Our Arizona Javi Hunt

[Etter1]

#2892

I know Bruce isn’t back yet but I’ll fill in the details and then add pictures when my wife gets home.

I was the first to arrive on the road that we planned to camp on and after driving the majority of it, I picked a spot and set up a quick camp to do some scouting before Bruce arrived.

I spent the afternoon doing some climbs and glassing in two areas right near camp. In both I found some older javi sign and a ton of deer sign. I also immediately jumped two does and we would continue to see tons of deer through the week. I never spotted any javelina so I went back to camp and waited on Bruce. He arrived and we made a brief plan for the next day. Bruce’s buddy Kevin got there around 3 am. At daylight we all went separate ways and did some climbing and glassing.

Everybody saw plenty of deer but no pigs and we decided to head to different areas that afternoon.

Again, we found deer but no javelina.

This was pretty much what we did for the next four days. We would pick apart different elevations and habitat types but never laid eyes on one. We did some awesome hiking, stump shooting, bird watching, and hanging together at camp. I hunted one area where I was blown away by the javelina sign but it was all about a month old. They were ghosts!

I think that for whatever reason, they were not really up and moving much. We also didn’t bring spotting scopes, which may have been helpful in finding bedded pigs, but who knows? They were certainly able to blend into the desert that they live in.

Either way, my main goal was to experience the desert mountains. It was some awesome turf and totally new to these eyes. Bruce and Kevin were great guys as well. Couldn’t have picked two better guys to share a camp with. In the end, I saw a big flock of merriam’s gobblers, untold numbers of deer, covey after covey of mearns quail,some gigantic black-tailed jacks, and a ton of new bird species. To me, it was worth every second of the 3500 mile round trip.

I did get stuck for several hours in New Mexico in a snowstorm and did the majority of my driving in the rain so most of the drive really sucked, but it’s all part of the adventure.

Pics to come. Ps- we hunted everywhere from 7500′-3500′.

[Ralph]

#14409

Sounds like you guys gave it a good go and had fun doing it.

Glad you’re home safe. Looking forward to seeing the pics.

[Bruce Smithhammer]

#15202

Finally made it back to Idaho last night. What a great trip!

As Sean mentioned, we never laid eyes on a single javi, which I find downright bizarre – I used to live down there, and Kevin grew up there, and we both were floored by the lack of sightings – in all my past experiences down there in the backcountry, you tend to bump into them all over the place. We hunted higher elevations, lower elevations, different habitat types, did a ton of glassing from high points, split up to cover as much country as possible…and nothing, except occasional sign, most of which was not very fresh. Downright mysterious, it was. Of course, beforehand I had joked that, “you see them all the time until you actually go down there looking for them…” which unfortunately turned out to be true. 😳

But we had a great time regardless, exploring a lot of cool country, and laying the groundwork for future javi expeditions – yes, there will definitely be more!

Looking east toward the Dragoon Mountains, and “Cochise Stronghold” – the place where Cochise and the remnants of the Chiricahua Apache held out for a decade against the U.S. Army before surrendering. Upon his death, his body was taken back to the Dragoon Mtns, and buried in a location that remains unknown to this day:

Lots of places for a 50lb. grey animal to effectively hide in this stuff:

Hunting at lower elevation, with an abundant supply of one of the javelina’s favorite foods – prickly pear cactus:

Fairly common sign through the area, though we never had any issues:

This is how we started every morning, getting up to a good glassing spot and hoping to find javis on the move in the cool morning hours:

Obligatory bow pic:

Kevin, practicing in camp:

My nylon chateau:

When you find stumps in the desert, they tend to be very unforgiving. In fact, I broke two arrows on what looked like old stumps, that turned out to be ironwood, and hard as a rock.

I’d go back and do it again in a heartbeat. The Sonoran Desert is an amazing place that never gets old for me. And thanks to Sean for bringing enough venison to feed a small army! I hope that next year’s trip will include a few more of you!

[paleoman]

#15472

Thanks you guys for the story and pics. What a great thing to do this time of year. SH – are those pics off a cell pH or independent camera? They look great!

[Bruce Smithhammer]

#15485

paleoman wrote: … SH – are those pics off a cell pH or independent camera? They look great!

Thanks. They are all taken with my iPhone.

