stanley

Wow! Congratulations to Brock!!! What a great couple of hunts! Thanks for sharing the stories & pics! S.

Welcome to the site Pine Donkey!!!! S.

Well, this past weekend was spent on the 36A junior hunt with my kids and friends. We had an awesome time!! I first need to give a HUGE thank you to the heros who hosted & supported the camp. Great friends, great food, lots of good people to help, and lots of happy kids as a result. Gabe Paz, Bob Boido, Michael Boido, Steve Paz, all of their family & friends (Jerry, Brian, Rudy, George, Mark, etc. Sorry, too many to remember!) did a great job!! Thanks to the SCI!!! The hunt was great! We saw bucks each day and two of the boys (my son included...) got shots at deer. We also had some stalking opportunities that resulted in no shots, so we had a great time overall!! I didn't take as many pics over the course of the hunt as I like to, but I got a few good ones. Mid Saturday morning, Nicholas and I were stalking solo (a rare treat when you're hunting with three kids! ;-) ) across a flat that was loaded with good & fresh javelina sign. We had a steady wind in our face, and I told Nick that I had a pretty good feeling... We came upon a steep, brush choked draw at the edge of the flat with bluffs, etc. bordering it. I told him to get ready, because we just might be stepping into their bed-room. Sure enough, 2 minutes later there were pigs flushing everywhere!! He had a hard time settling down and missed the first two shots! After the second one however, we heard some 'screaming/whining' in the brush. I thought that we were hearing the death cry of a pig, but when we approached I noticed there were two tiny piglets under a palo verde in the brush. They wouldn't move!! I then noticed their mama just 10 yards away standing there staring us down! It would have been an easy shot, but we quickly made the decision NOT to shoot the mama. There were at least 15-20 other pigs that flushed in every direction, and with the babies screaming their little heads-off I suspected that many of the pigs wouldn't go too far. We backed-out, and sure enough in a couple of minutes we spotted a couple back on the flat. Nick settled in on the shooting sticks but the pigs bolted and he again rushed the shot and missed!! (That's three misses if your counting!! ) We watched them hump & bound about 1/4 mile across the flat to a steep draw, and then we hustled on up there. The draw they ran into was VERY steep and deep with brush! I got Nick set-up with his rifle on the shooting sticks with a good vantage over the steep ravine and then started to drop grape-fruit sized rocks down the bank. It only took three before a pig woofed and jumped out. He ran up the other side and stopped at about 70 yards for a quartering away shot. Nick took it, and finally had his FIRST PIG!! Below are a few pics of the hunt/camp. There were several kids that came through camp with deer & javelina! I've got some more pics of some of the successful kids who came through, but I will forward to Bob & Gabe for any publishing/posting (no permission...). One boy that I know of even scored a 'double'! I met a couple of CW.com folks there also, which is always nice. I'm not good at remembering names, but hopefully some will post here. Travis, I'm glad you guys got a pig! I wanna see a pic of that BIG thing posted!! Thanks again to SCI & friends!! S. Greta helping Nicholas drag his pig out! We called her in on the Motorola, and she came running to help!! Nick and Greta with the pig! The 'glory' shot!! Gabe made FOUR cobblers/cakes on Saturday night!! Greta and her friend were first in line! Just realized that I think I see another CW.com member in the background.... Erik and Bob getting some to!!

That's AWESOME!!!! Good for your son!!! I was in 36A with my kids last weekend! We stalked some bucks, and shot at one (but missed...). My middle son shot his first javelina! We had a great time! Nothing like hunting with your kids!!! Thanks much for sharing the pic & story!! S.

Thanks Cade, we had a good time! BTW, we didn't end-up killing anything off of The Claw this year. My oldest son did actually take a shot at a whitetail buck using The Claw on the general hunt, but he missed. We'll continue to practice off of it however in preparatio for next year! Jim, it was nice meeting you guys at the camp! We were fortunate to get on the pigs with Nicholas on Saturday, and I'm glad that your little hunter got to stalk one yesterday! So much has to come together, and with the little ones it can be especially challenging to close the deal sometimes! S.

