Can anyone recommend a place that one could go on a "canned hunt" in the new england area for wild boar. I have heard that some of these hunts are far from challenging and you essentially "get one" when you are there, no matter what. That is NOT what I want. I want a hunt that is a challenge and huge fun but that is as close to Maine as possible. Thanks in advance.

Hello Lucien:

There are only two preserves that I know of in New England that have wild boar. One is right in Aurora Maine run by Scott Beede called Hillside Game Ranch. I hunted there several years ago and it was pretty interesting. I shot a Russian boar with my muzzleloading handgun as well as a red deer hind which was on a special price. I wasn't sure what to expect for a hunt. I wasn't sure if it was going to be too easy or what.

I was pleasantly surprized to find it wasn't too easy but a lot of fun. The boar hunt involved some running around. So it wasn't as canned as a place I went to in Pennsylvania but not free range. Something in between and I would go again if opportunity arises.

The only other place I know of is Wild Hill in Vermont. They have been in business for a long time. I have heard mixed reviews from it is canned to it is somewhat challenging.

I'd say if you're hunting with a limited range weapon like a bow, muzzleloader or handgun it is.

Thank you bigbore, I will look up Hillside tonight. Glad you had a good time and if you say you would do it again, that matters! Do they have large boar there?

They do have large boar but at a higher price. The one I shot was around 150 lbs or so. It was a nice Russian boar with the small hips and large head. It is a great way to take some boredom out of the off season.

One reason why I liked hunting there was the fact that there was snow and it was cold. I have hunted many feral hogs in Florida but it was always warm. I have always wanted to take a boar in the snow and I had my opportunity.

I have to ask Big Bore, how did it taste? Never ate it before.

It tastes like regular store bought pork. Feral hogs from Florida are the same provided you shoot ones under a 100 lbs or so. When they get big they get tough.

Lucien, Southern New Hampshire has wild hog, in the wild.

I'm glad to hear that they taste good but I never thought they were really in new hampshire. Never hear of people hunting them...would be cool though I guess.

It's a lot leaner than domestic pork due to their diets in the wild (or behind the fence!).

Just remember to slow cook the meat, especially the ribs. Hmm getting hungry as I type.

know 2 that hunted at hillside. both said they had a great time better than sitting over a bear bait. never been myself though

Another nod for hillside. Thank you

Often you will hear about wild boar in New Hampshire. They are few and far between. The boar are escapees from a large private preserve in Grantham New Hamshire.

In the town of Croydon is a place called Corbin Park. A man named Austin Corbin was a millionare in the late 1800s and is credited to buying up the last herd of wild bison in America. He did buy up land in NH and had about 40,000 acres fenced off.

Corbin Park is an exclusive hunting preserve where the average person will never have a chance to hunt. I know a taxidermist who is a member( he is a founder and owner of a large insurance company,so that gives you an idea what you need to be to get in).

There are around thirty members and each one had to buy a share of the club at $235,000. That is your initiation fee. The annual fee is around $35,000 a year. A member has a certain number of elk and Russian wild boar allocated to them annually. The member may take a guest( the taxidermist does many of the mounts of these wealthy so he gets to shoot an elk and wild boar as a guest) I want to say you are allowed 25 boar and so many elk. I am not sure but I think you get the idea.

Some boar escape from the preserve and roam outside the fence. If they are outside the fence they are fair game to a licensed NH hunter. So you could try but they are hard to get.

Here in Florida we lone 'em. Even a large boar is good if you can head shoot them.....don't want that testosterone getting worked up.

One of the best hunts for the off season is to hunt wild hogs in Florida. What I like about it is that you can combine a family trip with a hog hunt. That way everyone is happy, so to speak.

Not to change the subject, but, how does one "BUY" a herd of "Wild" Bison ?

Lot's of $$$$$$$$$$

And knowing the contacts in places like Yellowstone…

National parks HAVE to thin the herds every year to make sure they don’t literally over run the parks. I know of several small outfits in my area that have 25-50 to 100 of them.

I recall reading that Austin Corbin bought a ranch with what many believe to be the last herd of wild bison somewhere in the Dakotas. Thus he became owner of them.

From what I understand he was a bit of an SOB. Many poor landowners were cooerced into selling their land dirt cheap to him for his preserve. I know there is a big estate called Castle of the Clouds in Moultonboro NH which is now a tourist attraction. The original owner bought thousands of acres of land in the area by bullying people. As an example, he'd buy land around a parcel he wanted and fence it off.