AZHunter
Iowa Boy At Heart
After being as restless as can be since I didn’t fill my elk tag last September (some of you probably remember that journal/saga), I’m proud to say that I have redeemed myself and started off 2013 on a high note. A good friend of mine and I had archery javelina tags for a unit near Wikieup, AZ (SE of Kingman). The tags are good from 1 January through 24 January, but because of family commitments (family trip and my daughter’s soccer schedule), I only had 2-5 January to hunt this year. That ended up being perfect timing because it was during our kids’ winter break and my daughter could go with me. My buddy (Bill) and I had this tag last year, but, again, because of family commitments, I had one weekend free (MLK weekend) and was going to pull my daughter out of school on that Friday to make a nice, long weekend of chasing javelina and desert mule deer (my buddy’s sons have taken some BEAUTIFUL desert muleys from this unit and 2 years ago, I put a stalk on one but it didn’t end well). Well, last year, my wife managed to get extremely sick the only weekend I had available so I ended up staying home to take care of her and our son. Bill went out with his son and glassed up a herd one evening and found them again the next morning, taking a nice, big javelina! I was happy for him and extremely jealous at the same time!
As I said, this is a decent unit for desert mule deer. It doesn’t have Kaibab Plateau or AZ Strip quality muleys, but then those aren’t desert muleys, either. That’s my big draw to the area, so I end up getting my over-the-counter archery deer tag to keep in my pack just in case a nice buck shows up while we are looking for javelina. So Bill and I made our plans to meet up over there Wednesday morning, 2 January, and start hunting with the time we had. Just like me, he is busy chasing two kids everywhere. Bill had to be back in town to get his son to basketball practice Thursday afternoon. Although his son admitted that he would rather be out hunting (I admire his compassion), we assured him we’ve all been there and he’d have plenty of time to hunt in life. He’s all ready an accomplished hunter (did I mention he shot an AWESOME 5x6 desert muley back in late November in another unit a few miles north?) and Bill is one of the best at glassing for wildlife I’ve ever seen! If memory serves me correctly, Bill grew up in Kingman, so he knows these hunting units better than just about anybody else and he knows where to go to get away from the road hunters!
After getting camp set up and relaxing a bit, Bill’s son asked when we were going to head out hunting. We got geared up and drove to the area where Bill and his son got his javelina last year (and saw a nice buck). As we were walking up to the ridge top, I happened to turn around just in time to see a big javelina across the wash from us, a couple hundred yards up. We kept an eye on that area and started glassing both sides of the ridge top as soon as we got situated. This particular area is still Sonoran Desert, but its high desert, just above the elevation line for Saguaro cacti (still plenty of other cacti, though) and has some of the lower elevation chapparal shrubs. It always makes me forget how much I actually love the desert.
View from ridge top:
The most successful hunting out here involves finding high ground and doing lots of glassing. There is an old saying that you will wear out the seat of your pants faster than you will wear out your boots if you do it right. As I said, Bill is one of the best at glassing. I was thinking about how proud of my daughter (Sydney) I was for doing her first real hike up a desert mountain, avoiding most of the spiney stuff (I carried her pack for her, though to make it easier for her) and her attempts at glassing. Of course, who can say no to a good bag of beef jerkey?
Bill was keeping an eye on the area where I first saw the javelina and where he saw it last and we started talking about a game plan. Going after this javelina kind of excited me because he was probably less than 200 yards from where I parked and I could stop by my truck on the way to get my javelina call, which I really wanted to try out (forgot it when we took off). I looked over and there was Sydney sitting next to Bill, learning the finer art of glassing. She’s also all ready working on him to help take her out when she’s 10 and can legally hunt big game in Arizona. Bill loves getting kids out as much as I do and we’ll be making plans for a youth hunt in this unit in about a year!
