Boar shooting, driven and stalking or high seat advice and information

You can hunt wild boar in so many different countries throughout the world. I have been going to Poland for around 22 years now, so this article relates mainly to Poland but aspects apply equally to other European and East European countries.

If you want a large trophy male, the only way to hunt these is from high seats and the best time is at night when there is a full moon. Winter months are the most popular as snow on the ground can give the best light and it's almost like daylight on these nights. The guide will point out the kind of animal you should shoot which would have been discussed before your outing. In Poland it's compulsory that you have an interpreter at hand during your stay (the interpreter would not normally be out hunting with you), so before you go out with your guide, make sure you have understood all the instructions. Many guides in Poland speak German, so a small dictionary is handy. If the population of boar has risen too high, there may be some districts which offer animals at a discount during the summer to encourage paying customers to contribute to the cull. The success rate is very high and during 5 nights (as long as you have a full moon and snow on the ground), it is possible to shoot 2 or 3 good 'Keilers' (German for a mature male). Part of the fun of this kind of trip is that you will also see all the other cloven hoofed game going about their feeding routine.

You can stalk for male Boar more or less all year round in many countries (no stalking in Poland in March) and summer stalking can be very interesting. The driven Boar season in Europe usually starts in October and finishes in mid January. You may see Driven Boar being advertised as late as February and you should check this because the females may be heavily pregnant by then which is against the sensibilities of many hunters. If you are shooting Boar in a Muslim country, then you should also check in detail what happens if a Boar is wounded and also exactly what happens to the animals after they have been shot .... remember, Boar is an unclean animal in these parts of the world and this may have implications regarding the handling and / or following up of animals after they have been shot.

Driven Boar is something else....and I have to confess to being utterly addicted to this sport. The emphasis is not on large trophies. If you hear of many large medal quality tuskers being shot during a driven hunt, then almost certainly the boar will have been shot within a fenced area. One great attraction about going to Poland (apart from the low price!) is that 99% of the areas are unfenced. Other countries such as France, Germany, Hungary, Bulgaria often conduct their drives within fenced areas. 

Calibres of .270 and above  should be used. (.243 is not legal for Boar). Most folk expect to shoot with open sights, but it is a big mistake to change to open sights if you are used to using a 'scope. I use a variable power 'scope and when using my rifle for driven boar, I rack the 'scope back to its lowest power which is 1.5. Besides, the light may begin to fail during the last couple of drives, so the light gathering properties of a 'scope are very useful. Some shots may be taken at 20 metres, but others at up to 100 metres. Not all your shots will be made at game running flat out - pigs have a habit of halting and looking/listening if they think the beaters and their dogs have moved away. It's now a legal requirement that your rifle telescope should be 3X or less - so a variable 'scope which goes down to 3X or less is OK.

The larger the group the better. Groups of 10 or more rifles mean there is always action going on somewhere! Small drive hunts with 4 or 5 in the group is perfectly possible, but as you can imagine, it's a more sedate affair.

The most popular format is for 3 days of driven shooting with 4 nights stay in the hunting area. The cost is surprisingly low and it is possible to find such a programme for around £1,400 (now around 1800 Euros for groups of 10-12) depending on the exchange rate with the Euro  which includes all trophy fees for boar and female deer and the only extras would be tips and flights. The price per person drops for larger groups.

Any offers which guarantee a certain number of boar shot or number of shots fired will almost certainly be in a fenced area. If the offer sounds too good to be true - it certainly will be. For driven shooting , you should find out if you are joining up with other locals and if so, how many. Best to be with one group of your own nationality and exclusive - with no other 'outsiders' joining in - that way you will have agreed the safety rules and know the costs for any extras which apply to your group. Booking with a UK agent or UK based organiser is best - but make sure the agent is bonded (as required by law). If the group organiser is doing this as a 'hobby' - if he receives a discount or a cheap hunt - he is therefore working professionally and should also be bonded. You should check his status and each participant should receive a copy of the booking contract with prices and any extras clearly shown.

UK hunters need to understand that in order to secure a good area, the booking agent needs at least 10 people prepared to pay a deposit of around £600 very early - at least by February for the coming winter. Individuals and small groups of 2 or 3 friends can sign up so that the booking agent can make a group to 10 or more. The system we use is that the initial deposit is refundable as the group size is being built up and as soon as we have 10 or more names, we can then reserve an area and thereafter, the deposit becomes non refundable. 

To give you a flavour of what driven boar is like, the following below is a reprint of an article which was published in a UK magazine a few years ago.

To see pictures from our driven and individual wild Boar trips in Poland, follow this link.    

