Value for money .

[2434me]

I am asking this question purely from a point of "I have never been there and never done it yet ".
I read the articles about quite a lot of driven hunts and most of them have upwards of 20/25 guns?
The returns go from 10 to 30 plus pigs over a couple of days.

It doesn't take rocket scientist to work out that, some of the guys are not going to get a shot for there trip ? Now I know that it is the luck of the draw and all that , but if I am spending between £1500 and £2000 for a couple of days away. I would like to think the odds are in my favour ?

Some one on here said you get what you pay for !
Would I be better spending more money and shortening the odds ?

 

[Lateral]

I am asking this question purely from a point of "I have never been there and never done it yet ".
I read the articles about quite a lot of driven hunts and most of them have upwards of 20/25 guns?
The returns go from 10 to 30 plus pigs over a couple of days.

It doesn't take rocket scientist to work out that, some of the guys are not going to get a shot for there trip ? Now I know that it is the luck of the draw and all that , but if I am spending between £1500 and £2000 for a couple of days away. I would like to think the odds are in my favour ?

Some one on here said you get what you pay for !
Would I be better spending more money and shortening the odds ?

If you want the best opportunity of shooting a lot of boar, I'd guess the only solution would be to spend a lot (£3K +) on a fenced shoot, but even then, you could be unlucky.

I've been on hunts where over 60 boar were shot in a day, and 3 of us didn't even see one, and I've been on a hunt where only one boar was shot, but I was the lucky one.

It took me a LONG time before I broke my duck, seventh trip ! but a friend who came on a trip with me, his first, got one first trip out ! With hindsight, I now realize I could have shot boar much sooner, but my inexperience, and always worrying about taking a poor shot really held me back.

There are some very experienced, knowledgeable people on here, who will recommend people who run trips, you just need to remember that how ever good a day/trip one person has, others will have had the opposite, it's the nature of the game.

 

[2434me]

Thank you Lateral,
I do understand the luck part/good days bad days (been a keeper for 30 years ! lolol)
Buy I simply couldn't afford to go up to seven times to get my first boar. I am still trying to work out whether I will go for driven or stalk/tower ?

I have no desire to shoot a lot of pigs but I do want to tick another box and at least have a few pictures of the experience.

 

[Bavarianbrit]

I did a drive in Hungary 2 weeks ago and 26 hunters shot over 20 boar but I did not see a sausage just heard the bangs.
The worst part is being hit financially for the good bag as I was as an extra cost on top of the pre agreed price.
Buyer beware, if funds are tightish then don"t risk it as you will feel crappy afterwards if you don"t get one.
Martin

 

[BearStalker]

If, as most of us, most likely, are, one is a wee bit short on extra funds, why not look at shooting the same kind of boar in Scotland?
I have been keeping track of the costs, on here, and when one includes the transport and lodging, it is much cheaper to shoot here, than in Main-land Europe.
That is, unless one has the permission for stalking on reviers there.

Grant

 

[deerstalker.308]

I can honestly say that the best thing you can do is use this site to the fullest of its potential and network, find contacts, make friends in Germany or France or wherever you wish to hunt, the swapping mentality is far more appealing, you may have to take the gamble and be the first to put something on offer, but I can say from my experiences, that trust runs high, and I've yet to meet anyone with less than totally genuine intentions.
Done well it involves no outlay other than transport costs. With money removed from the equation, the level of expectation is significantly reduced, and so a much more enjoyable time will be had regardless of how many animals are shot. Having just returned from such a week, I can whole heartedly recommend this way forward.

 

[willie_gunn]

2434me

Let me add my two-penneth to the excellent advise already given above.

