Back From Arizona

[Jack Shanks]

Had a great 10 day horseback combo hunt for coues deer, javelina and Mt lion in the Catalina Mountains northeast of Tucson. We took it down to the wire but thanks to a great guide and outfitter that would never give up, I was able to put tags on two of the three species in the end. I'll try to recap my story with pictures as soon as I figure out how to post them.

[TexMex]

 I ready

[Steve H.]

Looking forward Jack.  Hope for your sake one was a Coeus and one was a kitty.

[Jeff Holchin]

That is some beautiful country, around Tucson.  I can't wait for the story and photos........  

[Jack Shanks]

A little detail about how this hunt came to be before I get down to the actual story.... I know nobody wants to hear that but I would first like to give credit to the people and organization that made this hunt come together for me. Outfitter Tom Klumker of San Francisco River Outfitters donated this hunt to the local chapter of Safari Club International for their annual fund raiser banquet. Something I found out later he has been doing for many years now. I talked with Tom a bit the night of the auction and the hunt sounded pretty inviting to me. The opportunity to hunt three species of game that I had never hunted before in a lot warmer climate than Michigan in January. Well, I ended up being the high bidder I think much to my wife's surprise and this is where the story starts.

[ZaneD]

and......  

[Jack Shanks]

I purchased this hunt back in the early spring of 06 and had plenty of time to prepare and think about it. Truth is, I kind of put it on the back burner as I had a BC goat hunt, an Iowa deer hunt and the entire deer season in Michigan that came first. Tom did get ahold of me about putting in for my javelina tag so at least I did that much in my preperation. I also bought a plane ticket to Tucson a couple months prior and reserved a motel room for the one night I would need it the day I flew in.

[Bpaul]

Looking forward to hearing more...  

[9 Mile Archer]

Oh boy we're ready  

[Jack Shanks]

Tom and his nephew Jerry Jump picked me up from the motel where I spent the night in Tucson on January 6th as planned. They had driven from their home New Mexico that morning pulling a fifth wheel horse trailer holding two mules, three horses and Jerry's pack of lion dogs. We loaded my gear in the truck and headed northeast to the town of Oracle picking up a deer and lion tag for me at a store along the way.
 Oracle is 35 miles northeast of Tucson and we would be hunting and staying on a ranch that was located another hour drive north and east of town. We made it to the ranch house that we would be sharing with a young ranch hand named "Rooster" late that afternoon. Jerry, up until a couple years ago had worked on this same ranch, stayed in this house, and was doing Rooster's job so knew the land well. I would later find out what a benifit that would be.
 After getting settled in Tom and I jumped on Rooster's ATV and drove up the ranch road to a stock tank where some javelina had been seen recently. There was only enough daylight left for us to look around a bit before heading back to the ranch house for the night. Not surprisingly we didn't see anything.

[Jack Shanks]

Next morning we were up at six and Tom prepared a hearty breakfast for us as well as packing our lunches for the day. Jerry had the dogs fed and had started saddling the horses and mules by the time Tom and I reached the corral. Rooster had the day off from work so he decided to go with us and bring his three dogs along. So, a half hour after daylight on Sunday January 7th the official hunt is on. Two guides, one cowboy, three horses, one mule, ten dogs and bringing up the rear one hunter that doesn't quite know what to make of it.

 The dogs are full of energy as we head up the ranch road to where Tom and I looked for javelina the night before. They are darting through the mesquite brush crossing the trail in front and to the back of the horses hooves and I wonder what is keeping them from being stepped on. I am on a huge horse named Jessie. He has white stocking and resembles a Clydesdale. When he passes gas the air is permeated with the fragrance of stale Budwiser so I'm assuming he is. From the ranch drive we cross the dirt road we drove in on and follow a trail that parrelels a dry creek where Tom and I hunted last night. Soon after crossing the road the dogs open up and after a short chase they are barking treed. I can't believe it we haven't covered a mile and the dogs already have one up a tree!

[Steve O]

Snicker...Snicker...Snicker

I have already seen the pics    and jealous too  

[Roadkill]

probably a bobcat, but i'm hoping itss a big ole tom lion,  get on with it

[Jack Shanks]

Jessie is a slow poke so as I finally get to the scene everyone else has already seen what commotion is about. Up in a tree high above the creek is a family of coatimundi. Jerry is calling his dogs off and scolding the older ones for being in on the chase as they knew better than to be trailing the varmits. I had seen pictures of them before but didn't realize how monkey like they actually were. This was a strange place with strange animals for sure. We left the "monkeys" as Jerry called them in the tree and continued on.

