Did anyone here get drawn, or chosen for stand by for the javelina hunt this past weekend?
4 of us went down on Friday to try to get in on stand-by. This hunt has been a tradition of ours for many years, and we've been pretty successful in years past - both either in getting drawn or chosen for stand-by, and in taking animals. The staff at the Chaparral have traditionally been pretty accommodating for everyone who shows up, and until the past few years, we rarely saw folks get turned away. It's a fun hunt, and we absolutely love hunting that area!
This year, we weren't chosen. It happens. They turned away almost half of the groups that showed up for stand-by (which wasn't near the numbers I've seen accepted in the past). We hung around for a while after the drawing in case something opened up, but ended up making the 3-hour drive back home.
Last year, only my dad was able to go for stand-by, and he wasn't chosen. At that time, it was only 2 hunters left, and they were both sent away. That was disappointing, but again - it happens.
The Chaparral got new management a few years ago, and that seems to coincide with the more restrictive hunting accommodations. They claim their herd numbers are lower, so maybe that's a factor. I'm curious if anyone here has insight into this?
We would love to continue our tradition of hunting down there, and completely understand the conservation aspect of limiting the draw, however, I'd love to understand better how/why these changes are put in place.
I hope whoever hunted there this weekend had success!
4 of us went down on Friday to try to get in on stand-by. This hunt has been a tradition of ours for many years, and we've been pretty successful in years past - both either in getting drawn or chosen for stand-by, and in taking animals. The staff at the Chaparral have traditionally been pretty accommodating for everyone who shows up, and until the past few years, we rarely saw folks get turned away. It's a fun hunt, and we absolutely love hunting that area!
This year, we weren't chosen. It happens. They turned away almost half of the groups that showed up for stand-by (which wasn't near the numbers I've seen accepted in the past). We hung around for a while after the drawing in case something opened up, but ended up making the 3-hour drive back home.
Last year, only my dad was able to go for stand-by, and he wasn't chosen. At that time, it was only 2 hunters left, and they were both sent away. That was disappointing, but again - it happens.
The Chaparral got new management a few years ago, and that seems to coincide with the more restrictive hunting accommodations. They claim their herd numbers are lower, so maybe that's a factor. I'm curious if anyone here has insight into this?
We would love to continue our tradition of hunting down there, and completely understand the conservation aspect of limiting the draw, however, I'd love to understand better how/why these changes are put in place.
I hope whoever hunted there this weekend had success!
Comment