stanley Report post Posted November 23, 2009 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!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CouesWhitetail Report post Posted November 23, 2009 Congratulations!! That's awesome. A great time and a first pig!! Greta even looks more excited than Nick!! Amanda Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stanley Report post Posted November 23, 2009 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. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
azpackhorse Report post Posted November 23, 2009 Very nice Nick! Sounds like a great time for everyone! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
John O Report post Posted November 23, 2009 That's awesome Stan! Nothing like sharing those good times with the kids. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Claw Report post Posted November 24, 2009 Awesome Stan. Congrats to Tanner. What memories are made of! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
triton Report post Posted November 24, 2009 Nice post Stanley!! SCI, Gabe, and everyone else did a fantastic job. It was my first experience with a Jr. hunt. My daughter had the tag, and even though she didn't kill a deer or javelina, we had a great time. Sorry Stanley we didn't hunt together, but we tried a stalk on javelina this AM before we left. I was the guy walking around in a cast and sling all weekend. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stanley Report post Posted November 24, 2009 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. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mulie hunter Report post Posted November 26, 2009 Stanley sounds like a great hunt! Congrats to Nick on his first Javelina. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
