Coach

Holy smokes! I haven't laughed that hard in a long time...Great post!!!

Hey CWT family, I wanted to share some cool pictures and stories from our youth javelina hunt this year. It was a blast for everyone. To set the stage, we had 4 youth hunters - my two oldest sons, Matt and Nick, my buddy Mark's daughter, Alana, and my buddy Brian's daughter, Monica. So we had our work cut out for us. First day, we found pigs and went on a long stalk but no shots were fired. Mark and Alana had some pegged before me and my boys could show up (we forgot our tags back at camp) so dad kinda blew it on that one. Second day, we start glassing at first light and find a big herd not too far off. It's my turn to take the kiddos on a stalk while Mark keeps tabs on them. We got right into them and both Alana and Matt shoot. After the replay on video, it looks like Matt finished off the javi Alana had shot. While Matt and I took care of his pig, Mark took the rest of the kids looking for another herd. As they were glassing a jeep drove by, turned around and came back to tell them there was a huge herd just up ahead. Unfortunately, by the time the got there the herd had vanished. Day 3 - Our first glassing spot turned up nothing so we headed to another. While I was "otherwise occupied" Mark had already located some pigs on an open hillside. The stalk was on. With lots of young kids around, everyone wanted to see the pigs through the binocs, and somehow, the herd got away from us. I was taking the kids to where the pigs were last seen and Mark was trying to relocate them. The herd had moved downhill and was now directly across the canyon from us moving in the wrong direction. The wind was bad and we were right in the open. We tried to get ahead of them and both Alana and Nick got some long shots but couldn't connect. After a long hike back to the truck we started moving to the next glassing spot. Part way there, Mark gets out of the truck and motions to us to get ready. There is a pig standing 100 yards off the road. Nick and Alana get ready and we tell them we're going to say 1..2..3.. shoot. So they both get ready and we say 1..2..booom both of them shoot early and they both miss. Somehow, a second pig steps right into the same opening and looks up at us. Both Nick and Alana had re-chambered and were on him. Both Mark and I are saying, when you have a good shot take it, BOOOM - both kids shoot at exactly the same time and the pig drops. Alana felt comfortable with her shot and Nick thought he might have hit high so we all agreed that Alana had dropped this one... The kiddos get a gutting lesson from the dads... Anthony doesn't like the smell... Alana's new stylish purse... Day 4 came and went and it was Nick's turn but we just couldn't get it done... More in part 2....

Man, I don't see anything there but tree. Give us something to go on at least.

Thanks, Mike. I was really happy with the work they did for us. Now we just have to get Bill to chasing javis around again. IMO, one of the most fun hunts around.

Hey Dan, great to see you are a member here. Pretty small world, eh? Thanks for coming back and telling us about those pigs. We never did get on those ones, but you know they're hanging around in there. Were you guys quail hunting or just jeeping around?

Hey Brian, thanks for the update. Fishing slabs on the 'carlos has been part of my life since way back. The past few years, it's gotten harder and harder to fight the rising and falling lake levels. The fish just can't reproduce. This year a lot of big, older females will be caught, but I just don't think they'll be able to overcome the poor management. It's really sad to me, to see this lake so poorly managed. San Carlos is (or was???) the best fishery in the state, and one of the best in the South West. With decent management, it would continue to be the jewell of the desert. But unfortunately, I don't think the politics involved will do what needs to be done to preserve and protect it.

Bill, there's a guy in Tucson, I only know him as the "sausage guy" who does great work with javelina. A couple years back a buddy of mine took both of our javi's to him to make snack sticks. They were very good. Nothing better while out on a hunt than snacking on the fruits of a previous one. I can try to find out exactly who this processor was, if you want.

Thanks for the kind words, Chef, and for your reply to my PM. Take care, brother.

I find some inspiration in the reported last words of Steve Jobs. He's a man who lead an amazing life, not just in being a success in business, but in really impacting the world we live in. It's reported that his last words were, "Oh wow, oh wow, oh wow"...makes you wonder what he was seeing as he made that final transition.

Great video, as always Jed. Thanks for sharing.

That's a great rig. Most 85s with a solid front axle are carburated, which can lead to stalls on steep terrain or really high elevation. Usually you have to choose between 22RE OR solid front axle, or get one that's had the swap (most aren't done well). And 9 out of 10 have troubles with the A/C, which costs more than this truck is selling for to fix. I wish it weren't auto tranny - and I've already got another project yota waiting for work, or I'd be all over it. Someone is going to get a great deal on this truck.

Under any previous Presidency, Obama would have been impeached for overtly cicumventing the Constitution, that he swore an oath to protect, over and over and over. Problem is, America is getting dumber by the day and we just let this butt-clown do whatever he wants. And mark my words, we'll give him 4 more years with absolute power and absolutely nothing to lose.

Thanks Chef, that was a great post. I'll have to PM you the details but it's funny how little miracles happen in life - your post was just that for me. Too personal and too complicated to drag out in public but I hope to PM you about it.

