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Posted: 2/7/2016 6:02:26 PM EDT
I will say this was my favorite hunt ever.

Some info and specs.
The hunt was in Az Game Management Unit 23.
This was a HAM Hunt, Hangdun Archery Muzzleloader.
My dad had his S&W 29-3 Silhouette 10 5/8" Barrel shooting 185gr PMC Truncated Cone Soft Points from the 1980's.
I had my trusty Ruger Redhawk 44mag with 7.5" Barrel shooting handloaded Remington 240gr Semi Jacketed Softpoints with a healthy dose of H110 behind them.

This was also the luckiest hunt I had been on.

We decided against our normal Javelina hunting area nicknamed Pig Hill due to road construction on the US 60. Instead we decided to head to the area where we had always hunted quail near Punkin Center, Az.

It wad 27° when we started glassing a south facing slope that had a herd of mulies and a coyote on it. We decided to head south toward Tonto creek where the washes turned into deep canyons before emtying into the Tonto Basin. We skirted the thick cholla forests and made it to a rise on the edge of a wide wash that we anticipated may hold some Javelina. From this vantage point we ended up spotting a herd of pigs almost a mile away on an east facing slope.

We decided to go after this group. After about an hour of picking our way through the cholla we came to the edge of "the first big wash". We had lost sight of the Javelina but had a pretty good idea of where they went. The spot we entered the big wash was actually the point where 3 big washes converged. We spotted another mulie buck and doe and convinced ourselves that if we hadnt spooked the deer then the pigs were not spooked either and that they must be nearby.

Let me take a moment to give some background on my Dad, fellow arfcommer, and mentor in life. He has a lifetime of hunting experiece that I try and learn everything I can from him. He has been on more than a few Handgun Javelina hunts and spent more time in Unit 23 than anyone I know.

Back to the hunt!

Drawing from his experiences my dad forms a plan. Based on the wind and what we had seen of the pigs he decides that they were most likely in the middle of the 3 washes. We split up with him going through the bottom of the wash due to his experience. I went up the ridge that divided the 2 washes so I could see more of what was going on. Almost immediately we spot pigs! My heart starts racing. I can see one javelina on the opposite ridge and as i keep creeping forward more and more pigs come in to view in the bottom of the wash exactly as my dad had figured they would be.

Every step I take I can see more pigs and makes me even more aware of the noise im making. My saving grace is the wind. The wind is blowing pretty hard right into my face. I realize that this is helping me. I get my nerves under controll and draw my revolver. The closest pig is within 100 yards now. I am trying to stay even with my dad as he works his way up the bottom of the wash.

I keep creeping along the top of the skinny ridge. I come to a point when I have a Javelina almost directly below me. I lift my revolver and steady my aim. BANG! My dad let rip with his 44 just before I was about to shoot. I see a pig thrashing in the brush! Im so excited he got one while at the same time my heart drops as i watch the Javelina running out of sight.

I look down and see my dad making frantic hand gestures. I take my ear pro off to congratulate him. He yells to me, "Theres one 50yds right in front of you!" Oh crap its on again! The brush is so thick I can't see any pigs. Even if they were 10ft away I couldn't have seen them.

At this moment a pig takes off out of the thick brush in the bottom of the wash. I level my revolver and let loose one shot, miss. A second shot, miss. As the Javelina hits the far side of the wash and begins his ascent to safety, one last shot a hailmarry. The 240gr profectile travels from my muzzle at around 1400fps, flys across the wash about 100-120 yards and enters the Javelina 3 inches below the spine takes out some vitals and exits behind opposite shoulder. The pig smacks the ground and thrashes back down the hill.

I cannot believe the chain of events that just transpired. It was about 5 minutes from my dad shooting his and when I shot mine. We were shouting back and forth to eachother. I could not have asked for a better hunt.
Link Posted: 2/7/2016 6:57:42 PM EDT
[#1]
Sounds like a good time thanks for sharing
Link Posted: 2/7/2016 8:55:00 PM EDT
[#2]
If you had been shooting a 29 like dad you would have had yours on the first shot also


























Kidding sounds like a hunt to remember
Link Posted: 2/7/2016 9:08:58 PM EDT
[#3]


That's great work!



Link Posted: 2/7/2016 9:17:56 PM EDT
[#4]
Nice piggies. How do javelina taste?
Link Posted: 2/7/2016 10:57:43 PM EDT
[#5]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
Nice piggies. How do javelina taste?
View Quote

Bout the same as they smell.
Link Posted: 2/8/2016 5:54:12 PM EDT
[#6]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:

Bout the same as they smell.
View Quote View All Quotes
View All Quotes
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
Quoted:
Nice piggies. How do javelina taste?

Bout the same as they smell.


Javelina is one of the few animals the New Mexico Game and Fish Department does not require you to remove the carcass from the field.  Pretty much tells you how they taste............
Link Posted: 2/8/2016 6:01:20 PM EDT
[#7]
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Quoted:
Nice piggies oversized rats How do javelina taste?
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Fiffy and I bet a bit chewy
Link Posted: 2/8/2016 9:11:23 PM EDT
[#8]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:


Javelina is one of the few animals the New Mexico Game and Fish Department does not require you to remove the carcass from the field.  Pretty much tells you how they taste............
View Quote View All Quotes
View All Quotes
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Nice piggies. How do javelina taste?

Bout the same as they smell.


Javelina is one of the few animals the New Mexico Game and Fish Department does not require you to remove the carcass from the field.  Pretty much tells you how they taste............

So in NM you just shoot them and leave them? Do they require a tag?
Link Posted: 2/9/2016 7:40:16 PM EDT
[#9]
Not me.  I eat them.  But Game and Fish will not cite you if you leave them.  Yes.  A tag is required, which has to be drawn through the regular draw system.  Oddly enough, they have had left over tags for the last few years, and they cost more than a deer tag.
Link Posted: 2/9/2016 8:42:49 PM EDT
[#10]
My Dad would have busted my balls all day about the misses.










Fun hunt!


 



I bet if you didn't fuck up the scent glands, you may be able to brine the fuck out of them and eventually make a tolerable stew out of them.  




I have heard they are ruined after a tumble. ??
Link Posted: 4/27/2016 2:22:32 AM EDT
[#11]
Awesome!
Link Posted: 5/24/2016 12:23:38 PM EDT
[#12]
Javelina is a major food source for locals in Central America.

Javelina are not pigs or rodents either.... Just saying......
Link Posted: 5/24/2016 5:22:00 PM EDT
[#13]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
Javelina is a major food source for locals in Central America.

Javelina are not pigs or rodents either.... Just saying......
View Quote

NOBODY CARES!
Link Posted: 8/3/2016 8:22:21 PM EDT
[#14]

Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:


Javelina is a major food source for locals in Central America.



Javelina are not pigs or rodents either.... Just saying......
View Quote
Link Posted: 8/8/2016 3:16:24 PM EDT
[#15]
Sweet!   I hunt 22, that is a great area you are hunting.  Congratulations!
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