Pete McMiller
Well-known member
I posted this account on another site of my recent trip to Arizona with a bunch of traditional archers for our second annual Javelina/deer hunt. I left Wisconsin on Dec 30th and arrived back on January 28th.
Back home now and able to get a few pictures of our PBS gathering posted.
While not the first meat in camp, this Blacktailed Jackrabbit was a close second on Jan. 3rd. I was out with Paul and his Grandson, Nick when this jackrabbit jumped up from 3 ft. away and made the mistake of thinking it was hidden underneath a mesquite tree 9 yds away - it wasn't. Had him for dinner a few days later and after braising in chicken stock, bay leaf and thyme all afternoon it was 'fall off the bone' tender.
That particular day Mike Pfander had taken us to a spot he had been in and seen pigs. Paul spotted 4-5 feeding across a canyon and Nick put the sneak on them with me as back-up. Unfortunately by the time we got in their neighborhood, they were gone.
As Rick mentioned, the weather the first 10 days was a challenge. 4 days of 30-40 mph winds followed by 3 days of rain, followed by 2 days of snow that totaled 6-7" of heavy wet snow and then 4-5 days to melt. The temps at night were mostly below freezing with one night down to 22 so trying to do anything in the mornings after the snow besides glassing was really pointless, just too noisy.
Hmmm a little dusting.
NOT funny!
One of the weapons I brought with me was a 28 ga shotgun for the quail that were supposed to be in the area. I didn't get much of a chance to use it as I usually had a bow in my hand. The day of the snow storm we were outside admiring natures handy work and Nick says, "Pete, there's your quail" and sure enough there was a covey of Gambels near camp. It was a fun respite and Nick was a passable retriever. Even got a dove in the bunch. Not enough to feed the camp but enough for me.
Later in my stay when it was just Paul and myself in camp I did jump several stock ponds one afternoon and brought back 2 Greenwinged Teal for the pot. Duck breasts sauteed in bacon fat and finished with orange sauce were fit for a king - sorry no pics.
Rick already told the story so here is the evidence of Roger and his pig.
After all the snow on Friday the 8th it took until Monday morning before Roger felt the roads were dry and frozen enough for him and Colleen to leave. Shortly after they left Paul took off to get Nick back home and that left me the sole survivor for the time being.
The next morning I figured I'd take my Rokon up the road about 3-4 miles to an old corral where several of us had been seeing a few deer. It was nippy in the morning before light so I bundled up and took off. Before I was half way there my cheeks felt like they were being frostbitten - not only was it cold but the wind had started howling at 35-40mph. Finally got to my vantage point to start glassing just at daylight - I couldn't hold the binos steady the wind was blowing so hard. At that point the thought of a hot breakfast overcame my desire to endure the weather and I headed back to camp the back way. I was poking along the two track about a half a mile from camp and spooked 4 pigs feeding out of the wind in a drainage next to the road. They headed up the ridge while jumped off the bike and grabbed my bow. Didn't take but 10 yds before I realized there was no way I was going to catch them. Back on the bike I ran down the road about 250 yds and stopped near a cut in the ridge. I figured that it wasn't likely those pigs wanted to be up on top of that ridge in the wind any more than I did. Sure enough I had just grabbed my bow and there they were up on top of the cut heading my way. As I moved up to intercept them, 3 turned around and took off. The one that was left was standing sentry and just staring off into space listening. The wind was so loud that she never heard me easy up the draw to about 15-18 yds. and take the shot. She only went 4-5 ft. after an instant heart attack.
All in all a great trip. Yes, the weather was an endurance test sometimes but it's one thing we can't control so we just try and be prepared. Very beautiful country. Saw a few deer, not a lot, but enough to keep it interesting. Had a couple of stalks that never went to the finish but that's the way it goes. I hope to be back next year for more Javelina chasing. Here are a few more random pics of the trip.
tried taking a couple of pics with my phone thru my binos - pretty cool- eh? Neat thing is that I can zoom in the pics on my phone with additional magnification.
