Javelina in Arizona

[rusman66]

Was thinking it might be fun to hunt those Javelina in Arizona.  Anyone have any experience.  How hard is it to find public places to hunt places to stay or camp?  is/was it worth the money?
Do they taste good? are they hard to hunt?   any info would be greatly appreciated.

 

[doccherry]

I've hunted javelina several times during the February HAM hunt.  There is a lot of public land to hunt and there is relatively little hunting pressure, particularly out away from towns.  You can camp almost anywhere.  Arizona Fish and Game has a really good website and you can download all the information on the various hunts, success rates, etc.  I hunt just west of Tucson [don't recall the game unit] and have done pretty well.  I enjoy javelina meat and find it to be a lot like rabbit.  They aren't very big, maybe 40 pounds on average, but they are a challenging game animal.  I highly recommend a javelina hunt.

 

[songdog]

Ok, who's going to head up the JHP AZ javelina-o-rama?  I looked a couple of years ago and I think that it ran somewhere between $150-200 for an out of state license and tags.  Not too bad when you consider that you can quail and duck hunt too...

(Edited by songdog at 12:26 pm on June 11, 2002)

 

[Coues]

I would be happy to help anybody out with their Javelina hunt. Once we determine who, if any at all, will be coming, I can hook you up with the units to apply for (free of charge!) and areas to hunt. Remember you can hunt ducks, Quail, small game, and Deer during the Javelina archery season. Only small game and Javelina can be combined during the HAM and general seasons. Archery season is the entire month of January. The HAM season is in Feb. Let me know. Tags will be as close to a lock as possible in the draw for this hunt and an excellent area too.

Jeff Rogers
Desert Bull Hunting Services

(Edited by Coues at 10:00 am on June 11, 2002)

 

[Speckmisser]

Sounds like a generous offer, Coues.  

Appx. what does it cost for out of state license to hunt small game and javelina?  Also wondering if you have to apply for lottery tags for jav?  That's what it sounds like from several of these posts.  

I can't see running to Arizona to hunt small game (I'm in NorCal...so that's a long trip), but I know a lot of the guys on this board have shown interest.  

 

[gwhunter69]

Maybe I missed it, but how does the meat taste? Gamey?

 

[rusman66]

That is indeed a generous offer coues.  I will have to give this some thaught.  I have a friend who owns some land just south of seligman, are you at all familiar with that area? and if so  how does it rate for javelina.  When do you apply? Thanks for the input coues, I might be contacting you in the future.

doccherry said it taste a lot like rabbit in his above post.

(Edited by rusman66 at 10:05 am on June 12, 2002)

 

[Coues]

First, I want to clarify. I will provide the hunt units (usually $20.00 per application) and the scouting (usually $150.00 per day). I will not provide licenses or tags. I will do this for JHP site participants only and I would like to limit it to 2 groups of 4 hunters max. I would also like it we could all hunt from the same camp. We can hunt different areas of coarse. I am not a guide and cannot provide any gear. (it's an insurance thing!)

Ok, the apps need to be in by Mid-October. Non-resident Javelina tags are $68.00 and a hunting license is $113.50. If we could get 8 guys/girls that can hunt with either a bow, handgun, or muzzleloader, you can all hunt the HAM season in Feb. Or if you have to hunt with a rifle we can use any weapon during the general season in March. I personally will be hunting the archery only season in Jan. We can decide the season  once we see who is coming.
I have three or four pretty reliable areas to hunt and tags are usually a lock. I just want to warn you, it is not an easy hunt. These animals do not flood into agricultural fields like the Cali pigs. They live in some pretty gnarley country and can be the devil to find during warm spells. That is why I like the archery hunt. It is in Jan. when the weather is cool. I can assure that it is a lot of fun.

 

[One Track]

Good idea Russman!  Sounds like a blast.  I'll be saving Feb for a Tejon hunt. However, January sounds great.

Mr. Coues:  

Thanks for the info.  I think this hunt would be a blast in January.  Are you saying that I/we could do a deer/javelina combo archery hunt in January.  I was looking at the regs, is your unit one that includes a January archery deer season?   Does your favorite Javie unit, have a good population of deer?  Are these Couses or Muley?  Can you give me a ballpark success % rate on taking a buck and a pig during a five day hunt, (assuming I hit my mark?)  Lots of questions, please send bill for intel to Speckmisser.

Thanks.

 

[Speckmisser]

Wow, almost missed that last line, One Track.  Clever, but not too clever.  :no no:

This sounds almost like something I'd like to check out... especially if I learn to hit anything with this bow.  Unfortunately, with POR coming up and Christmas just over...  well, there's always winning the lottery.

Might be something to think about for the next year, though.  

 

[One Track]

Here's how it works Speck.  

