JAVELINA

The air was crisp as I shouldered my backpack. It was about an hour before dawn and I had a good half-hour hike to get to where I had seen the Javelina herd. I wanted to be in position before daylight. During the hike out I enjoyed the beauty of the Arizona mountains and the dawning of a new day. 

It seemed to be just a short walk and I was at the canyon mouth I was seeking. Following on old trail I slowly eased my way down the hillside till I was about 30 yards form the canyon bottom. I sat down in the concealment of some brush and waited for the sun to rise so I could see the mountainside opposite of me. I could see tracks near the water in the canyon bottom and began to feel a stir of excitement. 

As the light began to filter through the canyon I got out my Burnham Brothers Deluxe Fox call and started to blow softly through it. I gave about 5 soft calls and stopped to see what would happen. In just a few moments I spotted some movement near the top of the mountain, about 300 yards away. I thought at first it was a coyote, but when I looked through my binoculars I discovered it was a large Javelina making its way down the mountain toward me! 

I gave a few more calls and the pig continued to come down the mountain through the brush. When it got to the edge of the brush about 150 yards from me it seemed reluctant to leave its cover. I called, but to no avail. At length I could see it begin to make its way back up the mountain. It would stop and listen when I called, but would not come to me. 
I noticed some more movement near the top and looking through my glasses revealed several other Javelina milling around. I decided the only thing to do was to get nearer. There was a trail that circled around the mountain and would take me near the top, out of sight and smell of the Javelina. I began to work my way up the trail, and after about 15 minutes of climbing I cut off and headed over to where I had last seen the little porkers. When I thought I was near the place I got down in some deep grass and began blowing on the call. In just a moment I heard the "woof-woof" of the pigs as they moved toward me. 

I had my gun ready as the first one came into sight, but the brush was so thick that I just couldn’t see them long enough to risk a shot. The pigs stayed about 25 to 30 yards out and circled me, curious but wary. After playing this game for 10 minutes or so I decided to try and move in closer. 

Moving as quietly as I could I eased my way through the thick brush. At different times I spotted Javelina, but no good shots were seemingly available. I worked my way to the top of the mountain, and as I came over the top I saw movement to my left. I froze and slowly turned to see what it was. There, about 50 yards away, were 15 to 20 Javelina feeding in a clump of mesquite trees. 

One was standing broadside to me so I put the sights on it's shoulder area and squeezed the trigger. Immediately a bunch of things happened all at the same time! The pig I shot dropped where it was. All the other pigs took off running in different directions. One came running directly at me at full speed! At 25 feet or so I shot it. The pig squealed and went down. I could tell that I had missed a good hit and had broken it’s back! My next shot took it through the neck and finished it on the spot.

Everything settled down and I made sure that the last pig I shot was dead and then went to check the first pig I shot. It was down and dead and there was another dead pig directly behind it. It had been standing behind the one I shot, but facing toward me. The bullet I fired through the first pig hit this one in the chest and went full length through it. That's what big bullets do.

I had a lot of critters to clean and a lot of meat to pack home. While I had no intention of shooting extra pigs, it had happened. There wasn't much I could do about it. I did not realize there was a pig behind the first one, and while I knew the last one wasn't charging me and it was just trying to get away, a frightened pig running up against you as it is trying to flee danger is not something you want to experience.

The gun was my old model Ruger .45 and the load was the 300 gr. #457191 bullet with 18.5 gr. 2400 fired by a rifle primer. These were numbers 4, 5 & 6 Javelina taken with this gun and load.