JAVELINA

[JimT]

Commonly known as Javelina, the Collared Peccary has undergone a name change back in 2020 .. the year that changed a lot of things worldwide. Formerly classified in the genus Pecari, studies in 2020 moved them in the genus Dicotyles. Now the Javelina is known by the name Dicotyles tajacu of the family Tayassuida. The talking heads who name these things say that they are not a pig. Pigs are part of the family Suidae. However, the Javelina look like pigs, root like pigs, poop like pigs and generally are quite pig-like. So most of us who love hunting them and have had close encounters with them figure that no matter what someone calls them, they are still pigs to us. Maybe not brothers and sisters but at least cousins.

Their range is from the Southwestern United States to northern Argentina and they can be found in cities and agricultural land throughout their range. They consume garden plants, eat the fruit that falls off trees, root up the wife's outdoor flowers and sometimes eat the dog's food. Fairly large populations live in the suburbs of Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona.

I hunted them for quite a few years and shot a lot of them .. but never in town! When we lived in Arizona we always had them coming into our yard eating the peaches that fell off our trees. I've had as many as 20 in the backyard at one time. We ate more than a few of those pigs! My wife made great meals with the meat.

A lot of the people who hunt Javelina make the mistake of moving too fast or taking shots that are way too long. With a little bit of work and patience, when you spot a herd, you can work your way to within feet of them. I've shot quite a few at less than 50 feet and some as close as 4 to 6 feet.

Over the years I discovered that quite often you could call Javelina to you using a coyote call. I believe they think it is a youngster in trouble because they usually came with their hair bristled up and popping their tusks. I have called them up to with 5 or 6 feet.

Some hunters have made the mistake of attempting to remove the musk glad from the little pig. You get it on yourself and on the meat and it is not attractive to humans at all. Leave the musk glad alone! It comes off with the hide, and the hide pulls off pretty easily.

Calibers I have used to kill Javelina

.22 Long Rifle Standard Velocity with a bullet I flat-nosed (rifle)
.22 Magnum (sixgun)
.32-20 (leveraction rifle)
.41 Magnum (sixgun)
.44 Remington cap and ball (sixgun)
.45 Colt (sixgun)
454 Casull (fivegun)
480 Achilles (sixgun)

Large powerful guns are not needed if a person will just take it easy, work in close and not move fast. My daughter shot her first Javelina when she was 11 years old. She used an old Stevens Marksman that I rebarreled and rechambered to .22 Rimfire Magnum. She dropped it first shot, breaking the spine.

azalea 1987-2.jpg

Here are some of the Javelina I have taken along with short notes about the gun used, the load, the distance etc.

javelina 1986.jpg

1986 - Linebaugh Custom .45 Colt Ruger .. SSK 270 gr. ... cast 18.5 gr. 2400 .. I was sitting on a rock, tired from walking. Took out my coyote call and blew it a bit and javelina started running all around me. I picked out one that was about 20... yards or so away and nailed it. When I got it home I saw it had a nice size head so I took it to the taxidermist and had him measure it. I was a member of Safari Club International in those days. It scored as the largest taken with a handgun in SCI and 3rd largest overall. They awarded me a medal and gave me a nice plaque. I donated the skull to the SCI museum in Tucson.

javelina 1987-2.jpg

1987 - 454 Casull .. Roger Barnes cast 300 gr. @ 1400 fps .. didn't need the power but the accuracy was so amazing! I made a 20 yard shot aiming for the left eye and centered it.

javelina 1988.JPG

1988- 44 cap & ball Remington copy .. .460" ball .. full load of FFFg .. I spotted the herd from quite a ways, sneaked up on them .. they were down in a wash and this pig was rubbing its butt on a rock, angled to the left away from me. I shot it behind the right shoulder and the ball exited the front of the left shoulder ... about a 30 yard shot ... dropped right there.

javelina 1997.JPG

1997 - .41 Magnum 200 gr. Speer JHP .. 20 gr. H110 ... about a 6 foot shot as the pig was running directly at me.

javelina 2002.jpg

2002 - Reeder Custom Vaquero .45 Colt with 4" barrel .. 200 gr. Cor-Bon JHP factory load .. 15 yard shot as it ran past me. It ran another 20 or 30 feet and died.

javelina 2005.JPG

2005 - 480 Achilles ... 290 gr. Bittner cast bullet .. 12 gr. 2400 ... about a 30 foot shot. I hit it through the jaw as it ran across in front of me .. as it went on past I put the second shot into the right ham and the bullet exited the left front shoulder.