Instead of going out everynight and spending your money in the nightclubs, you practice shooting your bow  everyday.  That will save you a ton of money. You hunt your tail off for dear during the fall, which is almost fee.  December rolls around and you spend three bills on the Tejon Hunt, money you saved by staying home everynight. You bring home the pork and she LOVES it.  When your Sugar Momma asks what you want for Xmas, just tell her, "A trip to Arizona, that's all I want!" You buy her a trip to Paris with the money you are saving from not going out everynight to the expensive clubs.   You go to Arrizona in January, and get a buck and a Javelina with your recurve. You video tape the whole thing, and sell it to The Outdoor Channel and make a few grand.   Sugar Momma eats the pork and loves it.  You tell her, "I can get more pork in February."   She says, "Great."  You book the Feb. POR without telling her.    You're saving it as a surprise.  You dissappear for three days, and return with more delicious pork.  She will be thrilled. The best part is that you creatively financed the whole thing. If you can continue to refrain from going out at night, you could save enough money to quit work and start writing an outdoor column for Maxim!  

 

[bubba]

Speckmisser, when you finally end up at Maxim, I would like to be a part of your team.  I'll hold the lights when we take out the models dressed in bikini camo holding guns.

 

[rusman66]

One track I hope you don't mind me stealing your gameplan. I think I can pull it off minus the trip to Paris for sugar momma. How about a trip to wal-fart.  Well now that I think about it whichever is cheapest.  
I gotta put some meat in the freezer. The wife and kids are loosing faith in dear old dad as a Hunter gatherer.

 

[One Track]

Works for me. I just keep forgetting to bring the video camera.  Let's go get a squeeler!

 

[Coues]

The only way you can combo a Javelina/Deer hunt is in the archery only season in January. The deer tag is $113.50 for non-residents. The unit that we will be hunting contains good numbers of Javelina/Muledeer/Coues Deer. Again, in order to pull this off as a deer/pig hunt it will have to be during the archery only season in Jan. If we have hunters that can't hunt with a bow we will have to do the pig only hunts. Another of the benifits of the archery season is that you can hunt quail without any additional licenses. This area is absolutley loaded with birds. I saw over 200 last saturday just driving the roads. As soon as we have at least 4 CONFIRMED hunters coming we can work out further details. Can we start a count of people that are even remotely interested in this and what season you would like to hunt. I think this sounds like a lot of fun. I am hoping to get to Cali next year for a "real pig" hunt also!

 

[Coues]

I put up a web page to help clarify some of the details. I set up an e-mail addy that we can use to correspond. Think seriuosly about this guys. This is probably the cheapest out of state hunt that you will ever go on. As an incentive I will bring all the Elk, deer, quail, etc. that I can for a big ole BBQ in the desert. Lots of mesquite out their to add that SW flavor too! Maybe someone can bring some hog chops?

2003 Javelina Cantina!

 

[rusman66]

coues:

I would be very interested in a Javelina hunt.

I guess my first choice would be an archery only  Javelina/deer combo in January.

Are the Archery deer tags zone specific?

I tried the cantina2003 email but it wouldn't work?

 

[Coues]

I'll check out the e-mail. It was working yesterday.
The Javelina tags are zoned, but not the deer tags. You can hunt any open unit. Generally only the desert units are open in January.



cantina2003@desertbull.com

www.desertbull.com/jav-cantina.htm

(Edited by Coues at 2:29 pm on June 15, 2002)

 

[doccherry]

If you're going to hunt the archery only javelina season, I'd suggest that you take along your favorite quail shotgun and a varmint rifle, if you're into either sport.  I hunt the HAM season just west of Tucson and I scare up more quail than I ever have in California.  I also hunt the quail during quail season and do very well, probably averaging 5 birds for a 2 hour morning hunt.  Just stay down along the "green," the arroyos that have seasonal water flow.  If you are in the Tucson area, you can drive up beyond Catalina and you'll see miles of grassland.  This is good for scaled quail.  If you're adventurous, go up into the mountains, up above 6000 feet, and try for Mearns quail.  There are coyotes everywhere, so you might want to try for them.

My parents live in Sun City, Rancho Vistoso, near Catalina, and javelina come into their backyard almost every evening.  Find out what unit Catalina is in, and hunt along the edge of the housing tracts.  I find far more javelina next to civilized areas and golf courses than I do out in the wilderness.  I had to cancel my HAM hunt at the last minute this year because my Brittany pup was being shipped from Nebraska and that was the only time frame they could ship due to weather.  I'll be back for the HAM next year.

 

[Speckmisser]

The more I think about it, this really sounds like a blast, but not do-able this year.  Too much else scheduled for that time frame.  But if you guys put it together and pull this one off, I might very likely be up for it next year.  The price is right, and the January combo sounds like it would be awesome.  

Make it happen, so I can be there for the Second Annual JHP Javelina hunt!