In my last blog I mentioned how boar hunting behind dogs was getting a following with visiting clients to New Zealand. I also mentioned that I intended visiting Matthews Trophy Hunting for an upcoming article and seeing for myself how it all happens, and why clients were enjoying it. Well, I went, and yes, I got more than I bargained for. Picture a fully dark July winter morning and me, Matthews and dogs heading in to a wild pig location, sipping coffee in a warm truck. Suddenly a huge boar crosses the road in front of us and the next hour is a blur of releasing dogs, running through the inky darkness, splashing through iced up creeks, and crawling under thick scrub with a pen torch that provided two metres of visibility.
The boar bailed, ripped one dog viciously then broke down into a stream where it carried on the fight. Eventually, after more rips to the dogs, and charges at humans, it was grabbed and despatched with the knife. Weight: 200-plus pounds. And good hooks. What an adrenalin rush! Coffee was cold when we finally got back to the truck. Picture below of boar with a very shell-shocked author.
