I was lucky enough to become the custodian of a Rigby 275 some years ago. I had for many years been enthralled by the writings of Jim Corbett, Maneaters of Kumaon and W. D. M.Bell, Wanderings of an elephant hunter.
I took it to Namibia on several plainsgame trips and the two of us acquitted ourselves. Last weekend I was on a two day driven hunt in Czech. I’ve been there before three times. There is a large boar population . Last year we had 104 pieces on the final parade. Boar of up to 60 kgs or approximately knee height are allowed to be shot. Keilers or large male boar may also be shot but woe unto those who shoot a sow ! The heavens descend on them in the shape of a large financial penalty.
It’s damn difficult to tell the difference between a sow and a keiler in the split seconds you have when they appear out of the bush heading your way. I’ve been that soldier ! 27 of us gathered from different parts of Europe and South Africa. Old friendships were rekindled and new ones made. A group of Belgians drove the 10 hours from Antwerp. The South African guys flew up especially for the trip. I was amazed at that. De Oirish flew in by various means to Prague.
I had elected to fly in a day earlier with Swissair. I had booked on the Lufthansa website but my outbound flight was via Zurich and when booking my rifle was told I would have to reserve that with Swissair directly. As I opened their App I started cringing. Flying to South Africa in June with KLM and trying to book a rifle was an experience I did not want to repeat. However Swissair was quite easy to manage. They were rather insistent that the overall size of my rifle case should be 158cms. A Peli 3100 is a tad over but no one appeared at checkin with a measuring tape. My ammunition (20 rounds) was in a cash box which they allowed me put in my hold luggage. The flight was fully booked so my carry on was checked through to Prague also. My Apple AirTags gave me regular updates as I nervously checked my phone at regular intervals.
On arrival at Prague there was a bit of a wait at the police station. There was a group of Poles ahead of me. 5 minutes or less each and I was on my way to my hotel in the suburbs. Unfortunately on arrival at the hotel the restaurant had closed and my evening meal consisted of a glass or two of Becherovka and a large beer and a tin of peanuts. It was either peanuts or Pringles. And my pills. To be continued later.
I took it to Namibia on several plainsgame trips and the two of us acquitted ourselves. Last weekend I was on a two day driven hunt in Czech. I’ve been there before three times. There is a large boar population . Last year we had 104 pieces on the final parade. Boar of up to 60 kgs or approximately knee height are allowed to be shot. Keilers or large male boar may also be shot but woe unto those who shoot a sow ! The heavens descend on them in the shape of a large financial penalty.
It’s damn difficult to tell the difference between a sow and a keiler in the split seconds you have when they appear out of the bush heading your way. I’ve been that soldier ! 27 of us gathered from different parts of Europe and South Africa. Old friendships were rekindled and new ones made. A group of Belgians drove the 10 hours from Antwerp. The South African guys flew up especially for the trip. I was amazed at that. De Oirish flew in by various means to Prague.
I had elected to fly in a day earlier with Swissair. I had booked on the Lufthansa website but my outbound flight was via Zurich and when booking my rifle was told I would have to reserve that with Swissair directly. As I opened their App I started cringing. Flying to South Africa in June with KLM and trying to book a rifle was an experience I did not want to repeat. However Swissair was quite easy to manage. They were rather insistent that the overall size of my rifle case should be 158cms. A Peli 3100 is a tad over but no one appeared at checkin with a measuring tape. My ammunition (20 rounds) was in a cash box which they allowed me put in my hold luggage. The flight was fully booked so my carry on was checked through to Prague also. My Apple AirTags gave me regular updates as I nervously checked my phone at regular intervals.
On arrival at Prague there was a bit of a wait at the police station. There was a group of Poles ahead of me. 5 minutes or less each and I was on my way to my hotel in the suburbs. Unfortunately on arrival at the hotel the restaurant had closed and my evening meal consisted of a glass or two of Becherovka and a large beer and a tin of peanuts. It was either peanuts or Pringles. And my pills. To be continued later.
, a decent nights sleep on an empty stomach had me in the dining room early. I had a few hours to kill before the rest of the Irish guys landed with various airlines depending on their whims. I had a plan. I visited a cigar shop I had found online and bought a few Robustos.
. Drive over and no shot. J my neighbour had fired at 2 boar and missed both. One of these had passed my front at Warp Factor 5 25 meters or so out. There is a rule of no shooting in front past 10 meters , the beaters are out there.
. It should have been blown to signal the end. 1505 or thereabouts a shot rang out. Well bugger me I loaded up again and stood to. Two shots rang out to our left and I suppose we all looked that way. A couple of minutes later a large keiler launched out of its bunker or trench. It couldn’t have run so close without us seeing it. It was angling towards me and oh my god the others are going to see what a pathetic display of poor musketry I am about to display. Sent one and scored but it crossed the line. The rifle on my left took a shot as did I and another. It made it out into the field behind us and staggered and lay down. I watched, we all watched. It got up and moved. 
. Taking a shaky aim I sent one and got no reaction to the shot. Pulling the bolt back I saw it was my last round. The rest were on my backpack. Taking as steady an aim as I could I sent it and the boar dropped like a sack of spuds. Looking at the monster lying 150 meters away in the field I was fervently hoping that I had not made a mistake of identification and it was a keiler. 4 of us walked out to see the beast. An onlooker said he could feel the apprehension before we rolled it over to check. Phew a keiler ! It took two young cubs half my age to drag it off the field. It was so wet it nearly left a trench in the field. The drag mark did raise laughs.
