Coach Report post Posted January 25, 2019 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. 16 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lazy-H98 Report post Posted January 25, 2019 Congrats on the 11th hour Jave. A head cold ditched my plans this week. Gotta wait for the HAM hunt now..... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Beaton Report post Posted January 26, 2019 Way to get er done! I know of a few active caves and it's nice when they are active cause they will usually be close by. I ended up going back to a peep with the tubing. I just check it frequently and carry tubing in my pack. Same thing happen to me except it was on a bull elk. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Coach Report post Posted January 26, 2019 25 minutes ago, Beaton said: Way to get er done! I know of a few active caves and it's nice when they are active cause they will usually be close by. I ended up going back to a peep with the tubing. I just check it frequently and carry tubing in my pack. Same thing happen to me except it was on a bull elk. I can't imagine how frustrating that would be with a bull elk. I usually like to have my strings pre-stretched so the peep always comes back to the same place. It's funny how you can shoot all summer and it never happens, then on a hunt it does. Murphy's law I guess. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CatfishKev Report post Posted January 26, 2019 Congrats sounds fun. You gonna go back after the buck? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Coach Report post Posted January 26, 2019 6 minutes ago, CatfishKev said: Congrats sounds fun. You gonna go back after the buck? I won't have a chance to go back after him. We've got baseball tournaments this weekend and a major project ramping up at work. But I think he'll survive this season and I'm already working on a plan for next year. He's a solid 4x4, young with great genetics. A little more mass and he'll be a stud. I wouldn't have hesitated to fill my tag early on him this year if given the chance. That area though, it's very hard to spot and stalk. You'd either have to have his water source or know exactly where he's bedded. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CatfishKev Report post Posted January 26, 2019 Well good luck, hopefully a success story for you coming up. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AverysAdventures Report post Posted January 31, 2019 Great job on getting it done. I really appreciate you taking the time to post that first picture. Being new to this stink pig thing pictures like that are a big help to me. Rod Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Coach Report post Posted February 1, 2019 (edited) 12 hours ago, AverysAdventures said: Great job on getting it done. I really appreciate you taking the time to post that first picture. Being new to this stink pig thing pictures like that are a big help to me. Rod 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. Edited February 1, 2019 by Coach reword 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mr September Report post Posted February 2, 2019 Very Nice! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pistolpete Report post Posted February 6, 2019 Nice pig! Good recap too. Going out with my brother for our firsts this weekend Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
218buck Report post Posted February 6, 2019 congrats Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tomharveyb Report post Posted February 6, 2019 congratulations! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mr September Report post Posted February 8, 2019 Are a lot of you guys seeing less Javelina/Javelina activity? I am kind of getting that feed back from A LOT of sources this year. I know we hunted 3 known areas hard this year and saw one sounder of 3 pigs. Was absolutely crazy. Hunted hard too, 8-10 hour days from dawn till dusk.(3 glassers) Everything was very green, but locals said it was a VERY dry year over all I guess? Just wondering what you guys think Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Coach Report post Posted February 9, 2019 15 hours ago, Mr September said: Are a lot of you guys seeing less Javelina/Javelina activity? I am kind of getting that feed back from A LOT of sources this year. I know we hunted 3 known areas hard this year and saw one sounder of 3 pigs. Was absolutely crazy. Hunted hard too, 8-10 hour days from dawn till dusk.(3 glassers) Everything was very green, but locals said it was a VERY dry year over all I guess? Just wondering what you guys think 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. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