Manzanita bush in bloom.
Back home now and able to get a few pictures of our PBS gathering posted.
While not the first meat in camp, this Blacktailed Jackrabbit was a close second on Jan. 3rd. I was out with Paul and his Grandson, Nick when this jackrabbit jumped up from 3 ft. away and made the mistake of thinking it was hidden underneath a mesquite tree 9 yds away - it wasn't. Had him for dinner a few days later and after braising in chicken stock, bay leaf and thyme all afternoon it was 'fall off the bone' tender.
That particular day Mike Pfander had taken us to a spot he had been in and seen pigs. Paul spotted 4-5 feeding across a canyon and Nick put the sneak on them with me as back-up. Unfortunately by the time we got in their neighborhood, they were gone.
As Rick mentioned, the weather the first 10 days was a challenge. 4 days of 30-40 mph winds followed by 3 days of rain, followed by 2 days of snow that totaled 6-7" of heavy wet snow and then 4-5 days to melt. The temps at night were mostly below freezing with one night down to 22 so trying to do anything in the mornings after the snow besides glassing was really pointless, just too noisy.
Hmmm a little dusting.
NOT funny!
One of the weapons I brought with me was a 28 ga shotgun for the quail that were supposed to be in the area. I didn't get much of a chance to use it as I usually had a bow in my hand. The day of the snow storm we were outside admiring natures handy work and Nick says, "Pete, there's your quail" and sure enough there was a covey of Gambels near camp. It was a fun respite and Nick was a passable retriever. Even got a dove in the bunch. Not enough to feed the camp but enough for me.
Later in my stay when it was just Paul and myself in camp I did jump several stock ponds one afternoon and brought back 2 Greenwinged Teal for the pot. Duck breasts sauteed in bacon fat and finished with orange sauce were fit for a king - sorry no pics.
Rick already told the story so here is the evidence of Roger and his pig.
After all the snow on Friday the 8th it took until Monday morning before Roger felt the roads were dry and frozen enough for him and Colleen to leave. Shortly after they left Paul took off to get Nick back home and that left me the sole survivor for the time being.
The next morning I figured I'd take my Rokon up the road about 3-4 miles to an old corral where several of us had been seeing a few deer. It was nippy in the morning before light so I bundled up and took off. Before I was half way there my cheeks felt like they were being frostbitten - not only was it cold but the wind had started howling at 35-40mph. Finally got to my vantage point to start glassing just at daylight - I couldn't hold the binos steady the wind was blowing so hard. At that point the thought of a hot breakfast overcame my desire to endure the weather and I headed back to camp the back way. I was poking along the two track about a half a mile from camp and spooked 4 pigs feeding out of the wind in a drainage next to the road. They headed up the ridge while jumped off the bike and grabbed my bow. Didn't take but 10 yds before I realized there was no way I was going to catch them. Back on the bike I ran down the road about 250 yds and stopped near a cut in the ridge. I figured that it wasn't likely those pigs wanted to be up on top of that ridge in the wind any more than I did. Sure enough I had just grabbed my bow and there they were up on top of the cut heading my way. As I moved up to intercept them, 3 turned around and took off. The one that was left was standing sentry and just staring off into space listening. The wind was so loud that she never heard me easy up the draw to about 15-18 yds. and take the shot. She only went 4-5 ft. after an instant heart attack.
All in all a great trip. Yes, the weather was an endurance test sometimes but it's one thing we can't control so we just try and be prepared. Very beautiful country. Saw a few deer, not a lot, but enough to keep it interesting. Had a couple of stalks that never went to the finish but that's the way it goes. I hope to be back next year for more Javelina chasing. Here are a few more random pics of the trip.
tried taking a couple of pics with my phone thru my binos - pretty cool- eh? Neat thing is that I can zoom in the pics on my phone with additional magnification.
Manzanita bush in bloom.