Like you, I was nervous before my first trip after driven wild boar, as I'd heard plenty of stories where "extras" sometimes increased the price significantly. I don't have the experience of being able to tell a gold medal keiler amongst a train of boar, and nor do I see myself being able to do so in the future, so the attraction of avoiding trophy fees is apparent. That's why I have only ever gone on trips that were all inclusive, other than the bar bill. That way I know exactly what I am getting for my money. As I have said in another thread, I know of people who have had to pay extra to take their firearms on the plane, pay extra for the number/quality of boar shot, and pay extra for transport between hunting grounds. I don't want that hassle.

The down side is that I have probably ended up hunting areas that perhaps hold less boar, or smaller boar, since it is clear that - as with stalking - you get what you pay for. Clearly those landowners with boar want to maximise their revenue, so will set up a charging regime that does that. But I don't count myself unlucky because of that. I blanked on my first trip, but have had boar on the two trips thereafter. I certainly could have shot more but, as Lateral says, in your early days it is all new and therefore you don't take the shots that you might take given more experience. In my limited history of boar shooting, I started by thinking that the experienced shots were being put in better places, but I now realise that they are more successful simply because they have expanded their capabilities well beyond mine. So whilst I recognise there are no guarantees with wild boar (as with deer stalking), it also seems to be the case that you can frequently "make your own luck".

I smiled when I read about shooting boar in the UK. In my numerous attempts at this - in both Dumfries & Galloway and also the Forest of Dean - I've yet to even see a boar! Of course they are there, and I have nothing but praise for the guides I've gone out with, but sometimes the hunting gods are simply not smiling on you.

I do think you need to decide what you want when it comes to boar - driven or sitting out for a trophy. Both give you a chance of a boar, but they are totally different experiences. For me, driven boar is a world apart from sitting in a high seat seeing what will come to a feeder. The adrenaline when you hear the sounds of a boar in the undergrowth is something else. Also driven boar is a much more "social" activity, with the craic being as much a part of the trip as standing on the peg.

P.S. In the trips I've been on the guns have numbered between 12 and 20, so not too many. The problem sometimes with a smaller number of guns is that you can't cover all the ground that the beaters are pushing through, so boar can escape out of the side or back where no guns are placed.

Again, bear in mind my limited experience of driven boar shooting, so what I say is purely my opinion and not necessarily the whole truth

 

[Southern]

I am an outsider on this, like willie_gunn, I am very interested in how other boar hunting is done and how it goes around the world.

Where I hunt, I don't use feeders. I hunt wild boar in both dense and very open swamps with huge trees, in wooded mountains, and on farms where they have moved in and are causing damage. My first hunting experiences were on driven hunts, standing on the perimeter road of a block of dense woods where one man and a few dogs flushed them to us; that is a great experience for all the social interaction among men and among boys and men. Only a few of us took game on any given hunt, but it was not paid, most people who knew each other and a few guests, and next time it was your turn to get lucky. These were also sort of swap hunts, where we would be invited there, and my father would invite two of them at a time to come hunt quail and ducks with us.

Can't you find some farmer in Scotland, or even over in Belgium, who has a predation problem, and will gladly put you on a genuine hunt for little cost and little travel, from an elevated stand, or a ground blind, maybe with one or two hunting partners? Or perhaps a smaller party hunt in Hungary, Romania or Czech will be something where everyone sees game and gets shots. Six hunters killing six big wild boar is better, to my mind, than thirty hunters killing ten boar.

 

[Bavarianbrit]

Eastern Europeans appears to see this driven game as a cash cow from the supposedly all very wealthy western Europeans.
But I am amazed how many Touareg/Cayenne/ Audi A8 etc I see every day in Bratislava, I was told it is the local mafia!!! who knows?
I am very fortunate as I have high seat roe and boar shooting almost literally on my doorstep = a 3 min drive, therevier belongs to my immediate neighbor.

I think a pay on results like with lawyers could be a way to go if the greedy types were to be cut out of the game.
Keep on dreaming.
Martin

 

[2434me]

Eastern Europeans appears to see this driven game as a cash cow from the supposedly all very wealthy western Europeans.
But I am amazed how many Touareg/Cayenne/ Audi A8 etc I see every day in Bratislava, I was told it is the local mafia!!! who knows?
I am very fortunate as I have high seat roe and boar shooting almost literally on my doorstep = a 3 min drive, therevier belongs to my immediate neighbour.


