Javelina Hunting "Arizona Style"

[Elkhunter1]

Javelina hunting "Arizona style"

By Stephen Forrest

Photos by Mychal Forrest

 

 

 

 

Listening to the weather report the night before opening day I knew it would be one of the coldest days seen in southern Arizona in over 80 years. When I got up at 5am the porch thermometer said it was 16 degrees, "in Tucson." My son and I readied the truck and gear for the days hunt.

 

I knew going into this hunt I had only two weekends to get it done. This was Arizona's HAM hunt, handgun archery muzzleloader. Yes I could opt out and hunt with a smoke pole but hunting with archery gear has and always will be my first love for hunting big game. Some of my gear might be old but it more than adequately does the job. My bow and arrows are the old workhorses of my gear, a Pearson Spoiler Plus at 70lbs. topped with a Sonoran Bowhunting fiber optic sight and AFC 2300 carbon shafts. The rest of my gear is: a Cabalas' day pack with h2o bladder, Bushnell sport 450 rangefinder, a Garmin GPS, Pentax 20x60 and Alpen 10x40 binoculars and the most lethal broadheads I have ever seen, the Swhacker from Sonoran Bowhunting in the 100 grain two blade. To successfully hunt out west one must be able to sit and glass enormous tracts of country. I will often glass animals out to a mile and a half away using a tripod and my 20x60s. When I get in closer I switch to the 10x40s. It goes without saying you must use a good scent eliminator like Hunters Specialties Scent-A-Way-products.

 

Good gear can save your life, some of the must haves.

 

Sitting on the ridge waiting for the Sun to rise, I witnessed one of the most spectacular Sunrises I had seen in years. As I glassed for the small grey and black animal commonly called "pigs," I realized that we were the only living creatures stupid enough to be out in this ridiculously cold weather. It must have been 10 degrees or colder on that ridge. Hoping the warmth of the sun would bring the pigs out of their beds, my son and I froze, waiting. Although we didn't find the pigs we were blessed with that spectacular sunrise.

 

With a sunrise like this, you don't need to get an animal!

 

After about an hour of constant glassing I decided we needed to move to another vantage point and continue our pursuit of the little "pig" called Javelina. It wasn't until after noon that they decided to join the party. After a brief stalk I was in position to get the shot I was looking for, except for that one branch on the Cat Claw bush about 10 yards in front of me. As I moved to my left to clear the obstacle, I stepped on three little ones bedded under a Cat Claw bush to my left that was all but invisible to me. All I could do was watch as the herd of pigs grew in size from the eight I could see to around fourteen that ran over the ridge and out of sight. The rest of the day was used in trying to relocate the herd without success.

 

Having good glass is key to hunting the west.

 

As we started to enter Interstate 10 we witnessed a three car roll-over accident. Being a former EMT, I had to assist in any way possible. After several hours and putting two patients on air evac helicopters it was time for me to now write my statement to the Department of Public Safety. After arriving home around 9:30pm I heard that my brother Rick had been successful in the area he hunted.

 

Javelina, like feral hogs are very social animals and will bed together in one big pile. This can make them very difficult to spot as they bed under trees and shrubs. They also root up the ground like hogs, but in reality there are not from the hog family. This has created some heated debate among biologists, some say they are a large rodent similar to the Capybara of South America and others say they are of the hog family. Either way you look at them,they make good table fare.

The terrain in which they live can vary from flats near water sources to steep rocky mountain sides. The flats are best hunted after a good rain during the night. You can cross tracks and follow them to there bedding areas. Every step you take in the hills could mean disaster; roll an ankle, fall onto your rear, or take a tumble down the hill and break a leg or arm. To hunt the latter one needs to be in good physical condition.

 

 

Javelina don't tear up the land nearly as bad as hogs, but they do a good job of it. Several native plants are always on the Javalina's menu. One such plant is the Shin Dagger. This plant lives up to its name, if you are not careful it will get you. They also eat Barrel Cactus, Prickly Pear, Mesquite Tree beans, and any roots or tubers they find.

 

Rooting I found near a water source.

 

The second and third days of the hunt was spent battling the weather, and watching the Border Patrol do battle with the illegal immigrants that frequent the area. In the last ten years, hunting in Southern Arizona has become increasingly more dangerous as the illegals and the drug traffickers become more prevalent and bolder. I have found numerous illegals and several bundles of Marijuana over the past two years scouting and hunting Southern Arizona. Arizona Game and Fish has allowed bow hunters who hunt in the southern hunt units to carry a handgun for personal protection.

 

This is only one of several trail cam shots

 

The second Saturday was found to be a more pleasant day with the low temp. around 38 degrees. I was back in the same area from the previous weekend and eager for some payback, as they eluded me. I had a 5 to 10 mph wind from the east and once again they were not wanting to play early in the day. After glassing for two hours without seeing any pigs, I decided to slowly work the ridge they were on last time. This ridge runs east to west and has deep cuts on either side. So as not to overlook the possibility that they were bedded in either cut I slowly worked a zig zag pattern from cut to cut walking into the wind being sure to glass every bush and tree they could be bedded under. After about an hour and a half I spotted TWO pigs walking opposite me on the far ridge. I quickly back tracked 100 yards to get ahead of them. As I eased closer to the edge of the ravine for a 20 yard shot to the trail they were on, I spotted them as they came around a small bend in the ravine. They were only 30 yards away. I eased to my left to clear a small Mesquite tree. As I drew back the pig bedded right on the trail. I ranged him at 23 yards, and was going to shoot when I asked my self, "where is the other pig?" Thank God I asked that question as it was answered when I pulled up my Alpens and saw the other pig bedded right on the other side of my target. Now it was a waiting game.