Yea, she was quite excited alright Amanda!! She was also with Nicholas last year when he killed his first deer. She was just as pumped then to!!! Bless her little heart though, she is VERY tiny for her age and she is a bit gun shy. Due to this, even though she had her first deer tag on this hunt, she mainly chose to just follow-along and learn. She'll get there... BTW, the largest deer checked through camp over the weekend was a beautiful 3x3 coues rough scored at 80ish. It was shot by a 10 year old girl!!! Inspiration for little G! Maybe we can post a pic of that one if/when I get permission. S.

Happy Thanksgiving to you to Amanda!! Bon Apetite!!! I smoked a turkey for the first time a couple of years ago, and it was awesome!! VERY juicy & tender!! S.

Wow!!! Awesome!!! Sincere congrats ot Ezra!! Thanks for sharing! Good luck on the elk hunt to! S.

+1 Amanda & Doug!! Doug, you hit on a real pet peave of mine!! We always pack a good shovel with us, and we have a strict rule when the kids and I (and my friends) camp; "Walk Far & Dig Deep" is our saying!!!! A must! My kids know it, and follow it religiously! Especially important if you have dogs in camp! S.

Stop by the Junior camp just off the Arivaca road / Batamote Road for info!!! Also a PM coming... I'll be down there with my three kids and friends!! Leaving soon! S.

Holy heck!!! That's CRAZY!!!! S.

Thanks for posting this Doug! I know that I'll try to get down there again!! For those who have never participated, this is a volunteer opportunity that you really should take advantage of! It's a great time out in the desert during a great time of year! The land truly needs help, and us hunters are the ones doing it! I know that there are several folks on here who hunt 36A,B,C. You'll also find that this is a great way to get to know the units better, and also to network and get to know the game wardens (WM's), ranchers, and locals. I hope the turn-out is good for this!! S.

How the He!! can you argue with that Thanks Doug for the chuckle +1 Ha! I have a buddy who bought a brand new Buck knife a couple of years ago. It was florescent orange!!! I laughed at him when I saw it. Until of course, I saw him drop it in the snow/mud/blood/guts while gutting a cow on an elk hunt a few months later. That knife handle stood-out like a beacon!! Amen to simple ingenuity!! S.

GREAT! Thanks for letting the word-out! Now there's going to be another shortage!!! Seriously though, thanks for the heads-up. The kids and I have run through a lot of ammo over the past couple of months! S.

VERY cool!!! Awsome story about the close shot to! Thanks for sharing! S.

I'm pretty much stocked-up on rifles for my kids, but if someone has a youth coming-up in the future this would be a GREAT gun! S.

Wow..... That lake sure has seen the ups & downs over the years. I remember as a kid growing-up in Kearny we would float & fish the Gila below the lake frequently. We depended on that lake and river for lots of fun growing-up, and it always delivered! S.

VERY cool!!!!! Thanks a bunch for sharing that adventure with us!!! S.

Way to go Christian!!! Good for Randy! S.

Last weekend was fair.... No deer killed, but we saw plenty of each day. A few bucks, nothing too big though. Erik took a couple of shots at a decent fork on Saturday, but missed. We saw pigs every day also in several different spots. Two of the boys have tags for next weekend (in addition to the deer tags...) so that could be fun. See ya! S.

Hey Bobby!! My brood and I will be there as always!! Erik doesn't have a tag this year (he has a pig tag..) so he'll be there to help around camp!! ;-) Bringing my little girl this year, so watch-out!! Let me know if you need anything. S. PS: Ken and I left you a starter pile of mesquite last weekend.... Hopefully it's still there!

Yes, we'll be back in 36A. Likely hunting some of the same spots as last weekend.... Hoping to get down there this Sunday for some early morning glassing as well, but we'll see! Her and her 12 year old brother both have tags. Fun for sure! I'll post a report here next week. Good luck on the turkeys in the spring! I'll be out there with all three of mine in the spring. S.

Agreed Sam!! I'll be out there with my 10 year old daughter on her first deer hunt next Friday!!! S.

Awesome Amanda! Congrats to you & Scott on another GREAT outing!!! Good for you guys!! S.

Good for you!! Congrats on a good hunt with family!! S.