Pig Logic

[PRDATR]

As adults many of us have killed our fair share of pigs and have moved on to bigger and better critters. But when it comes to kids javelina are the perfect animal to get them started! My oldest son shot his first pig in October and he and his brothers couldn't have been any happier. Everything about hunting those stink hogs is ideal for teaching a youngster how to hunt and getting them hooked on hunting. The only bad part is that my boys aren't fully competent in the cleaning and packing chores so I still have to get my hands and pack all stinked up with that awful pig smell!!!

 

 

That is a great pic TAM and reminds me of when my son was younger. I always gave him a pack to wear so he could "help out" and carry stuff like food, water first aid etc. When he was about 11 I got him his first knife to carry whic was a big deal for him.

 

I have found that after taking a few pigs and have my trophies I now just bone them out on the spot. I take the meat and put it in a 5 gallon bucket with two cups of salt and a bag or two of ice, add water. I leave it in there over night and change it in the morning, then soak it again all day.

It pulls out all of the blood and 99% of the smell.

I have been very fortunate to take them with rifle, pistol and bow over the last 25 years and am looking forward to hunting 16A after picking up a leftover tag for the General Javi hunt.

I will probably go up and scout this weekend and maybe next too as this is a new unit for me and work has kept me super busy the last six weeks going to and from Kingman and it is killing me watching that area at 60mph. LOL

 

 

Hey PRDATR when you say you re-soak them in the morning, do you just add new ice/water or do you also add another 2 cups of salt too?

 

Yes, more ice, water and salt. If the water is pretty bloody after 6 hours the first time I dump it then and do another 6 hours.

[jmall]

Coach:

 

My experience with javelinas is different from yours. I've found that herds will use the same bedding and feeding grounds, generation after generation, even after someone builds a house smack dab in their territory (unless humans allow their dogs to run free). I've returned to places where I killed javelinas 30, 40 and 50 years earlier and found evidence of herds using exactly the same places. They are interesting animals, and I love watching them almost as much as I enjoyed hunting them.

 

Bill Quimby

+1

[galiuro mountain man]

I ALWAYS get an archery pig tag. Out of all the years I have, there has only been one that I did not tag. I have a great respect for them, they are one of the toughest little animals out there, and they have about the best sense of smell.

 

One thing I have noticed is that when a big boar gets old and slow, the herd will run him off. If you are able to find a big boar by himsef the hide doesnt stink at all. Most of what I find the smell comes from is the herd laying and rubbing together. I have seen them rubbing the rump gland on eachother, which I think is an identifying mark of smell for the herd. The javis from the herd usually have the "stink" on them, while the boar by himself usually has less odor than a deer.

 

Another thing I have found is to use just the hooves when removing the legs, then running a knife under the skin to go around the neck. Their hair will dull a knife faster than anything on earth minus a rock. I will wear gloves (if it was a javi from a herd) and get the legs off at the knee, then cut just under the head all the way around the neck, then it is pantyhose (just pull, the hide comes off easy, pull from front to back), even the hide on the tail comes off, along with the gland on the back. Now all that is left is to gut them. Once the hide is off, just remove the head and gut them. In my experience the smell is all from the hide, get it off first and cleanly, then you have the simple task of getting the insides out.

 

Pull the gloves off and find a clean spot (rock) and gut just like anything else. Once the gutting is done put the tag on a dressed and skinned animal and it is done.

 

As for the gloves, I use my normal hunting gloves, I just pull them off and turn them inside out in the process and place them in my back pocket. Sometimes they stink sometimes they dont, but after the javi is in the cooler, they make a good cover scent, and it beats rolling around in the green stuff in a corral, and just as effective.

 

Javelina do make the BEST summer sausage.

[StickFlicker]

my freind has drawn the ham hunt --and wants one with a crossbow - he just looks funny walkin around with a crossbow!

 

I agree with 200" Mulie. It is NOT legal to use a crossbow during anything except General (firearms) seasons. A crossbow is NOT a bow.

[654321]

my freind has drawn the ham hunt --and wants one with a crossbow - he just looks funny walkin around with a crossbow!

 

I agree with 200" Mulie. It is NOT legal to use a crossbow during anything except General (firearms) seasons. A crossbow is NOT a bow.

check page 108 of the new deer regulations, it has a chart with the legal weapons for all species and hunts. crossbow is legal for the general pig hunt and the ham hunt

[NeckRoast]

Have you guys ever found a good way to locate javelina once they are in the bottom?

