Coach

What I wouldn't give to have a late December coues tag in 23 or 24A in 1985.

I agree that it should be preserved.

Well I was bummed that I only got out for about a day and a half the first week of the season so Wednesday night I decided to ditch work on the 24th since it was the last day for archery Javelina. I went to a place a little closer to home, but hadn't been in 12-13 years. I started hiking a little after first light and as soon as I got to my glassing spot, picked up a couple mule deer. Two bucks, with one being a really nice 4x4. I watched them to see where they bedded for later, then started looking for Javis. About 5 minutes later I had a group, right where I had last seen the deer, so I was off on a stalk. Like last time, no spotter - always hunting solo these days - so when I got over there I wasn't sure where they had gone but knew they were close. At around 200 yards I had found them again, but when I got there they were no where to be found. I kept poking around and eventually got a "woof" from the thick stuff. Finally got to 20 yards, drew and...my peep sight was sideways. Couldn't see my pins at all. That has never happened in all the years I've been shooting this bow. Oh well, by the time I got that worked out the herd was in the thick stuff and having none of my attempt to woof them back in. I went back toward my glassing spot and remembered there were some heavily used caves & dirt wallows so I went to check those out. Yep, still active. It was getting later in the morning and the wind was picking up so I decided to make a big circle around where I had last seen the pigs. About 300 yards in the opposite direction on a little flat, the ground was covered with fresh sign so I knew I was close to what I can only assume is another group unless they circled me, which is a distinct possibility, but the sign looked like they had been messing around that flat all morning. Anyway, I figured any second I'd hear a woof and right about then I looked up and there was one just standing there feeding about 20 yards away broadside. I knocked an arrow, had the wind right and just had one cholla between him and me, but he was now head-on. Of course now I hear the "woof" off to my left, downwind. The guy I was looking at kinda froze and another was coming in from the right, so I came to full draw knowing he was about to turn. Sure enough, he turned to leave and gave me an easy broadside shot.

One thing cool about the mountain is its history. Fort Apache, how Pinetop became a place (bar for soldiers), the old rail road and Maverick. I still love going into Charlie Clark's in the bar area where there are caricatures of generations of locals cover the walls, and go hey I know him and him.... The mountain has changed a lot over the years, but it's still a place where every face, every family has a history. And the older SOB rancher you can share a beer with, the richer that history becomes for you, personally. That arrow tree - it's part of our history, part of our legacy. Luckily, all three of my sons got to see it in its glory days, and appreciated what it stood for.

Hard for me to say this year. We've had places over the last few years of youth hunts we could always find them. Some places like clock-work. Each year we've found them less and less in the predictable places. Those places have gotten a lot of pressure though, recently. I went back to two places this year I hadn't been in a long time - over ten years for each spot, and found them easily - but different units than our "go-to" spots. I was really hoping to hunt our favorite youth hunting spot this year but never got the chance. I think it really comes down to pressure. A herd that gets hunted from time-to-time tends to stay close to home. Too much pressure and they'll adjust. From what I've heard from some really die-hard javi hunters is that lions don't really like to hunt and eat Javelina, but occasionally one will really get the taste for it, and that one cat can wreak havoc on a herd and force them to move out of their home territory. That makes sense to me, and not too much different than a herd that gets located by lots of hunters and the constant pressure forces them to move out of a place that no longer feels safe. That always makes me feel conscious about hunting them too close to their caves and traditional bedding areas. Just my opinion, if I kill one close to their comfort area, I like to move it as far away as possible to process it. Some folks won't agree with this, but I've found them to get a little freaked out if you kill and clean one too close to home. They are a family unit, and they recognize when they have lost one of theirs.

With the price of arrows these day, I don't think I'll be shooting them into the new tree. Always did enjoy the one at the center of this topic though. You just knew the hunt was on! To me it's a lot different than trash. People who throw their beer cans out and leave trash around their camps are just lazy slobs, no better than thieves, IMO. This is a single tree with history and tradition to the locals.

Last time I said that I got slapped.

Interesting point. Ask a 15-16 year old if it's harder to get pot or beer. Even though it's in every corner gas station, every super market, they still have to find someone with an ID. Pot, on the other hand is readily available in every school in this country. It's pretty scary, but as parents we have to talk about these things with our kids. At some point I've asked each of my 3 sons, how accessible drugs are in school. All three have said they could buy literally anything from pot, to meth, cocaine, oxycodone, MDMA (Molly), X (ectacy) before lunch. That's how well our war on drugs has done - all the lives lost, billions of dollars, and every school in America is a virtual pharmacy with grade school kids turning pusher. I'm not taking a stand here one way or the other as far as legalization - I'm just saying what we are doing now is not stopping or even slowing down the access to drugs. What we as parents can and should do is educate our kids about the dangers. Diminish the demand. As long as there is demand, there will by someone to provide the "supply" half of the equation.

Based on the mass alone, I'd say high 120s at least. What say you Hoss?

I had a little chat with a guy who worked the border for a long time. He came from a black ops background and spent years fighting the "dirty little war" down there, along with his brothers. This guy had his face smashed in with a rock, lost his brother to the fight. It's a lot more intense than what we are generally privy to. It's a tough situation down there, and we don't hear about the 95% of things that don't make the news.