2005 was the last time I hunted the little critters. I shot quite a few others, never took photos of them all. One hunt I killed 3 and didn't get any pictures of any of them. But we did eat them. I had spotted this herd of pigs up the mountain from me maybe a quarter mile away. I worked my way quietly up and through the brush and suddenly I was in the middle of a bunch of them! They were on 3 sides of me. I saw a nice large one standing broadside to me about 20 yards or less away, so I put the sights on it and put a bullet through the shoulders. At the shot several things happened ALL AT THE SAME TIME! The one I shot dropped. Pigs started running panicked in all directions and one came straight at me. I shot it in self defense and the suddenly the others were all gone. I looked at the one I shot running at me, then walked over and looked at the one I shot first. Laying behind it was another dead one! I examined it and found the 300 gr. .45 slug did what they are supposed to do ... penetrate! It had gone through the first pig side to side and then full length through the one I did not see standing behind it.

It took me a while to get all the meat home.

[GunnyMack]

Good stuff !
I have never seen one in person but I think they are cool critters!

[gamekeeper]

The only ones I saw were in the Sonoran Desert Museum, my son and I would have loved to see them in the wild...

[Grizz]

Good info Jim. How did you prepare them? Like pork? Even if they aren't called porkers? Did you render the fat, if they have any? tnx

[JimT]

Good info Jim. How did you prepare them? Like pork? Even if they aren't called porkers? Did you render the fat, if they have any? tnx

No fat. They are very lean. My wife always added a lot of oil to them. She made tamales with them .. cooked the meat in a pressure cooker and then shredded it. She added cooking oil. She also made great burritos with them. Unfortunately I only have one of her recipes .. Here it is ...

Recipe For Barbecued Javelina
4 to 6 pounds Javelina, pre-cooked and shredded (my wife cooks them in a pressure cooker)
½ cup oil
16 oz. Ketchup
½ cup molasses
¼ cup soy sauce
¼ cup honey
¼ cup prepared mustard
3 tablespoons vinegar
1 medium onion, minced very fine
1 jar orange marmalade (4 to 6 oz.)
2 teaspoons liquid smoke flavor
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon barbecue spice
1 to 2 dashes Tabasco Sauce
Mix all ingredients except the meat and set aside one hour. Place meat in a crock pot, pour 2 to 3 cups of barbecue sauce over the meat. Set crock pot on low and cook over night.
Then ENJOY!

[TraderVic]

Well, you can put lipstick on a pig, But it's still a pig.

Geez Louise Jim, how many revolvers do you have ?

[JimT]

Well, you can put lipstick on a pig, But it's still a pig.

Geez Louise Jim, how many revolvers do you have ?

Not quite enough.

[Walt]

Like they say, if you know how many guns you have, you don't have enough!

[Bill in Oregon]

Well, you can put lipstick on a pig, But it's still a pig.

Geez Louise Jim, how many revolvers do you have ?

Not quite enough.

I loved seeing the javelinas in southern New Mexico. Piggy bodies on tiny toothpick legs.

[Ysabel Kid]

Like they say, if you know how many guns you have, you don't have enough!

Don't tell Mrs. YK!

[Scott Tschirhart]

I think the .357 sixgun is probably the perfect round to hunt javelinas. Plenty of power and they are generally shot at close range. Setting up by a windmill or other source of water has been the most productive way for me.

They are ideal for the crock pot.

[JimT]

I think the .357 sixgun is probably the perfect round to hunt javelinas. Plenty of power and they are generally shot at close range. Setting up by a windmill or other source of water has been the most productive way for me.

They are ideal for the crock pot.

I've had .357's since I was 16 .. over 60 years .. and I don't think I've ever shot a Javelina with one! Durn Scott! I am gonna have to get you to take me out the ranch one of these days.

[earlmck]

Most of my growin' up years were done on a ranch out east of Kingman and we had no javalinas in the area at that time. But last time I was out messing around on the old place the javalinas had moved in. Be interesting to see if they get further north than that.

I've never shot one though I once went along on a hunt and my friend George shot one with the Ruger GP100 he had borrowed from me, using my 180 grain LBT cast bullet loads. Bang! flop! as I recall.

[Nath]

Thems pigs...dang experts a messin wi'stuff all the dang while.....

[Scott Tschirhart]

I've had .357's since I was 16 .. over 60 years .. and I don't think I've ever shot a Javelina with one! Durn Scott! I am gonna have to get you to take me out the ranch one of these days.

I haven’t seen a javelina on the ranch in many years. They used to be common. I think wild hogs have supplemented them. We need to go further west to find javelina.

[JimT]

Most of my growin' up years were done on a ranch out east of Kingman and we had no javalinas in the area at that time. But last time I was out messing around on the old place the javalinas had moved in. Be interesting to see if they get further north than that.

I've never shot one though I once went along on a hunt and my friend George shot one with the Ruger GP100 he had borrowed from me, using my 180 grain LBT cast bullet loads. Bang! flop! as I recall.

They have gotten quite far up north ... above Camp Verde the last I heard.

[Ray]

I was looking at a map of the peccary's range/distribution and there is a large gap in west texas & north-central mexico. I guess it has something to do with habitat & elevation. Does anyone know why they are absent there ?

