The Lady Gets Her First
Team Bowhunting North America loaded up the trailer and headed to south Texas for a late winter javelina hunt with Brazos Archery Outfitters on the Summers Ranch near Mirando City, TX. A report from another group of hunters earlier in the week had us all excited. Nine hunters had taken a total of 12 javelina on a 3 day hunt.
Donna and James
arrived just before noon on Friday while I was in route to the airport in
San Antonio to pick up a couple more hunters and got right down to the
business of hunting.
When I called to
check on them, James reported that he already had one down! Now,
I’m pumped! What a start!
While we enjoyed a
good dinner, James gave us the blow by blow details of the hunt and a
report on other javelina sightings around the ranch. So, plans were made
for the next morning and after a little more visiting, we were all off to
bed and anxious for the next day’s hunt.
Saturday morning
dawned cloudy and dreary with a heavy mist falling. Apparently the
javelina slept in as we failed to spot a single one while checking several
promising spots on the ranch. Figuring it was about time for a good lunch
and some dry clothes, we headed back to camp and drove right up on a group
of several javelina feeding in a sendero near the camp house.
Since a big part of
our plans for this hunt included getting several javelina kills on video
for our upcoming DVD release (Bowhunting North America’s Outdoor
Adventures), James and I grabbed our cameras as Donna slipped her Mathews
Switchback out of the Sure-Grip bow holder and we eased off into the brush
toward the feeding javelina.
The brush in this
area was perfect, enough to hide well in, and yet sparse enough to make
for an easy and quiet stalk. We made our way into shooting range quickly
and I slipped out to the edge of the sendero to tape the hunt from a
distance while James stayed near Donna for the “over the shoulder”
view.
Donna picked out the
one she wanted and waited as the group fed into a clear shooting lane. Her
range finder read 32 yards and she quietly came to full draw and placed
the sight pin on the target. Through the lens of my camera I watched the arrow streak
across the sendero and smack the javelina. Donna had just shot her first
javelina ever!
Donna wasn’t
confident in the hit so she and James moved across the sendero quickly to
try and get another shot before the javelina moved off into the brush.
After watching for a moment and deciding the hit was okay, they noticed
several javelina already moving back into the sendero and got into
position for another shot. James
had one eye on the camera eye piece and the other on the range finder and
was reading the yardages as the lead javelina moved into shooting range
– “30 yards, 22 yards, 21
yards” – SMACK! In a matter of 5 minutes or less, Donna had taken her
1st and 2nd javelina! Amazing!
I wanted to jump up and run over and give her a big “high five”, but James had already handed off the camera to Donna and grabbed his bow off the sling and had his sights set on his own 2nd javelina. I was trying to move my camera into position to tape his shot when I literally had to sidestep two javelina that went streaking past me at light speed!
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Just as I got the camera aimed, James turned loose another arrow and center punched a big javelina. I tracked the javelina with the camera until he disappeared in the thick brush. NOW it was time for “high fives”! What a deal! Three javelina on the ground in less than 10 minutes and every bit of it on tape! Congratulations on your 1st Donna. And your 2nd! And you too James. Great hunt!
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By John Shelley
Pro Staff
Bowhunting
North America, LLC
This hunt was made possible in part by our sponsors:
Mathews, Inc., Carbon Express,
The Gean-Edwards Company, Rynoskin, Trophy Ridge,
North Starr Tree Stands, Fieldline, DoskoSport, Lumenok, Tru Fire Corp., Rocket Aeroheads, Quake Industries,
Limbsaver, Huntin' Hoist, Wac'em Broadheads,, Beard Buster, The Beckham Group, Sure Grip Gun & Bow Racks,
Advantage Max-1 Camoflauge, Nikon Sport Optics, ThermoCELL, Barnett Crossbows
Copyright 2005, Bowhunting North America
All Rights Reserved
