Wild Boar Island

There are hunting trips that are hard to forget. And then there are those where, from the very first minutes, you realise that you are experiencing something completely different.

To reach Wild Boar Island, we have to take a boat. Our hunting gear, the dogs, the trackers and the whole team all come aboard with us. I’m holding my rifle in my hands and, for the first time in my life, I can smell the salt in the air and feel the sea spray with my rifle in hand. As we get closer to the island, the tension builds.

We still don’t know what awaits us. We simply know that we are going to spend several days hunting on a small island in the middle of the Baltic Sea, surrounded by water. The immersion is immediate.

written by Härkila Ambassador @Feliew_chasse

An Island in the Middle of the Baltic Sea

The island is small, and the hunting stands are never very far from one another. Our neighbours are also our hunting companions and, unlike some large driven hunts where everyone can remain isolated for hours, we know that the others are never far away.

The scenery is breathtaking. The forest, the rocks, the ever present sea and the feeling of being completely cut off from the outside world give this hunt a very special atmosphere. But this territory also has its own rules, and they are going to give us a few surprises.

My First Wild Boar

The first day quickly takes a special turn, as I become the first member of the team to get the opportunity to take a wild boar. The boar is driven by the dogs and stops at the edge of the forest. It hesitates before crossing the open ground where I am standing, and for a moment, time seems to stand still. Please, don’t turn around.

Eventually, it makes its move, giving me a perfect shooting opportunity. It is running at full speed when the bullet strikes just behind the head. The death is instantaneous, and it is an incredible moment.

Just moments later, the other hunters come over to congratulate me, and the experience is shared by the whole team. Even though everyone hopes to have their own special moment, one hunter’s success quickly becomes something for the entire group to share.

Once the congratulations are over, however, it is time to get back to reality. On an island, there is no vehicle coming to pick up the game. I have to bring the wild boar back to the cabin in the middle of the island myself, before gralloching and preparing it.

It is a good reminder that hunting is about much more than pulling the trigger. The shot itself lasts only a few seconds. Everything that comes before requires time, observation and patience, while everything that comes afterwards requires quite a bit of sweat.

One Dog, One Tracker

One of the things that strikes me most during this hunt is the relationship between the trackers and their dogs. There are no packs here. Each tracker works with a single dog, a companion he knows inside out and with whom he has an incredibly close bond.

The dogs are also extremely careful around wild boar. They know how to keep their distance and work intelligently without putting themselves in unnecessary danger. On the second day, I get to see just how effective this approach is when a dog working in the area eventually brings a large boar towards my stand.

The boar approaches cautiously, and the situation unfolds over several minutes. My heart is racing. I take the shot just before it disappears into the vegetation, but at that moment, I still don’t know whether the shot has been effective.

Then the waiting begins. Throughout the rest of the drive, the doubt remains. Did I make a good shot? Is the animal dead? When we finally find the boar at the end of the drive, around forty metres from where I shot it, the relief is immense.

Once again, we have to find the strength to get a large wild boar all the way back to the cabin.

When Wild Boar Take to the Sea

There is one thing I absolutely did not expect when I came here to hunt. Everyone knows that wild boar can swim, but on Wild Boar Island, they don’t simply cross a river.

Under pressure from the dogs, some of them will actually leave the island and swim towards another one. Watching a wild boar take to the Baltic Sea is an incredible sight. We tend to think of wild boar as forest animals, looking for cover in thick vegetation or racing through the woods. Here, when the pressure becomes too much, they have another option. They can simply head for the sea.

The living wild boar are not the only ones to leave the island by water. The animals we harvest eventually make the same journey, although in a much less voluntary way. Once the hunt is over, the game has to be transported back to the mainland by boat.

Another Island in the Middle of the Night

Hunting is also about taking responsibility. During the trip, a wounded wild boar manages to leave the island, so the trackers set off in search of it on another island. Night has fallen long ago, but their day is far from over. They continue searching until they find the animal and are able to put an end to its suffering.

This is something that stays with me. It shows just how committed these men are to their hunting and to respecting the game. They know their territory, their dogs and their work inside out. Until a wounded animal has been found, the hunt simply isn’t over.

A Hunting Experience and a Shared Adventure

What I will also remember about Wild Boar Island are the moments when the rifles are put away. In the evening, everyone gathers around the fire. The day’s hunting is over, and we share our experiences, talking about the animals we have seen, the tense moments, the successful shots and the little mishaps along the way.

With a glass of good wine in hand, we sit around the fire on a small island in the middle of the Baltic Sea. The night is completely dark. There are no city lights on the horizon and no light pollution, just a sky filled with stars. In moments like these, you realise just how far away you are from everyday life.

The next morning has its own special atmosphere. Coffee is prepared over the fire just a few steps from the edge of the Baltic Sea as we look out across the water. You don’t really need much more. A few hunters, a dog, a fire, a cup of coffee and the sea.

An Experience I Will Never Forget

For me, Wild Boar Island will be much more than just another hunting trip to Sweden. Almost everything here feels different. The journey by boat to the hunting ground, the constant proximity of the sea, the dogs working one on one with their trackers, and the wild boar that can simply leave the island by swimming to another.

I will remember the long hours of waiting and the effort required to bring the harvested game back to the cabin. I will also remember the team of passionate and incredibly skilled trackers who do not hesitate to head to another island in the middle of the night in search of a wounded animal.

But above all, I will remember the feeling of being completely immersed in the hunt. Here, it is impossible to separate the hunting from the land, the dogs, the people and the nature surrounding us.

For a few days, we lived to the rhythm of the island. We hunted, walked, waited, shared experiences, laughed and worked. And sometimes, we simply stood there and looked out across the sea.

An adventure I won’t be forgetting anytime soon.