Coach

loco4coues and Amanda, awesome visuals. The vitals on Javis are relatively small, as you have shown. As anyone on this forum knows, I'm a huge fan of Javi hunting, but it seems a lot get hit badly and lost, as they sometimes don't bleed like a deer, or even if they do bleed, they can cover a huge amount of country once wounded. I recently tracked a hit Javi for close to 3 miles. At times there was good blood, other times nothing but tracks until the next blood spot turned up. It was probably the longest tracking job I ever took on, and at about the 3rd mile in, when we were sure the pig would be hunkered under the next bush. We found the spot on top of a ridge where he/she rolled in soft dirt and clogged the bleeding wound. We found only one more place where a single hoof scuffed a rock with blood. In all my years hunting Javelina, most "hard hit" don't move very far, even when the herd takes off. This time, it was like tracking an elk. It just kept going and going. Those who have been hand-and-knees following the smallest blood drop know, there is a point at which you know you're either right on it, or the wounded animal is no longer in shock, it's fully aware that it's hurt and fully aware that it is being followed. It just keeps moving and when the time comes, it instinctively knows to use dirt as a coagulant. If there is something to learn here, it's shot placement. Javi's have a small "kill zone" and they are very protected by bone and hide. A well placed shot will result in a short tracking job. A poorly placed shot will often result in a long tracking job and ultimately a lost animal that will probably die from the wound. Javi's aren't as hardy as elk and deer. I've seen photos of elk and deer with broadheads and bullets inside them that have been callused over. I saw an elk once that had an arrow embedded between then neck and inside the ribcage. The entire left lung was collapsed and the arrow was covered in fat and flesh. Similarly, I have shot deer and found pieces of branch and thorn so deeply embedded, that they couldn't be expelled, but the tissue just grew around them and isolated the area to avoid further muscle damage and blood loss.

Still cleaning out my office and I have some things people might want. They're too good to toss, too old to sell. If you want them, they are yours. The hard part is, I'm in Lakeside (Show Low) area, and this time I'm not shipping. 1 Moultrie trail cam 2 Wildview trail cams 1 DIY trail cam made from a Pelican box with PixController board and 2 Olympus Camedia D360L Cameras 1 Sony CCD TRV112 video camera in Video8 with cords batteries, case, etc. 1 Linksys wireless-G game adapter If you want this stuff, let's make arrangements for local pick-up.

Well, I haven't had a chance to get the pictures off my camera yet, and TOTALLY failed to get a picture of Matt's first archery Javi, so for now the story will have to do. The whole family headed out Wednesday night for a long weekend of hunting javis. My oldest son, Matt was hoping to get his first ever with a bow. He's got 2 or 3 now with a rifle, and wanted to use his bow last year, but it just didn't work out. We set up camp Wednesday night and the wind was howling. We got up early and went to our first glassing spot, and it was super cold and windy. As the sun started to finally light up the hillsides, Matt says "I got 'em" and sure enough he outglassed dad and found the first herd. Honestly, as windy as it was, they were in the last place I expected them to be, right out in the open. Matt grabbed his bow and rangefinder and went after them. Having hunted Javelina for years, to me this was a 10-15 minute stalk. But Matt has been getting mentally ready for this for so long, he didn't leave anything to chance. Once he left me, I kept an eye on the pigs and tried to track his progress... 20 minutes pass, 45, and hour...I'm wondering where in the world he is. The pigs are still relaxed, so that's good, but I'm thinking he should have shot a long time ago. After it had been an hour and a half, I didn't want to call him on the radio and mess him, up, but I was starting to get worried a little. I grab my pack and bow and take a hard angle downwind and move back toward the pigs. Just as I get in range, I hear Matt on the radio - Dad, I just double lunged, come on in... I had to laugh, as I was looking at his pig bedded about 40 yards away. I snuck on in and had another one feeding below at around 35 yards. I waited patiently for it to turn broadside, drew, shot and hear the whack of a solid hit. The whole herd gets up now and I've got pigs from 15 - 30 yards all around me, but I felt my first shot was good, especially with the sound. The pigs eventually vacated, and we went to claim our "double". Turns out, my arrow was sticking out of the dirt right below where this pig was standing - no blood, no hair - a complete miss. I consider myself pretty accurate, especially at that range, but let's just say I was totally humbled. We continuned to hunt the rest of the day, found another group, but with nobody to guide us in we spooked them without ever knowing it. Late in the afternoon, we headed up a road and saw a single boar going over a little ridge right off the road. We started stalking in a circle around where we had last seen him, and found two pigs right below us in the wash. A quick change of approach and we are now about 25 yards away and busted by the "boss" boar. It's really thick and we can see him taking the herd out of there. I start blowing the Javi call, since they are clearly onto us. Now, I've used this call many times, and 9 times out of 10, it has little effect, sometimes, the dominant boar will come back. As soon as I started blowing this call, the entire herd puffed up and started running and bouncing right at us. Time for rookie mistake #2 of the day, I've got a pig 12 yards away in a tree with a little opening. I shoot, think - OK this time I've got him, only to find my arrow broke in half before ever reaching him. Once again - I'm feeling like a dummy. After that shot I had pigs in every direction from 12 - 30 yards but didn't shoot because I thought I had hit. Once again, no blood, no hair, just a broken arrow because I wasn't patient enough. I have to admit though, having all those pigs come crashing in...my adreneline was pumping. But it was a bad call to take the shot I did. I thought I could do it, but all it takes is one limb. So Day 1 is done, Matt has his first Javi back at camp and skinned in the dark. Day 2, we head back out. Pretty much every herd I know to hunt was chased out of the country yesterday. This time, my middle son Nick is with us. We hit all the standard spots and turn up nothing. So around 11 we hike into an area we have only seen from far, but figure there should be some pigs in there somewhere. About a mile or so in, we're up on a hill looking at some awesome country - no pigs. There's a huge knob way off in the distance where I had hunted with a friend a long time ago and he killed a nice buck in there. We decided to cut the heaviest darn tree in the area to make a pole and carry it out - just dumb kids learning to hunt. But as I talked about the story, Matt says, "Dad, you've got to look at this, I think I've got pigs." Sure enough, Matt finds a herd at least another mile in. It's mid-day, hot and the pigs are waaaay over there, and even if we do get to them, it's gonna be a LONG hike out. But hey, we're here, why not make a move? We watch them move over the ridge and start our move. I figure it will be 45 minutes to an hour before we can get to the last place we saw them. Sure enough, we get over there, and really start sneaking to relocate the herd. On the next finger over, I see them feeding and start working up the ridge into the wind. Then I hear the "WOOF". At least 2 stayed behind on this ridge and I had one broadside at 40 yards but before I could draw, a closer one that I could only see once it started running took off. The one I was watching followed. Back now to the main herd - about 200 yards off on the lower part of a steep finger. I get the boys back on the radio, tell them I'm going after them and start the stalk. Given how long it took to get to them from the first time Matt saw them, this last part seemed pretty quick. I had the wind, but it was a fairly open hillside. I drop down a steep, thick hill and start moving toward a Palo Verde I had picked out just above them. When I knew I was close, I started really taking my time - one small step, pause, repeat. Eventually, I see the tops of backs moving in front of me around 50 yards away. One step at a time, I narrow it down to around 35 yards, the 30, then 28...Finally I'm inside my "comfort zone", and know there is no way I'll miss. I've got 2 pigs in range and one of them makes the mistake of waking uphill and into an opening. I draw, settle my pin and loose the arrow. It found it's mark and the pig only went five yards and started making circles. The rest of the herd started puffing up and running around me, but I knew it was done. Whew, long story, lots of fun chasing pigs. I'll add a picture of the boar I shot.

