When autumn starts it becomes more difficult to see wild boar during daylight. Days are becoming shorter and nights longer and with abundance of food still on fields and within forestry pigs have no need to move early and are usually shot at night at full moon. However, there are conditions that encourage wild boar to leave early their daylight refuge and go out feeding. It is the rain. Rain after a few days of dry weather makes wild boar move early in the evening. I observed that many times and when I see rain in the afternoon I always go out early myself.
Woodland wild boar stalking
It was one of these days when it rained in the afternoon and looked like it was about to stop. I packed my gun, got the dog and jumped to the car. I had no clue where to go, but most of my favorite places where booked in by other hunting club members, so I went to the far end of the 10,000 ha area we shoot here. It was a mixed woodland surrounded by a few years old plantation. Mature wood was full of oak trees and as soon as I was out I could see plenty of acorns under the trees, always a good sign. I walked through the wood, but it was still early. The main track is was walking was going under the rail to another area I was not booked in, so I turned to the track going along the rail inside the plantation.
As soon I was 100m into the plantation I could hear piglets and a sow grunting somewhere near the track. The plantation was oak trees mainly with pockets of spruce, and I could hear pigs in one of that spruce thickets. There was a small ride on one side and the track I was on the other side. I walked the ride and 150m further I got to another track leading to a house, so I went back. They were unlikely to go that way, so it was better just to wait and see whether they go towards me and mature wood, or cross the track away from me and across the railway.
It was went quiet and I started wondering maybe they went the other way close to the house, when I heard the pigs further away. I slowly stalked the track forward. I was 100m away from the bend when I spotted a sow crossing. I dropped on one knee and set up the gun on the sticks. I could see a few piglets crossing, they were not really decent size and probably under 20kg. Then a spotty pig appeared and started feeding on the track. I used to see a sow like that, but when the pig turned broadside I could see it was a male. There were still pigs on the other side of the track about to cross it. Slightly smaller male was crossing, but never stopped. Another one was further away from me, but I made up my mind and decided to take the black-and-white one.
I had to move to the middle of the track to have better view and when the boar turned broadside I squeezed the trigger. The pig dropped on the spot, the rest ran away. I reloaded the .30-06 and watched the boar, but it looked like it was well hit. I left it in peace and went back to the car for a dog. I left her out so she could have some fun finding the boar. Then gralloch and to the car, it was not easy to load it on my own, but I managed. The boar was 56kg at the game dealer and very nice condition.
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