One thing I find troubling is how G&F continues to allocate late bull hunts in areas like 1 & 27. These used to be pretty tough hunts. Thick country, bulls not bugling, etc. After all these big fires the success rate has gone up dramatically. Better optics, long range guns, more open country due to burned out areas. A lot more young to mid range bulls are being killed, and G&F hasn't adjusted accordingly. IMO, this hurts the bull populations in some of our premier trophy units.

Yeah, he was an innovator - he created "California Camp" where we ran drills in the sand and water, also created "Mountain Camp" where we got dropped off up around Big Lake and had to hike, run explore as a team - out in the wilderness. He really knew how to push young men and make them bond in uncomfortable situations. That's his legacy of creating a team bond that led a lot of physically small teams to beat bigger, stronger teams. He certainly knew how to motivate, and get people to work together, but more importantly, he was all about individualism and how making yourself the best you can be, then combining that with others who were like-wise motivated, could do amazing things. Of course, he had his own demons to recon with, but I'd count him in the top 3 of most influential men in my life.

Truth is, I've been hunting these little buggers a long time. Many youth hunts over the years. It's not common that you find that much sign. Most of the places we've hunted over the years if you get a few tracks or some fresh digging, you know you're close. They don't typically present like that.

I'll also say this. One of my favorite things is seeing youth hunters out there with family and friends. I don't always agree with what G&F is doing, but when it comes to youth hunting, AZ G&F has done an amazing job. I've seen more hunt stories around families hunting together on these youth hunts than I can count. To all the dads and moms out there taking their kids hunting and showing them what a wholesome experience it is - Thank You. That's what we need.

More applications + more tags + increased application fees + increased tag fees. All across the board it's been costing more and more each year just to apply. And not too far in the past, you could opt to only buy a license if drawn - no more. Out of state applicants have it even worse, but it's like that in all the SW states these days. Hunting has changed from a simple, cheap means of getting meat on the table to a very lucrative "cash cow". That said, I think we have it better here in AZ than just about anywhere else. Yeah, it's getting pricey, but still have some of the best resources around. I've got a family of 5 and when you start adding up all the costs involved just to get licenses and apply it really adds up fast. If you want to expand to NM. CO, UT - it is a "pay to play" game. However, this is what we love to do. It's our passion, and passing that down to the next generation is priceless.

Nice setup for sure.

Awesome job - great team effort, and I bet you got a hunting buddy for life. That's what it's all about right there.

Huge congrats to Tourie, and to you. Big smiles from both of you - great time. Nicely done!

No, as I said in a previous post to this thread, I'm for the wall. it just seems strange to me that we can't find any political or financial pressure to get Mexico to address the problem better internally.

Not to derail, but economic sanctions seem to be a powerful tool. I would think that the right amount and type of pressure on Mexico and they could and would police the border from their side. Just have to push the right buttons to make it in their best interest. If we don't have enough political capital to pull that off we've got much bigger problems not too far down the road.

Awesome job! Looks like you guys had tons of fun - Congrats!

Played for him back in the day - he was very inspiring. I was really hoping he and Dain would be there when my boys came through but they left right as Nick got to HS. RIP Coach.

Awesome. I was wanting to do that with this year's javi. Thanks for the recipe - looks fantastic.

An interesting follow-up to this thread, the past decade or so, I focused a lot on my kids' hunts and got a couple here-and-there chances to go hunt them myself. One of the things I originally brought up was whether they return to the same areas of get boogered out. This year, well my boys are all grown and only one drew a tag, but it coincided with an important baseball tournament so he couldn't go out. I picked up a left-over tag that covered several units I have hunted with them many years back. The first spot I hadn't been to in over 10 years, I found them exactly where my oldest son, now 22 killed his first one 12 years ago. Due to outside pressures I was only able to be there for a day and a half but was in pigs the whole time. Just not the right shot. The day before my archery tag expired I decided to go to another place I hadn't been since 2006. Took the kids there with another family and their kids way back. Within minutes I found them once again exactly where they had been 12-13 years ago. So, to those who have said they will come back, you guys were right. That said, I still have a few spots where they were thick and dried up. Only time will tell if they come back. I'm betting now they will. There was a reason they were there in the first place, and that's why they'll come back. Thanks again for so many people sharing their experiences about these awesome little desert dwellers - and a final note - make good use of the meat. Handled properly it's as good as any game meat out there. Good Hunting, Jason

Coincidentally, I just came across this. There's a lot of good information coming directly from AZ law enforcement and what they are asking for. http://azsheriffs.org/DocumentCenter/View/117/Southwest-Border-Sheriffs-Coalition-Statement-on-Border-Security-and-Immigration Excellent quote from the link above. "There are many places where physical barriers make sense and are in fact the best solution to securing the border. They should be constructed without delay. In other locations, we need to turn to technology, which thanks to modern advances is robust and effective. In other areas, we need more human resources to ensure security. Likely, in all locations we will need some blend of physical barriers, technology and human resources to be successful."