Just curious, pound for pound, do they compare pretty evenly? Shields n such?
Thanks,
T
All ears on this one. I bet Jerry Russell would have some good info on this.
Terry,
If we could take up a collection, I would volunteer to personally travel to Africa and report back with my findings!
BowMike
I've killed 4 warthogs, one of which was a real big one, and a boatload of feral hogs. IMHO, really big feral hog boars with a shield are way tougher than a comparable sized warthog. That's not to say that a big wartie is a sissy critter by any means!!!!!
This was my big one:
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190704/de3dc6bcd32f23e6d29fc988416a33be.jpg)
Bisch
Beautiful warthog, Bisch. When I brought my mount home(rifle kill) my wife at first didn't like it. This, even though she loves all my other mounts, and insists on displaying them prominently. It didn't take her long to realize the beauty in an animal as rugged as a warthog.
Murray
I have killed more than 20 of each: amongst them 9 warthog above 10 inches tusks trophy size. The biggest 12 3/4 inches and a couple of them above 200 pounds ( which is quite BIG in unfenced area) My biggest Ferral (Aussie) pig in the 300 pound class.
Big shielded pigs are MUCH more difficult regarding arrow penetration as WH are thin skinned/no fat but pound for pound the warthog will be WAY more difficult and dangerous to recover in case of marginal arrow. A 60-70 pound WH can kill any dog or hunter cutting his leg arteries in a heart beat. The lower tusks are so sharp that any contact will lead to a very deep cut. These animals lives under heavy predator pressure and literally fight them since millions of years.
Thanks guys....based on what i had observed in pics of wart hogs vs what I've experienced with ferrals that's exactly what I would have surmised....
Nice to see my assumptions were true.
Thanks again!
Man, I got to get into hog hunting on a serious level. As ugly as hogs can be, they make a beautiful trophy! I wish I could still eat 'em.
Sam...maybe we can get together some time. :campfire:
Go get a big warthog, Terry. Have fun.
I remember one old guy who had a tackle shop with a bunch of his African mounts hanging in it.
He said wart hog was one of his favorites to eat.
Killed 6 Warthogs - and probably over 140 feral hogs (+) - most here - 6 in Australia - of all these ferals I have only taken 12 large male hogs with shields.
For me I don't really see Warthogs similar to Pigs - I have COMPLETE respect for both.
Some observations - Yes shields are difficult to penetrate with arrows - most of my big boars I got about 8 inches penetration double lung hits - I have never lost a good boar - and a broadside forward lower hit always worked out well. They were all taken with 65# to 70# bows - longbows and recurves - and while most were about the size of a large warthog a few were much larger.
Also inland river bottom hogs - and pigs in general are much harder to put down than island marsh hogs - saltwater hogs here in the states - I don't know why - but it is true.
Australian feral hogs are easier to put down than southeast USA hogs - again I don't know why - but this has been my observation.
Warthogs seem MUCH harder to kill with bows than feral hogs - this is coming from Professional Hunters early 90s when guys coming from the states was really mainstreamed - lots of bowhunters - lots of unrecovered Warthogs - It is my opinion that this is tied directly to shooting at waterholes - as it has been my observation that Warthogs encountered well away from water are not nearly as high strung - and do not "jump the string" like they do at a waterhole/blind situation. Partly my own preference for discipline, add the constant warnings of PHs, and even knowing an animal hit is an animal paid for I never lost a Warthog - all well hit and easy recovery - BUT Warthogs die slower than feral hogs - I don't know why but they do - I know this must sound repetitive - but trust me you can hit a Warthog perfectly double lunged and even have it crash within sight. Stay put!!! Don't rush over - give him time - it is spooky you can walk up to a dead warthog many minutes later and have him woof at you.
All that said a Warthogs vitals are a breeze - they don't have shields - arrows zip right through - their toughness is in their constitution.
Table Fair - feral hogs I enjoy a great deal - I find them excellent
Warthogs are one of the best meats on the planet - They are excellent on the table - and not really like our hogs - they make an amazingly tender braise for such a wild animal.
