{"id":2864,"date":"2020-07-13T22:10:15","date_gmt":"2020-07-14T05:10:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.airgunsofarizona.com\/hunting\/?p=2864"},"modified":"2020-07-13T22:10:15","modified_gmt":"2020-07-14T05:10:15","slug":"javalina-on-my-airgunning-bucket-list","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.airgunsofarizona.com\/hunting\/2020\/07\/javalina-on-my-airgunning-bucket-list\/","title":{"rendered":"Javalina: On My Airgunning Bucket List!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There was nowhere to legally hunt javalina in the States for many years, but the laws have changed and there are now a couple destinations!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Sometimes they come down to the roads, but generally you have to go into the desert to find them.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

If I was asked to list my five favorite things to hunt with\nan airgun, javalina would certainly be in the mix. Part of the reason is I\nwanted to take one with an airgun for years, and I\u2019d see them all the time when\nI was in Texas and sometimes in Arizona, but I could never pull the trigger\u2026..\nthere was no place in the US to hunt them legally. Then after years of not\nbeing able to take the shot, I went down to old Mexico where I score my first\none. But that was a long, expensive, and hard to organize trip\u2026.. and I\u2019m\nsaying this for someone that\u2019s traveled in Mexico and likes it a lot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then a few years ago Arizona opened their seasons for everything (except elk) to airgun hunters. I went down that first season and hunted with my friend and Airguns of Arizona<\/a> resident hunt Kip Perow, and we scored in that first season. I\u2019ve been back a couple of times, but you need to draw a tag for the best untis, though over the counter tags for some areas are available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then Texas changed their laws for airgunners, allowing\nanything to be taken with a an airgun over 215 fpe and .30 caliber. And Texas\nhas becoup javalina! I see them just about every time I go down to my friend\u2019s ranches\nin West and SW Texas. But the great thing is that you can take 3 per year, and\nits covered under your base licenses. The only downside is I\u2019d like to use a\nsub 215 fpe gun for this light bodied little desert boar, but the law in Texas\nis a blanket for all game animals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
I was using a .357 doing almost 300 fpe, which is overkill for these little 45 lb game animals. You want to make sure you’re comfortable shooting offhand in this environment.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
I was pleased to no end with this javalina, also called the collared peccary.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The reason I like javalina is that they are fun to glass for in the wide-open spaces, and a lot of fun to stalk. There sense of small is good, hearing is good, eyesight is so-so. So play the wind and watch where you step it\u2019s doable to close into airgun range most of the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n