Left to Right: John, Louie, Glenn, Shawn

It's in the Wash

A friend of mine say's that god made Javalina to hunt with sharp sticks and rocks, but finding them in the wide open Arizona countryside can be a problem. Javalina like any wild animal have a home territory. They will move between feeding and bedding areas much like deer. Finding their territorial boundaries is the key to bagging that little porker and filling you tag. Recently Team AZOD participated in an archery bow hunt in Unit 44 near the Santa Maria River. I learned allot about finding pigs on this hunt from my good friends and AZOD Editors, Louie Urquides and John Samsill. The area is very rugged and mountainous with high ridges, ravine's, flats and of course, washes. We began the hunt by locating a likely wash, which ran adjacent to three large ravines on one ridge and a very steep ridge on the other side. There was water on one side and the ravines for shelter on the other. Now we had to locate the herds. First we glassed the entire area before entering the wash to check for sign. We entered the wash and began to move up wind. Moving slowly, checking for tracks and carefully glassing the sides of the ridges and up ravine's as we went. It wasn't long before we located an area where there were several sets of fresh tracks crisscrossing the wash. It was apparent by the number of tracks in each set and different size tracks that there were three or four herds using the area to cross from one ridge to another. We decided we were in the right place and began to look more carefully around the surrounding area. What we found were signs that the pigs were using this area on a regular basis. We found several locations where there were piles of scat ranging from fresh to several days old. We were not finding any beds or signs of feeding. This was an important clue and gave us another piece of the puzzle. The little smelly bush hogs were using the area but were most likely bedding and feeding on top the ridges. Our next move was to move back up the wash and scout the ridges. On top we found their bedding areas and it wasn't long before we found them.

It was about 1 PM. We had been in the area sense daybreak. We had been scouting for 7 hours before we located a herd. Louie heard them first rooting around on the side of the second big ravine. The stalk was on. We had three archers and two cameramen. That's quite a crew to sneak up on a herd of pigs. Although they don't see very well they can sure smell and they hear really good. Team AZOD moved to the opposite side of the ravine about half way down the hillside and sat down to plan our next move. There was a crosswind so scent did not worry us but sound and movement did. One Cameraman, Doug Carter would stay behind and film while the rest of us lined up tight and moved very slowly down into the ravine's bottom. As we moved the lead man would watch the pigs and control our pace. It worked perfectly. We were able to get to the bottom of the ravine with the pigs 40 to 60 yards above us. At that point Louie moved forward and into position to call to the pigs using one of his predator calls. John and Shawn Atrem were in position behind and flanking Louie. I was on the camera just behind them. The reaction of Javalina to a predator call is amazing. They charged down the hillside with their hair standing on end and tusks clicking. The four pigs we had located turned into eight, there were pigs everywhere. Louie took his time and made a prefect shot on the lead pig. The pig went down and rolled into the ravine near Louie. Louie continued to call with pigs were running all around him. Neither John nor Shawn was able to find a clean shot. This melee lasted about two minutes and it was over. The pigs headed back up the hill at a dead run. Although we tried to find them again we were unsuccessful.

Wow, you got to try using calls, incredible. Well back to the reason I wrote this story. Use the washes to locate the pigs then piece the puzzle together. Look for scat, find their bedding and feeding area and with a little legwork you can get you tag filled, but don't expect it to be easy. Do expect it to be physical and a real thrill. Good Luck.

Left to Right: John and Louie

P.S. I like mine as summer sausage

Robert Glenn Willis

AZOD Editor