nateNAU Report post Posted March 10 I was able to fill my tag on day 4 in 19b this year. Typically I apply for a tag for ham and always pickup a leftover rifle tag. With my kids schedule this year, I opted for just one hunt so I decided on the rifle hunt. I had a good buddy from Prescott also apply and was drawn. On day 4 of the hunt, we were struggling and not seeing much sign. We decided to walk a long canyon that ended in a tank close to a road. After walking almost 2 miles up the canyon we had discovered pig caves, fresh bedding areas and hidden water with sign. We knew we were getting close. My buddy was in the bottom of the canyon and I was on the rim. I pointed out another hole which I thought was a pig cave and my buddy, in the bottom investigated. As he was climbing the side of the canyon a rock slipped and he went tumbling down. His leg caught another rock and bent a way no leg should go and I heard a loud crack. After his initial panic, he scrambled and straitened his leg back to its natural position. I scaled down to him. Only a 15 foot deep canyon with deep walls. After a while we decided to try and see if we could at least get him out of the canyon. It was a struggle but we finally did it. He could not put any weight on it without completely crumpling. He was trying to use his emptied gun as a support but it was not working so well so I decided to try and use my saw and make a crutch out of some deadwood near by. It actually worked pretty good and were able to get up and out of the canyon the rest of the way. I told him to stay put and I would try and get my side by side as close to him as possible. Of course we were in an area that zero cell service. I dropped everything except my rifle and a water bottle and headed back to the vehicle. As I got to within 200 yards of the side by side I came across a javi herd working their way up the canyon. I aimed on the lead pig and dropped it in its tracks. I quickly threw it over my shoulder and got back to the gator. I was able to find a small 2 track that got me close to my friend and off roaded another couple hundred yards to get to within about 100 yards of him. By this time, a lot of pain had subsided and we were able to get him to the gator with the aid of the crutch. A heck of a hunt and a humbling experience. My friend is a combat marine who did 2 tours in Afghanistan and a loose rock turned a short hike in gentle terrain into quite an ordeal. I learned his leg didn't break but dislocated and tore tendons and ligaments which need to be repaired. After this hunt I have decided to buy a spot gps. 12 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PRDATR Report post Posted March 11 What the heck Nate. Sounds familiar to my solo Javelina hunt in 16A about four years ago when I broke both bones in my ankle. I hope he is on the mend. Congrats on the Pig. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Crazymonkey Report post Posted March 11 Way to make the best out of a tough spot. Hopefully your buddy will heal up from this . It's quite the painful thing to go through. Three surgeries and countless hours of rehabilitation myself .Tore everything in my right knee . Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
firstcoueswas80 Report post Posted March 11 It is only fitting that the pigs you DID come across were while you were in rescue mode. Makes 100% sense! I hope your buddy is recovering well. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AZHunter1 Report post Posted March 11 Dang I hope he heals fast. Congrats on your pig! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CatfishKev Report post Posted March 11 Hot dang hope your buddy is gonna be ok. But I'm with Casey, you saw pigs and decided to kill one while your buddy is waiting for the evac, lol hard. I don't want to hunt with you ever. Congrats on the pig though. Hope you guys are still friends. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PRDATR Report post Posted March 12 2 hours ago, CatfishKev said: Hot dang hope your buddy is gonna be ok. But I'm with Casey, you saw pigs and decided to kill one while your buddy is waiting for the evac, lol hard. I don't want to hunt with you ever. Congrats on the pig though. Hope you guys are still friends. Don't be a pussy. A Mans Gotta Do What A Mans Gotta Do. Pickles would expected you to do the same thing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CatfishKev Report post Posted March 12 11 hours ago, PRDATR said: Don't be a pussy. A Mans Gotta Do What A Mans Gotta Do. Pickles would expected you to do the same thing. No, if I did that she would beat me with that home made crutch 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nateNAU Report post Posted March 16 On 3/11/2024 at 4:47 PM, CatfishKev said: Hot dang hope your buddy is gonna be ok. But I'm with Casey, you saw pigs and decided to kill one while your buddy is waiting for the evac, lol hard. I don't want to hunt with you ever. Congrats on the pig though. Hope you guys are still friends. Haha. I think my telling of the story may have come across a little more intense than I meant. I was more shook after the fact just thinking how quickly things can go bad and how lucky it wasn't a time sensitive injury like blood loss or something. After the first few minutes, he was fine pain wise as long as he didn't try and walk. We weren't under a time crunch and had plenty of daylight. We sat, drank some water and came up with a plan. I headed back to the gator at an easy pace as to not hurt myself with no intention of hunting and only shot the javelina because I was in view of the side by side when I came across it. The whole thing didn't add more than a minute or 2 of getting back to my friend. I guess the shot echoed down the canyon and his first words when I got back were "tell me that was your shot". We are still friends. 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