Forgive me for being sceptical ,but( cash cow) that's how I was kind of thinking about the whole thing ??
With pheasant we can replace them every year, and people expect a certain standard and amount depending on what kind of day they pay for .
With boar the replacement does not happen apart from natural breeding. But the opportunity to over shoot a
particular area is always there especially considering the amount of money that's available.

Of course there are good responsible driven shoots out there . That's why I am asking questions and trolling through as much of the information as I can.
If I come back from a trip and think "I didn't get one but it was a damn good trip", I would be happy enough.
If I came back and thought "I'm not surprised I didn't get one" ! I would probably not try any more.

Thank you everyone for contributing, If and when I decide I will let you all know the outcome.

George

 

[tusker]

IMO it is not value for money. Having been 5 times with some success. Sometimes the accomadation is awful and food worse. I have now found a better way to spend the equivelent money, Africa.
You can have 7 days hunting 8 animals and including flights for about £2300 or even less in some places. The food is always great and accomadation offten pure luxury. Service is second to none.
Tusker

 

[2434me]

IMO it is not value for money. Having been 5 times with some success. Sometimes the accomadation is awful and food worse. I have now found a better way to spend the equivelent money, Africa.
You can have 7 days hunting 8 animals and including flights for about £2300 or even less in some places. The food is always great and accomadation offten pure luxury. Service is second to none.
Tusker

Thank you Tusker, That is another trip I have been thinking of ! A friend of mine has been countless times and keeps pushing me towards it.

 

[A1Decoy]

If you want to find good Driven Wild Boar hunt ,Just ask the right questions ,all guns shot Wild Boar on all 3 Serbian Trips last year. over 100 boar shot on all 3 trips . Ask to see the photos some times at lunch time after 3 drives sometimes at the end of the day .Temperature dependant .How many guns ?
11 on the first trip, 8 average on the 2nd and 10 on the 3rd. average it out its 10 Boar each.
I am running a 3 day trip next year £2475 plus flight £250 +50 euro small gun case 100 euro Large both ways . All inclusive all transport ,food ,trophy fees , lunch time .all trophy fees included Silver medal included we also run Monterias in Spain some have a high Boar population

 

[2434me]

Thank you A1 !

 

[JTO]

Up to 7 trips at £2,000+ to get your first boar! I'm sure there are a few people on this site who would do you a better deal.

 

[Lateral]

up to 7 trips at £2,000+ to get your first boar! I'm sure there are a few people on this site who would do you a better deal.

jto,


Well fortunately, I didn't pay anywhere £2000.00 for the trips, but still enough, and some of the trips were with very well respected people, often mentioned on the SD. But who would you suggest going with ?

With hind sight, I now know that I could have shot boar on earlier trips, but a lack of experience, and the mentality that you only pull the trigger if you're certain it will be a good shot, prevented me doing so.

As for getting a better deal, do you mean cheaper ?, or do you mean someone will guaranty I'll be successful ? because no one will guaranty you'll be successful, understandably, and if you mean cheaper, trust me, no one will offer me cheaper boar hunting than I now pay !

I've been extremely lucky to have made friends with people who have been hunting in Portugal for years, and they now arrange for me to go hunting with, and pay the same as the locals, rather than the high prices charged by the agents, who organize trips to make a profit.

The only down side is the hunts aren't generally based from one location, so it involves a varying amount of driving from one hunt, to another, but it's more than worth it.

There are still no guarantees, I did a 2 day weekend in Nov', blanked on the Saturday, shot 9 on the Sunday. Went back out beginning of December, hunted different locations, and I blanked both days. I can't remember the numbers on the Sat, but 38 were shot on the Sunday, so a good day, just not for me !

