Capt. Don Martin Report post Posted February 15, 2016 Yesterday, I had the opportunity to go out with my friend Joe Hererro on his HAM hunt in Unit 18B. Joe had just one day to hunt and so we decided to make a quick trip from Kingman to a spot in the north end of the unit that I had not been to for a couple of years. It was close to town and Joe wanted to be out of the field by 4 p.m. as he had a party to go to. It was to be a quick dash and glass..I didn't really expect to see anything. So we get there at daylight, glass a couple of areas on a flat and see nothing but a few antelope. I decide to have Joe drive to the top of a mesa and we'll look over some far away canyon country. Once again the Swarovski spotting scope is money when I see a group of at least 5 pigs at a range of 1.5 miles as the crow flies. I ask Joe if he wants to go on a hike. Joe hasn't got a pig in about 6 years and it was 10 a.m. so he said sure, and off he goes. I couldn't go with him as I have a messed up knee and am awaiting an MRI... Anyway, Joe makes good time and I tell him how I think he needs to go to get within range of the feeding pigs. Then Joe disappears and so do the pigs. For a couple of hours I don't see Joe or the pigs. Seems he had got to the edge of a GIANT canyon and decided to walk down in it and up the other side! When I finally hear from him, it is via a text message as we had no radios. He tells me that he is on the end of the point where the pigs were first seen. I look in the scope and see a single pig up and feeding. It is now close to 1 p.m. I tell him to look at the juniper tree to the east of him and he texts, "I see em." I watch through the spotting scope as he sets up and fires. He is using a 50 caliber muzzleloader. Next thing I see is a text that says, "I probably shot the wrong pig!" Seems the herd of 8 had detected him and were starting to get up and move away. This one old sow was standing just 25 yards away so Joe made her take a dirt nap. I watch as he field dresses the pig and gets packed up. Now it is 1:30 p.m. I watch as Joe starts hiking and then once again he disappears. At 4:30 p.m. I start to get worried. Where the heck is he? Has he fallen down, broke a leg, knocked himself out, had a heart attack, etc. I have not got a text from him since 1:30. I move up onto the mesa so I got a better view and text reception but I see and hear nothing! At 5 p.m. I hear a shot down below the mesa and figure its Joe at the spot I had originally dropped him off. I drive back off the mountain, and sure enough there he sits, with this blank stare on his face. I give him water, and a sandwich and ask what happened. Seems I couldn't see that the canyon I had been looking at was a lot longer than I thought it was, and he had to walk an extra mile to avoid crossing it. "I'm whipped," he said. It was then I looked at the javelina by his side. IT WAS HUGE! He says something like is it bigger than Gary's? (Gary is my brother who had screwed up on Wednesday and shot a 19 lb. boar) I went to pick it up and I told him that the pig was way, way bigger than Gary's! Ultimately, around 8 p.m. we met friends Jay Chan and Jack Gunnoe at Jack's camp which was by the Big Sandy River. See Jay had the "official" scale we use for our Big Pig contest. Joe's pig--and Jack's too, had to be weighed on this scale. Jack, who was also in the contest, weighed his first. The boar pushed the scales to 39.68 pounds, which is a big pig in our area of the state. Then Joe put his pig on the scales. I gasped when I saw it weighed 44.79 lbs! In all the years I have been guiding and doing studies on javelina in northwest Arizona by hosting Big Pig contests each year, I have seen just one javelina that weighed more than that one did. Dan Reed brought in a giant sow a number of years back that weighed 44 lbs 10 ounces. That is the largest pig I have ever seen, field dressed. So know I know why Joe was completely worn out. He had carried that old girl on his back for about 3.5 miles!!! Obviously Joe is on the lead in our contest, and in second is one of my archers who thumped a pig that weighed 41.8 pounds in January. Bryan Beckstead came down from St, George Utah and he bagged his first javelina last week, a sow that weighed 40.05 lbs. He is in third place. We have 9 hunters still in the contest that have rifle tags next week in Unit 18B so it will be interesting to see if anyone can get a pig over 40 lbs, which is rare. For Joe, he is looking at getting a half mount of this old sow on a rock as he has never had a javelina mounted before. I told him I'd be willing to bet that he'll never get a larger one in his lifetime! Oh, Joe missed the party and his wife dislikes me even more! Not bad though for a quick dash and glass! Official weight! Scale doesn't lie! Joe is 6'2" and 270 lbs. He is holding the queen of the desert, Pigzilla! Pigzilla looking to the right. Note how big her shoulders and head are! Another view of the big shoulders and head of this desert pig. 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PelaPapas Report post Posted February 15, 2016 Big pig for sure! Congrats to your buddy Joe on getting it done! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jazz Report post Posted February 15, 2016 Awesome story! Well done! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
elkaholic Report post Posted February 15, 2016 CONGRATS -- Big pigs all over this yr. my minister just got a huge dry sow - tipped the scales at 55 field dressed --- weighed at ranch houses hanging Hanson scale down south it did happen even though no pics as most our crew doesn't care for photos and I believe this guy 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
brian390 Report post Posted February 16, 2016 I love hearing about your hunts. Congrats on a big javelina. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
goinhuntn Report post Posted February 16, 2016 Cool story congrats!! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
