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Simply awesome Javelina Youth hunt

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Had one of the coolest hunts ever with my youngest son, Joshua this season. We were in an area we'd never been before but had guidance from a fellow CWT member here who got us started out very well.

 

8:00 AM opening morning we were getting our first look at some country we'd never seen. Right off the bat we had a nice group of mule deer does and fawns to watch. Within minutes we had three groups of deer just milling around. Before long I spotted a single javelina about 1000 yards off and by 9 we were starting our stalk.

 

The terrain was broken and very open, the "half-way" point was around 560 yards. Josh really wanted to test his long range skills but this was still a little further than we wanted. He's never really wanted to do the archery route so for him, the challenge was extending his range with a rifle. He was lugging around my 25-06 heavy barrel gun that drives tacks, but we were thinking more like 300 yards to be safe.

 

In order to close the distance, we had to circle around to get above the lone boar. As we got into position above where we had last seen him, a doe and fawn bolted below us. I was wondering how we could have bumped them given our quiet stalk and using the wind - and even more puzzling was why they were headed towards and just below us. Josh says, "Dad, there's a mountain lion chasing those deer". I looked behind them for movement, and sure enough, a lion comes trotting up behind them. It's only about 100 yards away and totally oblivious to us.

 

Josh is taking pix with his phone as the lion just walks out to a rock and sits down. I've been hunting AZ & NM for 30 years now, and I've seen a few lions but usually just a glimpse, maybe a few seconds. We sat and watched this lion for at least 3 minutes sitting there trying to figure out his next move.

 

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He wanted so bad to be able to shoot it, but he didn't have a tag, so we just kept watching. Eventually, the big herd of deer we had been watching earlier ran behind us making noise and the cat turned to see what was going on. It saw us and slinked off the rock and out of sight. That was definitely one of the high lights of all the years I've been hunting.

 

We worked our way back in a big circle to where we had parked the ranger, still hoping to find either the lone boar we were after or another group, but saw only more deer. From there, we drove back the way we had come in and took a little side road that we could tell went up to a water tank at the top of a ridge that looked to have some good glassing opportunities. As we started getting out the tripods and set up for a short hike, I looked up along the hillside we were on and there was another lone boar, just eating cactus.

 

Quick range - he was 297 yards right in the open. Where we were was an area that had been cleared out for the big water tank, so it was perfect to set up prone. Josh put out the bipod and set up for the shot. The darn pig just kept facing straight away and we didn't want to ruin the meat. We were about to move in closer, but he turned perfectly broadside. Josh got back on the rifle in prone and I watched through the binocs as the shot rang out and he fell, literally right where he stood - no motion whatsoever. It was boom, fall, then the report of the "whack".

 

Josh's 5'th Javelina just days before his 16th birthday. Couldn't have been a more perfect day.

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His shot placement was perfect, and I know 300 yards isn't exactly "long range" these days but center-punching a target about the size of an apple at 300 yards in field conditions is pretty cool.

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We took really good care of the meat, and even though he's a big old boar, he'll taste great.

 

Congrats to all the youth hunters this year, and thanks for checking out this hunt.

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That's a great day and experience. To bad you didn't have a lion tag, but good for you for doing the right thing and teaching your son right. A lot of people would have shot the cat and then headed into town for a tag.

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That's a great day and experience. To bad you didn't have a lion tag, but good for you for doing the right thing and teaching your son right. A lot of people would have shot the cat and then headed into town for a tag.

All the things that worked out so well on this hunt, to me, the biggest was seeing him make that choice himself. He knew where I stood, but I left it to him, intentionally - the apple dangling right there. One of my proudest moments as a father and a hunter teaching his sons, was his choice to "do the right thing".

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That's a great day and experience. To bad you didn't have a lion tag, but good for you for doing the right thing and teaching your son right. A lot of people would have shot the cat and then headed into town for a tag.

 

 

Couldn't have said it better, congrats.

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Always buy a Donation fee tag "lion tag" You never know when one will mess with you and give you the time to set and watch! Good call!!

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