[David Petersen]

#15531

Yes, it’s all about the trip. Due to lots of rain this year and other factors, the deer hunting was slow, and maybe weather had some affect on pigs too, as I’ve mostly seen them coming to water. And the Mearn’s qual was good so the place gets overrun with fat-cat bird hunters with outfitters and trailers full of dogs … bang-bang everywhere allatime. So I didn’t try to hunt down there this year. But I do hope to be there in three weeks or so to visit friends in Tucson and elsewhere, and camp and hike in the places I usually hunt, when I’ll have it all to myself.

Did you try predator calling? That’s the absolute best way to see and kill pigs. But once they bust you while calling, research has shown it will be at least 10 days before they’ll even think about responding to a wounded rabbit call again.

I hope you enjoyed some authentic Mex chow while there.

[Col Mike]

#15548

Sounds like a successful hunt! Great stories and pictures:D

Dave P–your new signature line cracked me up–we listened to George yesterday and died laughing at some of his insights:D

[Bruce Smithhammer]

#15669

David Petersen wrote: …And the Mearn’s qual was good so the place gets overrun with fat-cat bird hunters with outfitters and trailers full of dogs … bang-bang everywhere allatime.

No kidding. They were everywhere. I had to wonder what kind of effect all those shotgun blasts might be having on javis. But then again, we saw tons of deer, everywhere, so who knows.

David Petersen wrote:

Did you try predator calling?

I had a call with me, but everything I’d heard was that you shouldn’t use it until you’re already into them, or have just busted them. But by day 4, I was seriously considering wailing on it just to see what would happen. Have you had luck blind calling them?

[Etter1]

#15704

If I shot a compound, I think I could have probably killed a deer at some point but I dont think I ever could with a tradbow without staking out a trail or waterhole.

As for the quail hunters, I dont think they affect anything. People hunting coons, quail, rabbits, and squirrels with dogs have zero effect on our deer in the east so I surely dont think they would have any influence on a javelina.

I was pretty jealous of those birders on Saturday. They were doing really really well. It sounded like some awesome hunting.

I could have filled a turkey tag as well but am not sure I could have loosed an arrow on them. Those Merriams birds were as tame as barnyard birds. I dont understand it

[Ptaylor]

#15717

Sounds like a great trip! And looks like an awesome place to hunt!

[Etter1]

#15718

Also, forgot to tell you Bruce, just after I passed you on the way out I drove up on a covey of 16 quail dusting and gritting in the road. They ran off and I grabbed my bow. I didn’t have time to find my tab but quickly found a cock bird up on a rock at 6 yards. I drew and instantly missed by a miles and ripped a whole fletching off on a wire fence. It seemed like a fitting end as the covey flushed. Lol.

[Alexandre Bugnon]

#16009

Nice!

[Bruce Smithhammer]

#16226

Etter1 wrote: …I drew and instantly missed by a miles and ripped a whole fletching off on a wire fence. It seemed like a fitting end as the covey flushed. Lol.

Classic.

[William Warren]

#16363

Awesome story and pics! I’ve been to NM but not to AZ yet. Need to put javelinas on my bucket list.

[David Petersen]

#16659

Bruce … yes and no. I’ve witnessed nonstop manic wailing on a pred call make pigs appear out of nowhere, like magic … but it doesn’t necessarily bring them in to tradbow range. But my experience there is limited to one hunt, though I was with a native lifelong very successful pig hunter and retired AZ wildlife officer and his experience, and my one experience, goes opposite what you heard. I never endorse hitting the field or woods with a call in your mouth. But when days go by with no action nowhere, perhaps some experimentation is in order.

Like most hunting (and I must differ with your “quail hunters make no difference,” Etter), so much comes down to hunting pressure. If the piggies haven’t been harassed or called at recently, and if they are there, calling works as well or better than other tactics. But where to find that relaxed, natural place and time on public lands, esp. where ATVs are allowed? Not to mention illegals and smugglers, drones and migras, and one year I had a whole damn company of soldiers swarming around day and night, allegedly “training.” I did not like awaking in my tent late in the night and peeking out to see by moonlight a Humvee a couple dozen yards away with no visible lights and a guy in the turret with night-vision goggles and a machinegun pointed at me. Just another magical natural place substantially ruined by too many people trying to get “what’s theirs.”

I’m betting that with all hunting seasons long done with when I get down there next month, I’ll see more game than ever before. I’ll be camera hunting, having no other choice.