Dicotyles_tajacu_range_kindlephoto-87136969.png

[JimT]

I was looking at a map of the peccary's range/distribution and there is a large gap in west texas & north-central mexico. I guess it has something to do with habitat & elevation. Does anyone know why they are absent there ?

I would say it's because of all the traffic of people tromping north across the border into the U.S. - scared off all the wild critters or killed them off for something to eat until they get to the Land of The Free Big Mac.

[Bill in Oregon]

In New Mexico, we had them right up to the west edge of the Sacramento Mountains, and I have seen them near the Rio Grande not far from Interstate 25 near Elephant Butte.

[Griff]

When I hunted down in Terrell County, we'd sometimes take a few for camp meat. Tough and stringy is how I remember them. The pressure cooker and crock pot could've cured that. Would love to try out that recipe.

[JimT]

When I hunted down in Terrell County, we'd sometimes take a few for camp meat. Tough and stringy is how I remember them. The pressure cooker and crock pot could've cured that. Would love to try out that recipe.

The last Javelina I took was the one with the 480 Achilles. We were camped in hills outside Oracle, Arizona in a pretty inaccessible place, but one evening a vehicle came in and stopped. The driver got out and introduced himself and asked if he could camp with us. That was no problem. He was a big guy, Indian but I forget which Tribe he was part of. Well educated and pleasant to be around. I shot the Javelina the next day, carried back to camp and skinned it and asked him if he would like to take the meat home to his family. He appreciated that. In the evening we had the campfire going and he fixed us Javelina for supper. He cut off the right rear ham where I had put the bullet through. Then he put it on a stick and seared it over the fire. Once he had it seared he used 3 sticks to position it over the fire and he cooked it by moving the sticks around. Being seared, it kinda cooked in its own juices I guess, because the meat was moist and tasty. It was really a treat watching someone who knew what they were doing when it came to cooking meat over a fire!

[Walt]

Good story, Jim.....thanks!

[marlinman93]

Great report Jim!
I've never seen a live one as haven't spent much time down southwest where they seem to be mostly.

[Scott Tschirhart]

I like watching the little buggers but they are hard on dogs. My grandpa hunted coyotes with hounds.a smart coyote would sometimes lead the dogs through a group of javelina. I learned how to stitch dogs up that way.

The last two I shot were with Bill Bagwell out on the Train Robber Ranch near Sanderson Texas. A .50-70 Sharps is overkill.

[Paul105]

Speaking of Sanderson brought back a memory.

35 plus years ago, my son and I were sitting on the side of an arroyo outside of Sanderson TX. We were mule deer hunting with a group of other hunters. Others were set up at various locations. We spotted a single javalina wandering down the arroyo. My son asked if he could shoot it with his bb gun. I said sure and when it came into range he pinged it in the butt. Startled it took off running around the toe of the hill on the opposite side of the wash. A coupe of minutes later we heard a volley of shots. Later that night in camp, the owner who had been set up opposite us said he had been charged by a wild javalenia and he had opened up on it with his HiPower.

[JimT]

Speaking of Sanderson brought back a memory.

35 plus years ago, my son and I were sitting on the side of an arroyo outside of Sanderson TX. We were mule deer hunting with a group of other hunters. Others were set up at various locations. We spotted a single javalina wandering down the arroyo. My son asked if he could shoot it with his bb gun. I said sure and when it came into range he pinged it in the butt. Startled it took off running around the toe of the hill on the opposite side of the wash. A coupe of minutes later we heard a volley of shots. Later that night in camp, the owner who had been set up opposite us said he had been charged by a wild javalenia and he had opened up on it with his HiPower.

LOL!! That's a great story ... and probably true of most Javelina "charges" ...

[Malamute]

Most of my growin' up years were done on a ranch out east of Kingman and we had no javalinas in the area at that time. But last time I was out messing around on the old place the javalinas had moved in. Be interesting to see if they get further north than that.

I've never shot one though I once went along on a hunt and my friend George shot one with the Ruger GP100 he had borrowed from me, using my 180 grain LBT cast bullet loads. Bang! flop! as I recall.

They have gotten quite far up north ... above Camp Verde the last I heard.

They were common in the Verde Valley in the early 80s when I lived in Flag. I dont know if theyve gone higher up in elevation. They may not do well in areas that get much snow.

Javelina are one of the things Im sort of looking forward to seeing again and probably hunting when Im able to snowbird and get out of snow country.

Edit: A little googling indicates they are native to SW Utah. Who knew?

[Paladin]

They are a pain. They punch holes in the chain link fence, are dangerous to the dogs in packs, and are protected by the AZ Government as a game animal.
This is where they separated 3 feet of chain link fence to kill two of my apple trees. They have (a Pack of 30) only chased my 120-pound Rhodesian Ridgeback one time and he ran back to me where I had a Levergun in .45 Colt; for some reason, most of them ran off.

Fence Fix.jpg