[murfys69law]

I can't wait to see how this goes. Everyone including myself have called these wonderful critters, PIGS, HOGS or RATS for many years. I have hunted them since 1984 and have enjoyed the spot and stalk with a bow or the possible WOW!! there they are suprise. I do however hope you all know they are not PIGS or RATS or HOGS by any means. They are Collard Peccary. I have harvested 6 in my liftime with 3 being arrowed, 1 handgun, and 2 rifle. Since G&F made them a draw I have really got soured on hunting them. With it being so hard to draw a tag for other big game I always looked forward to BUYING a Javelina tag and go archery hunting them. Then came the DRAW. It has been one of the best hunts you can do. They are very wiley and see and hear better than most people realize. With that being said, The only reason for this post is to educate any younger hunters as to the real genus of the animal they are hunting. Call them what you want my friends, I know I will. They are still a blast to watch, hunt and eat.

[Couesbuktraknut]

I think they're a great addition to archery hunting on slow deer days. And great for inexperienced hunters to learn the basics of hunting , stalking,glassing reading sign etc, etc.

[elkaholic]

whats all the cryin about crossbows - I find them fun to shoot .

 

traditional recurves- compounds- crossbows are all BOWS they are all considered archery equipment!

 

i'm not here to argue or change anyone's mind on what "YOU" consider archery hunting

 

Over the yrs I've hunted enough to know it's not the choice of weapon that makes the difference in harvesting the animal but the skill of the hunter and knowledge of the the animal hunted.

 

don't hassle or disclaim some guys choice of weapons just cuz it differs from yours. if it's legal - use whatever you want to use !

 

like I stated in a previous topic on crossbows - most are big and cumbersome -

 

not a lot of fun to tote around especially in and under trees and the thick washes where you normally find piggys

 

Most likely I'll be using my excaliper for my HAM hunt- you know the one with limbs and a string - just like a recurve bow. not all those fancy split limbs and cams like most compounds !

 

If i'm skilled enough to get within "bow" range - I should be able to harvest a piggy this yr. - with a little luck!

[BeardownAZ]

Coach:

 

My experience with javelinas is different from yours. I've found that herds will use the same bedding and feeding grounds, generation after generation, even after someone builds a house smack dab in their territory (unless humans allow their dogs to run free). I've returned to places where I killed javelinas 30, 40 and 50 years earlier and found evidence of herds using exactly the same places. They are interesting animals, and I love watching them almost as much as I enjoyed hunting them.

 

Bill Quimby

I just started this year hunting javelina. And the area we are hunting, has been hunted a lot over the years by the friend I'm hunting with and they seem to love the area no matter what. He said he's never not seen javelina in this area despite pigs being killed in the area.

[billrquimby]

In my era, kids didn't grow up wearing backpacks because schools still had lockers. When we hunted, if something didn't fit in our pockets or attach to our belt, it stayed home. As a result, the only pack I've ever owned was a packboard. I never felt deprived except when packing out javelinas. With small deer, we split the knuckles on their forelegs, so we could run their tendons through the gambrels, and wear them (head down) like a pack. Javelinas are too small to do this with them, and carrying them by using their gambrels for handles quickly became a chore. Some friends and I eventually came up with a better way. We took a 12-inch-long, 2-inch-wide strip of leather and punched a hole on each end. In each hole, we tied a 6-inch loop made from a leather bootlace. One loop would go around a javelina's rear leg, the other loop would go around the javelina's jaw. Rigged like that, we could carry a javelina on one shoulder with both hands free. We called them "javelina slings."

Incidentally, they are collared peccaries, not "collard." The name comes from the light-colored hair between their heads and forelegs.

 

----- Bill Quimby

[hoghntr]

Coach:

 

My experience with javelinas is different from yours. I've found that herds will use the same bedding and feeding grounds, generation after generation, even after someone builds a house smack dab in their territory (unless humans allow their dogs to run free). I've returned to places where I killed javelinas 30, 40 and 50 years earlier and found evidence of herds using exactly the same places. They are interesting animals, and I love watching them almost as much as I enjoyed hunting them.

 

Bill Quimby

I must agree. I just killed out of a herd that has same address for 30 years now and probably 30 before I came along and found them. Same 3 big trees, same 2 big rocks, same DEEP bed absolutely invisible to the eye from anywhere except 12" away from it. If you don't see them coming or going you would never know they existed.

