Icon Logo Gun Mart

Pest Control Diary: Preparing for the Boar

Pest Control Diary: Preparing for the Boar

Ever since I sold my Tikka 223 I’ve been looking for a replacement; not an easy task! Apart from my Brno CZ 22 rimfire I have a Tikka 243, which is good for both deer and foxes and I can also fit my Maxi Kite NV after I had the bolt bent down to allow clearance. I also have a 6BR custom, built on a Tikka action with a thumbhole stock; also deer legal and a good foxer. Then there’s my Tikka 30 06; a good hard hitting round for the larger deer and after having the bolt bent down a little so that I can fit my Night Vision, good for boar too.

Pig-Capable

So you’d think I have everything covered but when a friend says he’s designed a trap capable of catching a whole sounder of boar then that calls for something different. So I started thinking about magazine capacity, short barrels to make the gun handy and probably open sights for some fast shooting. Also, the calibre; as it has to be hard hitting and deep penetrating but not able to exit, as it could wound animals in the trap, which is not professional!

So I had to do my homework and get it right first time, as I could only spend my money once! Using my experience as a gun club member I eventually decided on a lever action, 357 Magnum carbine, made by Chiappa Firearms, it’s a reproduction of the Winchester 1892. It’s a really well made little rifle and at 33” overall length with its 16”barrel it feels comfortable and is pretty well balanced too.

 

Seven Plus

With a magazine capacity of 7-rounds, and with good open sights, it’s got everything I am looking for; the only thing I have to do now is work out which ammo will suit the job best. Full copper jacket, or round or flatnosed lead bullets, weighing the calibrestandard 158-grains. At this stage I should point out that and although not expanding ammo, it’s fit for purpose when used as I intend to in an enclosed pen for destruction. As it has more than enough energy and effect. However, what I am doing is not hunting but pest control, where animals are shot as part of my job. Equally, if I were out after boar in the wild, I would naturally be using expanding ammunition and maybe my 30-06 for obvious reasons!

I bought 250-rounds of Magtech, 158-grain, semi-wadcutter ammo just to practice with, but if they’re up to the job then I will stick with them! The only other addition I bought is a laser and lamp combination but I need a bracket making so I can clamp it on. This should speed up the job of dispatching a number of boar with minimum fuss, while keeping any stress down to a minimum.

story continues below...

When you think of the rate boar breed and the damage just one can cause, then it calls for immediate and drastic action to try and tip the balance. Like mink and the grey squirrel, they are too well established to completely eradicate. Part of the problem has no doubt been caused by people not taking enough, not realising the rate they breed at. But every year the young from the previous year are chased out, creating another population in the surrounding areas. What I am trying to say is please listen to advice; I don’t want to shoot the last deer or boar any more than I do the last fox. But it is about control to keep damage to a minimum and populations at a sustainable level too. Remember, to get your own patch is hard; to lose it is a lot easier if you’re not doing the job properly.

Time after time I hear of people losing their ground by not following those simple rules.

 

Experience

I have no experience with boar, though I have had invites. I’ve seen boar but they were in the wrong place for me to take the shot (I was caught napping) really, If I was to be honest. I have heard stories of car accidents, holes being knocked through fencing and hedges, nothing keeps them out but seeing some of the damage they cause for myself has left a lasting impression. Once a field has been turned over by them it’s useless and takes a lot of hard work ploughing and reseeding only for the same thing to happen again. If it’s a grain field, that’s a big part of a year’s wage lost over night, but don’t forget grass is a crop too; no grass, no feed for livestock, the impact is massive.

Hopefully if you can put yourself in the landowner’s position, you can understand the pressure they’re under. If you can do that, then perhaps the next time you go knocking on a farmer’s door asking for permission, it won’t be a case of here’s someone else asking to be let loose with a gun when it suits, but here’s someone that can be trusted to turn up when asked, then you’re on. Tomorrow I will be taking my rifles in; my 30 06 to have the bolt modified and the Chiappa a bracket made for the laser sight. The trapping of boar, shooting, and laser sights is all new to me, so will be interesting to say the least and should make interesting reading and as always I won’t leave anything out and I will tell it how it is.

 

Contacts

Chiappa 1892 – Edgar Brothers Ltd, www.edgarbrothers.com
Laser/torch combo – Hawke Sport Optics, www.hawkeoptics.com
Magtech ammunition – Viking Arms Ltd, www.vikingarms.com

  • Pest Control Diary: Preparing for the Boar - image {image:count}

    click on image to enlarge

  • Pest Control Diary: Preparing for the Boar - image {image:count}

    click on image to enlarge

  • Pest Control Diary: Preparing for the Boar - image {image:count}

    click on image to enlarge

  • Pest Control Diary: Preparing for the Boar - image {image:count}

    click on image to enlarge

Arrow