Hunting Tactics Wild Boar

*Introduction*

If you have a  tent to spare, place it in the northern most tip of Hirschfelden to start your Wild Boar hunting sessions. Many tips in the Hunting Tactics section will send you to places where you can find your animal of desire a bit more exclusively, but the stating position at this tent is different. You will surely find the Wild Boars, but you will also see many Roe Deer,  Pheasants and  Foxes there which makes it a very busy place. Because some Wild Boar sounders (groups) can get quite big, the change for hearing a call from them is rather high. You will also find many tracks that may lead you away from the open fields into thick autumn-colored vegetation. Once there, you will know if you have built up some stalking skills if you can deal with a bunch of pigs trotting ostensibly disorganized through the woodwork.

*Spawning*

Wild Boars spawn as singles in rare cases or in mixed groups of up to seven hogs. Similar to the  Feral Hogs, a common pattern is two males and three females and a sounder.

*Clothing*

The Wild Boar's senses are average compared to some other animals. The boars are more aware than the deer species though. Consider using Sneaky 3D  Fall Camo clothes to reduce your visibility. Sneaky 3D camo clothes provide no scent or sound reduction though. In an area with a lot of Wild Boar activity such as the northern parts of Hirschfelden you may also use a  Ghillie Suit, but you will likely be more successful roaming and scanning the open fields of this reserve.

*Scent Eliminator and Wind Indicator*

This species has a sense of smell and will detect players around them. Especially when upwind, you will see close-by animals stick their nose into the wind, then run away. The  Scent Eliminator works against all animals with a sense of smell. Apply it when you want to get close to the animal of your choice. Also, make sure to pay attention to the wind direction by observing objects tossed around or by using  Wind Indicator. Use it and follow the smoke with your eyes to see in which direction it is blown. As a general rule of thumb, the wind will blow towards the North-East on all maps. If you are not sure about the wind conditions, apply the  Scent Eliminator just in case. It doesn't hurt to use it once too often if you want to be on the safe side and not regularly spook animals by your smell.

The smelling sense is the Wild Boar's most developed one and is even stronger than that of the Feral Hog of the same family. Pay extra attention to the according protection and the wind.

*Searching*

The scores of Wild Boars and  Feral Hogs are based on their weight and their tusk sizes. Both values are added to make the total score. If the weight part of the score is bigger, then the final score gets a "W" added. If the tusk part is bigger, the final score gets a "T" added. The weight to score relation is rather high. The heaviest boars usually have the most impressive tusks. Follow tracks of heavy males, ideally heavier than 210kg. The maximum weight is 240kg for males.

Following a big scoring boar or a sounder with many pigs in the thick vegetation of Hirschfelden can be a really good test for your stalking, spotting and shooting skills. The darkish Wild Boars seem to roam the land totally unorganized at times. They alternatively walk and trot and can be far and apart one minute and back close together the next. The Wild Boars have a special feeding (or "rooting") track like their  smaller family pears, tracks that you will not see for any other species. When the boars dig for roots preferably in the early mornings or late evenings they leave a patch of dirt on the ground. Be careful when you find these tracks, you don't know how much time they have spent there and how much this has slowed them down. In the thick woods you will also find yourself running into sleeping Wild Boars or groups thereof. Their hearing is not as good as their smelling sense and your heart will jump when suddenly they get up and run right next to you. Or if they feel cornered and attack, often times out of nowhere.

*Luring*

Use the  Hog Caller or the  Hog Scent Spray for luring single or multiple animals towards you. The luring effect of the caller lasts quite long, but at the same the Wild Boar tends to approach you very slowly. If there is a group many times only one or two animals are on the move. The others will stand around a bit before making the next step. They can come really close and you have to be careful not to be attacked. The walk towards you is fairly straight. You can easily plan and execute an ambush on the Wild Boars from a  stand or an elevated ambushing position. The behavior that you learn around Wild Boars can be easily applied with the  Feral Hogs and vice versa.

*Baiting*

This animal can be lured with Bait, i.e. food that is presented to the animal in appropriate containers. The baiting stations have two effects. They increase the number of spawnings of the attracted species in the area, and they attract those animals that come within the attraction radius of the container. Baiting is used by many players to accumulate great numbers of animals around the stations. Consider this very effective method if you enjoy hunting the species in question. Hunting your feeders can be nicely supported by using  stands. Place yourself in a stand and shoot any number of baited animals near the feeder. Others will scatter and run away, only to return some time later. The  attractiveness of the feeder will stay at 100% for the duration of the hunting session. You can harvest a great number of animals if you spend a few hours at your baiting station.

*Field Judging*

When you have multiple Wild Boar males especially around feeders, a high Spotting Skill is very helpful. If you are just building up this skill, look out for males with big tusks when you are close. From further away it might be a bit more difficult to judge the tusks when a boar is not facing you or moving through vegetation. You may then look at the body size. Often times you will find a lot of males and females around a well performing baiting station, but only one or two will be "monster size" boars in the most cases. If you are not sure which of all the present males will score best, take out these big ones first.

*Aggression*

This species is one of those that can attack you. This happens if you shoot at it or when you got really close to it. The animal will start an aggression animation and look fiercely at you. It can also makes growls that you wouldn't normally hear. If you see the animal doing this you have a chance to run away or get ready for a shot. Sometimes the animal will abort the attack and flee. It can also happen that an animal will start fleeing but then stop and turn around for an attack. If you are very close to a species capable of attacking, have a firearm ready for your defense, or back out. You can also be completely blindsided by an animal that you did not realize it was there. When attacked, you will be  hurt and will need to either heal yourself with a  First Aid Kit or fast travel to a  tent or lodge.

*Shooting the animal*

The shot must be well prepared. Search a good place where you can stay undetected. Avoid hasty shots. A good  spotting skill  will support you picking the right animal if there are severals. Wait until the animal of your choice has come close enough for a good shot, or until you can safely hit a vital from the side. It is not always possible to set up an ambush, or to move away on time. Stay alert for other animals (e.g. from a group) that might have come very close to your lure, and make sure to go for a shot before one of these could spook and flush everything around them.

The pig species in the game have a fat shield that heavier (older) males build up by fighting each other. This raises the penetration threshold slightly for organs that are protected by the shield. This promotes a tactical choice of shooting distance and caliber, depending on the size of the target. The fat shield requires the hunter to plan the shot. Bring your strongest  rifle. Avoid random shots from further away, or to the backside of these pigs, or you will need to search them for a long time. Often times you cannot even wound them enough to kill them with one bullet if the shot was placed badly. For heart shots you need to aim slightly behind the front leg, as opposed to other animals that have their heart more centered above the leg.

*If the animal flees*

If you spook the animal of your desire, follow the tracks crouching. Use your optics and try to spot it, and also look for tracks or vocal signs. Do not go too fast. The animal can stop fleeing abruptly and return to roaming, and the roaming can be in any direction including coming right back at you. If you end up bumping into the animal it will flee again. Take your time. If the animal is worth it, a few more minutes will pay off.

Following a spooked Wild Boar is hard, even more so if it scores high. These males can encounter you from far away. It is essential to constantly glass the area. If you finally find a roaming track after many fleeing tracks, you have likely come too close already and spooked it again. Pay attention to the rivers or shores of Hirschfelden where they will turn around and detect you even sooner.

### Quick Start Locations

Start at the following lodge(s) for quickly finding this species.

 Müllerwaldhütte