 

Glassing feeding grounds and shooting pigs works but what about when they bail? knowing their home address works even better.

 

Primary address

Secondary blow out and hide shelter

3rd is probably around backside same mountain cuz now they are anoyed

DONT LET THERE BE A 4TH CUZ THEY MAY LEAVE THE COUNTRY IF YOU SPOOK THEM FROM THAT SAFEZONE. If you do not succeed by #2 them regroup and come back few days later.

[Mr September]

Looking forward to javi season 2012 - something near and dear to me because it's one of those hunts that you can regularly draw, and once out there you can usually be on the chase.

 

I think Javelina are the most underrated big game species in Az. What better quarry to teach young hunters to glass, read sign, learn the basics of hunting in the desert and keep it fun and usually action-packed enough to hook them for life?

 

There's a few things I've noticed over the years of hunting these critters that I find kind of facinating. For starters, they are extremely social. If you sit and watch a herd for a while, you can quickly learn the hierarchy of the herd. But they always watch eachother's back and tend to the young as a whole. For an animal that is considered "dumb" they have a more developed communication system than deer, elk and even turkey from what I've seen.

 

They are very particular about their "home ground". They seem to find a place that they feel safe, have the forage and water they need and stick to it as long as it feels safe. Once you bust them, if they really feel threatened, they'll leave that spot and might not return - ever. If you bust up a herd in a bedding area that they've used for years, once you see them scatter and go ridge over ridge, that awesome spot might not have javelina in it again for years. And those that re-occupy it later are not likely to be the same herd - just find it as appealing as those that used to inhabit it.

 

Another thing I find interesting, and other javi-junkies have noticed, if you find the "home" bedding grounds of a herd that they are using regularly, sneak in and happen to shoot one without totally chasing them out of there (think archery - quiet, kill one and back out), they'll come right back and continue to use the area - they'll probably still be there the next year. BUT, if you don't take your harvest out of the area before field dressing them, and gut them right there in their "comfort" area, the herd will return, find the remains and get a little weirded out and leave in search of another safe place. It's like they recognize the remains of the one you killed and dressed, and can't feel comfortable hanging around "Bob's" gutpile. Point being, if you kill a piggie in their bedding area, pack him a ways out before the knife work. If you do this, you're likely to find them back in that area. If you don't they'll likely move somewhere else.

 

Just some observations about these awesome little desert dwellers and their social lifestyle.

 

I'd like to hear what others have observed about them.

I completely agree with your assessment about leaving the carcass in their home areas. We have seen pigs abandon long used home areas over far less stressful events. Stressing a herd unnecessarily has ruined many areas without people even realizing they are doing it. That is the reason we refuse to use a predator call anymore. It's just unnecessary. If I can't get within 20 yards of a Javelina I may need to find a new sport...

[hoghntr]

 

 

Looking forward to javi season 2012 - something near and dear to me because it's one of those hunts that you can regularly draw, and once out there you can usually be on the chase.

 

I think Javelina are the most underrated big game species in Az. What better quarry to teach young hunters to glass, read sign, learn the basics of hunting in the desert and keep it fun and usually action-packed enough to hook them for life?

 

There's a few things I've noticed over the years of hunting these critters that I find kind of facinating. For starters, they are extremely social. If you sit and watch a herd for a while, you can quickly learn the hierarchy of the herd. But they always watch eachother's back and tend to the young as a whole. For an animal that is considered "dumb" they have a more developed communication system than deer, elk and even turkey from what I've seen.

 

They are very particular about their "home ground". They seem to find a place that they feel safe, have the forage and water they need and stick to it as long as it feels safe. Once you bust them, if they really feel threatened, they'll leave that spot and might not return - ever. If you bust up a herd in a bedding area that they've used for years, once you see them scatter and go ridge over ridge, that awesome spot might not have javelina in it again for years. And those that re-occupy it later are not likely to be the same herd - just find it as appealing as those that used to inhabit it.

 

Another thing I find interesting, and other javi-junkies have noticed, if you find the "home" bedding grounds of a herd that they are using regularly, sneak in and happen to shoot one without totally chasing them out of there (think archery - quiet, kill one and back out), they'll come right back and continue to use the area - they'll probably still be there the next year. BUT, if you don't take your harvest out of the area before field dressing them, and gut them right there in their "comfort" area, the herd will return, find the remains and get a little weirded out and leave in search of another safe place. It's like they recognize the remains of the one you killed and dressed, and can't feel comfortable hanging around "Bob's" gutpile. Point being, if you kill a piggie in their bedding area, pack him a ways out before the knife work. If you do this, you're likely to find them back in that area. If you don't they'll likely move somewhere else.

