landowner

Wow, amazing video! The wife and I just watched this and felt the adrenaline!! Thanks for sharing. A semi-auto definitely comes in handy for these situations! Where was that? The day before my video above we got a strong smell of boar on the wind, and the spotter scope then confirmed 2 of them about 400 meters away, but we'd barely began heading in their direction before they'd disappeared up an insanely steep slope and into vast dense scrub.

It's an interesting question, and driven boar shoots, called Monteria, are popular in Spain, with running targets. Wild boar "waits" (similar to high-seat strategy) or stalking on foot seems more common. In theory: In my case, the bullet was travelling at over 800m per second, and the boar was 50 meters away, so it took about 0.06 seconds for the bullet to reach the target. (Birdshot from a 12g shotgun is about half that velocity.) If the boar was running sideways at 10 meters per second (36 km/h), it could cover 60 cm in that time. Hogs can run almost that fast! In theory, for a running boar it may seem intuitive to lead the head slightly, aiming at an eye. Anecdotally, most people aim for the head, often the "cheek" area, and I've seen that produce an effective neck shot on a fast-moving hog. It's a difficult set of skills and techniques to master, in my opinion. You do need to do the math, to understand your optimal point-of-aim. In practice: For humane shot-placement, and confidence in point-of-aim, I'd avoid trying to shoot fast-moving target with a rifle. However, I should add that these slippery critters rarely stand still for as long as you want, except when drinking or feeding! It's noteworthy that some people hunt boar with shotguns, .22 LR, and even 9mm. I wouldn't, although I do use those calibres for other applications. Norma Academy - driven hunt shooting techniques (I was using a Norma bullet as it happens):

Hunting boar in Spain with the mrs this winter... My last kill of the season was through my trusty old XP50 thermal scope, on my favourite MSR-10 Hunter semi-auto rifle. After two days of arduous recon, from a hillside we finally found a suitable one down at the bottom of the valley. I set up 100m away from the boar, downwind, 14 degree angle downhill to target, and the hog had stopped to take a drink in the ice cold mountain stream -- everything was perfect... But we chose to gamble on moving in closer to a species that's highly mobile, as agile as a mountain goat, and can disappear like a ghost. The white noise of running water, the pitch black night and a strong headwind allowed us to reach a new vantage point just 65m from the animal. After a few minutes the beast presented broadside for a textbook neck shot, instant drop, immediate humane kill. (There were further rounds in the mag if needed, and one ready in the chamber less than 100 milliseconds after firing the shot.) Our chosen bullet has a proven track record from 50m to 300m for big game, providing acceptable expansion. Extraction was more of a challenge. We soon discovered that the boar was on an island surrounded by a deep quagmire. I struggled to find a safe path through the swamp, but after I'd failed from 3 separate routes the mrs just waded in, finding a safe path using red torchlight, deployed her drag strap to pull several kilos of meat up onto the bank, and commenced skinning and gralloching while I fetched the jeep. Loadout: Rifle: Savage MSR-10 Hunter (semi-auto AR-10) chambered for 6.5 Creedmoor Riflescope: Pulsar Thermion 2 XP50 (on Tier One QD) Spotter: Axion 2 LRF XG35 Ammo: Norma Bondstrike 143gr Sticks: Primos Trigger Stick Gen 3 tripod Neck-shot down in a mountain stream: Boars are more nomadic and unpredictable than deer... The elusive, wild, rugged "Jabalí de montaña" breed seen in these video clips inhabit a crazy mountainous landscape, living everyday life at altitudes exceeding 2,000 meters. (The highest mountain in Britain is Ben Nevis at 1,345 m, or compare with Snowdon at 1,085 m.) This boar variety is pure lean muscle but also highly intelligent. It strolls up steep slopes and cliff-faces *literally* like a mountain goat, and disappears into terrain or scrub like an ethereal phantom. They endure an arid climate that swings between extreme heat and cold, generally from -7°C to 33°C. While deer don't need to drink because they get enough water from their diet, boars do need to drink regularly -- another challenge of living in this high-desert environment. Seasonal streams are a good place to find their tracks -- distinctive circular hoof-prints. Their only reward for this harsh lifestyle is almonds, the main crop grown here and a boar's favourite food -- which elsewhere in the peninsula boar-hunters use as bait. Spain is a fascinating country to hunt in. They have seasons for rabbits. Some autonomous regions have declared a wild boar emergency, allowing new opportunities for hunting with thermal optics. Recon:

Axion 2 LRF XQ35 spotter, it's good, but image quality is more comparable with the XQ50 than the XP50 (used in the buck video) tbf:

Worth noting that there are provisions in the legislation for night shooting deer in England and Wales. For example, I had a night shooting licence from Natural England for two areas in the last season.

I take your point, but night vision is legal for deer in most countries. This particular herd is practically nocturnal, you'd struggle to fulfil the DMP with glass. Wouldn't you consider using a thermal spotter outside Scotland? Advert for my skillz?

You wouldn't have seen it looking down into the shadows of the treeline at the foot of that valley. Over 50 minutes after sunset. Believe me I'd tried glass many a day with that wiley ghost. Wouldn't have known he was there without a thermal spotter (Axion 2 LRF).

Fallow buck taken in the 2022/23 season. Scope: Pulsar Thermion 2 XP50 Rifle: Sako Tikka T3x Tac A1 ("the Tik Tac") - 6.5 Creedmoor - 24" barrel, 1 in 8" twist Mod: Wildcat Evo Ammo: Sako Gamehead Pro Tripod: Bog Deathgrip Spotter: Pulsar Axion 2 LRF XQ35

I enjoy your vids sir

Thanks for sharing

My thoughts on the above gadget, best one I've had yet, I know there are more pricey ones, what are other folks using?

