Javelina with a flintlock southern rifle…

[Loja man]

That’s an excellent shot, excellent rifle and excellent hunt!! A pig hunt is definitely on my list to do! Pretty much any hunt is the on my list to do

 

[3Setters]

I like the way you smoked that bacon.

 

[George]

I've shot a few javelina in southern Arizona, quite a few years ago, now. Here's one I took from 18 yards with a double 20 gauge flintlock.

They are excellent to eat. They have a large musk gland on the rump, and you need to make absolutely certain you don't get any of that on the meat, your hands or cleaning tools. That done, they are sweet eating, not much like pork, dark, tender and tasty. One of the best meals I ever had in camp was javelina shoulder with potatoes, carrots and onions cooked overnight in a dutch oven which was buried in a hole, surrounded with coals and covered with dirt.

Spence

 

[Icemanxxxv]

Them are tasty! Shot more then one when I lived in Arizona!

 

[toot]

now you are MAKING BACON!

 

[toot]

I've shot a few javelina in southern Arizona, quite a few years ago, now. Here's one I took from 18 yards with a double 20 gauge flintlock.
View attachment 120834
They are excellent to eat. They have a large musk gland on the rump, and you need to make absolutely certain you don't get any of that on the meat, your hands or cleaning tools. That done, they are sweet eating, not much like pork, dark, tender and tasty. One of the best meals I ever had in camp was javelina shoulder with potatoes, carrots and onions cooked overnight in a dutch oven which was buried in a hole, surrounded with coals and covered with dirt.

Spence

you are making my mouth water!!

 

[Coinneach]

They do have quite an odor to them, some say the meat tastes like the odor.

Marinated overnight then ?

 

[Coinneach]

Never met a pig or a human that naturally smelled good!

Exceptions are Horses, Goats; Sheep and Cattle IMHO.

 

[wilded]

Congrats. I have taken several with a forty through the years. They have a musk gland on the back that you want to be careful of when skinning or remove if you are in camp where they will hang for a while. The younger ones are better. We would smoke ours on the pit and they make good tacos.

 

[Brent]

Definitely one of the best eating game animals anywhere. Congratulations on a great hunt. I definitely would like to fill my freezer with some javelina again.

 

[Rokon]

Here in Tucson, we cook our javelina whole after removing the primary scent glan, gutting and skinning. We simply dig a hole in a sandy wash, light a big fire using mesquite wood until we have a nice bed of coals, cover the coals with a sheet of tin roofing, smother the pig in barbecue sauce, wrap it in cheescloth, place it on the tin, put another piece of tin on top, re-fill the hole with sand and an cook for 8-10 hours. Meat just drops off the bone and it does taste like pork.

 

[Sparkitoff]

Great hunt! The meat is excellent and one of my favorites.

 

[bushytail]

Congratulations! I like the way you set everything up for the photo. Javelina is on my bucket list too.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Congrats on a great hunt and beautiful rifle. To be honest, your expeience has (almost ) changed thinking about a .40 round ball being 'too small' for hunting. Nice job.

 

[ppb]

Cooleys,
Well done!
Nice animal and a fine rifle.
In the 60's/70's we hunted the desert area south of Picacho Peak. Don't know what's going on in there now, but it used to be pretty good hunting. There were some hefty mulies out and about in there.
Gotta wonder about those critters that make a meal outta Prickly Pear cactus though...

 

[zerosprk]

Great shooting, well done!

 

[Crew Chief]

I thought I’d share a neat picture of my .40 southern mountain rifle on a recent javelina hunt in Arizona. I just finished making the rifle this winter and was looking forward to this hunt. I was very comfortable shooting off sticks out to 100 yards, and glad I was. I needed to make a 110 yard shot at a javelina sharply quartering to me, it was an either hit or miss shot. I hit and made a follow up shot at 84 yards that dropped the animal in its tracks. The first shot was a clean pass through just behind the shoulder, the second shot lodged in the hide after going through a shoulder, the heart and lungs. The round ball that I recovered held up well as usual.
I did carry the rifle cased because everything in the desert wants to poke, scratch, cut, or otherwise hurt you and a rifle stock. The game warden that checked me said that it was the first time in his 30+ years that he’d seen someone hunting with a gun and kit this “old school”…couldn’t have said words that made me feel any better.

Hunting javelina again in South Texas with my brother is on the bucket list. This time I plan to hunt with a ML and maybe take a deer also. Good job on your hunt and that is a beautiful rifle.

For those that don't know much about javelina (collared peccary), they are members of the peccary family. There are actually three species of peccaries that range from the Southwestern United States south to central South America. The only species found in the United States is the collared peccary, or javelina. No, they are not pigs nor do they crossbreed with feral pigs. For the most part, they are vegetarian which accounts for the pink meat. They eat a lot of cactus and roots. My mom made tamales out of them when I was a kid.

After taking one, field dress it and skin it as soon as possible and remove the scent gland along with the skin. Wash it down and prepare the meat as you wish. It tastes good. Happy hunting.

 

[rmagnus]

OP congrats great pic and nice rifle. As others have said be careful with the scent gland. My experience says wear gloves when touching the hair. The sent gland comes off when the skin is removed on the hind end. What you need to know is Javelina are social animals and are always rubbing up agains each other transferring that sent (stink). They actually sleep in a pig pile!

Never had one that was good eating but your best bet is one pair of gloves to remove the skin then change gloves and clean or use a new knife to remove the meat. Keep as clean as you can to improve the odds the meat will be good.

 

[rmagnus]

Forgot one more thing. The best piece of gear you can bring when doing this hunt in AZ is a great pair of TWEEZERS! Everything leaves thorns in your skin!

 

[Crane Senior]

View attachment 120665View attachment 120666I thought I’d share a neat picture of my .40 southern mountain rifle on a recent javelina hunt in Arizona. I just finished making the rifle this winter and was looking forward to this hunt. I was very comfortable shooting off sticks out to 100 yards, and glad I was. I needed to make a 110 yard shot at a javelina sharply quartering to me, it was an either hit or miss shot. I hit and made a follow up shot at 84 yards that dropped the animal in its tracks. The first shot was a clean pass through just behind the shoulder, the second shot lodged in the hide after going through a shoulder, the heart and lungs. The round ball that I recovered held up well as usual.
I did carry the rifle cased because everything in the desert wants to poke, scratch, cut, or otherwise hurt you and a rifle stock. The game warden that checked me said that it was the first time in his 30+ years that he’d seen someone hunting with a gun and kit this “old school”…couldn’t have said words that made me feel any better.

That is awesome, I’ve been thinking of going to AZ for Javelina. What part of the sate were you in?