Jump to content
Sign in to follow this  
rossislider

"Worst Pig Hunters in Arizona" Break Through

Recommended Posts

For some crazy unknown reason, I had never had a lot of desire or interest in javelina hunting until my oldest son was old enough to start hunting. We decided to give it a go together a few seasons back and failed miserably without so much a seeing a pig. Since that hunt, javelina has become something of an obsession. Unlike most other species I have hunted in my past, where I had friends to go with and coach me (I was not raised in a hunting family), most of this we learned on our own. My son has had four additional javelina tags/hunts. Each time we hunted them, we noticed we were improving slightly and our knowledge was growing. The second hunt resulted in plenty of fresh sign, but no pigs. On his third hunt we finally found a group of pigs, but blew them out as we tried to close the distance. It was about this time that we awarded ourselves the title of "Worst Pig Hunters in Arizona". On our fourth try we got into pigs again, but I didn't get him set up on a very good rest, and he missed his shot(s). This past youth season provided us with our fifth try, and first success. Dang it sure felt good to finally break through. We were able to spot this herd a couple of ridges over within the first 30 minutes of our first day. We closed the gap to 300 yards, and Draysen made a great shot. We had to pack it out of some steep and nasty terrain, but the long awaited victory made it well worth it.

 

These unsuccessful and finally successful hunts were a priceless reminder to me about why I love hunting so much. It was my son and I out spending time together in beautiful country, studying a new animal (to us), learning it's habitats, patterns, etc., growing as hunters, and seeing lots of deer, coyotes, botcats, etc. A big thanks to many on here who have helped us out with coaching and tips along the way. I think (for now) we may actually retire the title of "Worst Pig Hunters in Arizona". We will see, my turn is coming up in a couple of weeks...

 

A dead pig lay on the hill in the background.

post-6408-0-27309700-1486576431_thumb.jpg

 

post-6408-0-75228600-1486576440_thumb.jpg

 

A few more pounds on his bones, and he will be packing out all his own animals AND MINE!

post-6408-0-17187800-1486576446_thumb.jpg

 

The faces of VICTORY!

post-6408-0-27654300-1486576422_thumb.jpg

  • Like 22

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Great job guys! I wouldn't be so hard on yourself, Javelina can be very difficult to find! They make fools out of a lot of people every year! I love hunting them, but HATE cleaning them!!!!

  • Like 4

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Also, as if to mock our past failures, after we got to the pig, took our pictures, called home, etc., and started gutting the pig we heard a noise off to our left. We looked over and had a pig walk about 5 yards from us, stare at us for a while, and walk off.

  • Like 3

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Pig hunting is feast or famine. Just like you I have gone entire hunts without seeing them to bumping into them within 100 yards from the truck.

 

I love it though

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Well done and congrats!

 

Will be taking my son out in 2.5 weeks for our first javelina hunt. We went scouting this past weekend and saw a couple so we're excited to try and chase them down. Maybe we'll hold on to that title for you after we're done LOL...but hopefully not.

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Congrats! It's called making memories. Hopefully your son will be able to tell this story again in 20 to 30 years. Enjoy it while you can, they grow up too fast.

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I think being bad at hunting pigs means you are actually a good hunter. Which would mean your recent success is a sign you are regressing. My advice, get back out there and hunt some Coues and shake off the new found stink pig mojo.

 

Congrats ;)

  • Like 4

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I think being bad at hunting pigs means you are actually a good hunter. Which would mean your recent success is a sign you are regressing. My advice, get back out there and hunt some Coues and shake off the new found stink pig mojo.

 

Congrats ;)

It was borderline ridiculous how many coues (a few really nice ones) and muleys we glassed up and watched with nothing but pig tags in our pockets during these hunts.
  • Like 2

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Nicely done...I too have not had the desire to hunt them after killing a few but I need to get my two boys out there after them. They need the experience.

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Awesome job! The only issue I see is that you kept the meat. :)

LOL, I usually process my own meat, but didn't mess with this. Miller's Southwest Processing in Queen Creek does a pretty good deal on javelina. A flat $95 for whatever you want done with it. I did all summer sausage and snack sticks. My buddy did the same last year and it turned out really good.

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
Sign in to follow this  

×