Dukats Journal of Hunting

Archery Hunting for Javelina

Written by Dave Dukat

Glassing for Javelina Arizona decided to try to generate a little more revenue by opening a fall season for javelina. Being the glutton for punishment, anything hunting, guy I am, I couldn’t resist. I didn’t spend much time looking at the season dates, I just wanted to get out and take my first chance at a javelina.

When the results came back, I was happy to see I had drawn a tag. The fact that it was tag number 7, didn’t sink in that maybe there were only seven people who applied. The season occurred the last week of August, one of the hotter weeks of the summer in Arizona. Normally the monsoon rains start in late June or July and last through mid-August. The desert cools off during this period and and greens up if the rains are frequent. Unfortunately, this fills all of the waterholes, not to mention every low spot that is capable of holding water and soon the animals spread out and are no longer predictable. When the rain stops, and the heat returns to over 100 degrees, you get not only the burning sun, but humidity to go with it.

Now this deters most people, but those that can put up with the heat, usually change their mind when they see or hear that first rattlesnake. Snakes are out in force this time of year and in Arizona, they are huge. The previous year, dove hunting in September, I ran across one of those Arizona rattlers, and instead of coiling, it wound into an S and with the remaining half of its body stood straight up and looked at me. I have no doubt, it was above knee height and staring right at me rattling like mad. I ‘ve never seen anything like it, and I knew these snakes were serious. I had my shotgun and ended his poor attitude before the dogs found him.

I must admit, I couldn’t complain, and the closer it got to opening day, the more excited I got. I finally snuck away from our new baby for a few early mornings on the weekend for a little scouting. The desert was filled with green grass, and everything else seemed to glow a solid green. The desert is beautiful this time of year. The sunrise is fairly early, so the 4:00 a.m. alarm was a little rough, but once in the outdoors, it was well worth it. There were mule deer, coyotes, and Coues whitetail, who had long since forgotten about the previous hunting season and were out enjoying the nutritious feed all around them.

I lost focus on my scouting trips and spent more time looking for deer than javelina, but the main idea was to learn the roads and find some productive looking areas. I was able to accomplish that goal and with only one flat on the truck. Not bad for the miles I put on and the road conditions. It’s hard to beat an Arizona sunrise, and I found a few coveys of quail for the bird dogs to chase later in the year. Not bad for a couple weekends.

Javelina in the cactus I did finally see a lone javelin sneaking through the cactus. It’s uncommon to find just one javelina, but this fellow was trotting along around 10:00 p.m. without a care in the world. If only the season were open a week sooner!

The season opened on a Friday, and I told my boss I might be an hour or two late. Luckily he has a few passions himself and realizes there is more to life than work.

First, a couple tips on javelina hunting if you get the chance to try it. Javelina have excellent noses and if they smell you, the game is up. They can disappear in the heavy brush in no time, and you’re not likely to see them again for quite some time. Their eyes are not the best, so when stalking in sight of them, do not move to the side. If you only move directly toward them, you have a lot better chance at getting close than if you make any side to side movements. They have learned to adapt well to their poor eyesight and will pick up your movement in an instant.

Glass for javelina like you would mule deer in the high country. You can look an area over 20 or 30 times and look back and there they are. They seem to appear out of nowhere. Finally when stalking, plan on double the javelina you saw with your binoculars. You always seem to get busted by the three or four you didn’t see, so stay alert at all times.

Back to the hunt. I reached my opening day look out about an hour before sun up. I wanted to be early, but not quite that early. Anyhow, I sat in the truck and waited until first light crept up the horizon. I snuck up to a good vantage point and started picking apart the country with my binoculars. I found four or five deer, several with fawns, but no javelina. I headed into work hoping day two would turn out better.

Day two and day three, I spent the full day in the desert with the same result. I saw some beautiful country, but no javelinas. Unfortunately, with the season only a week, I ran out of time before I ran into a pig. It was a lot of fun learning new country and I’ll try round two in January if I can draw a tag.

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