Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Javelina Gun

Javis generally don't get over 60 lbs in Texas. The biggest I ever shot was 58 lbs and that was an old boar with a broken tusk.

Ruger 77 22 hornet and bow for me. As already stated, doesn’t take much.

These guys get a bad rap. They stink. They aren't super challenging, but they are fun. Any chance to get in the woods with a tag in hand is a good day. Few days off from work. Few good meals. Few good cocktails with my gaining hunting partner, and now my new hunting partner (10 year old son), is a good weekend.

Anything will work from 22 magnum and up

To the OP, I'd take that Contender in 256. Can't imagine it wouldn't work and I think it's a cool as heck set up.

I"m a 1 gun guy. 30/06 for everything.

Doesn’t get any better than that, down to one, did have 6 of them.

I've only shot 1 and that was with a recurve bow.

That 30 carbine would be kinda cool to hunt with.

you are one of the few I've ever heard to eat em. They are so nasty nothing eats carcasses in south TX. I"ve tried more than a few times and ways. There is no way I'd waste time trying to eat them.

I"m sure its a diet thing because the same is true of bears. Depending on what they eat they can be inedible or great.

They can also be called in quite close. This one was part of a group that was moving away from me, but I called it back with a wounded rabbit mouth call. This was in a park, so I only shot it with my camera. I think hunting them with a handgun would be a lot of fun.

Corrected for you

Nice picture. Need to get into a pod. Split em up and then use a javelina call to bring em back. Its fun to see how mad they get.

Ive' not shot one with a 380. I have with 9mm and up. I don't recall using a 22lr but it works fine on pigs so it should work just fine on a javelina too if legal.

10mm works really good, but then its one of the best handgun hunting rounds I've used for what it is.

I used to meet in AZ with guys from all over for an annual SPH, "steekin' peeg hunt".

I used a 6.5x55 Kimber Mauser for a couple and after that I built a LW M700 in .250 Savage.

Other guys used everything from AR's to Desert Eagles.

If I was gonna do it again I'd still use the .250 but carry a .22 WMR revolver.

Agreed - they're not hard to get close to and are a blast to hunt with a bow. I've also had some success calling them in.

As far as eating them, the guys I used to hunt with in AZ usually made breakfast sausage, as did I with mine. Not great, but edible. I hear younger ones are better than older and can be pretty good.

I vote 25-35. That would be a lot of fun.

Assuming it is a 94 win and could be easy to carry, correct?

BMT

250SAV w/87g Speer…….

I've got two, a "recent" 94 and a Contender Carbine, both scoped.

Probably my favorite medicine for Javelina is a Marlin 1894 in 357 Mag. Either a 180gr XTP, or Nosler Partition.

2nd favorite is a 30-06. Both served me very well when I lived down south in the South Texas mesquite country.

Have hunted them with a T/C Hawken .50 during the HAM (handgun, archery and muzzleloader) season in Arizona, in Texas more than once with various rounds while hunting other game, and also took one in Sonora, Mexico with a 7x57 during a Coues deer hunt. All worked fine--and am not surprised than just about anything would work well.

As far as eating, have had mixed results. I suspect they're one of those animals that have a chemical that some people's taste-buds don't like--which happens with pronghorns as well. Most people think pronghorns are among the best-tasting game when cooled quickly, but also have a good friend who hates to eat 'em, even when everybody else likes the same "goat." He says they taste like "dog food" to him, but have often wondered how much dog food he's eaten.

The best-tasting javelina I've eaten was the one from Sonora, which was killed just before Christmas, where javelina tamales are a tradition during Navidad. They were great! But have also had javelina that weren't so good, even though taken good care of, including removing the scent glands.

One of my long-time friends is Don Thomas, the well-known bowhunting writer, hunted them in Arizona for some years. He's also a very good and avid game cook, and years ago wrote a piece on cooking javelina. He suggested a 2-liter bottle of cheap red wine as the primary "ingredient"--which the cook should drink before attempting to eat javelina....