[Etter1]

#17010

Dave, I say that mostly because we had deer moving during the daylight around us nearly the entire time. I watched does moving pretty much every morning and evening, and even watched a buck chasing a doe in a draw for over ten minutes within about 75 yards. I would certainly expect them to respond to pressure faster than javelina but maybe I’m wrong. I wonder how much the cold really affects them and if they weren’t moving a good bit at night for some reason. I’m sure if they were regularly out in the open, we would have spotted some.

I tried blind calling on several occasions without success. It was very odd to be surrounded by so much older sign and to find almost zero fresh.

As for the illegals, I bet that does shake things up. Ww heard deer blowing every night and I was constantly wondering if that was because of people moving through the desert.

[Don Thomas]

#22228

I have to chime in since, as Bruce knows, Lori and I were in the same basic area at the same time–matter of fact, I told him I would put some x’s on the spot where I have seen pigs before. I’ve been on the same ridges from which some of those pictures were shot. I have to object ever so slightly to the comment about “fat cat” quail hunters, since we were hunting quail there too (I still can’t shoot a bow and mostly worked dogs while Lori shot quail), and as everyone here should know, we aren’t fat cats by any stretch of the imagination! Here’s the deal: Mearns quail have become trendy, and if you hunt in their habitat you are going to see quail hunters. The live oak ridges in the photos are ideal for Mearns. If you have a problem with other hunters sharing pubic land with you,hunt farther north or even at lower elevations in the area where you were. Means habitat is very strictly defined. Javelina habitat is not. Don

[Etter1]

#22328

Don,

I never felt encroached upon by bird hunters. In fact, the nearest shotgun blast I heard was well over one mile away. I sure wish those big dog running suckers would have run some pigs my way!

Down here, we regularly have people running quail dogs, coon hounds, rabbit beagles, etc, etc, etc, and I don’t think it has any effect on our deer or pigs.

Running them purposely with human drivers or hound dogs changes things instantly but

[Doc Nock]

#22887

Interesting thread with so many varied perspectives. Each being good persons indeed, I can’t help but sit here and wonder:

Is it possible like in other types of regions, game, situations, that it all “depends”?

Meaning, what is true of one area, may not it be the same in other areas? I’m not world traveled. I’m not even multi-state traveled to hunt and enjoy the things I read about here, but while “multi-use” in more crowded areas of the East mean different things than in the West/NW/SW, it remains that there are more of us wanting to ply our interests in less and less available space.

When I lived in MT, if I hunted range and even SAW one other hunter, I didn’t usually go back there again. 😯

When I returned to PA years later, I went out opening day of gun season dressed to just “still hunt” and there was an orange pumpkin behind every other tree when I went in any direction more than 100 yards…

I was in a state of shock! I crawled into the thickest mess I could find and hunkered down behind a blow down and waited out the volleys! Come quiet around noon, I went home!

Between West and East, it was such a culture shock, and it wouldn’t surprise me to learn public lands are filling up out West, too. Been a long number of decades when I was there and all my old fly fishing haunts were over run with out-of-state plates when I went back just 5 yrs after leaving MT… that was the 90’s!

If streams are jammed even in Big Sky, what must the rest of the land be like in Mulit-use, public land areas?

Is this perceived conflict of competing land use, not what has led to lease hunting? People wanting to control the types/numbers of others they encounter? Do we think that public land will ever NOT be crowded and a play ground for multi-use again?

Either we hang together, or we fall apart, no? Trite, but is it also true???? So many trying to take away our outdoor pursuits, it makes me sad to see us bickering over too many others who like a different pastime in the outdoors!

If I were to invest (if I could) in out-of-state travel to do a particular type hunting and I was sure other types of hunting were ruining my chances, I’d be bummed, no doubt! I’m just not sure there is an answer this side of ?????

[Ralph]

#22951

Public is public. Troublesome as it may seem sometimes I’m grateful that it exists.

Having grown up in areas and in an era where I could pretty much freely roam and now living in a different time and where there’s not much public area available and what is available is a Federal Rec area that is so restrictive that I’m afraid to eats beans the night before, I hope you guys that have access to public land do make the best of it.

Heck, if there were such as traditional only public lands, how would we control the boundaries anyway. 😕 Just sayin!:)

And maybe a thought on what I think is that public is public, it belongs to all of us and not all to one of us.