Thanks, everyone for the replies. In a couple weekends my youngest son, Josh will have his first ever big game hunt. Hopefully we can still find them.

Part 2... Second weekend, we're back after it. We've got two tags filled and two more to go. Early Friday morning it's just Nick and I. At 7:15 I glass up a nice group and we're going after them. Everything was perfect, the wind was in our face, it was early so I thought they'd stay in the sun for long enough to get on them. Unfortunately they were moving fast, leapfrogging eachother over the hill and into some really thick stuff. No shot. The afternoon was like all the afternoons on this hunt - couldn't find a single pig. So the next morning we planned to do some hiking and get above the whole area where we could really glass everything. Carrie had brought my other sons out Friday night, and Brian had brought Monica out. Matt, Nick and I hiked up a long ridgeline to get a good look at everything below. The morning was really slow. We had found 4 coues deer, but no pigs. As we got to the highest glassing point in the area we still couldn't find the pigs. We had decided to go "bust beds" but I insisted on re-glassing a spot that I just knew would have them. Sure enough, just seconds into glassing I pick up a pig rolling a dirt wallow. Matt got on the binocs as Nick and I headed in for a shot. The pigs were bedding in some super thick stuff and when we got down there, we couldn't find them. We kept working up a ridge above where we knew the whole herd was, and finally we see one standing out in the open. Nick put his .270 WSM on a shooting stick and made a one-shot kill on a big sow. Here's where it gets funny. Brian had watched us all morning hike into this area, and took Monica to a different spot so they wouldn't bump us, but he had his radio tuned into ours so he heard the whole thing unfold. After Nick shot his pig, the herd bolted up the hill and Matt found a second herd right above us. Well, "Big Bry" heard all this commotion and he and Monica headed for a road that would put them above where were to try and find where these two herds had gone. He glassed us up carrying Nicks pig out of the bedding area to gut it and was trying to figure out where they pigs had gone. As we were gutting Nick's pig I hear a "BOOM". Turns out the entire herd had headed right up to where Brian and Monica were glassing us from. I get on the radio and ask him what just happened, and he replied with "Smackdown, baby, Smackdown!" The herd ran right underneath them and Monica got a great 100 yard shot on a huge boar. Unreal how it all unfolded. 4 youth tags, 4 pigs down. What great times with great friends. Here are some scenery pix to end the story with...

Yeah, he's got the right idea!!! Great vid, Josh.

Outstanding! Wowser, nothing gets my blood pumping faster than seeing those youth hunters taking their first big game, and Javelina are the perfect first AZ big game accomplishments. What a huge boar - and I love the AR set-up. My youngest will be on his first hunt in a couple of weeks and I'm probably going to have him using a very similar AR (Mine's a Rock River with a 1" bull barrel and RRA 2-stage trigger). Very cool setup for kids because there is so little recoil. Mine's a little heavy though, he'll have to shoot off a bipod or tripod to be effective. Great job to the little huntress - give her some high fives and knuckle pounding for us.

Nice job - that's a cool and very unique buck.

Wow - what a pretty deer - great job!!!

Couple years back I got my first ever coues sitting close to where these pix were taken. We called the area the "357 tank" because my buddies who had recently discovered it also found a 357" elk head close by. That morning, I was blown away by the bugling and cow calls - this was early August - and in the desert. There is something unique about sitting in country you never knew held elk, listenting to bugles and cow talk in areas I had grown up hunting pigs and quail, weeks before they were talking in the high country. No doubt they are there, but I would hate to be that tag holder, because everything has to be exactly right on exactly the right day. But if it all came together, it would make one heck of a Cinderella story.

Great hunt, great story, and fantastic pictures. Huge congrats on a really nice and unique buck.

Awesome job. Piggy hunitng in AZ is awesome. Gotta love those Magnus. Mine was a buzz cut and dropped the pig litterally in his tracks - first time I saw a bowshot pig go nowhere - the pig dropped, rolled 1 quarter turn and died (opps "expired") right where he was hit. Looks like a pretty big javi - did you enter the contest? BTW congrats again - nicely done.

desertdog, I hear where you're coming from but don't down our CWT members for defending our state of AZ. You're ashamed of everyone of the Cwt members especially sundevil and .270, REALLY? You're right, this dude might just want to get a debate started but we as CWT members have a right to defend ourselves. Yes, don't feed the troll, but don't tell us you are ashamed of us CWT members for standing up to this NM hunter. Just saying! TJ +1, Good post TJ. Desertdog, no offense, but I don't think this was an anti trying to stir up trouble, and I agree with you that generally the best way to deal with someone dropping in and tossing verbal grenades is just to ignore them. That said, I don't think anyone has been out of line in pointing out that these attacks were unjustified and that while we all have our bad apples, it's uncalled for to attack an entire group of hunters (who you don't even know) based on a single experience.

CRX is a great bow. I love mine, but bow opionions are pretty subjective.

Nice job, Jason. Looking forward to the video.