It's always disappointing if you go on a trip, and don't shoot something, but so long as a decent number of boar are shot on the day, I can live with it, it just means I had an unlucky peg, or wasn't paying enough attention

 

[Jagare]

The days of cheap driven boar are over. I read on SD many times of people shooting one boar on a trip costing 2K. Tusker is right, Africa looks like much better value.
I don't see many of the boar trips advertised as good value.
I sat out last night for boar. -8c and snowing. No boar but a load of roedeer eating my maize. Still did not cost me anything apart from a little maize.

 

[mchughcb]

I'm like Southern, I pay £5 per hunt to pay for the upkeep of the dogs and I only occasionally have to beat. Not many pigs or deer but plenty of foxes , rabbits and hares and generally I'm bagging a few each hunt so cant complain.

 

[Lateral]

The days of cheap driven boar are over. I read on SD many times of people shooting one boar on a trip costing 2K. Tusker is right, Africa looks like much better value.
I don't see many of the boar trips advertised as good value.
I sat out last night for boar. -8c and snowing. No boar but a load of roedeer eating my maize. Still did not cost me anything apart from a little maize.

I guess VFM is subjective, based on expectation ?

So let's say via an agent, the average 3 shooting day driven boar trip is circa £1500.00, with 15 guns, and say 35 boar over the 3 days, the average would be under 1 boar shot per hunter. Clearly, some will blank, whilst others shoot more than one. Even if 60 were shot, that's still an average of 1.3 boar each, and still no guaranty that you'll shoot one, let alone taking into account being lucky to get a good peg, inexperience, and even then, being able to shoot what you see. And the more guns they pile in, the lower the average.

So then the question is, how many do you need to shoot, at what cost, to make it good VFM ?

Given the average cost of a paid stalk is £75.00, and I think they say success averages 1:3 - 1:4, so £225.00 - £300.00 per deer, not including travel, etc', is the cost of a driven trip so expensive, taking into account the cost of travel, hotel, food, license, and the hunting ? Or, is the expectation to be successful on a two, or 3 day hunt just unrealistic ?


Anyway, now I shoot for a fraction of the price, and worst case, if I blank, I've spent a great weekend with friends, and I'll get the little buggers next time

 

[Jagare]

I guess VFM is subjective, based on expectation ?

So let's say via an agent, the average 3 shooting day driven boar trip is circa £1500.00, with 15 guns, and say 35 boar over the 3 days, the average would be under 1 boar shot per hunter. Clearly, some will blank, whilst others shoot more than one. Even if 60 were shot, that's still an average of 1.3 boar each, and still no guaranty that you'll shoot one, let alone taking into account being lucky to get a good peg, inexperience, and even then, being able to shoot what you see. And the more guns they pile in, the lower the average.






















So then the question is, how many do you need to shoot, at what cost, to make it good VFM ?

Given the average cost of a paid stalk is £75.00, and I think they say success averages 1:3 - 1:4, so £225.00 - £300.00 per deer, not including travel, etc', is the cost of a driven trip so expensive, taking into account the cost of travel, hotel, food, license, and the hunting ? Or, is the expectation to be successful on a two, or 3 day hunt just unrealistic ?


Anyway, now I shoot for a fraction of the price, and worst case, if I blank, I've spent a great weekend with friends, and I'll get the little buggers next time

True what you say. Often what is promised , Boar per day and what is shot or even seen is i think very different.

The trip with you at the end of Feb is the way to go. No expectations but I'll be on top form if they run by me plus for me it about the whole experiance.

There was a very good article in one of our hunting mags by a chap who do's a lot of trips abroad hunting He was scathing about a Danish hunting agent. He said that many driven boar hunts are over sold and many bits of ground are driven to many times. Still good for the agent even if you get money back for lack of game. For them its win, win.
I know a couple of big estates here in Sweden who only do driven days twice a year.