Thought I knew everything about the scope, but didn't realise I could plug it into my laptop! Where do you download the software? For your phone there's the StreamVision app, but pulling down video files by wifi is slow.

@6.5x55SE If anything I should be asking for your help with these four legged tree piranhas

@6.5x55SE not putting anybody down. I'm sure you really did shoot 200 deer every season. "200 Fallow woopy do i regally shot far more than that year in year out single handed:" Ok. I'm impressed. What else can I say? Not going to dispute it. Try not to let scope envy and permission envy turn a genuine thread all negative. Any time you try to patronise somebody on the rules or question the legality of stuff they post here, don't be surprised if you get called out. Don't lose your rag. Any time you come onto my threads staying "oooh are you sure you're allowed to do that? Just being helpful!" I am likely to call it out. Don't take it personally. I just don't think questioning each other's adherence to the rules is a good look for this forum, or the industry, we already face enough challenges from the outside! Anyways, cheers for your concern, albeit misplaced. Good luck with your own shooting.

@6.5x55SE Noted. And, as I suspected. Saw you coming a mile off, from your first reply. You've made it clear that your intention is to publicly question the legality of shooting, when a simple DM could have addressed your concerns, and that you'll continue to do it despite my courteous request to DM me next time. Do you drive a vehicle? Just checking, did you know you need a licence to do that? If you're doing it without a license, it could be illegal. That's how daft your fist reply looks to me. In future just assume I know and respect the rules as well as you do. You're not superior to others on the forum. I'm not going to justify myself to you. So your superiority complex has hit a dead end here, sorry. I see you as passive aggressive and insincere. I think you've greatly overstated your alleged credentials and experience, since what I'm doing is not unusual and even if the clock was correct the licences are becoming so common that Defra is consulting on relaxing the rules. I thank you again for your concern. It was misplaced. It always will be misplaced. You're not a prefect of the shootings community. If I post a video of bird control, you can assume it's withing the rules without me giving you a disclaimer. If I post a video of deer management, you can assume it's within the rules. I have over 200 fallow here almost every morning atpresent. Admit it, you're envious of my scope. You don't post shooting media, probably because you don't do much shooting. Don't resent those of us who do.

@6.5x55SEAgain, thanks for your concern. "i 100% make sure PW members would see/know why and how they was shot to save bun fight's" By your logic, everybody who posts a picture or video of non game birds being shot should always have a disclaimer to justify themselves to you and the forum. E.g. crop protection or gull licence. You're entitled to your opinion. I disagree. It's pointless to state the obvious. "As for a PM not a chance get it out in the open" in other words "Hey everybody, I think this video might show rules being broken." That's what you're saying. Publicly. You're putting the op in a position where they might feel obligated to justify and defend themselves. "oh I'm just trying to be helpful and maybe I'm wrong" lol looks a bit passive aggressive to me. Just DM next time, if you have genuine concerns, rather than imply something is wrong or oblige somebody to justify myself. It comes from a pompous position in which you assume I don't know what you know. It's also border line passive aggressive behaviour. "I'm just trying to help. Oh look!!! That person might be breaking the rules!!! Oh I could be mistaken though. I did say you might not be. Just being helpful and all out in the open to get other people's opinions on my reply." I'll always welcome anybody's insights and knowledge but please don't call the legalitlegality of my forum activity into question again. Thanks. This is not up for debate. I'm asking you politely to please not do that again. Thanks. Yep if I need to know the time I'll look at my watch. 😉

Wow.

Excellent work.

Superb!

It is a bit of a rig to carry around, but at least for me worth it for the results I see vs a lighter setup, especially out to 250m.

Thanks for your concern, sounds like we're both aware of the rules, and hopefully both equally capable of high standards in deer management within an appropriate Deer Management Plan. If you do DSC1 you'll learn more about the provisions in the legislation, as well as the NE licencing facility for deer causing damage as you mentioned. That's the connection between your response and mine, I think hopefully it was clear. It's good to be mindful that there is an anti-shooting community looking for angles like that, so thanks again for your concern, and as far as my posts go please do always assume that I am aware of the rules already, so no need to remind me again in this thread or elsewhere. I take your initial comment at face value and intended to be a helpful observation. Did you know this forum has a direct message feature? Ideal for raising concerns like that, if you're sincere about being helpful. Otherwise, it could potentially look like you're not actually that genuine about trying to help (I hope I'm wrong). E.g. Passive aggressive types routinely try to present little acts of troublemaking as helpful. I know that's not what you're doing, but it might look that way. If you have a genuine concern that something might look contrary to the rules, like shooting birds with no sign of crops being protected for example, always consider the DM feature, because posting it publicly could be misconstrued.

Superb vid, love the slowmo, that hare outran your hunting buddy but not the shot.

Beautiful video, thanks for sharing the outing.

We could comment under videos of birds being shot, asking if we're sure it was legit crop protection, but I don't think that's really where we want to be. I generally assume by default that anybody on this forum knows the rules and doesn't need me to educate them or check the legality of their shooting, which seems a sensible approach. Time not set on scope, was within the prescribed period, but even so, when you do your DSC1 you'll learn more about the "damage" provisions in the legislation as well as the NE licencing facility for deer causing damage.

I usually have the XQ50 on my 22 and the XP50 for full bore. They both get a lot of use, especially the XQ50!!!