NEW BERLIN – Hunting is a widely-practiced sport in much of upstate New York, but few New Yorkers can say that they’ve stood just a few feet away from a giant Russian boar and come out the winner.

That’s exactly what a 14-year-old boy had the opportunity to do recently when he visited the new Trophy Ridge Hunting Preserve in the Town of New Berlin.

In July, brothers Joe and Marty Warren achieved a lifelong dream when they opened the preserve. “It was something we wanted to do for years,” Marty said. The brothers were able to make their dream a reality when their parents decided to get out of the farming business in 2006. “We had the chance to utilize the land,” Marty said. With the help of their parents, Joe and Marty were able to convert the hundreds of acres of land into a hunting preserve.

For over a year, the brothers worked to get the preserve ready. With the help of family and friends, they walked the land several times, pushing all of the regular deer off of the land. They erected a fence and after getting approval from the state, they began introducing Russian boars and Fallow deer to the environment.