DRIVEN BOAR IN POLAND

This article is copyrighted. Please contact me by e mail  if you want permission to reproduce.

(c)Michael Roberts

We were off! Packed like sardines in the back of a jeep, we lurched and rolled with the vehicle as it crawled along deeply rutted forestry tracks in the thin light of early morning.
I was relieved that I had remembered fingerless mitts, handwarmer and hat as there was a sharp frost during the long December night.
As we were trying to remember our peg numbers and instructions given by the the Polish head guide, our driver stopped, waved ten fingers and jumped out to position the person who had drawn that number. After a brief explanation to the gun, the driver jumped back into the jeep and amid much crashing of gears and clouds of blue exhaust smoke we rushed along another 60 metres before stopping.
This was my peg, so I disembarked rapidly and made sure the driver showed me the direction in which the beaters were travelling. As the jeep roared off and silence fell, I took stock of my surroundings. I was standing at the side of a track facing a large block of mature Scots Pine trees. The block was about 1,000 meters square and behind me on the other side of the track was another block of trees, but this time they were young larch which must have been planted only a few years ago. Polish woods usually consist of numerous blocks of woods, each block being a different species and age, so there is constant variety - not like the vast and boring monocultures we find here!
I quickly loaded my .308 rifle, checked the spare ammo in my pocket and then looked for my nearest neighbours. We waved to one another and mentally marked one another's respective positions and safe firing lines - vital for safety when the action began!
I positioned myself behind a stout tree facing the block of trees. When deer and boar are running, they will run into you if you remain absolutely motionless so a good tree acts as cover as well as protection! The person who remains still and doesn't fidget will see the most animals and get more shooting.
A nuthatch was busily searching for insects on the tree next to me and I heard shouting away in the distance...the first drive had begun! The beaters were coming along the side of the line of guns, travelling from my left to the right and I could see for about 100 metres in front of me through the well spaced trees. Something moved about 60 metres in front and then reappeared nearer my right hand neighbour. It was a fox - usually the first to move on a drive and well worth having a crack at if near enough. These North European foxes have superb thick coats and may be almost honey coloured except for slightly darker brushes. It must have slipped away quietly for I saw no reaction from my neighbour.
Then it started, deep in the forest....BOOM! One rifle shot followed by another, a pause of 30 seconds and then another shot but closer to me. There was a good chance the quarry were coming nearer and adrenaline coursed through my veins in anticipation.
Suddenly, a group of boar ran across the road about 40 metres away on my left. The first was a larger animal - most likely a female as they often lead family groups when in danger - she was followed by three smaller pigs. My left hand neighbour waited until she was halfway across the road and fired a shot just before she disappeared. I waited frozen at the ready. Sure enough, just a few seconds later a much bigger Boar followed behind at a brisk walking pace . An older Boar this time, and gallantry forgotten in favour of security, he had allowed the females and young to test the ground ahead. I swung through and pulled the trigger when the cross hairs on my 'scope were level with his snout. I reloaded rapidly, only to see the boar disappear into the young trees.
By now I could hear the dogs barking as they ran in front of the beaters. Suddenly, the note of the baying dogs changed as they picked up a hot scent. A minute later there were four more rifle shots as game must have broken back through the beaters.
Two of the baying dogs appeared on the road and crossed where I had seen the Boar disappear. Four Red deer hinds appeared and moved about 50 metres in front of me. We were allowed to shoot Boar and foxes up to 30 metres in front (towards the beaters) but only shoot the higher placed shots at the taller hinds and Roe does across and behind the line. The deer slipped through the line and my neighbour took a superb clean shot at the last hind as she paused momentarily after crossing the road.
Ten minutes later, a horn blew eerily through the woods signifying the end of the drive. We waited at our stands remembering the firm instruction that we should not move whatever the circumstance until collected by a guide. A jeep arrived to collect us and two beaters appeared as if from nowhere to look for the two dogs which had disappeared near me. After five minutes, the beaters reappeared heaving a boar out of the undergrowth....it was my boar!
As we piled into the jeep and rushed off to the next drive, everyone quickly swapped stories. By the end of the day we were relieved to be back in the comfortable house at dark and looked forward to a good hot meal after a hot shower and a couple of vodkas!
Our three days of shooting produced a final bag of eleven boar, one fox, seven roe does and three red hinds for about 60 shots fired - a good result considering nearly all the eleven rifles were completely new to driven shooting.
I am convinced there should be a health warning on all articles and advertisements for driven boar. The combination of excitement, a different country, good food and companionship takes a lot of beating. You have been warned, driven boar is highly addictive!

To see pictures from our driven and individual wild Boar trips in Poland, follow this link.

(c) Michael Roberts   

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