 

Just some observations about these awesome little desert dwellers and their social lifestyle.

 

I'd like to hear what others have observed about them.

I completely agree with your assessment about leaving the carcass in their home areas. We have seen pigs abandon long used home areas over far less stressful events. Stressing a herd unnecessarily has ruined many areas without people even realizing they are doing it. That is the reason we refuse to use a predator call anymore. It's just unnecessary. If I can't get within 20 yards of a Javelina I may need to find a new sport...

And I have gutted a friends Javelina and left everything and returned the following day to guts missing and only Javelina tracks around where guts were left and then killed my Javelina in almost same spot. I think a general guidlines is good but clearly they are not all the same. Calling response I find has more to do with how public the spot is and how many times they have been called etc. I have never found a rabbit distress to work at their home address they just bail (so good for rifle hunt). Distress works well in feeding grounds. Javelina vocals barks, huffs, squeals all work for me at their home address or anywhere for that matter quite well.

 

Javelina do and will eat meat and guts whenever they can. In a few places I dove hunt and clean my birds when I return following day all the guts and most feathers are gone and only Javelina tracks remain.

[Mr September]

 

 

Looking forward to javi season 2012 - something near and dear to me because it's one of those hunts that you can regularly draw, and once out there you can usually be on the chase.

 

I think Javelina are the most underrated big game species in Az. What better quarry to teach young hunters to glass, read sign, learn the basics of hunting in the desert and keep it fun and usually action-packed enough to hook them for life?

 

There's a few things I've noticed over the years of hunting these critters that I find kind of facinating. For starters, they are extremely social. If you sit and watch a herd for a while, you can quickly learn the hierarchy of the herd. But they always watch eachother's back and tend to the young as a whole. For an animal that is considered "dumb" they have a more developed communication system than deer, elk and even turkey from what I've seen.

 

They are very particular about their "home ground". They seem to find a place that they feel safe, have the forage and water they need and stick to it as long as it feels safe. Once you bust them, if they really feel threatened, they'll leave that spot and might not return - ever. If you bust up a herd in a bedding area that they've used for years, once you see them scatter and go ridge over ridge, that awesome spot might not have javelina in it again for years. And those that re-occupy it later are not likely to be the same herd - just find it as appealing as those that used to inhabit it.

 

Another thing I find interesting, and other javi-junkies have noticed, if you find the "home" bedding grounds of a herd that they are using regularly, sneak in and happen to shoot one without totally chasing them out of there (think archery - quiet, kill one and back out), they'll come right back and continue to use the area - they'll probably still be there the next year. BUT, if you don't take your harvest out of the area before field dressing them, and gut them right there in their "comfort" area, the herd will return, find the remains and get a little weirded out and leave in search of another safe place. It's like they recognize the remains of the one you killed and dressed, and can't feel comfortable hanging around "Bob's" gutpile. Point being, if you kill a piggie in their bedding area, pack him a ways out before the knife work. If you do this, you're likely to find them back in that area. If you don't they'll likely move somewhere else.

 

Just some observations about these awesome little desert dwellers and their social lifestyle.

 

I'd like to hear what others have observed about them.

I completely agree with your assessment about leaving the carcass in their home areas. We have seen pigs abandon long used home areas over far less stressful events. Stressing a herd unnecessarily has ruined many areas without people even realizing they are doing it. That is the reason we refuse to use a predator call anymore. It's just unnecessary. If I can't get within 20 yards of a Javelina I may need to find a new sport...

And I have gutted a friends Javelina and left everything and returned the following day to guts missing and only Javelina tracks around where guts were left and then killed my Javelina in almost same spot. I think a general guidlines is good but clearly they are not all the same. Calling response I find has more to do with how public the spot is and how many times they have been called etc. I have never found a rabbit distress to work at their home address they just bail (so good for rifle hunt). Distress works well in feeding grounds. Javelina vocals barks, huffs, squeals all work for me at their home address or anywhere for that matter quite well.

 

Javelina do and will eat meat and guts whenever they can. In a few places I dove hunt and clean my birds when I return following day all the guts and most feathers are gone and only Javelina tracks remain.

 

 

I have seen this also^^^ with the carcass getting hauled off and only Javelina tracks around the site.