Leon County Hunter – John Sitton

John Sitton stands beside the black bear he killed in British Columbia, Canada and behind him are mounts of elk, deer and antelope. Sherry’s Shots You’ve heard it said that in springtime a young man’s fancy turns to love. Well, what happens in the fall? The weather gets a little nippy, leaves change color and deer season opens. Hunters begin preparations months earlier; getting deer blinds ready, setting up deer feeders, sighting in their rifles, buying just the right hunting outfit—well maybe not. For many it is a chance to get away from the wife and hang out with the guys. For others, the wife loves to hunt too and the two of them go to the woods together. No matter, in Leon County hunting is a very big event.

One of our local Leon County citizens loves to hunt and has not limited his experiences to deer hunting in the County. John Sitton has a wide array of trophies displayed on his wall at Humble Tooling Company in Jewett. Raised in Jewett his parents, Bill and Roxie Sitton moved there the year John was born. He attended Jewett Elementary and High School and didn’t miss a day during his entire school career.

After graduating high school Sitton moved to Houston and worked in a machine shop. In 1970 he started his own business in Humble, Texas and later moved back to Jewett where he opened a branch of Humble Tooling. The company does maintenance for Nucor, Texas Westmoreland and others in the area. Sitton and Cindy Robinson currently own CJs Restaurant on Highway 79 in Jewett.

Sitton has enjoyed hunting all his life but it wasn’t until 1980 that he began “Big Game” hunting. He has hunted in Africa, Mexico, New Mexico, Idaho, Alaska, Northwest Territory in Canada; not to mention Texas and Colorado. This month he will embark on a hunt in Montana with guide and friend Jeryl Williams.

Sitton has caught beautiful fish from the Amazon River and killed hundreds of dove in Mexico. He assured me that all the birds were picked up and donated to children’s and nursing homes. None of the meat was wasted.

When asked if he ever felt his life in danger, Sitton said “Not from the animals but I had a few close calls.”

One incident occurred when Sitton and his buddies were flying back from a caribou hunt in Alaska. Suddenly the plane engine stopped. The engine had run out of gasoline. Sitton said it was only a few seconds until the pilot had switched over to another gas tank but to him it felt like a very long period.

Another time Sitton was flying into Mexico, the clouds were low and the pilot could not find the lake on which the plane was supposed to land. They had to land in a field and when the passengers and crew emerged from the plane they were surrounded by armed men. The group was able to leave without incident, but it left a lasting impression.

Probably Sitton’s favorite hunting spot is Africa. He uses Mayogi Safaris which is situated just outside of Graaf Reniet. Arbo and Dirk Dorfling are his guides.

As Sitton pointed out the various trophies in his office he said “There is a story behind every one of these animals. When I look at them I remember the people I was with and the place where it happened. I have a lot of memories in this room.”