Methos
New member
- Joined
- Mar 3, 2023
- Messages
- 8
- Reaction score
- 42
- Location
- France
- Hunted
- South Africa, Namibia, France
Hi all
I've been living in France since 2009 and have been hunting here since 2016. I've written a report on every boar I've shot and since the beginning of summer I've bought a DJI Action camera an decided to bring it along the hunts.
This is a video of my first boar of the 2025/2026 season.
To explain the setting:
I hunt in the South of France - Provence in a mountain range called Les Alpilles. All hunts are driven hunts.
This is how the day works. We must be at the hunting club at 7:30 or 7 - depends on the time the organizers decided. When we get there you sign the Hunting log book required for all driven hunts with more than 4 participants and you pay your €10. The club provides cold meat and patés and bread for breakfast and it is washed down with a coffee. We check our spots that were assigned to us by the organizers. They know the area we hunt in and the likely escape path of the boars etc. They take into account the physical capabilities of each person since most of the guys that hunt with us are in their 60s, so no use sending a guy that can hardly walk two km up a mountain. Then we get the briefing ans security briefing for the day. They tell us what to expect - because the have some cameras in the drinking places etc so that we know more or less how many boars are in the area, if there are young striped ones. Also the required safety briefing is read out. We are normally between 15 and 30 guys on posts and 5 to 10 guys with dogs, depending on the area we are hunting.
Then we drive out to the area that is being hunted and guys walk to their posts. Sometimes like last weekend it is next to a road and other times like in the video below there is a good 2km from the bakkie/Pickup to our spots. When I get to my spot I have my whole ritual, measure out safe shooting zones with ones neighbors, setup tripod for shooting longer shots, set up chair, load rifle, put in radio earpiece and put on ear protection. I then identify likely areas that the boars might use and sometimes use my telemeter to measure out landmarks so that I know that bit is 100m, 200m etc.
Then we wait for the guys with the dogs to arrive. They let the dogs go at spots that were decided by the organizers. Some dogs run on their own without direct supervision, just a gps collar. They find a spoor and run with it and chase up boars. Then there are other dogs that stay with the Trackers and they hunt areas that the tracker feels might contain boars, like a bunch of pine trees or brambles etc.
Sometimes you can see the boar from far and prepare for the shot and other times you get a second or two for shooting. You shoot till it is down - if it is safe to do so. We don't want wounded boars to cut up the dogs. Some of the €10 that we pay every week goes into a account for dogs that got hurt, to cover the bills.
If you get lucky and shoot a boar the boar must be dragged out at the end of the hunt. Normally people help each other - but if you are like me, a bit younger than the rest of the guys and an ex rugby player you must help everyone, ha ha. Sometimes this is really hard work and other times like in the below video it is easy, depending on the terrain that is being hunted.
Then all the boars get taken back to the club house and emptied and then chopped in half length-ways and then into 3'rds or half, depending on the size and how many were shot etc. Then each guy can skin his piece or do it at home as he pleases. Then we clean up the working area and have l'apero - sausage, peanuts, crisps, pates and of course a beer or a glass of wine or aperitif. Then they guys that paid an extra €10 have lunch that is provided by one of the organizers wife's and afterwards we play cards or talk about the days hunting etc.
In a normal year we do around 22 hunts per season, depending on many animals are shot, how many are counted on the cameras etc. We don't want to eradicate them, we just need control the numbers so that they don't cause a huge load of damage to farmers crops, which we pay for as well and that they don't become a nuisance in the village. Last year we shot 108 for an average of almost 5 boars per hunt, but we had a day last year where we shot 22 in one hunt.
Below is the link to my video of my first boar of this season if it OK with the form moderators.
Please have a look and if you like what you see please like and comment and if you want subscribe. If you have any question don't hesitate to ask.
Regards
I've been living in France since 2009 and have been hunting here since 2016. I've written a report on every boar I've shot and since the beginning of summer I've bought a DJI Action camera an decided to bring it along the hunts.
This is a video of my first boar of the 2025/2026 season.
To explain the setting:
I hunt in the South of France - Provence in a mountain range called Les Alpilles. All hunts are driven hunts.
This is how the day works. We must be at the hunting club at 7:30 or 7 - depends on the time the organizers decided. When we get there you sign the Hunting log book required for all driven hunts with more than 4 participants and you pay your €10. The club provides cold meat and patés and bread for breakfast and it is washed down with a coffee. We check our spots that were assigned to us by the organizers. They know the area we hunt in and the likely escape path of the boars etc. They take into account the physical capabilities of each person since most of the guys that hunt with us are in their 60s, so no use sending a guy that can hardly walk two km up a mountain. Then we get the briefing ans security briefing for the day. They tell us what to expect - because the have some cameras in the drinking places etc so that we know more or less how many boars are in the area, if there are young striped ones. Also the required safety briefing is read out. We are normally between 15 and 30 guys on posts and 5 to 10 guys with dogs, depending on the area we are hunting.
Then we drive out to the area that is being hunted and guys walk to their posts. Sometimes like last weekend it is next to a road and other times like in the video below there is a good 2km from the bakkie/Pickup to our spots. When I get to my spot I have my whole ritual, measure out safe shooting zones with ones neighbors, setup tripod for shooting longer shots, set up chair, load rifle, put in radio earpiece and put on ear protection. I then identify likely areas that the boars might use and sometimes use my telemeter to measure out landmarks so that I know that bit is 100m, 200m etc.
Then we wait for the guys with the dogs to arrive. They let the dogs go at spots that were decided by the organizers. Some dogs run on their own without direct supervision, just a gps collar. They find a spoor and run with it and chase up boars. Then there are other dogs that stay with the Trackers and they hunt areas that the tracker feels might contain boars, like a bunch of pine trees or brambles etc.
Sometimes you can see the boar from far and prepare for the shot and other times you get a second or two for shooting. You shoot till it is down - if it is safe to do so. We don't want wounded boars to cut up the dogs. Some of the €10 that we pay every week goes into a account for dogs that got hurt, to cover the bills.
If you get lucky and shoot a boar the boar must be dragged out at the end of the hunt. Normally people help each other - but if you are like me, a bit younger than the rest of the guys and an ex rugby player you must help everyone, ha ha. Sometimes this is really hard work and other times like in the below video it is easy, depending on the terrain that is being hunted.
Then all the boars get taken back to the club house and emptied and then chopped in half length-ways and then into 3'rds or half, depending on the size and how many were shot etc. Then each guy can skin his piece or do it at home as he pleases. Then we clean up the working area and have l'apero - sausage, peanuts, crisps, pates and of course a beer or a glass of wine or aperitif. Then they guys that paid an extra €10 have lunch that is provided by one of the organizers wife's and afterwards we play cards or talk about the days hunting etc.
In a normal year we do around 22 hunts per season, depending on many animals are shot, how many are counted on the cameras etc. We don't want to eradicate them, we just need control the numbers so that they don't cause a huge load of damage to farmers crops, which we pay for as well and that they don't become a nuisance in the village. Last year we shot 108 for an average of almost 5 boars per hunt, but we had a day last year where we shot 22 in one hunt.
Below is the link to my video of my first boar of this season if it OK with the form moderators.
Please have a look and if you like what you see please like and comment and if you want subscribe. If you have any question don't hesitate to ask.
Regards
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