Boar is the trophy that every hunter wants to get. Physically strong and dangerous animal requires from the hunter courage, cunning, marksmanship. There are several ways of such hunting. For example, with an approach, with corrals, with dogs, with a tower or with a lodge. In this article its a question of ambush hunting.
When hunting season begins
Boars are hunted from the beginning of June to the end of February. In order to hunt successfully it is desirable to study all the habits of this animal. In general, boars are gregarious animals, one can say nocturnal. Why? Boars rest during the day, but at night they feed or even say that they live. But if there is a lot of food, the boar may well be active during the daytime as well.
Variety of hunting tower
Usually there are only two types of towers:
- Mobile;
- Stationary.
These towers have differences. The tower, which is also called the shed, is built where there is a lot of food, which means that a boar is sure to show up. This tower looks like a house, which rises above the ground at a height of 4-8 meters. The cabin has windows and chairs or even a small bed. There can be several such towers.
It is possible to make a mobile tower out of natural material. Of course, they are on sale. It is not difficult to build a tower. The main thing is to do it before a wild boar comes to look for food. The tower should not be built on a completely open area. It should be near trees.
Of course, you can make a simple shed. It is placed between two trees standing next to each other. Two trees serve as vertical posts, and between them a simple ladder. At a height of 3-4 meters fasten the bench, all branches are removed so as not to interfere with the observation and shooting. Care must be taken to make sure that the legs do not get tired, and it was comfortable to sit, because sometimes you have to wait a long time.
Mobile tower options are even simpler. The ladder is simply attached to the tree, but such a tower is most often very uncomfortable.
Stake on the ground
It is very easy to do. There are places where hunters usually make a stakeout.
- In the margins;
- On the trail;
- On the baths.
These places quite speak for themselves. The fields are the places where boars feed. There is plenty of food, including corn, oats, and wheat. Those paths along which animals go in search of food are called trails, and one can also make ambushes on them. And the last place is where animals come to bathe.
The hunter has to choose the place, and for this you have to consider the wind direction. There must also be a good view of the place. The most important thing is to consider natural shelters. For example, a bush, a stump, a tree, an earthen berm.
Hunting rules
All hunters should know that boars are very cautious. Because they are usually active at night, they have very poor eyesight, but also very developed hearing and smell. Thats why a boar hunter should always consider the wind direction. What else should be kept in mind?
- Maximum camouflage is needed;
- Perseverance, calmness, patience, silence;
- You have to shoot clearly and confidently.
What to bait with?
Boars eat everything, but there is still something he cannot refuse. These cravings depend on the time of year. For example, in the fall and summer the boar eats acorns, locusts, bird eggs, roots of marsh plants, earthworms. During this period it is very difficult to feed the animal. There is plenty of food.
The spring and winter period is quite a difficult time, especially in winter. If still in the spring there is enough food, it is fish, greens, and cori of trees and plants. But in winter there is a problem with food. Therefore, it is easy to feed the animal. It can be corn, mixed fodder. All this is scattered along the trails and in the hiding place they wait.
Ambush rules
There are some rules that every hunter must follow in order to hunt successfully.
- Do not use hygiene products with fragrances, so as not to scare away the animal, which has a great sense of smell;
- No smoking, no alcoholic beverages;
- Get to the aces place by 2:00;
- You dont have to wear new clothes and shoes to the hunt;
- Binoculars, mugs and all items that the hunter takes with him is best wrapped in cloth so that the wild boar did not hear any sounds.
As for clothes, I would like to say that they should be specially designed for this purpose. It is better to store it separately from other things, so that the smells do not mix with the smells of the house.
Before guarding a boar
HUNTING FROM THE TOP
First we will consider hunting from the tower, as it is easier to hunt from a stake.
