# Javelina hunt 2014



## mikevanwilder

Well just finished up another javelin hunt this past weekend. We had gone down to Arizona 2 weeks prior and spent 6 days trying to find the little suckers but was unable to find them. Since our tags were good for thirty days we headed down again last weekend. This time it went a lot better. We tagged out on the first day back down and had to cut our trip short on the reservation but we decided to hit up the unit 13b in Arizona for coyotes and some of those feral hogs. Got one coyote and didn't find those pigs. All in all it was a blast of a time. 
Now if I can just find a way to cook a javelina that I can actually enjoy the meat.
Oh and their hearts are worse than the meat!!!


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## Mr Muleskinner

Jealous.........I have been trying to plan a trip down there for the past three years and every year all of my friends back out.

Nice going. Tons of fun.


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## Critter

Congratulation to the hunters. 

I usually smoke them over a mesquite wood. If I am doing a ham I'll smoke it for 8 to 10 hours at around 150 degrees. The people that I have fed it to just love it. Another way is to mix the meat up into a BBQ sauce and others just mix it into a chili.


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## outdoorser

Dang dude, that awesome!


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## longbow

Way to go Mike. That's something I've always wanted to hunt.


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## bowgy

Pretty cool8)

My father in law told me about the first time him and his friends went down there, about 40+ years ago, the rented a car and put the javelina in the trunk.

About 2 weeks after they got back the car rental company called my father in laws friend and asked, "what the &^%# did you put in that car, we have tried everything and can't get the smell out":shock::mrgreen:


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## Critter

bowgy said:


> Pretty cool8)
> 
> My father in law told me about the first time him and his friends went down there, about 40+ years ago, the rented a car and put the javelina in the trunk.
> 
> About 2 weeks after they got back the car rental company called my father in laws friend and asked, "what the &^%# did you put in that car, we have tried everything and can't get the smell out":shock::mrgreen:


I think that problem would be with any animal. I will admit that if you get a old boar that they will stink and the meat will not be worth even trying to cook. But in over 20 years of hunting them my hunting party has only came up with one that was that bad.

It reminds me of the movie Grumpy Old Men when they put the fish into the car.


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## GaryFish

Dem are some big rats!


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## Buckfinder

Looks like fun.


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## mikevanwilder

Mr Muleskinner said:


> Jealous.........I have been trying to plan a trip down there for the past three years and every year all of my friends back out.
> 
> Nice going. Tons of fun.


It is a blast of a hunt. You can go days without seeing a thing and then all of a sudden there's more than you can count running wild around you.
We actually called them in this year. Talk about nerve racking! Because they are coming to try to protect the baby. They will bite whatever they feel is hurting it. And the come in like 5 at a time. But its awesome to see and hear them coming to a call. They are just an awesome animal. 
Good news is the Indian reservation we hunt has Javelina hunting year round. You can buy as many tags as you want. They last 30 days so you have plenty of time. Its $160 per tag.
Also they have some amazing elk, antelope, a few huge deer. So you can enjoy some good wildlife watching too. Last year they had a bull go 424. 
They have a law that non tribal people can't gather sheds. So walking around finding sheds we would just have to leave them. Some we found were amazing!
If you want the info to the reservation I can pm it to you.


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## swbuckmaster

mikevanwilder said:


> It is a blast of a hunt. You can go days without seeing a thing and then all of a sudden there's more than you can count running wild around you.
> We actually called them in this year. Talk about nerve racking! Because they are coming to try to protect the baby. They will bite whatever they feel is hurting it. And the come in like 5 at a time. But its awesome to see and hear them coming to a call. They are just an awesome animal.
> Good news is the Indian reservation we hunt has Javelina hunting year round. You can buy as many tags as you want. They last 30 days so you have plenty of time. Its $160 per tag.
> Also they have some amazing elk, antelope, a few huge deer. So you can enjoy some good wildlife watching too. Last year they had a bull go 424.
> They have a law that non tribal people can't gather sheds. So walking around finding sheds we would just have to leave them. Some we found were amazing!
> If you want the info to the reservation I can pm it to you.


Id like some info please


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## torowy

what weapon did you hunt them with?


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## mikevanwilder

I used a 243. They are tough little buggers.


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## Critter

mikevanwilder said:


> I used a 243. They are tough little buggers.


They ain't that tough. I usually use a pistol when I hunt on public ground in Arizona but I have seen them shot with .22 magnums on up. They do however have a very stout bone structure and I have see .223 rounds not penetrate the shoulder blade but just put a crack in them.

