LAST EDITED ON Oct-19-03 AT 09:57AM (MST)[p]elkhunter40,
Many years ago when modems were still 300 baud max, I was the adminstrator of all the outdoor-related forums on Compuserve. I mentioned javelina hunting here in AZ, and several forum members said they had never heard of them. Soooo...I offered to set up a hunt for a few guys on one of the reservations here so we didn't have to worry about the permit drawing.
The first year, we had five guys attend, including one from NJ, CO and FL. That was the first of about 10 to 12 of the annual STEENKIN' PEEG HUNT (SPH). From then on out, we normally had a waiting list of folks who wanted to attend because I limited the hunters to 8 or so. With a couple friends here who helped guide and me, there were usually about 12 folks in camp. We had a few more one year when the guys from Northwest Hunter attended to make two TV shows about the hunt. The cost for each individual was a license, transporation to Phoenix and $100 for food/fuel and other expenses. Any excess was put into improving the hunt in the way of equipment, etc. My main helper/guide Corky Richardson and I supplied everything except a hunter's personal gear, gun and sleeping bag.
Our first hunt was a simple affair, with two smallish tents for sleeping, a two-burner camp stove and fire grill and a tarp to eat under. As the years went by our camp becamee a bit more elaborate. For sleeping, we set up Corky's 16'x20' tent, complete with wood-burning stove, cots and matresses. Although we used a large tarp for meals for about three years, I finally built a 3/4" PVC frame and used the cheapie blue tarps to make us a kitchen tent. To this I added another wood-burning stove, a long 14' table that breaks down into three sections for hauling and many others amenities. I bought an old RV 4-burner stove with an oven and built it into a self-standing range with removable legs. We also got one of the super two-burner Camp Chef stoves with the grill that goes clear across and a self-standing deep fryer. Over the years, the number of ice chests went from two to about 8, including two of those monster Coleman jobbies for the food.
Eventually, the PVC kitchen tent gave way to one of those nice metal-framed jobs from Cosco. The one I bought didn't have walls, so I took it to a local tent company, along with a number of those heavy-duty silver tarps and had them cut and make the walls for it, complete with full-lenght Velcro trips in ever corner and a large heavy-duty zipper for the front door. A stove jack completed it. I had also made a frame from 3/4" metal conduit so one side had an 2 1/2" alcove, making the entire footprint about 14' wide by 20' long. The floor consisted of Astroturf. Coleman lanterns, hung from the frame and all connected via one hose to a bulk propane tank provided the light. Another tank powered the oven stove and the Camp Chef, while the deep fryer used a third tank.
As you can imagine, all of this gear, along with enough wood, packed in milk crates that served as seats, to heat the tents for 4-5 nights, took a lot of hauling. So in addition to my two pickups, I wound up buying two pick-up bed trailers. One has just a low shell on it, while the other has a head-high camper that has only two bunks, a table and two closets. I sleep in this one, which is parked right near the kitchen. Plus, any of the hunters who were local or drove to the SPH would also be hauling some of the camp gear.
Despite ALL of the improvements over the years, the last hunt cost each individual $150 for everything other than their license and airfare, and believe me, we didn't scrimp on food. Plus, the hunt went from a few days to a week-long affair that began with a big dinner at my house the evening before we left for camp and then another big dinner, usually a Mexican Fiesta) the night we returned from camp. That was usually Weds. night to the next Tues. night, with plane arrrivals and departures on Weds. mornings/afternoon.
Now, if I were you, I would divy up your total out-of-pocket expenses among everyone EXCEPT yourself. Since you're already doing much of the work and supplying gear, your share is already included!
Here are a couple pix inside the kitchen tent. -TONY
