Desert Showdown – Round II

I hate not completing stuff…

Returning from last years hunt with an unfilled tag has been bugging me for oh, about 365 days.  Thankfully we just returned from another trip down to Arizona and I now have some Javelina in the freezer!!  This year it was Big Ron, Warren (Barl) Anderson and myself.  Barl, who’s a contributing author here was pretty much the brains behind this adventure, it was his spot and guidance that put us on the Javelina.  We were able to pick up some leftover tags at the last minute and got to spend a little time camping and exploring in desert country.

I’ve decided these little critters are a lot tougher than everyone gives them credit for, or at least the ones we’ve been finding that inhabit country that seems more suitable for sheep and goats.  While they’re definitely not as cagey as a mature muley buck, this hunt is always a lot tougher than I think it’ll be.  Finding these critters is definitely the most challenging part of this hunt, you’re looking for an animal that stands about 18″ at the shoulder and lives where all the cactus/brush is at least twice that tall.  Even once they’ve been spotted, creeping to within bow distance in the rocky/shale terrain is easier said than done.  We decided that it’s fairly simple to get within about 50 yards, but after that you’d better be paying attention to the rock, on rock, on rock-terrain, which makes it extremely difficult to move silently.   On my stalk we had just worked our way into a bunch and were about 50 yards away when they started getting skittish, having either heard or seen us.  As the “pigs” were just starting to get ready to split, I begin whaling on the predator call and was shocked at the results.  Instantly they were running toward us “huffing” with hair bristled.  Big Ron just about got bowled over as they came racing past him at 5-yards!  I was able to connect on this close encounter, although my shot and recovery wasn’t textbook I was able to follow up and complete the task.

On a somewhat related note, we also found some interesting artifacts while traipsing around the desert.  Upon arriving at our campsite I looked down and found a pile of geodes.  I thought this was pretty cool.  Although whoever found these determined they weren’t worth taking, for someone new to the desert it was a pretty sweet way to start our adventure.  We also came across and an old cave where we found these bedrock mortars – or morteros https://tucson.com/news/local/ancient-grinding-holes-offer-hard-clues-to-past/article_14cbc931-f23c-5aba-9101-779322043849.html, along with what I believe is a scraper and lots of old broken bone fragments.

Pretty cool being able to explore this stuff in its natural setting without a Forest Service employee keeping tabs on you and ropes to make sure you don’t get too close.

A couple other notes for anyone planning a desert excursion.

1.  A blaze orange hat was a great item to have to help find each other at long distances thru the binoculars, and a two-way radio or basic hand signaling helped us cover more country but still stay connected.
2.  I picked up a sunscreen neck gaiter after getting baked on a recent high country elk hunt with lots of snow on the ground.   Playing in the sun ALL day takes its toll!  I still feel like a goof wearing this contraption but man was a godsend after getting cooked in the sun glassing for hours on end…
3.  This trip we took down some 4-wheelers for cruising the two-tracks and it was much better than beating up an expensive pickup truck.
4.  I’m a bit embarrassed to admit this but I was pretty apprehensive about camping in the desert.  While I don’t think twice about sleeping out in our mountains, something about the unknown of a new environment was intimidating.  Turns out it’s pretty much the same.  We did take way too much water, (2) 7-gal containers would have been sufficient (for two of us), maybe a third for emergencies.

Another note to self- I gave up long ago trying to justify our hunting and fishing trips on an economic basis.  This one would likely be one of the worst as I doubt a mature Javelina yielded 20 lbs of meat (I’d hate to know what the $/lb cost is :), but there’s something about this hunt and the desolate expanse of the uninhabited desert that’ll likely have me going back for more.