One thing about hunting them on public ground is that you need to purchase a Arizona hunting license to get into the draw and if you plan on putting in for elk or deer then the javelina tag is just a excuse to get out of the house in February for the HAM season or January for the archery hunt where you can also hunt quail at the same time.


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## mikevanwilder

Well my 2 experiences with them both required 3 shots from the 243 to bring them down. 
The first last year My first shot on a dead rest hit it and took out both lungs. and by both lungs I mean completely exploded them. The javelina fell and started kicking then after 1 min or so got up and ran off over a hill. I waited about a hour and followed the trail over the hill and found the javelina under a cedar tree. It woofed at me and stood up I put another round into it and blew both front shoulders apart. It started to walk as best it could and I finally dropped it for good with another shot.
That was with a 95 gr Nosler BT. 
This one this year I was using a 70 gr BT hoping to do more internal damage if possible. The first shot I hit right side angling away. Took out one lung and a front shoulder, the thing ran like it hadn't been hit. The javelina came back to the call and I could see the blood leaking from its chest. I fired again as it turned and took out its back right hip, bad shot on my part there. It ran off and I thought it was gone. Found it piled up under a tree and finished it off.
So that's why I believe they're tough.


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## Critter

That is interesting. Most of the ones that I have shot I have used a 120 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip our of my T/C 7-30 Waters with the distance from 5 feet to 150 yards and the furthest that any of them have ran is about 50 yards. I did hit one with a 240 grain slug out of a 44 magnum that went over 100 yards but that was straight downhill and the shot was around 75 yards. 

But a friend of mine that goes down with me has hit them with a .223 in the front shoulder and lost them. We couldn't figure it out until one year he dropped one and found that it once had a broken shoulder along with finding a slug next to it in the meat. The slug broke the shoulder but never penetrated it. 

I will admit that they are a tough little bugger and will put them up against a elk any day as far as how far they will run and as fast that they will cover the ground.


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## mikevanwilder

I have mixed feelings on the 223 for them. One of the guys with us hit one we thought pretty square but we were unable to locate a drop of blood and no javelina anywhere.
Then again another in our group shot one with a 223 in the butt and it died with in 20 yards. The bullet went from the butt to the front left shoulder and out.
The first was a 62 gr BT I believe, the second was a 50 gr barnes TTSX.


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## wshiwsfshn

mikevanwilder said:


> It is a blast of a hunt. You can go days without seeing a thing and then all of a sudden there's more than you can count running wild around you.
> We actually called them in this year. Talk about nerve racking! Because they are coming to try to protect the baby. They will bite whatever they feel is hurting it. And the come in like 5 at a time. But its awesome to see and hear them coming to a call. They are just an awesome animal.
> Good news is the Indian reservation we hunt has Javelina hunting year round. You can buy as many tags as you want. They last 30 days so you have plenty of time. Its $160 per tag.
> Also they have some amazing elk, antelope, a few huge deer. So you can enjoy some good wildlife watching too. Last year they had a bull go 424.
> They have a law that non tribal people can't gather sheds. So walking around finding sheds we would just have to leave them. Some we found were amazing!
> If you want the info to the reservation I can pm it to you.


I would like some info also, please.


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## Critter

If you don't want to go the reservation type of hunt and want to start putting in for other hunts in Arizona all the information is on line on the Arizona Game and Fish web site. In general there are spring hunts. Archery which runs through January, HAM or handgun, archery, or muzzle loader which runs around the week of Valentines Day and rifle which is towards the end of February. The license fees are $160.00 for a non refundable combination hunting and fishing license which you need to apply for any draw and $115 for the javelina tag if you draw. 

The draw opens in August and ends in October.


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## fishreaper

mikevanwilder said:


> I have mixed feelings on the 223 for them. One of the guys with us hit one we thought pretty square but we were unable to locate a drop of blood and no javelina anywhere.
> Then again another in our group shot one with a 223 in the butt and it died with in 20 yards. The bullet went from the butt to the front left shoulder and out.
> The first was a 62 gr BT I believe, the second was a 50 gr barnes TTSX.


As with all things, there is something to be said for bullet construction.

If it came down to a .243, if I wasn't shooting monolithic then I'd stick to 100 grain soft points minimum. Winchester powerpoints if you have to buy ammo but those powermax bondeds if they shoot well are incredible.


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## 35whelen

awesome. congratulations.


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## 35whelen

Id like some info on where you went n how to get tags if you dont mind. sounds like a great trip to get my brothers together on.


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