Trad Gang

Well it's that time again...Javie time in ole Arizonie.  The team is running a little light this year as the Texans are in abstentia.  This has already led to some major complications.  With Wingnut, our favorite chef missing, Terry has told me he's bringing all dehydrated meals.  I'm not doing anything that drastic...but the eats will not be the same.  I'm afraid Terry may become weak and under-nourished.  This could make him an easy target for the notorious Joe Javelina.  

Curt Brisky was planning to come but I think he had to cancel. Terry, the lucky dog, has all next week off of work and should have headed out this morning.  My wife is having her 40th birthday today and we're celebrating all weekend, so she told me.   :cool:  Since I have to work Monday and Tuesday, Terry's on his own until Wednesday, when my "little" brother and I will get there. When I say "little"...think like Ben or Kyle  ;)  

So...Terry has pitted himself against the wiley Joe ...one on one..mano a mano for for four days before reinforcements can arrive.

Good Luck to you guys. If you read the Mr Clean posts you know a few of us other Tradgangers already chased the little buggers. Dehydrated foods?? What is that boy thinkin? This is the desert and it just ain't right. The only dehydrated food I want to be eatin is backstraps after I let liquid out of a four legged mammal.

Bobby wish we could all be in camp this year but just didn't work out. You guys have fun and ambush some of those little stink pigs for all of us.

C'mon Terry...break that streak!

Man Terry was talking crazy stuff last night.  Something about food in foil packages and backpacking for javies.  That's crazy!!  You need at least a trailer of stuff to hunt them critters.  Heck he don't even have a cook tent.

Man that is roughing it.

Mike

Jim...yep been following that thread...you guys have been having a great December-January hunting seaon.  I'd like to share a camp with you guys someday. Especially if a certain story got to be told.

Mike/Mickey...you guys will be missed this year.  We'll try to hold up the teams reputation.  I have my laptop issues worked out this year so we should be able to post updates from camp.

Well.... I headed up to Javie camp early Saturday Morning completing the 2 hour drive just as the sunrise was painting the desert with a warm glow..... I set up my new penthouse blind at the only water I could find during my scouting trip and waited for action   (http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f91/tpetko/Javie%202006/Birds1.jpg) Birds would flock into the tank 100 or so at a time   (http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f91/tpetko/Javie%202006/Birds2.jpg) they would drink for a bit then with a whirr of wings they would seek shelter in the trees and bushes around the tank   (http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f91/tpetko/Javie%202006/birds3.jpg) They looked like Christmas ornaments there were so many of them ...... Ahhh Christmas in the desert   (http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f91/tpetko/Javie%202006/ChristmasCactus.jpg) After sitting for hours and seeing literally thousands of birds coming and going your mind starts to drift.... I was dreaming I was sitting in a blind looking over a waterhole in the heart of Africa when I heard the unmistakable sound of approaching footsteps...... and what should appear but a herd of Cape Buffalo.... "Black Death"   (http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f91/tpetko/Javie%202006/BlackDeath.jpg) Now things are getting interesting.... Ok so maybe it was a herd of range cattle wanting to play Peekaboo   (http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f91/tpetko/Javie%202006/Peekaboo.jpg) Kind of shows you how effective the blind was though.... These cattle won't normally let you get within 80 yards of em without spooking off..... After seeing the number of lion tracks in this area I can't say as I blame them for being skittish..... The rest of the day was uneventful except for a covey of qual that was too far out for a decent pic....... I broke the blind down after sunset and loaded everything into the truck and headed up the road to find a spot to spend the night...... I quickly set up my Kelty Backpack tent boiled some water and had some sweet and sour chicken..... I love backpack meals and I can boil water with the best of em... After a fairly good nights sleep (those backpack sleeping pads aren't near as cushy as when I was younger)The coyotes howling signaled the coming sunrise and I woke up to a breakfast of Pop Tarts..... It doesn't get any better than this.......... I headed out under one of the brightest full moons I'd ever seen and soon was at the edge of the Prickly pear flats where Mike and Mickey had killed their "Pig" (singular) last year...... I stood and listened as the sun crested the mountains to the east and the desert once again came alive...... about half an hour after sunrise I heard the unmistakeable sound of a Javie munching on Prickly pear and I slowly made my way towards him...... I was about 20 yards away from the munching Peccary but couldn't see him over the 3' high prickly pear.... I settled in to wait for him to make a mistake.... I could now hear some more pigs feeding as well..... about 15 minutes later I heard voices..... Man, I thought, I've been out in the desert too long... The pigs are talking to me.... But a few minutes later two quail humters crested the ridge to my right and strolled down into the pear flats.... I watched as 5 pig butts scurried over the ridge to my left.... The two Quail hunters were having a great morning strolling and talking...... As they passed 20 yards from me I learned that the one hunters brother was a great guy when he didn't have a beer in his hand... The other hunter was talking about how their newborn never slept for more than 4 hours and was so cute when he woke up..... Stretching and opening his eyes and smiling....Kinda warmed the cockles of your heart.....I decided to head up high and topped out on a far ridge about an hour later.... As I was climbing my stomach started a funny rumbling and by the time I hit the top Montezuma was extracting his full revenge.... For what, I have no Idea...... I left a trail a blind man could follow as I made my way the mile or so back to the truck..... I was experiencing the start of flu symptoms when I got back and decided to bail out and head home..... I broke camp quickly and took a parting look around and one last picture in the long shadows    (http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f91/tpetko/Javie%202006/Longshadow.jpg) and headed out for home........ I love bowhunting every outing is an adventure with lessons learned.... I believe that when it is our time to go what we take with us is our memories and what we leave behind is the memories we've given others.... Life is a treasure for sure..... Terry

