Wild Boar Hunting – a guide to hunting methods, behaviour, equipment, and hunting in the dark

Wild boar hunting is, in many ways, different from the hunting most Danish hunters are used to from home. Wild boar are large, strong, intelligent, and adaptable, and a large part of the hunt takes place during hours when other forms of hunting are usually winding down.

Especially in Sweden, wild boar hunting has become a popular form of hunting among Danish hunters. Here, the hunt can range from quiet stand hunting at a feeding station to stalking in the dark or more intensive hunting with dogs. Common to these hunting methods is that success rarely comes solely from being a good shot. Knowledge of the wild boar's behaviour, wind direction, terrain, and movement patterns is at least as important.

In this guide, we will take a closer look at the wild boar as a wild species, the most common forms of wild boar hunting, clothing and equipment, as well as the special conditions that apply when hunting takes place after dark.

The Wild Boar – a strong and adaptable animal

Wild boar can live in very diverse landscapes but thrive particularly well in areas where forests, fields, meadows, and wetlands are close to each other. The forest provides peace and cover during the day, while fields and other open areas can offer large amounts of food at night.

This also means that wild boar do not necessarily stay in the same place around the clock. An area can be full of fresh tracks, wallows, and dug-up earth without a single animal being seen in daylight.

Wild boar are mainly active during the dark hours. They can travel several kilometres in a single night between their daytime resting places and feeding areas, and hunting pressure can make them move even further.

Therefore, wild boar hunting largely involves understanding where the pigs come from, where they are going, and when they pass through the terrain.

Wild boar often live in sounders

The wild boar's social structure is also worth knowing.

Sows and younger animals typically live together in family groups, often referred to as a sounder. The group can consist of several sows and piglets of various ages. There is a clear hierarchy within the sounder, which becomes particularly visible when the pigs feed together.

Large adult boars, however, often live more solitary lives and can roam over significant areas.

Piglets are easily recognised by their distinctive light longitudinal stripes. As they get older, the stripes disappear, and the animals gradually acquire the brown and later darker fur associated with adult wild boar.

It is especially important during stand hunting to take time to observe a sounder before deciding on an animal. In the dark, size differences can be difficult to assess, and an animal can appear significantly larger or smaller depending on distance, terrain, and which pig it stands next to.

The wild boar's senses – wind means everything

If you want to get close to wild boar, you must first and foremost understand their sense of smell.

Wild boar have an exceptionally well-developed sense of smell. While the hunter might feel well hidden in a dark high seat, the pig can detect human scent long before it comes into view.

Therefore, wind direction is one of the most important factors in wild boar hunting.

This applies to both stand hunting and stalking. Ideally, the wind should blow from the area where you expect the pigs to be, towards you. If the pigs have detected your scent, your chances are often significantly reduced.

Their hearing is also good. A car door, a zipper, a rifle knocking against the wood in the high seat, or a careless movement can be enough to make the pigs suspicious.

Their eyesight, however, is not the wild boar's strongest sense. This does not mean that the animals cannot spot you, but with the right wind, a calm hunter can often get surprisingly close.

It is precisely the combination of excellent sense of smell and hearing with less sharp eyesight that makes stalking wild boar possible.

Stand Hunting for Wild Boar

For many Danish hunters, stand hunting is the first introduction to wild boar hunting.

Here, one normally positions oneself in a high seat, a ladder stand, or an enclosed hunting blind overlooking a feeding station, field, forest clearing, or other location where the pigs regularly appear.

The hunting method sounds simple: Sit down and wait.

In practice, there are several details that can determine whether the evening ends with a shot opportunity.

Get into position well in advance

Wild boar can be surprisingly close to the feeding station long before they show themselves.

Therefore, one should be in position well in advance and avoid arriving just as the pigs begin to move. A good approach to the stand is just as important as the position itself.

For example, if you have to cross an open field on the way to the high seat, you should consider where your scent is left. A wild boar that later comes out of the forest and encounters the hunter's tracks can turn back before it ever becomes visible.

Once you are in position, it's about settling down.

Position the rifle so that it can be used without major movements. Make sure that equipment does not rattle, and do anything else that would otherwise create noise later, before you start waiting.

When wild boar hunting, a small movement or metallic sound in a quiet high seat can seem surprisingly loud.

Patience pays off

Wild boar have an impressive ability to make the hunter wait.

You can sit for hours without seeing anything but roe deer, hares, and birds. Just when you have mentally decided that the evening is over, the first faint grunt can reveal a sounder in the dark.

That is part of the hunting method.

On a good evening, a special atmosphere arises when you first hear the pigs, then see movements between the trees, and finally can identify the individual animals.

The less you move, the better.

The feeding station

Feeding stations are used in many places as part of wild boar management. They can both gather the pigs in specific locations and keep them away from vulnerable crops.