Dear all

Here are some pics of a boar hunt i was on in Hungary during late Feb 2005.

The tusks measured 20cm and the dressed out weight was 93.5 kilos.

Congratulations on a great boar!
It is fun hunting when seasons have closed elsewhere in Europe!
Can you give us some details about your rifle/scope and ammo?
Was the boar shot by moonlight?

Nice Kieler,

The guns looks like a Remington M700 or Howa and a Schmidt and Bender scope! But then again I don't know anything about guns!

Jon,

Very nice Boar, give us some details.

Congratulations,

Roland

Hi Jon,
great pics and very nice looking boars,and I wouldn't mind giving the Roebuck some medicine either when the time is right which in Scotland is right now as of the 1st of April.

Roebuck222

Hi Jon... Great pics and beautiful boar! Post more pics of your hunt if you have them. Also details of your hunt! Congrats on your wild boar!

Jon

I agree, a great boar.

Also would appreciate any comments on the hunt, rifles etc.

Thanks for posting the photos.

Great boar.
And now the rest of the story.

Dear all

Thankyou for your congratulatory comments.

The trip was quite a gruler in the first place as we had decieded to drive from Manchester to Hungary stopping in Salzbach in Germany on the way to collect our friend Manfred who had the relationship with the contact in Hungary who was the Head Stalker of the State owned Estate.

I was travelling with my good friend Ken Aldridge who I had collected from Manchester Airport, arriving there after he had been hunting Grants Gazelle in Ethiopia with 2 American friends of his (another story altogether). After collecting Ken from the airport we rested for a few hours had some food and set off for Dover.

We arrived in Hungary on the Sunday evening to be greeted by Jano (Head of the Hunting Ground) and his wife along with a silver tray with plum Schnapps, and a Weidmanshiel toast. Ken had brought his one and only rifle with him which he uses all over the world:- a Remington S/S BDL in 7mm Rem Mag. Manfred was issued with Jano's Mannlicher in 8 x 68 and I had another Remington BDL S/S in 300 Win Mag loaded with 180 grain Accubonds with 76 grains of 4831sc behind them. Ken uses Federal factory with 160 grain Partitions.

We had planned the trip 6 months in advance making sure we would be hunting on a full moon (it was slightly waining but almost full) to give us the best chance. We were also blessed with luck in as much as there was snow to make things alot easier aswell.

We went out on the first morning seeing no boar at all. We saw alot of Red and Roe and some very nice Roe Bucks as well but we saw no boar not a bean.

Time was on our side though at this point. On the first evening i was positioned in a high seat with my guide Bela (as per the picture with the Roe Buck in the foreground). We had a fantastic view down a ride in front of us and some reed beds behind us. As dark was approaching, we heard some noise in the reed beds behind us. I was certain it wasn't deer as the animal was crashing around and you could hear it as it went through the ice at the edge of the lake and there was a lot of splashing etc going on. The noise gradually became louder and louder as the animal came closer towards us. I was excited as the guide told me it was a boar and to get ready for a potential shot. The noise started to subside as the animal started to move away and it was approximately 15 metres or so into the reed beds and we never saw it. It was running parallel with us and made off into the distance. After the noise dissipated completely it was deathly silent. Snow all around no wind and by now the light had gone completely.

Another 45 mins to an hour passed and I checked my scope (a S&B 3-12x42 illuminated) to see if I could see my potential target alright. I had the illumination on and I could see the glow of the red cross on the white snow which was further illuminated by the light of the moon. Basically it was crystal clear and i was confident that we could stay there all night no problem if needs be.