Man that is just flat-out awesome. You guys did amazingly well. Great job.

Keep in mind, there are a huge number of shops with the license and equipment to mill out mil-spec AR lowers, and I guarantee you they are all working around the clock with the intention of producing as many "grandfathered" lowers as they can. I can't say prices will drop, but these guys saw what happened in '04 and let's just say, those with the means are basically printing money right now. You gotta hand it to Obama and Biden, if ever anyone who ever even thought about buying an AR15 is buying not just one, but as many as they can get, that time is now. I can only imagine how many shops have stopped everything else, just to get as many lowers or hi-cap mags in their inventory as possible. Way back in WWII, when Japan was considering an armed invasion, a Japanese general stated (paraphrase) that attacking America on its on soil would be be pointless because there would be a man with a rifle behind every blade of grass. IMO, that's what the founders wanted, and I'm proud to be one of those armed men.

Awesome TJ, what a great write up. It's like we're all with you every step. I want to commend you on being so aware of the nursing mothers with reds. There's a lot I love and respect about you, your awareness, respect for Javis and patience, are right up there. What a great story - and who better deserving of another intense javelina hunt?

Awesome Job, Felicia. There is something about that first Javi with a bow. Huge Congrats.

Hey guys (654321 and averagejoe), funny fact - I don't bait either (I've used salt in the past, but currently don't have any active salt licks). I also don't hunt bears or lions with dogs. It's really not about baiting or picking one style of hunting over another. It's about a handful of priveledged people making decisions, pretending to listen to those of us they represent, and just doing whatever they want to do. Today it's baiting, no skin off my back, I don't bait. Tomorrow its hunting with dogs, again, no problem to me, I don't hunt with dogs. The next day trapping, why should I care? I don't trap. Sooner or later, they'll be after something I do care about, and there will be nobody standing next to me, because I wasn't there for them. Look at the bigger picture guys.

It's about finally recognizing that we have a serious mental health issue in this country. One that isn't covered under most employer-sponsored plans. Guns, drugs, porn, whatever, go after the supply side and you fail. The only way America can fix our issues is to target the demand side.

Gino, I want to thank you personally for taking such a passionate stance. You stood up to the bureaucrats, you sent out emails, you got really involved and made your voice heard. On the flip-side, you mentioned that those who had not undertaken this battle should not complain about its outcome. While I revere you for taking a stand, there are a lot of us who have already walked that path. These commission meetings, asking for public input are nothing more than a dog-and-pony show. They proved that during the discourse in this last meeting. They are obliged, maybe legally, to let you express your opinion, but their ears are closed, their mind already made up. I felt very passionate about the tag re-allocation in certain units years ago, my friends called “The end of hunting, as we know it”… I went to meetings, I expressed my concern… At the end of the day, they don’t give one rat’s butt. They are smarter than us, they are calling the shots, and not one bit of a life-long Arizona hunter trying to “educate” them is going to sway the vote one way or another.

Leica and Swarovski are of course, the best of the best. Don't overlook the Vortex Ranger though. For under $400 you won't find a better one.

Here's my boar.

I used to believe that pigs were super-sensitive to weather. Too much wind, some rain, sleet, whatever, I thought they would hunker down under a tree. Last weekend I was into more Javi's than I have ever seen and the wind was howling, temps low - all the things I used to think would make for poor Javi hunting conditions. My son and I were into pigs so fast we couldn't rest between them. I say, whatever the weather, go hunt. Think like a pig and "git-r-done". Good luck!

It's issues like this - and those being considered by the White House, as we speak, that turn law-abiding citizens into criminals. Watching these guys pretend to listen to the people they are supposed to represent, with their minds already made up, really gets my blood boiling. They are doing exactly what Biden is doing when he allows the NRA to speak to upcoming legislation, just laughing to himself because his mind is already made up. He tosses around threats of "Executive Order", meaning he intends fully to cicumvent the Constitution of the United States, without the approval of Congress. What G&F did today was exactly the same thing. A few priveledged people, supposedly representing US, make a unilateral decision stripping us of rights. I am 100% behind the G&F officer trying to catch poachers and wasters of our wildlife. The commission, and higher-ups, on the other hand, I am really starting to disdain. It's not enough that they ruin units year-after-year by allocating way too many tags. Now they are coming after generations of hunters who have spent countless hours learning how tip the odds slightly in their favor at taking deer with archery equipment. Just like I won't turn in my AR-15 when Biden says I have to, I won't stop hunting over salt. That's a fact. And if legislation turns me from a law abiding citizen and hunter into a criminal, well, it was them who tipped the scales, not me.

Wow, that is an awesome looking buck. Congrats!

Nice!!! That's a great buck for sure. Just goes to show that just because there are other people in there, the bucks are there too, for the ones willing to put in some work. Nicely done for sure.

Does the ban include salt?

Darn it, Tony! You owe me a new keyboard!!! Mine's full of coffee now.

I've got six on backorder from Midway. I doubt they'll ever ship. Luckily I bought a few drawers full (not Magpul) from Natchez before they ran out.

They are using the recent tragedies to target YOU and I. And they have no intentions of letting "due process" into the picture. Biden met with the gun control groups, then he met with the NRA. Now, he will propose to the President, that we must have: Background checks on all firearm sales (I'm not opposed to this) Ban on "assault weapons" (I'm very opposed to this) Ban on high capacity magazines ( again, very opposed) Registration of all "grandfathered assault weapons" (illegal under ObamaCare - great irony there - they should have read it before they passed it). I try not to get into the political discussions on this site, because they are always ugly and I like to keep this site all about hunting. In this case, I'll make an exception. Obama PROMISED not to go after gun rights. After Sandy Hook, he's gone 180 degrees in the opposite direction. He has now indicated that he will bypass Congress and use Executive Order to support whatever Biden recommends. What does that mean for us? In the next months, you will see the most corrupt administration this country has ever seen use the most legally and politically, controversial tactics to usurp the constitution that our armed forces, our police, our president have sworn to defend. In the end, they want us all to become tax-paying sheep. That's all. I'll give up my AR15 and AK47 when I'm dead or out of bullets - period. But if I stand alone, I won't matter. If I stand next to 5 or 10 or 500 or 5000 people who think like me, maybe my children will get the chance to live in the America that so many people have fought to defend.

Man, that is SUPER awesome!!! Great job. I've hunted the San Carlos twice. The first time, I totally blew a shot on a great buck. The second time, I never pulled the trigger. But IMO, hunting coues on the San Carlos is almost like hunting the strip. You might not find a buck for days on end, but when you do find one, it's likely to be the trophy of a lifetime. That hunt is hard, no way around it. The bucks are there, but it's a huge area, and much of it is very hard to glass. Mix in the lions, etc. I'm gonna hunt the SC again, but next time it won't be in November. I've gotta see it in the rut. Congrats again on a great buck.

Nice Job, that is a great buck! Way to get it done!!!

Thanks Chef, that was my favorite part of the hunt.

Hey, thanks guys. I'll post some pix of the boar I shot. I misplaced my camera. I am SOOO kicking myself for not getting a picture of Matt's Javi. We were following the herd and he literally would not let me stop long enough for pix. We GPS'd the coordinates to his pig and came back to it in as it was getting dark after losing the rest of the herd several drainages over. I'm glad you like the stories - sometimes they get a little long-winded. But, hey, I'm always recording the story mentally, as it happens, so I can remember what to type when I get home.

That's NICE! Great job!