Hi from Austria (no - not the island with "Ruuhs" jumping around)

Hi and greetings from Austria,

Im new here and want to shortly introduce myself.

My great love is hunting Wildboars in Europe - mainly driven Wildboar. I like to use a little bit bigger chamberings than necessary cause its ok and you (nearly) never can be overgunned. Im Prostaff for Aimpoint and you can see me on the face of the 2016 Aimpoint international flyer (looking through the sight).

My first "bigger" rifle was a 9.3x62 (my secong hunting rifle) and I grew into the bigger things via a .450 Marlin guide gun and then a Sako in .416 Rem.Mag. (and I can shoot it from the bench without flinching with full powered factory ammo with 400grs A-Frame). I managed to shoot around MOA goups with this rifle - so its accurate.

In end of October a nice Sako in .450 Rigby will be the next step "UP" in power. Im planning (as a reloader) to use 350grs Hornady RN softpoints at around 3000fps - should be a good "stopping rifle" for wildboar in Europe.

Also Im thinking about ordering a nice Heym 88B PH in .500 N.E. - just cause I like the big bang and it also should deal with boars nicely.

Ok - so far thats me.

greetings

Karl

Hello and welcome!

Glad to have you Karl. Sounds like you love to hunt/shoot the pigs. I agree that a .450 Rigby should be a good stopping rifle for the boars! If you hang around this forum very long, you will soon be using one of those nice rifles in Africa!!! Waiting for your hunting stories!

hi welcome aboard

Africa is a big dream for me - a friend of mine was there for some hunting trips and I always have to touch the BOSSES of all his buffalo mount in his trophyroom. A Buff would be the ultime Trophy for me.

But other than the big boomers I also like to use small chamberings like .22-250 or even smaller for our bread and butter game species (mainly roe deer and small predators like fox and badger...). Using a 9.3x62 on roe deer is the best choice - if you use 270grs Speer bullets, no meat is lost.

I run a gunshop for myself - so I know "a little bit" about all that whamming and booming stuff and Im one of only three Heym dealers here in Austria - so I have my heart with Heym and Strasser (a relatively new austrian company producing high quality rifles). Strasser had the .375 Ruger als largest chambering (so .416 Ruger on special order should be no problem, cause its the same case), but now is working on the .458 Win.

My heart also beats for some exotic chamberings like the 6x62 Freres (invented by Günther Freres - the easiest way to describe is a 9,3x62 case altered to hold a .243 dia. bullet), the 8.5x63 (by Werner Reb of Germany - came out in 1987 so before the .338-06 A-Square and its a little bit stronger and better thought out). But 7mm-08 is also a exotic chambering here in Austria (like .22-250...).

Welcome to AH sir!

Welcome to AH

Welcome to the AH forum! You’ve got some fine guns there! I’d really enjoy seeing some pictures and reading a report on your drive boar hunts.
Best

Welcome aboard Karl. I never thought about the need for "stoppers" on wild boar. The thought is intriguing. I have used my 35 Whelen which is very similar ballistically to your 9.3 x 62. I was wanting to see how my handloads performed on dense game prior to taking it to Africa. I second the request about you posting some pics. and or videos of your driven hunts along with the story that accompanies them.

Welcome

welcome to AH. Love to hear some of your hunting stories from Austria!

Hi there,

I will try to look for some pictures and maybe some short outtakes from driven hunts - but normally I dont take many pictures, cause a picture can never show emotions or bring you the feeling of the moment. photos are very dangerous nowadays cause of aggressive anti-hunters in europe, so im always a bit cautious with sharing photos.

but photos of the guns are no problem...

Welcome to AH Karl! Glad you found us and looking forward to your contribution!

Shootist43 said:

I never thought about the need for "stoppers" on wild boar. The thought is intriguing.

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You dont need it, cause a .243 will (and does) work also, but on driven game, where you dont always hit perfectly, a little more "ooomph" is nice - but using a "stopper" is never necessary - but we HAVE to hold numbers low on boars anyways, so why not having fun with big bore guns? I like to shoot big bore guns - but its better to use them for hunting (the main purpose for a man hold cannon) instead of sending 450-600 grs of bone breaking raw power downrange just to penetrate a thin layer of recycled paper or blast watermelons to pieces (every round used on a boar is a saved watermelon for eating - i love them...). When my time comes to go to Africa, Im perfectly trained with my rifles.

The price on wild boar meat is low at the moment, so better to cut 1-2 pounds more away instead of loosing 100+ lbs of meat because you lost it or recover it too late. To pull the trigger is little effort, but to search a wounded boar is a big effort and a risk for dog and men - not necessary. Just my 0.02

the idea of using a 350grs pill is, cause SD isnt an issue with boar, its cheaper, faster, less recoil and you dont have to use so much hold of in front of a running boar - all in all, hitting is way easier. Five good reasons to go with low weight and fast bullet.

I've only taken one shot at a running boar. That was with a 308. I must have been lucky, I lead him a little, the bullet entered about 1 & 1/2" below and behind his left ear. The result was DRT and no wasted meat.

Welcome!

Welcome to AH.

With your love of Bid Bores and Aimpoint sights which sights do you personally recommend for big bore rifles?

Welcome to AH!

Welcome to the great forum.
Witold

Art Lambart II said:

Welcome to AH.

With your love of Bid Bores and Aimpoint sights which sights do you personally recommend for big bore rifles?

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Hi Art,

depends on the way you like to mount it - if your gun is ready for claw mounts or twist mounts, you can use 30mm rings and a tubular sight of proper length to fit the distance between your rings - i specially like the older 9000 Model with 2 MOA. If you build a new rifle (or let build...), it should be no problem to fit a proper "interface" to mount a new H2 series sight.

The best is that the eye-relief doesnt matter, so you can mount it wider in front than a normal scope - your eyebrow will not be harmed by recoil.

There is no kind of sight on the market that is as tough and as reliable than an Aimpoint - you can throw it trough your backyard, remount it and it will hold zero. The new electronic circuit in it will last for FIVE YEARS OF CONTINOUS USE on a medium setting. So when you pack your gun for boarding to Africa, turn it on - and when you properly clean your gun after coming home from black continent - you turn it of. I change my battery every three years for safety reasons (bad battery) - thats it (and carry a 5$ spare battery in your pocket).

I shot a fox 160m away (roughly 175 yards) with an Aimpoint - hit him center mass as aimed for.

You can aim faster with an Aimpoint cause you dont have to line up the target with your TWO parts of iron sights - you focus on target and the red dot will find its way to the vitals. Its like throwing a snowball - you look on your target an not on the ball in your hand. If using a Scope, you focus on reticle and bring it to the right spot. If using irons you have to line up front sight with your blade and the target and always focus on front sight - so your target will be a little bit "milky".

Hope I can join you all at SCI next year or maye shot show - hopefully on Aimpoint booth and show you how perfect this sight will complete your battery. But at the moment Im very busy at raising a second business parallel - I need more money to go hunting where I want and how often I want.

If you have more questions or need details, pls let me know and i will respond as fast as I can.