Wild Boar Hunting in Hungary

Almost 12 months ago, a suggestion by Brenny while recording one of the episodes of the podcast to go hunting wild boar in Hungary and this sparked my interest. A great friend of ours Janos Nemeth who hails from the hallowed hunting ground in Hungary, broached the idea and set the train in motion. We quickly got down to work settling on a date and two of our regular

hunting companions Ross and Rob agreed to join us on the journey. We researched with help from Stevie White the process of bringing across the guns and ammunition, a simple enough process once we had the relevant European license and paperwork sorted. The weeks quickly passed, and the departure time was quickly upon us. We all jumped in the van and met Ross up in Dublin Airport and soon we were in the air. We booked a hotel at the airport in Hungary and after collecting the rifles we booked in and got settled in, food, hunting stories and a few

glasses of wine, then off to bed, some earlier than others!!

The next morning with the car packed and us squeezed into it, we endured the 3 hour trip to our hunting lodge on the outskirts of Nagyatád. The lodge was perfect for a hunting trip, plenty of logs for the fires, comfortable beds, an oven and kettle. With little time to waste we split into our groups, Rob and I with Janos's father-in-law, Brenny with Janos and Ross with Balu, a

childhood friend of Janos. Rob and I loaded up the guns into the jeep and off we went, after about 25 minutes rugged driving into the Hungarian wilderness, we stopped at our first high seat, we were still in daylight, it was circa 3pm and this was my home for the next 6 hours or so. Rob headed on to the next spot another few miles into the wilderness.

This time of year the temperature drops rapidly, and the husky daylight soon starts to fade into foggy moonlit forest and stubble fields. It's so cold, you can see your breath and the coffee in the thermos is a welcome bit of sustenance. As the light fades, the countryside starts to come alive. Having not hunted wild boar before, the advice I garnered was to allow the boar to come out and give them time to get the head down and feed. This was ringing in my ears when the first boar stepped out about 300m from the stand. I waited momentarily but as quick as it

appeared it disappeared behind a drop in the terrain and into a second woodland. Opportunity one was gone but I'm pretty patient, so I wasn't too fussed at this stage. Some solitary stags rustling in the wood to the left of the stand keep me company as well as a feral cat and coyote but I'm here for one thing and I admire all through the thermal spotter with no inclination to grab the rifle just yet. I found the peaceful silence interrupted only by wild animal calls and screeching soothing and you almost feel as close to nature as you can get. Yes I was cold and the stand is restrictive but as the trip went on I became more and more in tune with this form of hunting and more and more comfortable in my own thoughts.

Another hour or so in and a solitary boar appears just behind my right shoulder in the woods. It

lights up intermittently in the thermal dipping in and around the cover of the woodland. I had hoped that he would appear to my right side, but they keep heading towards the roadway we had travelled in on. I know this was a male given the size and solitary nature of its movements, females tend to move in groups. Unfortunately, no safe shot presented and the first evening was a blank for me. Cold, tired but excited we were picked up late into the evening and headed for home, Rob also drew a blank with only a feral cat presenting on the night. He did however hear a shot in the distance, which was to be explained on our arrival back at the lodge. Word quickly spread between the group that big easy Ross Mcqaid had snagged a fine boar. We arrived home to find a fantastically conditioned 100kg boar presented on the lawn. For anyone who hasn't seen one in the flesh before they are such an impressive animal, almost prehistoric in appearance, black coat with powerful head and neck, some have razor sharp tusks, and this didn't disappoint.

The night passed with us sitting in front of a roaring fire and a few stories between us all. The morning wasn't long about coming around and we were back at it, our guide and transport arriving just before dawn. I got the pleasure of stalking alongside them aster him self and it was so beneficial to see him at work. His movements with his hunting stick in hand and knowledge of the land was quite simply phenomenal. Just being in his presence sharing a hunt was something I was most grateful for.

Rob had taken residence in a small stand and drew a blank on this occasion, nothing other than a few roe or a fleeting glimpse of a fallow was all that kept him company. I also came a cropper with no boar, we always seemed to be just a little behind any potential boar, the ground was littered with the familiar sight of the scuffled undergrowth where the powerful nose of one of the boar hadrecently been.

And so it was time to retreat to the house where breakfast/ lunch was now the order of the day. Brenny and Ross also cam e up short on this occasion, but our optimism was not dimmed. We were back out that evening to a new spot, Rob was dropped off to a high seat

overlooking two patches of a well-worn feeding spot and I was dropped to a stand deeper into the wood with a semicircular opening in front of a heavy woodland with heavy cover behind also. We hoped this would be the spot and Janos Sr was confident this was a hotspot. The light quickly started to fade and then hot coffee in the thermal gave a welcome relief from the subzero conditions. The only things to step into my shooting zone was a badger and a feral cat with the odd rustling in the wood the only increase in heartbeat for the night. Halfway through, two shots rang out and I pondered who and what had given break to the woodland silence. I

was picked up first and we conversed in semi-sign, semi-spoken broken language. I now knew one of the lads had got lucky but who and what was shot?? On approach to Rob's stand I could see it was him with two fine animals laid out ready for loading. Rob had been busy, animals cleaned and ready to go. We loaded them up and we set for home, the tales of Rob's hunt keeping us entertained the whole way home. Two animals had presented, and he duly

dispatched with two great shots expertly placed. He told of a third animal that had presented but got spooked by a mouse or mole no less and had taken off.

