The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - Stupidest thing(s) you've ever done while hunting?

Lonestar.45 · January 7, 2005, 01:03 PM

I once shot a javelina with my bow. My first one. Dad came over to where I was hunting, and we decided to hang it from a tree and gut it right there (don't ask me why). This is in thick, thick, brush country in S. Texas.

It's really hot out, so we get to work. A few minutes later, we hear the javelina herd coming back. You can smell and hear them before you see them. Teeth were popping, they were squealing and moving right towards us. They materialized about 15 yds away. For some stupid reason, I thought it would be a good idea to shoot another one, this time in the head. I grab my bow, notch an arrow, and let one fly at the forehead of a pissed off boar. The entire herd exploded into a frenzy, with javelinas going every which way. Dad's running through the brush trying to get away, the javelina I shot charges straight at me, with the arrow stuck in his skull. He looks like a crazed unicorn coming at me. I don't have time to nock another arrow, so I grab the bottom limb of my bow, ready to wield it as a club and knock the heck out of him if he gets to me. At the last second he veers off into the brush and is gone. All I see through the brush is the top of my arrow, with the vanes, bobbing up and down, and leaving the area at a high rate of speed. We tracked that boar for hours, and never found him, or the arrow.

Moral of the story? There are several. 1) a javelina's forehead is thick; 2) 70lb bow with a broadhead will not penetrate it at 15 yds; and 3) it's no fun tracking javelina in 95 degree heat in the S. Texas brush.

January 7, 2005, 01:03 PM	#25
Lonestar.45 Senior Member Join Date: December 17, 2004 Posts: 261	I once shot a javelina with my bow. My first one. Dad came over to where I was hunting, and we decided to hang it from a tree and gut it right there (don't ask me why). This is in thick, thick, brush country in S. Texas. It's really hot out, so we get to work. A few minutes later, we hear the javelina herd coming back. You can smell and hear them before you see them. Teeth were popping, they were squealing and moving right towards us. They materialized about 15 yds away. For some stupid reason, I thought it would be a good idea to shoot another one, this time in the head. I grab my bow, notch an arrow, and let one fly at the forehead of a pissed off boar. The entire herd exploded into a frenzy, with javelinas going every which way. Dad's running through the brush trying to get away, the javelina I shot charges straight at me, with the arrow stuck in his skull. He looks like a crazed unicorn coming at me. I don't have time to nock another arrow, so I grab the bottom limb of my bow, ready to wield it as a club and knock the heck out of him if he gets to me. At the last second he veers off into the brush and is gone. All I see through the brush is the top of my arrow, with the vanes, bobbing up and down, and leaving the area at a high rate of speed. We tracked that boar for hours, and never found him, or the arrow. Moral of the story? There are several. 1) a javelina's forehead is thick; 2) 70lb bow with a broadhead will not penetrate it at 15 yds; and 3) it's no fun tracking javelina in 95 degree heat in the S. Texas brush.