We had been there less than an hour when Bill got up to look at the opposite ridge and, within 5 minutes, says “I see pigs!” Turns out he glassed up a herd of about 14 javelina in about the same area as the ones he saw last year. They were feeding their way across and down the opposite slope from us. We grabbed our gear and headed for the next little knoll, cutting some distance. On the way, Sydney fell once and landed with one of her legs in a prickly pear, but she got right back up and got moving, with the idea that she’d get the cactus spine out while I was stalking. I’m so proud of how tough that girl is! We reacquired the herd moving and formulated a plan. I quickly grabbed my 2-way radio with the earpiece so Bill could keep me posted on where the javelina were and guide me closer (radios are perfectly legal to use in AZ, by the way) and took off down the near slope.
As I got directly across from and slightly below the javelina herd, something spooked them and they started heading back the way they came. They couldn’t have seen me because they have poor eyesight and I was in the shadows of the opposite slope. They have an excellent sense of smell, but the wind wasn’t carrying my scent across the canyon and up to them. It’s possible they heard me, but who knows. I regrouped at the bottom of the wash and discussed my options with Bill. I didn’t really want to get into a game of chasing them over adjacent ridge tops, but I didn’t want to walk away, either. The plan was to angle up the slope, keeping down wind and work my way back up the spine of the ridge to where they crested. When I was ready, I put on my newly acquired Safari Sneakers to keep from doing another stalk in socks like I did 2 years ago (took me a week to get all of the cactus spines out of my feet and socks) and made my way to where I thought they crossed. Bill confirmed my location and I crested over the ridge top, following fresh javelina tracks and remembering their smell. Within 5 minutes, I looked up and saw a nice one quartering away just over 70 yards. I worked on closing the distance and then started seeing more of them bedded under oak shrub, cat claw, and yuccas. Something happened and several of them spooked, but there was one slightly quartering to me at 64 yards. I closed some distance and was contemplating a longer shot if it turned full broadside, but then all hell broke loose and I was in the middle of a scattered, frightened herd. I remember praying that none of them would go on the defensive (which is known to happen) and cussing myself for not having my call with me when I looked up and there was a HUGE boar running away from me. I drew my bow and tried to stop him at 30 yards, but he kept on running. After I let down, I picked up another javelina moving to my right. I drew my bow, waiting for him to hit an opening 10 yards in front of me, but he kept moving and came to a stop in a small clearing 5-6 yards in front of me. I remember thinking “Man, he’s small, but he’s a filled tag and he’s RIGHT THERE!” Before I knew it, I pulled the trigger on my release, hit him square and he took about 4 steps, turned the opposite direction he was facing at the shot and dropped right there, 5 yards in front of me. I got on the radio to let everyone know what was going on and tagged him. That was the first time I’d tagged an animal in Arizona since May 2008, the second fastest hunt I've had in AZ, and it was a great feeling! :way:
We decided I’d gut him when I got back to my group since he was on the smaller side as far as javelina go. As I was walking back up to crest the ridge, Sydney got on the radio to congratulate me and talk with me a bit. That right there was the highlight of it all! I didn’t care how big or how small the javelina was, I had her there to watch most of it and create those memories! As it turns out, after going up the ridge, down the near slope, across the wash and up the far ridge (all through cat claw, cacti, and other wait-a-minute-bushes) to get back to Bill, his son, and Sydney, I was very glad to have gotten a smaller javelina. The exit wound from my Grim Reapers left a huge channel and his guts were hanging out (and they STINK) so throwing him over my shoulder was out of the question. I’d have probably died trying to carry one of the larger ones back. Next time, I know to field dress it on the spot and throw it in the meat compartment of my Black’s Creek pack! I forgot how much javelina stink and then throw in a gut-shot one and Sydney got a chuckle out of me dry-heaving, trying not to puke at the smell!
After field dressing and pictures, I threw it in a garbage bag and then stuffed it into my meat compartment, hiking was so much easier. I couldn’t actually tell I had 20 extra pounds in my pack!
