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AZ Javelina

Never hunted 32, but have hunted 31, right next door. Look for patches of prickly pear, with water within a ½ a mile. Get up high and glass the hills that the sun hits first, they dislike the cold and head for sunshine in the AM if its chilly out. Field dress like any other animal, but use a separate knife for skinning, there's a scent gland on their back that can transfer some taste to the meat supposedly. there used to be a website called javelinahunter.com that had some good info.
 
Water has no part in it. Prickly Pear are thier caviar.Find a corridor with
plenty of hoof prints,sandy washes.Locate thier bedding and feeding areas.
They will come through every 3 to 5 days./Get up high and glass sunny in the
mornings.Bedding areas in the afternoons.Use your nose,you will know when
you are cllose! 🔥
 
Good advice above. Only thing I would add is that javelina don't necessarily operate on normal game hours. Getting up at the crack of dawn has rarely resulted in javelina sightings for me. I'd say out of 15 javelina I've shot only 1 has been before 9am. I got this one last week in the OTC area at 11:15am. Don't know 32 very well but there are lots of pigs along the San Pedro river bottom. Good luck and enjoy the desert!
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Water has no part in it. Prickly Pear are thier caviar.Find a corridor with
plenty of hoof prints,sandy washes.Locate thier bedding and feeding areas.
They will come through every 3 to 5 days./Get up high and glass sunny in the
mornings.Bedding areas in the afternoons.Use your nose,you will know when
you are cllose! 🔥
Not at all trying to start a pissing match, but javelina tend to hang out around permanent water sources. They do not need to water daily, but do need to water no matter how much prickly pear is in the area. I agree with everything else you said.
 
Bring your "A" game because they can be a challenge to find. Pretend you're looking for rabbits as javelina have short legs. Like Dirtclod said, they seem to roam around so hunting the same area day after day seems to work if there is some fresh sign. Suddenly, out of nowhere they appear.

My friends camp and hunt hard the whole week and almost always tag out. I do the weekend warrior thing and it took me four years to finally get one. My respect level for these desert dwellers has increased tremendously over the years. And they definitely sleep in caves (Or mine shafts where we hunt) when it gets cold.
 
If you’re archery hunting them they are really easy to hit high. If they are alert and aware of you they tend to puff up their hair and look a lot bigger than they really are. They’re a tough critter if not hit well.
 
The one animal I have always wanted to hunt with a handgun.

Walking washes was a good way to find them back in the day, but we weren't hunting them.
 
The one animal I have always wanted to hunt with a handgun.

Walking washes was a good way to find them back in the day, but we weren't hunting them.
Handgun does sound like fun for one of these. I gotten pretty close to some when scouting and wishing I had a tag at the time...
 
Hello Gstephens! I have a tag for 36A in the end of Feb. Really looking forward to it! Never done it myself and looking for the same thing.
 
We'll be in the 37s for my gfs Jan pig tag and my HAM tag. Usually we just walk the washes and find them that way. It's like still hunting whitetails, but you've got a lot less to look at. Field dressing them is easy, I hang mine in a nearby tree and tube them out just like a deer, starting at the legs and working my way to the head. Everyone talks about the scent gland, but as long as you tube it out, you'll clear it no problem. I still like to swap my blades (I use an Outdoor edge razor knife) between skinning and cutting meat though just in case, so as I don't contaminate the meat with any errant scent oils.

As far as recipes, I actually really liked just frying the backstrap in italian dressing (I know folks balk at this "simple" cooking, but I genuinely enjoy it). I've had some really good snack sticks made from javelina. Many folks like to make chorizo with them as well.
 
Hello Gstephens! I have a tag for 36A in the end of Feb. Really looking forward to it! Never done it myself and looking for the same thing.
Nice. I’m hoping to do some serious hunting in 36a next fall. There are a couple episodes of FT that Randy was down south and hunting a variety in a weeks time. Great episodes and hoping to do the like. Good luck on your go.
 
We'll be in the 37s for my gfs Jan pig tag and my HAM tag. Usually we just walk the washes and find them that way. It's like still hunting whitetails, but you've got a lot less to look at. Field dressing them is easy, I hang mine in a nearby tree and tube them out just like a deer, starting at the legs and working my way to the head. Everyone talks about the scent gland, but as long as you tube it out, you'll clear it no problem. I still like to swap my blades (I use an Outdoor edge razor knife) between skinning and cutting meat though just in case, so as I don't contaminate the meat with any errant scent oils.

As far as recipes, I actually really liked just frying the backstrap in italian dressing (I know folks balk at this "simple" cooking, but I genuinely enjoy it). I've had some really good snack sticks made from javelina. Many folks like to make chorizo with them as well.
Thanks for tips. I’m new to hunting though. What does tube it out mean?
 
Thanks for tips. I’m new to hunting though. What does tube it out mean?

it refers to a style of skinning furbearers. You hang the animal by the rear feet to start. You then start cutting at the “ankles” and work your down each leg until you meet the bodyat the crotch,from then on you pull the skin down towards the head, only cutting where the skin hangs on tight. This way you create a “tube” of the body. It’s similar to skinning a gutted animal, you just don’t have the split in the abdomen where you removed the entrails. I don’t gut my Javelin, I just hang them and do a gutless method this way, removing the meat once it’s been skun
 
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