 The area we now were in was forest service land open to public hunting. Shortly after leaving the tree'd coatimundi I looked up on the ridge to the north to see a group of four bowhunters stairing down on us. It was Sunday morning and these weekend warriors just had their morning hunt disrupted by a pack of baying hounds. I felt sorry for them but they really needed to get a ways off the road they were near I thought.
 Anyhow we continued on following the creek towards the head of the canyon looking for fresh sign along the way. The dogs were eager to chase anything that moved and for the young ones that included deer. The old dogs knew better and before the end of the hunt the youngs were starting to learn that too.

 After following the creek for a few miles we turned south and headed up a steep ridge. Now I have ridden horses in the mountains before and done my share of backpacking but I wasn't prepared for the kind of country we were about to experience, especially on the back of a horse or a mule.

[Scott M]

The catalinas are my stomping grounds,  never thought about a lion there, but it sure is possible. I can't wait to hear more.  Beautiful mountains(foothills) Mt. Lemon is getting pounded today with snow, the whole state is getting crummy weather.

[Jack Shanks]

Steve, I spent a hard ten days on this hunt so I'm dragging this story out as long as I can. I want everyone to suffer just like me!

Just kidding but I want people to know this was a very rewarding but tough hunt.

Sorry, it's past my bed time so I'll be back with the rest tomorrow.

[DEERSLAYER1961]

[/IMG]

[Jack Shanks]

Okay, I'm back and until I figure out how to post pictures I'll continue my saga without them.

 After reaching the top of the ridge we dropped off into a canyon to the south and east. The dogs soon took off barking but Jerry determined it was an old track and gathered them back after they kept loosing the scent. We continued on with this happening a couple of more times during the rest of the day. We were finding old sign, the remains of lion killed and buried deer but nothing fresher than days or weeks old. we made a huge loop checking dry washes, creek beds and ridge tops before ending up back at ranch house just before dark. We easily covered twenty miles that day and I figured Tom and Jerry wanted to see what I was made of right off the bat and things would get easier from here. Boy, was I wrong!

 The next morning just after daylight we headed in the same general direction as the first day but took a different route getting there. Even steeper and rockier this time. Around 10AM found us on a ridge giving Jerry's horse and Tom and my mules a short break while we glassed for coues deer across the valley. From our vantage point we could see the remains of an old mining opperation a couple hundred yards below us. A couple of old small corrigated metal buildings that were falling down. As we mounted up to leave Jerry and I suddenly noticed some dark objects in amongst the buildings, javelina! We quickly dismounted and made plans for a stalk. To make it easier to carry my recurve in my homemade scabbord I had detached the bolt on quiver and replaced it with my strap on quiver from my longbow. Only problem the strap on quiver wouldn't easily attach to my recurve so I took out one arrow and Tom followed behind me with the rest my arrows in the quiver. Once we were within 60 or 70 yards of the unsuspecting javelina Tom stayed behind and I continued stalking closer. We had seen four or five javelina altogether and right now I could see two pulling on a root up ahead with no idea I was closing in. I had to get through some mesquite brush to get a clear shot and just before I got to the spot I needed one of the pigs moved off. The other one seemed to now sense my presence and turned his back to me. I waited him out and sure enough he turned broadside. I slowly drew my bow picked a spot and released. I didn't see the arrow cover the twelve yards distance but could clearly see it sticking through both sides of the animal tight behind the shoulder as he sped off. There was a large bang as he bounced off one of the building in his death run. As I walked up to where he was standing I could see the dark opening to the mine shaft going into the hillside. My first thought was he must have run into it. But the blood trail took a shrp left where I heard him hit the building and I found him laying dead thirty yards from where he was shot.

[Jack Shanks]

Let me see if this works.

[Jack Shanks]

Sorry for the blood in that photo. We cleaned him up as best we could with what we had to work with.

 After getting within twelve yards and shooting the very first javelina I had ever seen in the wild I thought there was "nothing too it." Wrong again. We saw several more groups of javelina in the following days and all were headed in the opposite direction after seeing us. I then felt lucky that I was able to fill my tag early on.

 After picture taking, caping and butchering we were off again lion hunting with the javelina meat stowed away in our saddle bags. More cold trails and a coatimundi chase along the way and we arrived back at the ranch after dark.