Greetings my northern internet friends. I am curious about hunting with a bow. I hunt boars (male pigs not bear) BIG Boars. Is it better to start out in a dangerous situation with a crossbow or a compound bow? Which one is easier to get accurate with?Thanks for your time.
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I would say to start out with whichever one you feel more comfortable with. Both weapons would be appropriate for harvesting Boar. In my opinion I would use a compound soley based on the fact that I have shot for years, and I am very confident that it could do the job. However, no matter which one you decide to hunt with, if you are going after such dangerous game you need to practice, practice, practice.

Used to hunt them on the Island of Sardinia, Italy. You are correct about them being dangerous. Crossbow would allow you for a safer quick response to an enraged boar. That would be my choice, plus good physical conditioning. They tend to love thick, nasty, gnarly brush country. The hunts can be very exhausting but also extremely exciting.

I would say a compound. Reason being that a compound can shoot a heavier, longer, more stable arrow, and you can reload faster if the need arises. The longer arrow means you can take a little longer shot, have more kenetics to punch through the thick hide, and have more likely pass throughs. Ive never used a crossbow, so someone should post the positives about them, but if it were me, id be packin my compound.

It's all about accuracy. If he can't hit anything with a compound bow then why use it? He can be shooting 20 arrows a minute but if he can't hit anything with it why use it? Same with the crossbow. Use which ever one you are the most accurate with. Shot placement is the key.

I'm in complete agreement with hunter9022. However, I doubt an enraged, wounded boar will give you enough time to reload either weapon before you're chased up the handiest tree. Nor would that hog give you much of a chance of finding it in a crossbow's scope. A conventional bow is much faster into action in that kind of scenario than a crossbow.

The idea is to shoot while they're fairly quartered away. That puts the arrow going in behind the gristle plate for easier penetration into the vitals. Plus when pigs are hit, there is a much better chance of them running in the direction they are facing. Namely, AWAY from you.

Yes, If I were you, I would invest in a compound bow. Practice all shooting angles and learn to be very calm in situations like when a boar is tusking his 250 ass toward you. You wont be able to nock, draw, aim, and shoot when your shakin' like an old washer. Plus, learn how to drive a KA-BAR through the vitals of a boar when it is on top of you and turning you into hamburger! Not trying to bash anyone, Good hunting and good luck with your choice.

Can you hunt those boars from a tree stand like we hunt deer?

The choice of weapon would be a moot one if you were already up in a tree!

Clint

Mr Boarman.

What part of Aussie you from?
I am originally from NSW.

There is a bow hunters web page in Australia with a lot of great guys that are more than willing not only to give you advice but also give you hands on teaching if you request it.

http://bowgroup.proboards6.com/index.cgi

But back to your question Arthur gave you some good solid advice.

I hunt feral pigs when ever I get a chance just love it.
Just make sure if you are hunting from the ground you have an escape route ie a tree you can either get behind or up in case the boar decides to give you some pay back.

I would not advise a xbow for the simple reason of time to load it.
In fact if you think you are going to need a bow that you have to load quick then get a recurve and shoot fingers as it does take some time to load a compound and hook on a release.

But before you go hunting no matter what bow you decide make sure you are comfortable with it and practice practice and more practice.
Cause I am sure you dont want a wounded boar chasin ya through the bush

Clint.

Trestands are not used all that much if any in Australia.

In fact untill I moved over here I had never heard of a treestand

Most hunting in Australia is spot and stalk