Dang too bad you got sick.  It's the food I tell ya.  Any food that comes in foil packages and you just add water is. . .Poison.

Man I can't beleve it, I don't go for one year and he's eating poison and poptarts.  then wonders why he gets sick.

No GLOP for b'fast!!

Dang, gotta go build a bow to calm down.

Mike

Montezuma? Ouch. Better go home. CK

No Mike to cook?...No Connie ta keep ya all line? Man you guys are headed for disaster, Joe will surely have his way with you this year      

I miss not being there but it didn't work out. I'm still finding cacti quills from last year and havin nightmares about some ol' coot backin off the side of a dam in a yellow jeep with me in it.   :D

Terry...sorry you got sick...you know Mike's never gonna let up on the food thing  

Charlie and I should be headed down tomorrow morning after he gets off work .  We'll keep you posted...so to speak

Bobby

QuoteOriginally posted by '46:
No Mike to cook?...No Connie ta keep ya all line? Man you guys are headed for disaster, Joe will surely have his way with you this year      

I miss not being there but it didn't work out. I'm still finding cacti quills from last year and havin nightmares about some ol' coot backin off the side of a dam in a yellow jeep with me in it.    :D  

LOL ahhh the memories!

So the javie were on the same prickly pear flat eh?

You have to move on those Javies Terry ..1 step ..freeze, look.1 step ...freeze look keeping your nose to the wind.

Hope you get a chance to get back on them

There was a small pond over by the Beehives to the left side of the road if you know where I'm talking about, just below a big silo of some sort

Bobby..... The difference between Mike's way of eating and my way is he has to pack a trailer and I have to pack a Backpack....   :D   Those backpack meals have served me well for years on my annual Elk hunts I'm not changing now..... well except maybe if Mike is in camp cookin....       George I'm not gonna ask where ya got stuck with them quills that they took a year to come out...... Mickey those pics were taken from the same tank you're talking about.... You and Dianne would have had a field day IDn birds..... Terry

I see Chortdraw got his Javie...Has anyone heard from Bobby??..... Terry

And no ones heard a peep outta Joe either.   :D

LOL..... Nope...

where's the thread on Chortdraw?

Nevermind...found it!

Hope Joe don't come on and tease again this year like he'd done in the past.  He sure played hob on James.

Ya know?  I don't think ol' Joe likes Rusty too much.    :eek:

Sorry it has taken me so long to catch everyone up to date.  Work has been driving me crazy here lately but mostly I've been reflecting on the last 6 months and trying to decide what to share.  I've noticed the people it is easy to connect with on the Trad Gang are the ones that share the most of what's going on in their lives.  You share their pain, happiness, excitement, success, failure and joy.  Work breaks don't leave much time to do more than cruise a few threads of interest let alone post much.  I spend all day looking at computer screens so my wife, Darleen, tells me I'm not allowed to "stare at the box"  (computer) on weeknights and weekends.  But...I have decided to try share more this year as much as possible. It just might take a while.  :D  
The rest of this tale will actually recap a few months.  So...if your attention span is running short, the abbreviated version is "No animals were injured in the making of this story".  Otherwise, check in once a while to see what happens next.  :)

I know what you mean Bobby, I drive for a living and the last thing I want to do when I get home at night is to hop in the car and go somewhere.