New plans were made as our last day's hunting was only hours away, Brenny decided to take whatever presented either a boar or fallow and I was going to hold out until the evening shoot to make my final call on what I'd do if a boar hadn't appeared. I was still hopeful but with

diminishing confidence of pulling the trigger. We had a couple of glasses of wine and a bit to eat and straight to bed, we had business to take care of tomorrow and the pressure was building, my mind racing, questions, would I come all this way and not get to pull the trigger? Would anything even present to give me an opportunity? Am I just downright unlucky or was

I doing something wrong? These thoughts kept me company that night and restless sleep all

night meant the morning couldn't come quick enough.

the next morning back to the woods with our guide again Rob in the stand, Janos Sr and I on a stalk. Red deer, fallow and roe all gave fleeting glimpses on our stalk but no boar, in the

distance a shot echoed out in the woods, I knew Brenny had taken a shot, I hoped he had been successful and when we arrived home a lovely fallow stag was on the lawn, Brenny was off the mark and it was down to the wire for me! My plans were not working out what was my next move, would I get a shot? Would I take a stag rather than heading home after a testing, hard few days in the cold and testing conditions. At this stage I'd only slept about 7-8 hours total over the previous few days, I was exhausted, cold, anxious, and frustrated, I tried to keep my thoughts rational and calm but even the pressure of coming home explaining on the podcast how I'd not taken a shot was playing on my mind. Normally this type of thing wouldn't bother me but lack of sleep, not eating properly and the conditions now sub -8 was just eating quickly at my optimism.

Janos Jr had offered kindly to accompany m e later that night and Rob of course wanted to come to offer assistance and moral support, I was grateful to them both but I was ready. I got a few hours sleep that afternoon and then back out in the ranger. Balu had also volunteered his services for that night and we went to a vastly different field with plenty of bordering forestry and open crop field to the right and the rear of our high seat. We settled in, a herd of roe kept us company until dusk and then it got a little busier. First to appear was a huge lone boar to our left, some 350m away. We waited and waited but he stayed close to the edge of the forestry. I dialled in and torch on but just as soon as the torch went on, before I could get him in the crosshairs he was gone. A huge Red stag appeared about 100m in front, visible against the white snow splattered field and he mooched on. Then a big boar 600m away on the edge of the forest in front of us appeared, we decided it was now or never. We climbed down and started our stalk in, the ice-cold wind favoured us, beating on our face. And then with a 100m behind us the heavens opened, and it started to snow, and it snowed, my glasses held a rim of

iced snow on the top edge and the boar didn't like it either, deciding to dip back in for cover.

All was lost I thought, we trudged back to the stand for some primitive cover while the snow shower passed. I was down to my final hour hunting, Janos had given up his last night in Hungary to hunt with me, Rob had given me his thermal as mine had mysteriously not charged and he was sitting in another stand 1km away in the dark waiting anxiously for me to pull the trigger. Brenny and Ross were enjoying the comforts of a warm fire! I'd be lying if I said I wasn't feeling deflated, but sometimes and not always as we know with hunting, patience and stubbornness wins out and that was just about to happen.

The snow shower passed and about 15 minutes later my friend appeared again, same spot. I scuttled down the ladder, gun over the shoulder , it was -10 now, fingers were numb and my feet heavy. We tiptoed in as quickly and quietly as we could unsure if there was another shower on route for us, this was my last opportunity. I suddenly got a sense of calm. I assured myself

that this was the game, man vs beast. If they won, they deserved it, I would have to accept it. I gritted my teeth and a wry smile in the dark to myself. I'd been here many times before, first deer, first fox, first pheasant. We closed the distance to 250/300 metres and checked again. His nose was down still unaware of our presence. I gestured to Janos that I'd try close another few metres and take him without the torch. I pushed in another 50 metres or so and pulled Janos' shoulder to my elbow to steady my snow bitten left arm. I presented the rifle, first above the forest where I let my eye adjust to the now moonlight sky and slowly down towards the beast. The snow had turned from enemy to ally, the black coat of the boar now slightly illuminated against the backdrop of the snow-covered field. I waited to confirm which end was which, he lifted his head to digest and have a quick look around before dropping his head once more. This gave me confirmation and I dropped the crosshairs behind his front shoulder and as I slowly dropped, I squeezed the trigger. I knew instantly by the thud; I had hit him . He was 80

or so metres from the wood and he wanted back in. We waited and didn't want to push or stress him any further. I told Janos I had hit him in the engine room and we waited for 20 minutes or so. We trek ked over and quickly found the thick splash of dark red blood on the snow and tracked him to where he entered the wood. We marked the tree where he entered the wood with a cloth and called it a night. We did not want to walk in on an injured boar in the dark. Highly dangerous when threatened, this was his territory.

We went back to our's. Rob was thrilled for me and offered to come back out to collect him next morning, something I hope I can and do repay him when the opportunity arises. We got back and joined in with festivities at the lodge, a welcome shower, food, and red wine were exactly as the doctor ordered. We stayed up late into the night and relieved every moment of

our trip. It was epic but I still had to retrieve my quarry.

Early next morning, Balu, Rob, Janos Jr and I set off and to track the boar. We quickly found the marker from the night before and we tracked the boar with the heavy blood trail about 100m into the wood. He expired seconds after running into the wood, something as a hunter

you always hope for. I quickly gralloched the animal and loaded him with great assistance from the lads. We drove back to the lodge where the Hungarian ritual of bending over the animal and being anointed and blessed by a fellow boar hunter and Master, Janos Sr, was carried out. I was tired, hungry, exhausted, exhilarated and ecstatic all at once.

Our trip was complete, mission accomplished, new friendships had been forged, old ones reinforced. This is the essence of what hunting is about - human perseverance against whatever obstacles are put in your way coupled with the strong bond of friendship to share the journey with. Until next time, stay safe and stay hunting

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