I said the same thing when I received the invitation to the Wild Boar Fever X drive hunt in France back in 2019. This is a story of an unforgettable hunt. My first driven hunt.

Drift hunting? Shooting for running game?

It was with the deepest respect for this difficult form of hunting that I accepted the invitation from Tweed Media and My Outdoor TV. I knew it required a serious amount of training. With only 14 days notice, I managed to visit the shooting theater more than a handful of times.

Running boar at 50 m.

The location was the Loire Valley in central France. The area is known to be one of the absolute best places for wild boar drive hunting. This is also where Wild Boar Fever X was filmed.

With sweaty palms and palpitations, I stand in the tower. The team from Wild Boar Fever X, a production team and the rest of the hunters all have their eyes on me. My rifle setup is a Sauer 404 30.06 mounted with an Aimpoint Micro H-2. An ergonomically designed rifle with a synthetic grip. A paper target that looks like a 40kg boar runs back and forth in front of me. I load the rifle with 5 cartridges.

I loaded the rifle with 5 rounds and mounted it to my shoulder to the sound of a drone flying right over me. It filmed my every breath and movement. I was nervous even though I knew I had trained so intensely and could place a good shot on a running game. With a deep breath and a sharp focus, I followed the boar, kept my eyes on the red dot from the sight and pulled the trigger. The manager of the shooting range sent me a smile. Four perfectly placed shots and one shot a bit behind, but approved.

In a turret with Feliew

Feliew is part of the Wild Boar Feaver team and has hunted hundreds of wild boar. Here we are. My first drift hunt and with his guidance and help. More than 30 drivers and twice as many dogs working. Within minutes, I hear the first shot. The second shot. The third - and so on. I was more than ready. With the buttstock mounted on my shoulder, I was ready for a running boar. Adrenaline pumping through my body. I've never seen a live boar in real life. I tried to imagine every possible scenario.

Action, adrenaline and a hat-trick

In front of me was an open field and behind me a narrow gravel road with a width of a few meters. I was not allowed to shoot in the field as that was where the drivers and dog teams worked. This meant that I only had the gravel road to mount, follow and shoot on. I knew it would be difficult, almost impossible - for a beginner like me.

Feliew whispered: "Ahead of you, Mette!". A group of 12 wild boars ran straight towards us. They moved across the field - the forbidden area. I slowly placed my feet in the only direction where it was possible to shoot if they crossed the dirt road. They kept running. In the direction I hoped. Suddenly they changed their minds and instead of crossing the road, they ran over to my neighbour. Bang! Bang! A wild boar tumbled around and everything became very quiet. A good shot from my English neighbour.

From a corner of the field a new group of wild boars appeared. Also at full speed. I prepared myself - again. I focused on boar number three. I pulled the trigger as soon as the boar ran out onto the dirt road. It fell immediately. Because of the high speed, he went straight into the thick bushes. Boar fever hit me! I started shaking all over. I was in a state of shock and happiness - and I was approved. I did it! All that training and reading about wild boar paid off. I was absolutely thrilled and I couldn't wait to go down and see and touch my first boar.

With the biggest of smiles, I managed to pull the trigger once in every group of boars that ran across my dirt road. A total of three perfect shots and three beautiful boars.

Wild Boar Fever X a success

How do you define a successful hunt? For me, a successful hunt is about the whole experience and cannot be defined by a single element. That means the hunt didn't get better the more boar I got. The number of boars was not a success criterion for me. Instead, success can be defined as a well organized hunt, the community, hunting dogs, good food, an insight into a hunting culture and of course the unique nature and wildlife it provides you. The cherry on top of the layer cake was the shooting opportunities I was given.

Hunting is unpredictable and you need to be lucky to get good shots - and skilled enough to take them. For that reason, the number of dead animals at the end of a hunt is secondary. It's the total experience that defines success.

Wild Boar Fever X was a success. A huge success. I met a lot of new wonderful men from all over Europe and I had a hunting experience that was beyond anything I could have imagined.