Waiting breathlessly for the report...even if there are no bodies...I mean really isn't that NORMAL?  

Be nice Mickey...just because you and Mike share the only javie killed at this camp...

I thought about starting a new thread...but since every thing kind of ties together on this hunt...I'll just leave it here.  So...insert funky time warp music here as we trip on back to early last summer.  

I spent most of the summer driving Darleen absolutely nuts over trucks.  You see, although I'm thankful to have transportation...hunting out the family sedan, a 95 Taurus, was getting a little tough.  I haven't had a truck for 8-9 years.  Every time I started saving money to buy a truck, something more important would come up.  And when I really needed a truck to get where I wanted to go...like elk camp...my brother would come along or loan me his truck.  Anyway, thanks to an employee stock purchase plan, I managed to save up about $5K and I decided that THIS year, I would hunt from a truck of my own.  This meant my bride had to endure the evaluation of every truck we passed on the road, every time we drove somewhere. I could tell it was getting a little old, since at the mere mention of the word "truck" I could hear her eyeballs grate as they rolled back in the sockets.  It weren't pretty.  Darleen has some pretty severe health issues...mostly involving food allergies and chemical toxicity.  Imagine you can only eat about 5-6 things (and they make you a little sick), you can't eat them twice in row, and common "smells", like perfume, cologne, laundry detergent, soap, car exhaust, wood smoke, cleaning solutions, air fresheners, cigarette smoke etc etc etc. This meant the "Truck" had to meet a few.  It had to have; A/C with a recirculation feature (to keep out those evil smells), be a non-smoker (interior wise), 4x4, and a long bed.

Any guesses as to what year make model I was looking at before I list them out?

Hey, who you callin little?   :D

LOL that perforated peccary was an abhorration Bobby..in other words it weren't normal LOL

now carry on

Well...for the funds I had ...I was looking at a mid to late 80's chevy full size truck.  Anyone who has met me, will understand I'm kind of a full size guy.  About this time my Dad and I went out for lunch one day.  He gets all serious like dads do and says, "I want you to let me do something for you."  "I want to buy you a truck."  

I said, " What are you talking about?"  

He said, "You heard me. I want to buy you a truck."

To be continued...  I've got an early day tomorrow and it's bedtime!  

dang I missed the AZ hunt this yr.  tell them boyz in the state capital, they are making me mad  :)

rusty

Dang Bobby.... I don't think you're gonna get this all out before ya have hero pics from Texas to post...   :D  

Rusty.... Those G&F guys are well aware of the Texas Boycott and ya'll have them very concerned....  :readit:   I think ya got your point across now will ya come back out next year?....   :campfire:  Terry

Terry,

There will be a Team javie '07 but it might be in Texas.  We are working to find a Javie rich enviroment that will not break the bank.

Mike

Terry...have laptop...will travel.   :D

Some of this will speed up here pretty soon, but I warned you up front this might take a little while.

I figured I could post from the motel tomorrow night and if I'm lucky, a hero pic from Texas.  We'll see.

Just a rabbit trail here. Like many of us on this site, my Dad was the one to first spark an interest in archery for me.  When I was about 5 years old, he joined an archery squad at the marine base at which he was stationed.  He would come get me after work to come watch the practices and competitions.  I could sit for hours just watching arrows continuously arc down range and thump into the targets.  He got my brother and I started with little suction cup bow and arrows.  Nothing in the house was safe.  I remember the refrigerator was a really fun target because the suction cups would stick really well.  Especially if you licked 'em good before you shot them.   :knothead:

aw javies , lovely little piggies . remember mama from last years Sweat Hunt , where i met Rusty ( one of my heroes ) .
i think i would fit in with Team javie as my score is right up there with most of the members    ;)   Herb zip and javies 3 .
guys are there as many bunnies in Arizona as there is in south Texas ?-- herb

Herb...we got lots a bunnies. But they are smarter than those Texas bunnies.  Az bunnies won't sit still, let you walk up, and wack'em.  At the mere sight of a human, they launch into hyper mode and disappear.  The jacks are even worse.

Last year Rusty and I walked up on a cotton tail at about 25-30 yards that little guy took off and went down a hole.  Rusty couldn't belive it.  He said something about it not being fair and decent!

ttt so it's easy for the Team to find after the morning hunt......   :readit:   Terry