one a couple times and as soon and the deer hit the briars the string broke. They also will only work on an animal that doesn't run far, you only get so much string.

The electronic trackers work IF your arrow stays in the animal, most times it doesn't from what I've seen. Either a complete pass through or the brush and the animal running dislodges it.

The best advice I can give and I have to remind myself on every tracking job is slow down, and then slow down some more. We destroy a lot of sign by moving too fast over it.

Hopefully you had a clean pass through and you'll get to see the hog again. Put up a game camera and you might get a pic showing the wound and where you hit it.

One tracking tip that I was taught was go back when the light is different. The best time to track is when the sun is low, the longer shadows help show track and sign better. If shot at noon try and be there a few hours before dark and at sunrise.

Check for buzzards and ravens too now, you just might get a skull out of the deal

 

[bigboarstopper]

15 years ago I shot at a hog with a 30-30 from no less than 35yds away. The hog ran 100+ yards up a hill and into the brushy hillside. I was sick. I thought for sure I had missed it because it never flinched or slowed down as it ran away. I walked up the hillside and looked around to see if there was any blood. Nada. I poked around looking to see if possibly I could get to the top of the hill without flushing the hog or any others over the top. As I walked I found the hog laid up against some brush. It stood up and I finished it with a shot behind the ear.

To my surprise My first shot was well placed. While it didnt hit the heart it was well inside the kill zone. Adrenaline is a powerful thing. Hogs can live off of it for a long time. Ive seen another hog get gut shot in the past. The shot basically blew out the hogs belly and its entire contents. That hog ran about 100yards as well and the only thing that stopped it from going further was it tripping over its entrails. Hogs can live a long time after they are dead!

 

[Farmerdoug]

One of the best things to do to help find a dead or wounded critter is go get a dog. It doesn't even have to be a kick ass hunting dog either. Go back to the spot where the animal was hit and start making a circle pattern. You'd be suprised what catches a dogs intrest that we would never see or suspect. The canine sees and smells things from a complete different angle than we humans do. Just my :two cents: