blacklab84 Report post Posted January 19, 2012 I'm pretty new to javelina hunting. I'm going on the upcoming HAM hunt and have been out scouting for the last few weekends. 2 weekends ago i glassed up a herd. I could distinctly see 5 individual javelinas at one time in the open so im guessing there were at least 6,7,8? in the herd total. Went back last weekend and didnt see anything, i was in the same spot but i was a bit late getting to my location and probably didnt stay long enough, im sure they were out there i just didnt have the luck or maybe skill to find them. Today I made it out to my spot before the sun started hitting the hills around 730, didnt see anything until about 915. i spotted a lone javelina only 40 yards or so from where i had seen the herd before and was waiting for the herd to walk out. i ended up watching this guy for over 30 min and watched him walk at least a 1/4 mile before he walked into some thick brush leading towards a wash and lost him. I never saw any other javelinas, i kept glassing ahead and behind him ... nothing. he walked over some wide open spaces too, it would have been easy to see if he was following some buddies or was being followed. did i just miss the others or was he really alone? Some questions came to mind, could he have been lost from the herd? was he just getting up late and moving over to catch up to the rest or maybe early getting up and walking away on his own? do females leave the herd when they're pregnant? has anyone else observed javelina away from their herd? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
firstcoueswas80 Report post Posted January 19, 2012 He was moving at the normal time. Thats the best part of javelina hunting.. you can sleep in and still be on time! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BML Report post Posted January 19, 2012 It was probably a loan boar. The rest of the herd was more than likely somewhere close by though. I've seen that often. The good thing is that you spotted pigs in the same spot multiple times. Now you know where they live. Make mental notes of when they show themselves, the direction that they feed and where they go to bed up. It will pay huge dividends once the hunt starts, as you will have a great idea as to what they are going to do. Good luck on your hunt! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
blacklab84 Report post Posted January 20, 2012 It was probably a loan boar. The rest of the herd was more than likely somewhere close by though. I've seen that often. The good thing is that you spotted pigs in the same spot multiple times. Now you know where they live. Make mental notes of when they show themselves, the direction that they feed and where they go to bed up. It will pay huge dividends once the hunt starts, as you will have a great idea as to what they are going to do. Good luck on your hunt! Thanks for the response BML. Most stuff i have read about javelina says that if you find one, theyre never alone. thats why i was wondering if this was really abnormal or i was missing something. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BML Report post Posted January 20, 2012 There are others here with MUCH more field experience than me, but I don't think it's all that abnormal, especially for the boars. Typically, though, there will be more than one. Hard to say from just your story, but the others could have stayed where he came from or could have been where he was headed. You never know. The fact that you saw a good herd in the same spot 2 weeks prior tells me that the rest of them were somewhere close by and you just didn't see them. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gr8 White Jr Report post Posted January 20, 2012 It was probably a loan boar. The rest of the herd was more than likely somewhere close by though. I've seen that often. The good thing is that you spotted pigs in the same spot multiple times. Now you know where they live. Make mental notes of when they show themselves, the direction that they feed and where they go to bed up. It will pay huge dividends once the hunt starts, as you will have a great idea as to what they are going to do. Good luck on your hunt! +1 BML pretty much sums it up. You know where their home is now so you will have the upper hand once your hunt starts. Keep in mind though that just because you found them there on more than one occasion doesn't mean that they will be at that EXACT spot every time you go there. You can bet money they will be close though. Next time you're out scouting and you spot them, watch them all day if you can. Watch to see where they feed, drink and bed. If you learn their routine you will really be set. Although most pigs will be in herds, loan pigs are not as uncommon as most people think. I think the reason that people think a loan pig is so uncommon is because spotting a single pig can be very difficult so in turn you may not see it very often. You spotted a single pig so don't doubt your ability to find them. You are on the right track so feel confident. Good luck on your hunt! -Tracy Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billrquimby Report post Posted January 20, 2012 Interest rates that loan pigs charge can be unreasonably expensive, so watch out! Bill Quimby Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
blacklab84 Report post Posted January 20, 2012 It was probably a loan boar. The rest of the herd was more than likely somewhere close by though. I've seen that often. The good thing is that you spotted pigs in the same spot multiple times. Now you know where they live. Make mental notes of when they show themselves, the direction that they feed and where they go to bed up. It will pay huge dividends once the hunt starts, as you will have a great idea as to what they are going to do. Good luck on your hunt! +1 BML pretty much sums it up. You know where their home is now so you will have the upper hand once your hunt starts. Keep in mind though that just because you found them there on more than one occasion doesn't mean that they will be at that EXACT spot every time you go there. You can bet money they will be close though. Next time you're out scouting and you spot them, watch them all day if you can. Watch to see where they feed, drink and bed. If you learn their routine you will really be set. Although most pigs will be in herds, loan pigs are not as uncommon as most people think. I think the reason that people think a loan pig is so uncommon is because spotting a single pig can be very difficult so in turn you may not see it very often. You spotted a single pig so don't doubt your ability to find them. You are on the right track so feel confident. Good luck on your hunt! -Tracy Thanks for the help Gr8 white Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
elkaholic Report post Posted January 20, 2012 sometimes a lone boar will lag behind - he was probably following the scent trail - the rest may have been beddin in the draw already Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CouesWhitetail Report post Posted January 20, 2012 I actually think that seeing lone javelina or smaller groups (2-3) is often due to herds being broken up due to hunting pressure. Some hunter goes in and makes a shot and the javelina herd scatters and although most make it back together, for others it takes awhile to get back to the group. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Coach Report post Posted January 20, 2012 I found two boars hanging together last weekend that were out in some open country. Based on where they were, I got the impression they were on the move, maybe separated from a bigger herd, maybe looking for a new one. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Couzer Report post Posted January 20, 2012 Two different times I have busted some loan pigs in washes when quail hunting before. I was looking for the others but nothing both times! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Viper Report post Posted January 20, 2012 I actually think that seeing lone javelina or smaller groups (2-3) is often due to herds being broken up due to hunting pressure. Some hunter goes in and makes a shot and the javelina herd scatters and although most make it back together, for others it takes awhile to get back to the group. +1 That is my thought as well. Also, it could be a lone, old boar that lost his alpha-male status and was "kicked out" of the herd. This was the theory we agreed on one year when our youth hunters killed a large, old boar that was all by himself. His canine teeth were worn way down, he had a scar near his eye, half of one foot was missing, but healed, one ear was torn.... It seemed he was on his own for a while. Good catch Bill...that's funny right there. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kaffer62 Report post Posted January 20, 2012 I have seen a single pig on several occasions. I agree that is not as uncommon as we might think. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billrquimby Report post Posted January 20, 2012 I've shot several lone javelinas, including one like bdrew described. Its tusks were just smooth nubbins about a quarter-inch long, and the animal had thick callouses on its knees. I also assumed at the time that it was a former alpha male that had been kicked out of the herd. I've also shot a couple of lone javelinas that were females, so that blew that theory all to heck. There apparently is a lot of interchange between herds, with lone individuals wandering into the home range of another herd and joining it. AZGFD biologists Jerry Day and Tice Supplee, for example, tried to totally remove a herd above Roosevelt Lake by year-around trapping. After two years they gave up. Individuals from other herds quickly replaced every animal they captured and relocated. Replacement by lone pigs apparently does not come without some fighting, though. Another AZGFD study showed that a group of javelinas would accept individuals from other herds only if the new guy was submissive. I took a series of photos of a big boar being whipped by a female, of all things, when it was released into a pen with an established herd at the UA farms. It lasted only a minute or two, then the new guy slunk to a corner of the pen and laid down. He got up and joined the others after resting a few minutes and there were no more problems. In my photos, the hair on the backs of both animals was standing straight up, and you could see musk squirting from their glands. Bill Quimby Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
