Sika98k
AH elite
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2014
- Messages
- 1,140
- Reaction score
- 2,297
- Location
- Dublin,Ireland
- Media
- 87
- Member of
- Wild Deer Association of Ireland
- Hunted
- South Africa Eastern Cape, Kenya,Namibia, Croatia, Morocco Ireland,Scotland,Czech, Denmark, Romania, Sweden,Norway,Latvia,Germany,Hungary,
Some weeks ago I was invited to join a small group traveling to Czech for a 2 day driven boar hunt. My reply was instant and positive.
I have previously organised some hunts for groups with outfitters in various European countries so it was a bit of a pleasure to have that off my mind.
So December started pleasantly with a flight from Dublin to Prague via Frankfurt with Lufthansa. 4 of us met in Prague where a hire car had been booked. Thank heavens for Sat Nav’s as negotiating the evening traffic would have difficult without it.
The next morning after breakfast at 630 saw us leaving for the hunting ground. On arrival about 20 minutes drive away there was an explanation of what was to be shot during the day. Wild boar up to 70kgs, mouflon ewes and lambs and foxes.
We drew for posts for the day, lucky number 13 for me ! The horns announced the start of the hunting day and shortly afterwards we quietly walked to our positions indicated to us by a guide. I blanked on the first drive, a small sounder of 4 boar crossed between myself and the next hunter. He got a shot off as they swerved in front of him but failed to connect. This is not unusual in driven boar hunting ! He later told me there were 7 in the group ! You need eyes in the back of your head at this sport ! There were a number of shots and a couple of boar were shot.
the second drive was similar but I blanked completely. We broke for lunch and it was served at a cabin in the forest. A soup followed by a marvellous hot terrine. Water, fruit tea or 0% beer was the order of the day. We headed off afterwards for the 3rd and final drive of the day.
On this occasion we were shooting from elevated stands about 6 feet of the ground. This gave the advantage of more visibility and more range as you were actually shooting downwards. The instructions were that you were “live” as soon as you got into your stand.
I had hardly settled in when the first of many shots rang out. Some close, some far away. The forest was of 800 hectares or about 2000 acres. I had a shot at a group crossing and failed to connect. Boar and roe deer flashed across the forest rides at various distances. We had be asked to keep our shots within 60 metres to minimise the potential of ricochets. I had rising banks on two sides which gave me a greater field of fire.
I was positioned on a crossroads in the forest and really you have to have both eyeballs trained to rotate separately at this game ! As the Drive continued and I kept turning around my lower back started getting pretty cold. My baselayer leggings had started to descend and the tops ride up. It was -2C and uncomfortable. So I decided to readjust myself. Yes, you can guess where this is going ! No sooner had I laid the rifle across the railing and started hitching my leggings up after unbuckling my belt that a sounder of a sow and 2 yearlings flashed across a track nearby.
Decency to the wind I grabbed my rifle and flicked the safety off as they emerged from some trees. The sow was off limits so I swung on the first and pulled ahead, one cartwheeled down and a quick reload and swung onto the second. It went down also and the sow was gone. I attempted a little horn dance on the deck of my stand but by now my trousers were stuck around my knees. Did I care ? Although I did laugh at the picture I must have presented.
No more luck on that drive but 2 in a row would have been hard to beat and is a high point in my driven boar career. The drive came to an end and we regrouped for the closing ceremonies. The game is laid out inside a rectangle of pine branches, ( never, ever, walk ON the branches, step over them). Mouflon at the top and then the boar in descending order of size and the fox comes last.
The ceremonies closed with the horn’s saluting the game. each successful hunter is awarded a small pine branch for his success.
Day 2 was slightly marred by the first fall of winter snow. This meant the boar in general moved off to warmer climes. We shot 5 for the day. So 3 mouflon, 31 boar and a fox for 2 days. I hope you have enjoyed the read.
I have previously organised some hunts for groups with outfitters in various European countries so it was a bit of a pleasure to have that off my mind.
So December started pleasantly with a flight from Dublin to Prague via Frankfurt with Lufthansa. 4 of us met in Prague where a hire car had been booked. Thank heavens for Sat Nav’s as negotiating the evening traffic would have difficult without it.
The next morning after breakfast at 630 saw us leaving for the hunting ground. On arrival about 20 minutes drive away there was an explanation of what was to be shot during the day. Wild boar up to 70kgs, mouflon ewes and lambs and foxes.
We drew for posts for the day, lucky number 13 for me ! The horns announced the start of the hunting day and shortly afterwards we quietly walked to our positions indicated to us by a guide. I blanked on the first drive, a small sounder of 4 boar crossed between myself and the next hunter. He got a shot off as they swerved in front of him but failed to connect. This is not unusual in driven boar hunting ! He later told me there were 7 in the group ! You need eyes in the back of your head at this sport ! There were a number of shots and a couple of boar were shot.
the second drive was similar but I blanked completely. We broke for lunch and it was served at a cabin in the forest. A soup followed by a marvellous hot terrine. Water, fruit tea or 0% beer was the order of the day. We headed off afterwards for the 3rd and final drive of the day.
On this occasion we were shooting from elevated stands about 6 feet of the ground. This gave the advantage of more visibility and more range as you were actually shooting downwards. The instructions were that you were “live” as soon as you got into your stand.
I had hardly settled in when the first of many shots rang out. Some close, some far away. The forest was of 800 hectares or about 2000 acres. I had a shot at a group crossing and failed to connect. Boar and roe deer flashed across the forest rides at various distances. We had be asked to keep our shots within 60 metres to minimise the potential of ricochets. I had rising banks on two sides which gave me a greater field of fire.
I was positioned on a crossroads in the forest and really you have to have both eyeballs trained to rotate separately at this game ! As the Drive continued and I kept turning around my lower back started getting pretty cold. My baselayer leggings had started to descend and the tops ride up. It was -2C and uncomfortable. So I decided to readjust myself. Yes, you can guess where this is going ! No sooner had I laid the rifle across the railing and started hitching my leggings up after unbuckling my belt that a sounder of a sow and 2 yearlings flashed across a track nearby.
Decency to the wind I grabbed my rifle and flicked the safety off as they emerged from some trees. The sow was off limits so I swung on the first and pulled ahead, one cartwheeled down and a quick reload and swung onto the second. It went down also and the sow was gone. I attempted a little horn dance on the deck of my stand but by now my trousers were stuck around my knees. Did I care ? Although I did laugh at the picture I must have presented.
No more luck on that drive but 2 in a row would have been hard to beat and is a high point in my driven boar career. The drive came to an end and we regrouped for the closing ceremonies. The game is laid out inside a rectangle of pine branches, ( never, ever, walk ON the branches, step over them). Mouflon at the top and then the boar in descending order of size and the fox comes last.
The ceremonies closed with the horn’s saluting the game. each successful hunter is awarded a small pine branch for his success.
Day 2 was slightly marred by the first fall of winter snow. This meant the boar in general moved off to warmer climes. We shot 5 for the day. So 3 mouflon, 31 boar and a fox for 2 days. I hope you have enjoyed the read.
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