The location of the towers and the stakeouts is practically the same. The towers are set in the forest in wide glades (the distance to the feeders should be primarily calculated for smooth-bore weapons and should be 30 to 50 meters), at the edge of the forest, where almost always in the hunting farms the grain fields are sown. Clothing should be such that it is possible to sit on the tower until morning if necessary and desired.
Weapons and equipment
Personally, I use both a smooth barrel (with a boar headlamp or underbarrel flashlight FO-2M, and a carbine with a night sight Didal-450. It all depends on the individual capabilities of the hunter: someone tapes a flashlight to the gun, someone attaches fireflies from fishing tackle to the fly, and someone puts optics with illumination.
Safety precautions on the tower
The gun must be unholstered and unloaded; it must be loaded and unloaded while on the tower. 2. If you hunt with a firefly, you must only shoot if you are sure that you have the animal for which you have a permit in front of you; this also applies to other devices on the gun. 3. It is desirable not to drink alcohol, not to smoke, not to talk on the phone.
Hunting Techniques
Once you have sat on the tower and loaded your weapon, you should open the window and listen to see if it squeaks. And then try to get ready for the shot to see if you can put the weapon out the window without noise. Once all the preparations are done, all thats left is to wait for the beast to come out. It may come out even in the daytime, so once youre in the tower, do everything quickly while keeping the noise down.
Its good if you hunt on snow – then you wont have problems, but if you hunt on black trails, you must not only strain your eyesight, but also your ears. The unfrightened animal can jump out to the corn or stand for about an hour and wear you out. But here, as they say, who will outplay whom. When the beast approaches the grain, theres no need to hurry – give him five minutes to calm down and start eating. In some time its wariness will subside, and then it will be necessary to prepare for the shot.
Shot
The first rule when shooting at a dungeon from the tower is to shoot sideways. The second – immediately, if you see that the animal has not fallen with the first shot or has been shot dead, add the second shot, because it is difficult to run after a dead animal on the dungeon. If the animal is lying down after the first shot, you have to hold it on the sight for three or four minutes to avoid the litter. One of my acquaintances had a case when after the first shot a gillette lay down on the spot. My friend decided to call a jaeger and inform his friends, but the little pig had just come to his senses and started to get up. The hunter held the gun in one hand and the phone in the other, and the result was a stray, which was not found the next day.
STAKE HUNTING
This hunt is more difficult than from the tower, because you are closer to the beast and you need to control all your movements so as not to frighten the beast. I find them more promising and compact compared to the derricks. They can be placed in any part of the forest and they do not require a large area. Distance from a tree can be from 10 to 15 meters. However, they have one disadvantage: you are under the open sky.
Clothing
It should be such that you can sit in it until morning if you want, not rustling, since you are practically above the beast. You can take some kind of soft seat with you.
Weapons and equipment remain unchanged.
Safety precautions at the stakeout
The gun must be unholstered at the car, and the cartridge must be inserted into the chamber or barrels at the stakeout itself. There, on the spot, I will certainly run my hand along the trunk of the tree, to which I will have to lean with my back or on which I will lean when I shoot, in order to brush off the rustling bark. It is imperative that I sit down so that my legs or back can remain motionless for long periods of time. If its necessary, you have to strap (or tie) yourself to the tree so that you dont accidentally fall asleep and dive down. Naturally, its out of the question to smoke, talk on the phone and sniff your nose. As I wrote above, you are practically in contact with the beast when you are in a stakeout.
Hunting and shooting techniques
They are almost similar to tower hunting, but there is one detail. Based on many years of experience of gamekeepers and my own, I want to clarify. A shot from a stakeout has a greater angle of inclination than a shot from a derrick, and here you have to shoot the animal not sideways, but along the ridge. Its especially important when hunting along the black trails: here you either hit – and the animal was still there or missed – and the animal was unharmed. If you shoot an animal in the side the bullet will almost always hit its stomach and the animal will go far away and its not always possible to catch it in the backcountry. And when shooting longitudinally the probability of hitting the animal fatally is higher.