All said and done, we were back at the truck before 1730 (left the truck around 1500) and had some chili warming up on the stove and a nice campfire! Life doesn’t get much better than that. This will go down as one of my favorite hunts ever because I had my daughter there with me for it. I wish she could have been on the stalk with me or seen the final part, but she said she had a blast and really liked watching the first part of my stalk through binocs and my spotting scope. Because Bill and his son had to be back, we decided to head on back to town rather than stick around and try to fill my deer tag. Sleeping in felt good, I won’t lie. I’m looking at heading back out there the last weekend of this month to try and find a nice deer.
As I said, this is a decent unit for desert mule deer. It doesn’t have Kaibab Plateau or AZ Strip quality muleys, but then those aren’t desert muleys, either. That’s my big draw to the area, so I end up getting my over-the-counter archery deer tag to keep in my pack just in case a nice buck shows up while we are looking for javelina. So Bill and I made our plans to meet up over there Wednesday morning, 2 January, and start hunting with the time we had. Just like me, he is busy chasing two kids everywhere. Bill had to be back in town to get his son to basketball practice Thursday afternoon. Although his son admitted that he would rather be out hunting (I admire his compassion), we assured him we’ve all been there and he’d have plenty of time to hunt in life. He’s all ready an accomplished hunter (did I mention he shot an AWESOME 5x6 desert muley back in late November in another unit a few miles north?) and Bill is one of the best at glassing for wildlife I’ve ever seen! If memory serves me correctly, Bill grew up in Kingman, so he knows these hunting units better than just about anybody else and he knows where to go to get away from the road hunters!
After getting camp set up and relaxing a bit, Bill’s son asked when we were going to head out hunting. We got geared up and drove to the area where Bill and his son got his javelina last year (and saw a nice buck). As we were walking up to the ridge top, I happened to turn around just in time to see a big javelina across the wash from us, a couple hundred yards up. We kept an eye on that area and started glassing both sides of the ridge top as soon as we got situated. This particular area is still Sonoran Desert, but its high desert, just above the elevation line for Saguaro cacti (still plenty of other cacti, though) and has some of the lower elevation chapparal shrubs. It always makes me forget how much I actually love the desert.
View from ridge top:
The most successful hunting out here involves finding high ground and doing lots of glassing. There is an old saying that you will wear out the seat of your pants faster than you will wear out your boots if you do it right. As I said, Bill is one of the best at glassing. I was thinking about how proud of my daughter (Sydney) I was for doing her first real hike up a desert mountain, avoiding most of the spiney stuff (I carried her pack for her, though to make it easier for her) and her attempts at glassing. Of course, who can say no to a good bag of beef jerkey?
Bill was keeping an eye on the area where I first saw the javelina and where he saw it last and we started talking about a game plan. Going after this javelina kind of excited me because he was probably less than 200 yards from where I parked and I could stop by my truck on the way to get my javelina call, which I really wanted to try out (forgot it when we took off). I looked over and there was Sydney sitting next to Bill, learning the finer art of glassing. She’s also all ready working on him to help take her out when she’s 10 and can legally hunt big game in Arizona. Bill loves getting kids out as much as I do and we’ll be making plans for a youth hunt in this unit in about a year!
We had been there less than an hour when Bill got up to look at the opposite ridge and, within 5 minutes, says “I see pigs!” Turns out he glassed up a herd of about 14 javelina in about the same area as the ones he saw last year. They were feeding their way across and down the opposite slope from us. We grabbed our gear and headed for the next little knoll, cutting some distance. On the way, Sydney fell once and landed with one of her legs in a prickly pear, but she got right back up and got moving, with the idea that she’d get the cactus spine out while I was stalking. I’m so proud of how tough that girl is! We reacquired the herd moving and formulated a plan. I quickly grabbed my 2-way radio with the earpiece so Bill could keep me posted on where the javelina were and guide me closer (radios are perfectly legal to use in AZ, by the way) and took off down the near slope.