Tusks - while I would not want to get hit by either a feral or a warthog - I have seen a lion slashed open by a Warthog - I am sure that Lion did not last long after - the slash was long and deep. So for me Warthog tusks can do way more damage.
Hunting hogs has been a real treat the past 30 or so years - what they bring to bowhunting is amazing really.
Warthogs - I am so fond of that I would go to Africa just to hunt Warthogs and would not get bored for a second hunting nothing but Warthogs for 3 weeks a month or whatever. And I would not tire of eating them in camp.
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I agree that warthog are a bit easier to kill than an old boar hog. Still, I LOVE hunting those warthogs. They are made for stalking. Here's a little warthog video we're you can see the speed these animals can produce. The warthog hunt is at the 4 minute mark and the hunter is my son at 16 years old.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4CHrGjlw_2s
I've taken both and I don't think that the killing of a warthog is tougher to do but the speed that they can react at the shot is 100x that if a hog. A hog will stand there and take it, a warthog will be leaving in a cloud of red dust at the sound of the bow. Quite and fast is the key to success on warthogs.
A very nice read...
Terry, I would really enjoy getting together to chase pigs.
Thanks guys....try as I must, I never could make out a shield in pics or vids. And yes, seen enough video to know how they react at water holes.
One thing is for sure on this site....you can always get great answers from very experienced people that actually KNOW what they are talking about!!!
I love warthogs. They don't have a thick shield. But guys are often surprised at their string jumping ability. Trust me they will turn inside out from a loud bow. I could and someday will go back to Africa and hunt nothing but warthogs. I love 'em.
They are interesting critters for sure!
As for the table fare, I've had it several times in camp, and once ordered a delicious filet in a very nice hotel in Victoria Falls.
I seem to remember that the writer, Robert Ruark, enjoyed hunting warthogs. He liked collecting different tusk formations. He had a picture of one that made a complete circle.
Murray
I don't think either of them are really that difficult to kill, but can be very difficult to find.. at times. More than anything, I would contribute that to shot placement.
I shot two very nice warthogs in Namibia with a bow, only to shoot them later with a rifle... poor shot placement. That's not to say that either one of them isn't tough and US feral pigs/hogs can get much bigger in some place like where I live. A big warthog is in the 200+ lb range. Just about every year, we take 2 or 3 200+ lb sows on our lease. That is done with very little hunting.
Don't get a lot of chances to shoot the big boars here as they are very educated and don't like to show their face. Unfortunately our place is too thick for stalking and we must hunt them at feeders.
A pigs desire to live is only rivaled by the cockroach.
One of the warthogs I had to finish with a rifle was shot 1 week earlier. At the time, I was hunting with a 108 lb compound. After several misses at waterholes, we ended up with an awesome spot n stock situation.
I was able to get to 12 yards and the hog was still face first digging in his den. When he sensed my presence, he did a 180 to see what I was, but unfortunately for him, I was already at full draw... but he was facing straight at me.
I had been in this situation before and new he was about to bolt so I picked a spot on his head and proceeded to shoot about an inch under his brain. He took off with my arrow and luminok glowing. The trackers had a good laugh about the pig with a headlight! We searched and searched... and searched but only found a small amount of blood so we moved on.
As I said, 7 days later while hunting the last evening for my favorite African game species (warthog) we spotted him eating along side the road. Of course he had broke off the arrow so we didn't know that it was the same animal. A quick shot with a .300mag through the shoulders and a short blood trail and we had him.
While cleaning him up for pictures, the tracker noticed that there was old blood and not mud all over his face and a small skin growth covering the broadhead hole.
The skinners pulled my broadhead out of the pigs shoulder. The arrow entered its head just a touch below it's eyes and traveled down it's neck in to it's shoulder. The shaft was broken just under the flesh of the skull and again in it's neck.
A memorable and formidable critter at the least, BigJim
Thx Jim....I'm very familiar with ferrals...just curious on the warthogs. :thumbsup: