Coach

Man that looks great! Awesome job, TJ. I'll be doing the 4th installment of my Christmas Prime Rib this year. So far, the first one came out the best - beginner's luck I guess. Yours sure looks like it came out really good!

Lots of great info here guys. It's good to get different perpectives, and from what it sounds like more people find that pigs will come back the same areas even after getting pressured. That's really good information, and becuase of that I'll be going back to some of my old spots this year that have previously dried up. Maybe they'll be back! Good hunting, Jason

Thanks - I'll do the same.

Patience is the key. The best glassers I know are the most patient ones. The faster I move my glass, the less animals I see. It's simple to say but hard to do. Pick a grid and don't move your glass from one field of view to the next until you have at least counted to 10 slowly. Pretend you are watching your buddy walk from bush to bush in your field of view and only once he has determined there is nothing there, move slightly, a couple of degrees up or down, left to right and repeat. I said this on another post, but it's something I have to continually remind myself of. Once you pick out a doe, watch her and keep track mentally how often she is openly visible compared to partially visible to totally invisible. That's a good mental check when you are glassing to keep you honest. Most coues deer will be partially or completely invisible most of the time, even if you know right where they are. It's a good excercise to recognize how many deer you pass over because you are glassing too fast and looking for a deer instead of an ear.

LOL, I forgot to mention, one of the huge misconceptions about Javelina is that they aren't good to eat. Smell, like beauty is usually only skin deep. I've heard about how horrible javelina are to eat as much as I've heard older bull elk in the rut taste like boot leather on a good day, or even worse, jackrabbit over a spit (yes I've done that and it's horrible). The vast majority of javelina that taste horrible do so for the same reason a lot of rutting bulls taste so nasty. When handling the meat, people touch the hair, then the meat. Rutting bulls are covered in their own urine plus mud plus the musky smell numerous glands in the epidermis produce. Pigs are the same way - if they are threatened, the exude a musky, skunk-like oily "stink". But it's a myth that this actually enters the muscles and makes the meat taste the way they smell. If not gut-shot, and handled carefully, the meat of a javelina (or an old bull elk) is usually very good. That said, I do avoid the neck meat of an older bull, and have had occasions with javelina where the meat smells as bad as the dead pig itself. But, for the most part, if proper care is taken, javelina meat can be as good as, if not better than, the tastiest deer you've eaten.

For the second time in one week, I've got my foot in my mouth. Yum.

Hmmm. I've got feral cats running around all over the place...I'm thinking baiting for coyotes is legal...

Wow - that's an awesome buck!

Looks like a tough hunt. You fought the elements and worked hard for a well earned trophy. Great job.

Welcome on board! You've found a really good community here.

Gearsnagger, you are a riot. This forum needs a little levity, IMO. BTW, nice avatar. Lord Humongous Rules the Wastelands...

Nice job, this time of year it's all about filling that tag and putting some great meat in the freezer. I got some cell pix today from a bud who killed a nice, fat 2x2. Holy smokes, I've never seen a more "graphic" blood trail - (snowy area). I'd like to post them up, but gotta get permission first. My take is, the last couple of weeks with an archery tag in you hand, any buck is a trophy. And it takes a LOT more hard work and determination to take any coues with a bow than some recognize. Hat's off to you. Nicely done, indeed.

Fair enough - I've deleted my previous replies. I hope you find someone to go on what sounds like a great hunt. And you are absolutely right, how other people choose to spend their money is none of my business. I stand corrected, and sorry for coming off in such a negative way. Just to clarify, whoever emailed the thread starter about the value of the dollar wasn't me. I don't mind apologizing for my own oversights but I'd rather not take credit for those of others.

My buddy, Montanna Casey, is gonna get a good belly laugh at this. He loves Javelina and their weird social behavior. Thanks for posting this - one of the coolest threads on here in a while.

Can you tell us what unit this is?

One heck of a buck for sure! Great job to the hunter - any story to go along with it?

That's pretty darn cool. Great job!

Wow - I would love to hear the story on that buck - what a stud.

Glad you posted them - someone has to know these guys. I can't quite make out the license plate though - I'm sure you could look them up by that if you can make it out.

It's worth mentioning that the term, "Go ahead and run, you'll just die tired" was coined by military snipers shooting Springfield .308 sniper rifles (M1A to be exact). Nothing spread fear among the battle fields more than a well-trained American sniper that could kill at 1000 yards - with one shot.

I got this email a while back, and I was in the "red hammer" group. I don't really think it has anything to do with the preceding questions, more of a Rorschart test associating the most common color with the most common tool. Red is the color of passion and if you asked 100 people on the street to name a color without pause, most would say red. If asked to name a tool, most people will say hammer because it is the most accessible, simple tool, and widely recognized as a symbol of humans' first use of tools. Long before there were screws to twist, there were things to be beaten into the ground with a rock affixed to a handle. Love the post by the way.

Man you guys have me drooling for a Mexico hunt. Two things I have to do before I kick the bucket are hunting Coues or muleys in Mexico and bass fishing in Mexico. The way things are, I just can't get the wifey on board. She thinks I'll end up one of those hostages, or just disappear down there, lol. I actually have the opportunity to go there this year for an unreal price on a great ranch, but I just don't think I can make it happen. Boo hoo, and for all you guys lucky enough to hunt down there, my hat is off to you.

I've got an older Nikon that has been really good. I probably bought this thing at least 12 years ago, way before the ARC and other angle compensating technologies were available. It ranges reliably out to 800 yards, but what really blows me away is the battery life. Every few years I've replaced the batteries even though the indicator shows they are still full strength despite years of heavy use. This year I'll probably make the old Nikon one of my sons' first rangefinders and upgrade to a newer model. I would love to get a Leica, but I also like the Leupold models from what I've seen.

My first bow was an older PSE "garage sale" bow. It wasn't all that great, but I hear their newer bows are really good - never shot one. My first "good" bow was a Mathews Conquest Light - great bow for the time. Then I went to a Bowtech Allegiance - great bow. Last year I sold the Bowtech and bought a Hoyt CRX 35. Wow - I love this bow. The good news is, it's almost hard to find a bad bow these days. Mathews, Hoyt, PSE, Bowtech all make exceptional bows. Every time this topic comes up, it seems you hear the same mantra, shoot them all and decide which feels best for you. Still solid advice. Everything I've heard about the Mathews Heli-m is very positive. Seems they have finally come out with a bow that people like as much as the older Switchback. Personally, I love my Hoyt and wouldn't trade it for anything else on the market. But I know lots of guys who feel the same way about their Bowtech Destroyers.

Wow - that buck is awesome! Big, some great character and beautiful. Nicely done!