As I got directly across from and slightly below the javelina herd, something spooked them and they started heading back the way they came. They couldn’t have seen me because they have poor eyesight and I was in the shadows of the opposite slope. They have an excellent sense of smell, but the wind wasn’t carrying my scent across the canyon and up to them. It’s possible they heard me, but who knows. I regrouped at the bottom of the wash and discussed my options with Bill. I didn’t really want to get into a game of chasing them over adjacent ridge tops, but I didn’t want to walk away, either. The plan was to angle up the slope, keeping down wind and work my way back up the spine of the ridge to where they crested. When I was ready, I put on my newly acquired Safari Sneakers to keep from doing another stalk in socks like I did 2 years ago (took me a week to get all of the cactus spines out of my feet and socks) and made my way to where I thought they crossed. Bill confirmed my location and I crested over the ridge top, following fresh javelina tracks and remembering their smell. Within 5 minutes, I looked up and saw a nice one quartering away just over 70 yards. I worked on closing the distance and then started seeing more of them bedded under oak shrub, cat claw, and yuccas. Something happened and several of them spooked, but there was one slightly quartering to me at 64 yards. I closed some distance and was contemplating a longer shot if it turned full broadside, but then all hell broke loose and I was in the middle of a scattered, frightened herd. I remember praying that none of them would go on the defensive (which is known to happen) and cussing myself for not having my call with me when I looked up and there was a HUGE boar running away from me. I drew my bow and tried to stop him at 30 yards, but he kept on running. After I let down, I picked up another javelina moving to my right. I drew my bow, waiting for him to hit an opening 10 yards in front of me, but he kept moving and came to a stop in a small clearing 5-6 yards in front of me. I remember thinking “Man, he’s small, but he’s a filled tag and he’s RIGHT THERE!” Before I knew it, I pulled the trigger on my release, hit him square and he took about 4 steps, turned the opposite direction he was facing at the shot and dropped right there, 5 yards in front of me. I got on the radio to let everyone know what was going on and tagged him. That was the first time I’d tagged an animal in Arizona since May 2008, the second fastest hunt I've had in AZ, and it was a great feeling! :way:
We decided I’d gut him when I got back to my group since he was on the smaller side as far as javelina go. As I was walking back up to crest the ridge, Sydney got on the radio to congratulate me and talk with me a bit. That right there was the highlight of it all! I didn’t care how big or how small the javelina was, I had her there to watch most of it and create those memories! As it turns out, after going up the ridge, down the near slope, across the wash and up the far ridge (all through cat claw, cacti, and other wait-a-minute-bushes) to get back to Bill, his son, and Sydney, I was very glad to have gotten a smaller javelina. The exit wound from my Grim Reapers left a huge channel and his guts were hanging out (and they STINK) so throwing him over my shoulder was out of the question. I’d have probably died trying to carry one of the larger ones back. Next time, I know to field dress it on the spot and throw it in the meat compartment of my Black’s Creek pack! I forgot how much javelina stink and then throw in a gut-shot one and Sydney got a chuckle out of me dry-heaving, trying not to puke at the smell!
After field dressing and pictures, I threw it in a garbage bag and then stuffed it into my meat compartment, hiking was so much easier. I couldn’t actually tell I had 20 extra pounds in my pack!
All said and done, we were back at the truck before 1730 (left the truck around 1500) and had some chili warming up on the stove and a nice campfire! Life doesn’t get much better than that. This will go down as one of my favorite hunts ever because I had my daughter there with me for it. I wish she could have been on the stalk with me or seen the final part, but she said she had a blast and really liked watching the first part of my stalk through binocs and my spotting scope. Because Bill and his son had to be back, we decided to head on back to town rather than stick around and try to fill my deer tag. Sleeping in felt good, I won’t lie. I’m looking at heading back out there the last weekend of this month to try and find a nice deer.
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