CouesWhitetail Report post Posted February 17, 2005 Hi All, Got back from my HAM javelina hunt in 24A yesterday evening. I skipped the opening weekend due to all the rain. Went out Monday and got my pig on Monday afternoon. First time I got one with a handgun. I was using my neighbor's Thompson Contender with a .223 barrel on it. Really, it's more like a mini-rifle than a handgun, especially since he put a harris bipod on it for me. I ended up shooting the javelina at about 100 yards. I was sneaking in on them and made a noise that spooked them, so they started moving out. Had to rush the shot and I am pretty lucky I even hit the pig. It hit her hard and she rolled down a steep slope to the bottom of a drainage. It was great being out after all that rain! The ground was wet everywhere we went and so green! Camped next to a beautiful, rushing creek with sycamores along it. Nice to fall asleep to the sound of rushing water. Here's a pic of my pig: My buddy got one on Wed morning with a muzzleloader at 30 yards after following the herd for miles over many rough ridges. Not sure why they were moving so far so fast. Didn't seem spooked, just had to get somewhere I guess. Here's some pics of some WT I saw on my hunt. Was a doe with her twin fawns from last summer: Hope everyone else is having success on their javelina hunts! Amanda Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Red Rabbit Report post Posted February 17, 2005 Amanda, congratulations on a successful adventure. Looks like you have some good burritos in the making. Did you enjoy you experience with the TC as opposed to a regular handgun? Hope the new Jeep is treating you well. It looks almost unreal with all that green in the pictures, almost like it's not in Arizona (especially since I've seen a lot of white this winter). All the greenery should be good for fawn embryo development (and my dog Rica says quaily birds too). Yes, sleeping next to a gurgling steam is nice-kinda like white noise for sleep. Doug~Red Rabbit Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
couesarcher Report post Posted February 17, 2005 Congratulations Amanda, That looks like a good size javelina. It sure is green in the background of all the pictures. Terry Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CouesWhitetail Report post Posted February 17, 2005 Yea, I couldn't believe how widespread all the green-up was. It was just everywhere you went...high on the ridges, all the way to the bottom of the draws. And most of the draws were still running water from the storm. Should look awesome come wildflower season. And of course it's great for the deer and javelina crops. Doug, my new Jeep is great. Got me in and out safely (through several washed out areas of the road and flowing creeks) and it's so much more comfortable than my old one. The TC is nice because I know it can reach out there if I need it to, like on this herd. I haven't used a regular handgun on a hunt before, so I don't have much to compare it too. Guess it would be nice to pack a smaller gun, but I love the accuracy of the TC with a scope on it. I am thinking of trying to take a whitetail with it. That would be pretty neat. I am kinda depressed today since I am back in the office and on the computer. I would rather be out camping/hunting with it being so nice out right now! Amanda Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TREESTANDMAN Report post Posted February 17, 2005 Amanda, Congrats on the pig! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
111 Report post Posted February 17, 2005 Congrats!! I've never seen the grass in Arizona so green. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Ernesto C Report post Posted February 17, 2005 Amanda,awesome pictures as usual.Congratulations on your succes,hey you must clean the skull and then score it,it may make the book. I hope I get the same luck this coming week in 36C. Ernesto C. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WHT_MTNMAN Report post Posted February 18, 2005 congrats nice pics thanks for sharing. sure is nice to see all of the green awesome Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
azhuntnut Report post Posted February 18, 2005 Looks like Oregon with cactus and mesquites. Did you get those deer pictures through a spotting scope? Those TC's are nice since you can change out the barrels so easily. I picked one up a while back that was custom built with a .223 barrel lengthened to 16.5in with a muzzle break to be a legal rifle. Added a rifle stock and custom forearm. Nice job on the pig, they are so much fun to chase around the desert. David. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v719/azh...ut/Dsc08951.jpg Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
az4life Report post Posted February 18, 2005 Amanda, Great news on the Javelina. She does look like a large one! I read your 1st post about using a pistol and looked a the gun then did a double take. It does look like a mini rifle. Great pictures and the green is pretty unreal. Thanks for the pics. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
More D Report post Posted February 18, 2005 Great job! It looks like a great time of year to be out in the hills. Can't wait to go out with my wife to try and get here pig. I keep telling every one to remember how green it is because this is something special and rare for us here in AZ. Hopefully I am wrong and this is the end of our decades worth of drought. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CouesWhitetail Report post Posted February 18, 2005 My javelina wasn't really very large, but she was very old. It is probably the oldest javelina I have ever taken. Using the Aging criteria book put out by AZGFD I estimate her age at over 7 years. Her teeth are very discolored, heavily worn, and many of them are missing. She was missing three molars on each side of her lower jaw. And many of her front incisors were gone. her canines were heavily worn too and her molars practically flat. In comparison, my friend's javelina was a young boar, probably 2-3 years old. I took some photos of the teeth to show those of you who might be interested. Being a biologist, I find this stuff pretty interesting. Sorry if the photos are a bit gross, I haven't finished cleaning the skulls. But thought I would post anyway before this thread gets buried. Here is the side view of her upper jaw. See how discolored her molars are and how short the canines are: Here is a pic with the older javelina in front and the younger in back. Look at the difference in shape and wear on the back molars. The cusps are hardly worn on the younger javelina: Here is a side by side view from the top. You can see the molars and incisors she is missing. Here is a side by side view of the upper jaws. The older pig is on the bottom of the photo. She wasn't missing the molars on her upper jaw like she did on the lower. Again you can see the wear on the cusps of the molars and other teeth: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
couesarcher Report post Posted February 18, 2005 Amanda, I think those photos are great in telling a story of the age difference. Thanks for sharing some knowledge with us. Terry Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CouesWhitetail Report post Posted February 20, 2005 Glad you appreciate the pics couesarcher! Hey, I forgot to mention that the liver on my pig was full of something like black sand. Any of you pig hunters ever seen anything like that? It was very strange....never seen a liver like that. It was almost like the contents of a crop of a quail or turkey. Full of stones that were small and dark. Amanda Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
azhuntnut Report post Posted February 20, 2005 I talked to a friend of mine Friday that went out on a hunt with another hunter and he said that his buddy had shot a pig with a baby inside. He said it looked like it was probably ready to have the baby anytime. I have never seen this before at this time of the year. Anybody ever had this happen before? David Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
