Last week I took my Mauser M03 out for a good, long and slow walk. I had a 270 Winchester barrel fitted and a Zeiss Victory HT 2.5-10x50 scope on top. The walk was slower than usual - fact is I wasn't feeling the best, which I was reminded of when I stopped for a rest only 300 meters after leaving my 4WD. I was in a pleasant little valley on a farm I know well, at a fork in the trail. I had to decide whether to head up the gentle slope of the creek line or turn right and get straight into some scrub bashing, through thick tea-tree bush. I glanced back towards the car - the roof was still visible - which offered a third option given my lack of energy on the day - stalking by Landcruiser! I made my mind up and went along the creek at a quiet pace.
Here and there I saw signs of fresh pig-rooting. Nothing spectacular, but evidence of what the farmer had told me; it was looking like a solitary boar had settled in the area. For most of the outward journey the wind was blowing the wrong way. Not hard, but enough to work against me. I watched to see the effect it would have on three grazing kangaroos 50 meters away and sure enough, after about a minute their heads lifted and they started looking for me. The closest decided I wasn't a funny looking tree, took a hop, which the others copied and then they were all breaking sticks underfoot. Thanks for that.
After about three kilometers and a bit of a rest I turned to head back, as the sun lowered close to the horizon. There wouldn't be much light left by the time I got back. I might see how good the Victory HT scope is, for real. About 1 kilometer from the car I had a choice, to take a detour which would involve a push through the tea tree scrub I mentioned earlier, or stick to the creek line and the short route. The detour started off through a nice open area so that's where I headed. But there was nothing standing out in the open for me and I was soon ducking and weaving along a game trail through the scrub, the short cut back to the creek-line. I was only 20 meters into the thick stuff when a small wallow blocked the path. I remembered it, but this time it was freshly stirred up. There were drips of mud all around and in particular heading further along the trail. A small tree had been used as a rubbing post and had many layers of dried mud deposited on it, as well as a fresh, wet layer, with drips running down. The mud line was not as high as a deer's rubbing tree, but high enough to show that it was a big pig that had been leaning on it. The M03 was already in my hands, to help get through the tight cover, but I shouldered it for a second to get my earmuffs clamped on my head, covering just the tips of my ears. I'd be able to get them down quickly with one hand. My hearing is already damaged enough and these days I don't fire if my ears aren't protected. I wish I'd been more careful as a young bloke.
I followed the trail of muddy drips, bending over here and there to avoid snagging my earmuffs. After about 40 meters I could see the scrub was opening up ahead, with more light falling into a clearer area. That's right, there's another wallow here, bigger than the first. I heard a splashing, sploshing sound and then nothing. Something big had climbed out of the wallow. In a split second I'd pulled my earmuffs down into place and then took another step to see around a bush. A very muddy and very big boar was standing at the edge of the wallow, looking back in my direction. He decided he didn't like the look of me and turned to run. I flipped the Mauser's cocking lever over to the right and lifted it to my shoulder to find the sight picture through the Zeiss. I saw the mud covered side of a pig behind the cross hair and fired. I have no memory of either recoil or trigger resistance. The Mauser M03 worked exactly as it was designed to.
The shot was good but not an instant show stopper. In the moment it took me to pull the bolt back and shove the first of five rounds from the magazine into place the pig made it across ten meters of semi-open bush and into thick cover. I got just a glimpse of him through the scope, but not enough for a second shot. I de-cocked the rifle before treading carefully around the slippery edge of the wallow. I had to twist my way through, over and under the branches to get to where the boar disappeared. The angry noises I heard from about twenty meters into the scrub convinced me of three things: he was hit well, he wasn't going anywhere and I wasn't going in after him. I would have had to crawl at any rate. A few moments later and the only noise was of the little birds twittering and chasing their last meal in the last light of the day.
So, if there was any doubt, the Mauser M03 works on pigs. :-)
Here's the wallow the boar jumped out of.
