Javelinas with handguns

[IMshooter]

Here are some pics from a do-it-yourself, public land hunt for javelina in Arizona.  We pitched camp by the only tree for miles and did all of our hunting on foot.  Two of us used .45 autos, the other two used .357 magnums.  It was just cold enough that we did not bump into any rattlesnakes.







All of us were successful.

[corbanzo]

Where in Arizona is that?  Looks a little like a place we hunted deer near oracle.  (North of Tucson)  Well, they hunted deer, me the out of stater was just along for the ride.  Lots of javelina in that area, I think the most I saw though was near the fountain hills and cave creek north east phoenix.  A good friend of mine lived there in cave creek, and coming home from the bar at night when it was dark, you had to swerve to get around all of them  on the dirt roads. 

[IMshooter]

Your guess is very accurate.  This hunt took place about 40 miles north of Tucson. 

[Redhawk1]

Nothing like hunting with a handgun...  Nice Javelinas

[mauser98us]

Next time your out this way try the area around Wickenburg then east to Peeple's Valley and Crown King.

[IMshooter]

We're thinking about doing this hunt again, but with classic handguns.  I have a Mauser C-96 Broomhandle in 7.63x25mm and my brother is planning to use an Artillery Luger in 9mm.  The other two fellows are comptemplating Colt single actions.

[kiddekop]

That's an animal I learned a lot about when I was studying for a bs in wildlife mgt biology  at the Univ of AZ, never had to use the data cause neither NYS nor Calif had Pecaries.Our professor & some grad students were doing research on javelinas so we were told to advise hunters to carry 2 pairs of rubber gloves and 2 knives.Use 1 set of gloves and 1 knife to cut out the scent gland then remove it,the gloves and knife away from the work area.Take the second pr of gloves and knife to gut the woofer we were told it improves the quality of the flesh so we took their word as they hunted , studied  & ate woofers for many years.

[IMshooter]

We butchered our pigs in camp and did not bother with removing glands.  The animals were skinned and the meat de-boned.  We stored the bagged meat in coolers with ice, then semi-froze it with dry ice for the trip home.  The meat tasted so good you really could not tell it was wild game.

I think the secret to making your wild game taste good (and this applies to any animal), is keep the body cavity clean and to get the carcass cooled down as quickly as possible.  I like to place frozen jugs of water in the body cavity as soon after gutting as possible.

We do our own butchering on all big game animals and the results are much more satisfying than taking the creature to a commercial processor.  I am very careful to keep everything clean and to trim out bullet damaged areas, fat, and connective tissue.  Even my mother-in-law loves my cooked venison!

[cocomen69]

Sweet hunt! Thanks for sharing....

[Blue Duck]

Very nice.  Thanks.