Soon after and with no warning whatsoever, 2 young boar appeared in the ride in front of us about 70 meters away. My safety came off immediately and i got tuned in. The guide gave me a running commentary as more boar appeared. 2 large females appeared, and more young ones and 2 males perhaps 60 - 70 kilos according to my guide. Then a couple of minutes later the nice male appeared broad side on a perfect shot and Bela said good male about 100 kilos - you shoot. I was on him straight away and was just about to shoot as another boar zapped across my sight picture. I was put off slightly but then got back on the original animal. He had turned the opposite way in a second and as soon as he turned and stopped i put the red glowing cross on his black silouetted shoulder and pulled the trigger. I saw an orange flash, the shot was good and the animal was down. You could hear the other boar darting off in other directions crashing through the snow and undergrowth. I wanted to go and see the animal I had shot immediately but the guide warned me that we must wait 10 minutes to ensure he is dead just in case.

We found him in the tree line at the side of the ride and I was elated. The bullet had gone straight through and and I put my first finger in the exit up to the second joint. The bullet had expanded to about .75 inch. Perfect really.

The guide asked if i wanted to go with him to get the truck or wait with the animal. I waited with the animal and what happened next was almost surreal. I was in the middle of an East European forest with snow all around under a full moon and it was well into night time. There was no wind and it was completely silent. Then I heard the sound of church bells coming over the snow from the nearest village and then that was drowned out by several Jackals howling it was amazing.

When I got back to the lodge Manfred was amazed at my luck getting a nice one on the first night. Ken hadn't seen any boar and Manfred had shot a small one for the pot.

Ken has hunted all over the world and has many boar/wild pigs from most continents. What he hadn't got was a Russian boar. There is a population of Russian boar in Hungary and that is what Ken was after. He said "I will only pull the trigger on a nice Russian". The second night he got it. A really nice one. It weighed 130 kilo's dressed out and had 26cm tusks. He was ecstatic. Not only had he shot 2 nice Grants in Ethiopia in the previous days he had fullfilled his ambition to get a nice Russian. Manfred shot another small one for the pot and we returned on the Thursday. We were all very happy indeed and the hospitality of Jano and his wife Eva was fantastic. We left the lodge at 0600hrs on Thursday and arrived in Manchester at 1200 noon Friday driving non stop virtually (only stopping for fuel and coffee).

We are very lucky to have a passion that takes us to extraordinary places and lets us experience extraordinary experiences which the average man will never ever experience. Long may it continue. I hope to go back there in the next 2 to 3 years but i think i will fly next time.

Hope you enjoyed the story. I will also post a picture of my friend Kens Russian boar.

Thanks for the account of your hunt and again congratulations on taking a fine wild boar!

Jon2,

Waidmannsheil!

Great photos & story of your Hungarian Wild Boar hunt.

Snow, Moon & Wild Boar at night - it just doesn't get any better!

Cheers,

Gerry

Thanks all

Here is a picture of my friends Russian Boar that weighed in at 130 kilos dressed out and 26cm tusks

Jon2: Congratulations! You shot an excellent boar and you wrote an excellent story to accompany your photographs..good work. For the trophy, do you make a shoulder mount? I can hear the jackels in the middle of the night yeowling and making the little hairs on the back of my neck stand up...Thank you for posting the photos and good story. Congratulations again.

rwj

Thanks for your comments. Yes I am having him shoulder mounted. They have an on site taxidermist who does excellent work and he is also very cheap (by UK standards anyway). I should recieve it within 6 months. Can't wait to get him back and on the wall.

Jon2:

Waidmannsheil!!!

My wife is Austrian (I'm American) and I hunt boar with my father-in-law each time we go back to Austria. I'll be there in July/August and pop wants to take me again--this time he's talked about Hungary.

What kind of $$$$ are you paying for these boars?

Very cool and thanks for sharing.

Jon,

Thank you. Great pictures and a well told hunting saga. Sounds like all had a fantastic time. What a great animal, by the way.

Nice boar really nice looks mean as hell. Are you going to mount it..

Thankyou Swiftshot

Yes I am having it mounted and am awaiting delivery from Hungary. Should get it back in a couple of months.

Looking forward to putting it on the wall.

Waidmannsheil!
Fantastic boar and a great story.
Hope I get one as good as that in the next couple of years.

Mark