I decided to give myself a Christmas present in the form of a wild boar and red deer hind(doe) hunt at Hillside in Aurora Maine. I contemplated traveling to Texas, but I just didn't feel like traveling the 2 1/2 day drive to San Antonio. Also, I was there just this past summer and didn't care to spend the extra money driving as well.
I drove northward on Rte 95 up through the Pine Tree State to Aurora. The trip took a good 5 hours not to mention the obligatory stop at LL Bean to return a pair of worn out LL Bean boots. I arrived at the place around 10:30 AM and called Scott Beede. He said to wait at the lodge and he'll be there soon. I intended to take a Russian boar and a hind, which were on special. I soon met Scott and his assistant Danny. We drove out to the holding area. He has 400 acres fenced off that is typical Washington County Maine terrain. Low lying mixed conifer with wet and swampy areas. The terrain is very thick as it was once all clear cut ages ago. The only open places to shoot were along the cut out areas and the trails.
I soon met three people from Maine in an elevated box stand. They were after the red hind(doe) like I was as well as one other after a wild boar. I sat with my 50 caliber Kahnke muzzleloading handgun with a 2X Burris loaded with 100 grains of 777. I was using a 250 grain Power Point sabotted bullet by TC. I am not sure of the ballistics but I want to say it is equivalent to a 44 mag or handloaded 45 Colt.
Soon a small group of antlered deer came out. There were some antlered stags and a couple of elk. I will confess. The antlered game would not be much of a challenge. I hope I am not making anyone upset but they did not seem to be wary. Soon the hinds(does) showed up. One hunter shot and wounded a hind( doe) and took off. I am an avid bowhunter and the same thing happened to me before. It happens and makes you angry, but we later got that wounded animal. There was a female hunter who shot a hind and one other guy with a 357 Ruger SA that took one when he went with the guide for a little ride. The weather was pretty good. We had snow on the ground , approximately 3 inches or so. Compared to last year, this is barren. We sat until dusk and returned to the lodge.
That night I was the only one in the lodge and watched the TV. Anyways, I awoke and we went on a stand. I sat in an elevated box blind. This hunting is very similar to what you would experience in Texas or Europe. The blinds are located on trails where the animals roam. It was a chilly 19 degrees and after an hour Danny motioned me over. Scott decided to use Tara, his Australian Shepherd , to chase some boar. Another bowhunter was with me. He was able to harvest a nice boar that Tara was able to bay. Well, now it was my turn. Soon in a balsam thicket, Tara pushed a Russian sow my direction. I raised the gun and shot as the boar trotted past me. I will confess, I am a lousy shot on running game. I love that Kahnke gun. I think I can shoot it better than any of my other pistols, but it was hit between the gut and diagphram. So the boar was running. Tara was able to bay it again and I finished it off with the 454 Ruger. Later, I found that the 260 grain Speer HP did not penetrate the boar. I have the bullet and separated jacket with me. I will not use that bullet out of the revolver again.
Later that morning as we drove, a group of stags were congregated in a feeding area. Soon they were ambling off. This was my chance to get the hind(doe) I centered the crosshairs on her chest and dropped the hammer. Soon, the 250 grain Power Point left the gun and struck her in the upper chest. She ambled off and soon fell. The thing tried to get back up but was unable to do so. Later, I discovered that the bullet had broken into two projectiles as there was one entrance wound and two exit wounds close together. I do believe that the 250 grain Power Point will work well on deer and similar game.
All in all I had a good time. I wouldn't mind going again but it would be only for wild boar. It was a fun hunt seeing the dog chase and push the pig around in the thick stuff. I will mention that the deer, fallow and red stag are wary when you are walking on the ground. If they spotted you ,they were gone. I assisted in the taking of that wounded deer. I saw a group of several fallow does and spike horns cross and they did not give you much time to shoot. In addition, I sat on a glacial erratic( rock) while on a path . The fallow deer were behind me in the thick balsam . When I turned my head, they soon took off.
Well. I was asked by a friend about this place for a boar hunt. He was planning to go to Vermont in April but when I told him about this trip, he asked for me to give my opinion. I will advise him that it is a fun hunt and that it wouldn't be a bad weekend trip.