 

 

As the time passed and I grew more impatient I heard two juvenile pigs "arguing" over something trivial to my left. What I saw would surprise even my brother, "the best hunter I know." The herd grew from TWO to TWELVE. I now had pigs at 10, 15, and 23 yards away. All were bedded in piles with no shot opportunity anywhere. Again with the waiting game.

 

After standing there for over an hour my knees and back started to feel the strain they were under so I knelt down to take off my pack and rest my "football" knees. Minutes later there was a shot from about 1000 yards away. That got the big pig at 10 yards to stand up and move around. I drew back and rose up to take the shot, 15 yards. The arrow flew true and accurate; he ran about 25 yards and fell over. The other pigs didn't know what had just taken place and stayed there. I had pigs all around me for over 30 minutes, even while I set-up to take pictures. Javelina hunting Arizona style is rough and tough, but if you just hang in there you will persevere.

 

 

 

The swhacker does its job very well!!!

 

[bonecollector]

Nice write up and pics to go along. Congrats on your pig.

 

Your a good man for helping those people out in the accident, im sure they appreciated it.

[Elkhunter1]

Thanks for the comments. That is why I got the training for EMT, I always find myself in those situations where it is needed.

Nice write up and pics to go along. Congrats on your pig.

 

Your a good man for helping those people out in the accident, im sure they appreciated it.

[tjhunt2]

Javalina hunting "Arizona style"

By Stephen Forrest

Photos by Mychal Forrest

 

 

 

 

 

All I could do was watch as the herd of pigs grew in size from the eight I could see to around fourteen that ran over the ridge and out of sight. The rest of the day was used in trying to relocate the herd without success.

 

 

I really enjoyed your post this morning and thought you covered pig hunting quite well. Enjoyed your pictures along with your hunt. If you don't mind I would like to add one piece of equipment that I have used to take a number of pigs over the years and that would be a varmit call. When you said all you could do is watch as the herd ran over the ridge and out of sight is the perfect time to use this call. I can't count how many times I've busted pigs that I too didn't see only to turn them around and have them come back to see what that sound was all about. Add one to your gear and you are in for some of the most exciting heart rushing excitement you could ever ask for. Just remember to take it out of your mouth before you shoot. It hurts when the string rips it out. lol I personally use a cottontail circe. Works on bears as well. Thanks for sharing and thanks for helping those injured people as well.

 

TJ

[COOSEFAN]

Great story! Also, great job in realizing there was a 2nd pig bedded behind the 1st pig and avoiding the "javalina shishkabob"! I've killed around 20 of those critters now with my bow and I get just about as excited nowadays as I did with my first, I love pig huntin! Thanks for sharing! JIM>

[CouesWhitetail]

Great story and photos, thanks for sharing it! and plus 1 to what TJ said about a call...it doesn't always work, but sometimes it can turn them right around.

[Elkhunter1]

My brother Rick is the best caller of pigs I have ever heard. You and TJ are right with the heart pounding excitment the calling can bring when they come running in, woofing and chomping their teeth at you thinking you are hurting one of their little ones. I didn't have time to practice enough to use one this year, thanks for the comments and good hunting to all.

Great story and photos, thanks for sharing it! and plus 1 to what TJ said about a call...it doesn't always work, but sometimes it can turn them right around.

[billrquimby]

You've written an interesting, easy-to-read article with great photos. I don't mean this as a criticism, but if you decide to submit it to a magazine you should check how the name of your quarry is spelled.

 

Bill Quimby

[Elkhunter1]

Thanks, I guess my spell check needs to be updated it didn't see it either. Mr Quimby, you probably don't remember me, My dad is Ray Forrest from the International Wildlife Museum. Any pointers you can give a novice like me would never be seen as anything negetive.

You've written an interesting, easy-to-read article with great photos. I don't mean this as a criticism, but if you decide to submit it to a magazine you should check how the name of your quarry is spelled.

 

Bill Quimby

[billrquimby]

Your dad and I swapped a lot of stories when we both worked at SCI's museum. Please say hello to him for me.

 

Bill Quimby

[Elkhunter1]

It would be my pleasure to tell him we talked.

Your dad and I swapped a lot of stories when we both worked at SCI's museum. Please say hello to him for me.

 

Bill Quimby

[hunter4life]

Excellent story!

[Ernesto C]

Very interesting Mr. West Great story, congratulations and thanks for sharing.

 

Ernesto C

[huntjunkie]

Nice!! Great article. Can't wait to pig hunt now! Congrats on the publication! That's exciting

[kidso]

Love the story and the accompanying pictures. I've never called for javelina, but have incidentally called them in several times while bear hunting. Imagine the scare I got when I heard a bear-like "woof" right behind me from something that snuck in undetected to my stand! Thought I was a gonner, until I saw the peppered hair prickling up in the air!