[Doc Nock]

#22960

Much better said, Ralph, and WAAAAY more succinctly! :shock::oops:

[Bruce Smithhammer]

#23974

In the end, I was kicking myself for not having brought the dog and doing some quail chasing as well while I was there. And in fact, if I have more time next time, I’d love to mix it up and do both. I’m not solely a bowhunter, and do not fault other hunters one bit for doing the same thing I would be doing under different circumstances. As Sean said, we never had other hunters all that close to us at all, and with the large number of deer we saw on a daily basis, I have a hard time believing that it was affecting the javis – they are usually a lot less skittish than deer.

As for other types of humans one might encounter in the southern Sonora, it comes with the territory, and it always has. You either accept that it’s part of the deal, or you should probably go somewhere else. I have also found that it depends very much on the particular location – some places get a lot of traffic (and it’s usually immediately obvious), some places don’t. We had no issues at all on this trip.

[Bruce Smithhammer]

#23985

A couple more pics:

Already looking forward to the next AZ trip…

[Doc Nock]

#24035

Gorgeous country, Bruce. Never had the pleasure of visiting or spending time in the SW desert country. Did play in E. WA, E MT and WY some, but not quite the same… still a very “alien” environment to me, and I’m not savvy to the ways of the dessert country. It’s especially interesting to see pics and read descriptions of hunts there.

Does seem “odd” that havies vacated so entirely… any of you guys talk to wildlife people there to see if they’ve got input?? Disease, or what?

You read that they’re “deal breakers’ when other hunting doesn’t go well and here you guys go for them and got left holding the empty sack!

Obviously, you still had a good time and enjoyed the companionship with your friends!

Thanks for sharing. GREAT PICS!

[Etter1]

#28838

Im sorry guys. I promise I will get pics up as soon as I can. Been super busy and cant for the life of me figure out a mac compared to my old windows programming.

One thing I can assure you is that a river (creek) in SE Arizona feels just as cold in January as one does in central Idaho. Wow that was one cold bath! The weather there amazed me. The temp fluctuation within minutes was astounding.

[Doc Nock]

#28864

Hey, you got time away to play… so now it’s HONEY-DO time… or just catching u p on work! It’ll keep!

Ended up with 2 navels did ya, Etter, after you bath in the creek! :shock::oops::roll:

[Etter1]

#28897

Doc Nock wrote: Hey, you got time away to play… so now it’s HONEY-DO time… or just catching u p on work! It’ll keep!

Ended up with 2 navels did ya, Etter, after you bath in the creek! :shock::oops::roll:

I did a lot of climbing every day and even though Im from GA, the SW sun is something else. Most evenings I would get back to camp just about the time the sun would drop behind the Gardner Canyon walls and the temp would drop about twenty degrees. The creek was fed by snow melt from a mountain about two miles upstream and it was only about 18″ deep so you couldnt jump in but had to purposely lay down in it.

It was electrifying!

[Doc Nock]

#28901

At least you’re fairly confident that your stink from all that hot sun hiking didn’t chase the Havies away, eh?

I did a few back pack excursions in March in PA that we had freestone streams up in the MTS like that… We built a few small pools with rock damns, so we could at least sit down it them to our chest…

Lord… BAAAD case of the puckers when you stood up!

But it sure felt good to be clean… Learned to do that pretty early on returning to make camp each late afternoon, cause no way you’d get your heart slowed enough to sleep right afterwards! 😯

[Etter1]

#18420

Man, I would sure love to be planning this trip again in January but got a little one due in November.

[skifrk]

#19107

congrats Etter on the little one. My second is due in June and she is going to throw a wrench in the elk hunting for sure.

[Bruce Smithhammer]

#19136

Etter1 wrote: Man, I would sure love to be planning this trip again in January but got a little one due in November.

Wow – great news, Sean! Congrats!

I’m thinking you could still bowhunt with Mini-Etter along in a backpack…:wink:

[Etter1]

#19182

Smithhammer wrote: [quote=Etter1]Man, I would sure love to be planning this trip again in January but got a little one due in November.

Wow – great news, Sean! Congrats!

I’m thinking you could still bowhunt with Mini-Etter along in a backpack…:wink:

Ha!

For a big time hunter, the due date couldn’t get much more inconvenient. NOV 20!!!

Oh well, I guess it’s time that I made some sacrifices. I’ve been living extremely selfishly for 32 years and have gotten to do a whole heck of a lot in that time. Luckily, I will still get to hunt the early bow season for bears without worry and I have a club 25 minutes from the house with good cell service so I’ll get to do a good bit of deer hunting too. Might be a few years before I disappear to AZ for ten days again though. 😀

[Author]

Posts