Stalking during the wild boar start of the hunting season!

To make the most of a long-awaited return to the midst of the cornfields, we asked Alexandre, head of the Decathlon-Soisson hunting section and an enthusiastic driven hunter, to tell us about these summer outings.

# Equipment

Clothing

Once the wild boar hunting season begins in the maize fields, Alexandre recommends you bring at least two outfits to deal with the unpredictable weather conditions. Whether it's raining or shining, you need to protect yourself from the outside elements and the vegetation.

"If it's hot, I recommend wearing a light, long-sleeved garment such as a neon t-shirt or a standard t-shirt with a neon vest and cap.If it is raining, I wear a light neon jacket with a neon waterproof cap."

Whatever the weather, we advise wearing equipment that covers you properly. Wearing trousers, long sleeves, and gloves will prevent micro cuts and irritations on the arms from corn leaves for example. Fluorescent, because you need to be visible to others, even through dense vegetation such as maize.

In order to hunt safely and be visible to others, we recommend wearing neon clothing that is certified as Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).

Accessories

In both cases, we advise you to have on hand the following accessories, regardless of the type of hunting you are doing, such as protective glasses like neutral/green Solognac glasses. A branch or other vegetation swinging back into the eyes can happen suddenly.

Alexandre advises you to add to your equipment a hunting horn, a dagger, a water bottle, and not to forget your faithful companion. Protect your dog with a suitable protective jacket.

#Communicating with your stalking partners

When stalking in maize, it is difficult to find one's way through to stay properly aligned. Visibility is very limited and the density of the maize reduces the range of sound. It is therefore difficult to see and hear one another.

To counteract these effects, we suggest carrying a hunting horn to locate each other and a pair of walkie-talkies to accessorise each end of the stalk.

#Hydrate yourself and your dog

As we all know, it can get hot in August. It is important to stay hydrated, especially not to forget the dogs. When organising a drive, I advise you to provide bottles or canisters of water for the trackers and their dogs at each end of the drive, which will be brought by one or more of the gun posts.