Hunting in Italy: In the Cacciarella or Hunted wild boar the Postman is the finalizer of all the work, and knowing how to star post correctly is fundamental for the success of the hunt.
Text and photos by Saverio Patrizi
Wild boar hunt, the so-called Cacciarella or Braccata, once confined to the Maremma Laziale and Tuscany, in recent decades with the disproportionate increase of wild boars that have colonized areas where they were once unknown or very sporadic presences, has involved a number more and more hunters in all regions of the Italian boot. At this point it is necessary to make some important distinctions, hunting in hunt essentially contemplates two fundamental figures, the canaio or brazier, that is, the one who, with his dogs, finds wild boars and tries to direct them to the post office. A profession that is anything but easy, it involves great sacrifices even when the hunting activity is stopped, training and maintenance of the auxiliary faithful, with all the resulting expenses.
Then during the hunt he must know the forest well, be in harmony with the other canai so as to always maintain a constant line that prevents the boars to "give back", at the end of the hunt often has to wait until dark for some dog that has wandered off on the trail of a wild pan or is even forced to return the next morning in the hope of finding it.
The other figure is the Postman, here an infinite number of possibilities open up, certainly well beyond the 42% who practice hunting the wild boar has tried at least once the experience of a hunt, there are those who are enthusiastic and those who swore that it would be the first and last time, a great hunt often covers very large territories therefore it may happen that some they find in the heart of the cries with wild boars that come out continuously and others so far away that they hear nothing, not even the shots of the guns. Star post is relatively easy, you sign up for a team or take a share in an AFV, you show up in the morning at the agreed place, the Huntsman assigns the stakes, by drawing lots or by individual choice, generally it is a place along a road or a path in the woods where a line of hunters closes the portion they intend to beat that day, at the end of the hunt they put the rifle in the sheath, helps to retrieve any killed animals and returns to the starting point, where a hot meal is usually prepared. This is, in broad terms, what happens, but you have to know how to stay at the post office, there was an old gamekeeper, from a reserve on Lake Bracciano, who always repeated to me "the stakes are assigned by drawing lots, but the cignals always kill them. themselves… ”, this is to explain that those who know how to stay in the post, respecting a few simple rules, have much more chances to shoot than those who consider wild boar hunting only a worldly pastime. I believe that the first rule to be able to fully appreciate and understand this hunting is to try the canaio experience, it is not necessary to have dogs, but, sometimes, you can accompany those who have them, an extra voice in the woods is always useful, it will teach us how wild animals move and how the great work of dogs takes place, allowing us later, when we are at the post office, to understand what is happening in the thick of the bush, interpreting the voices of the dogs and understanding how hunting "turns" .
Moving on to the "job" of Postman, the first recommendation concerns safety, we always check the position of our neighbors and the possible shooting trajectories, mentally we must impose a ban on firing in those areas that could pose a danger to the safety of other hunters. When we go to the post office, generally we all walk together and the Headmaster points out to each his post, we proceed as silently as possible avoiding talking aloud or producing unnecessary noises, then when we arrive where we have been assigned, we identify the possible ways of wild boar escape, so that we will be ready when and if the shooting opportunity arises. If necessary, we can remove those shrubs or branches that create an obstacle between us and where we assume the wild boar may pass, I do not recommend creating real highways, but limiting ourselves to removing a few branches, perhaps bending and wedging them where it does not bother us, personally I use very little the marraccio and I prefer a pair of pruning shears, which allow me to get rid of obstacles without major deforestation operations, then surely, how much cleaning should be evaluated from time to time.
When the posts are on the ground, only rarely in some AFV do we find boxes, I recommend the use of a child seat, it will allow us to be rested when the wild boar shows up and while sitting we will certainly be much quieter than those who have to sit still for hours. feet, I assure you that standing completely still is almost impossible. Always to limit noise, we must clean the ground near our feet from dry leaves and stones, so as to have a stable and silent support, even our clothes must prefer fabrics such as velvet, loden, wool or in any case that do not noise every time we move a muscle. The wild boar has two very developed senses, hearing and smell, therefore we must be attentive to all movements and avoid the use of perfumes or carry strongly odorous substances with us, smoking should be avoided, even if I know hunters who they threw dozens of wild boars with cigarettes in their mouths or hands, which is why I have a personal conviction, if we are in a favorable wind, if we do not exaggerate with the "stinks", the wild boar will never hear us, while if we are in the wind bad, we can take all possible measures but the hopes of shooting are very low. Among the things to carry in your backpack or bag, in addition to the essential cartridges, I would put a pair of gloves, a wool or fleece cap, a rope to pull any dead boars, a knife, when hunting is always needed, if only to eat. , a bottle of water and something to fool hunger. We avoid the newspapers, every time you turn the pages there is more noise than thunder, breaking nuts and talking on the cell phone, in case we use the radio transmitter to follow the evolution of the expulsion, only with the earphone and with the volume at a minimum. . A hat that will protect us both from the sun and from the rain and a good pair of boots is indispensable, it can also happen that you have to go a long way before reaching the assigned post. At this point I would spend a few words for the high visibility vest, they are horrendous, fully agree, but certainly very useful, I too was hesitant at first about this garment, but I changed my mind, surely safety comes first, and for some years now I have kept one fixed in my hunting backpack, which I wear as soon as I arrive at the post office. The visibility is truly incredible and when a hunting companion of mine is not wearing it I always try to point out the nonsense.
Of course, staying at the post office is not just clothes, perfumes, equipment, we must always be alert, catch the smallest noises, when in the most absolute silence we hear a frightened blackbird starting, evidently something has alarmed him and most of the time it is a matter of a wild boar, which is trying to get away silently from hunting, the same thing goes for a sprig that breaks, often it is mice or small birds, but it can also be our bristly friend. When we hear a hoot approaching, we don't wait for the last moment to get ready, generally the wild boar has a big advantage over the dogs chasing it and skips our post before we even know it. The job of the Postman requires great attention and patience, good hearing, knowing how to decipher the voices of the forest, using all preventive attitudes aimed at not letting the wild boar hear us as well as a little “C” factor. You will see that anyone who follows these simple rules, sooner or later will have his chance, then it will depend on the hunter to know how to exploit it.