Alright Arizona Guys

[Etter]

Can I get a little help?  Me and two other guys are meeting for a Javelina hunt in unit 34A in January.  We got drawn for tags so we are good.  We are considering the Santa Rita Mtns (I think that's the name).  Essentially, we are looking for a decent place to camp where we can drive a few miles each day and then separate and glass from there.  None of us have hunted Javis before but we are all pretty experienced fellas and boot leather will not be a problem.  If anybody living locally has any info or just a nice campground and area to focus on, it would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks all and good luck the rest of the season.

[Roadkill]

Another question?  Are there not still over the counter tags for some areas?

[Michael Pfander]

There are lots of places to camp.  The Santa Ritas are all NF.  You can camp where ever you stop.  One thing to remember is that pigs usually aren't high up.  The other thing is they are not [as a rule] early risers.  They feel the cold more than deer do so they don't get started as early.  There is always a herd in Saw Mill Canyon.
MAP

[Etter]

Thanks.  

Roadkill, we all got drawn so I'm sure there are plenty of tags left.

[Scott Barr]

One of the cool things about javelina , is that you can hunt them all day long. Don't have to wake up early. They follow the sun this time of year. Glassing from elevation is a good technique. But you are just as likely to hear them first as they argue with each other. Another technique is to just follow tracks up washes. Don't worry about where to camp so much for hunting. They are all over the Arizona desert. Ggood luck. I will be there for our annual hunt as well.

[Etter]

Thanks guys!

[Etter]

How about cell service in 34a?  I have verizon and own a business so cell service would be great if I had it in at least a few places.

[Etter]

bump

[Raminshooter]

Etter,
I have hunted Javelina in AZ for seven years in a row with a great group of guys,  here is what we learned.  (1) if you have roads in the area you are driving and have a vehicle that can drive them, simply stop each time you cross a ravine and look for tracks in the bottom of the ravine.  If there are no tracks keep driving, if there are tracks and they head from up high to down low then get out and hunt. (2) Best way is to get up hill/up high each morning and glass.  the best way to glass is to keep your field of view on one spot and really search inside the glass for at least a couple of minutes.  Javelina at a distance can look black or brown depending on the position of the sun.  They feed slowly so you can easily mistake them for a bush on a hillside if you are glassing too fast. (3) Caves:  if there are any hills in your area with rock formations this is where you will want to hunt in the afternoon.  If you locate and caves or openings in the rocks that is a sure place where the javelina are coming in the PM to spend the night and will literally "line out" for that spot in the late afternoon before the sun goes down.  (4) Cedar trees: watch out for these and always approach them with caution as the javi's love to bunch up under these during the day to catch a snooze. You have to get close and really glass the shadows to determine if anything is under them. If you are not careful these things can boil javelina at times if you spook them. (5) Deep canyon rims: just over the edge of some of the deeper canyons you will find caves so look for these as well, good places for ambush in the late afternoon for javi's returning to the cave for the evening. (6) brushy draws: hunt these into the wind if you can, don't alway walk the bottom if the wind is bad.  Javi's will bunch up in thick brush in the bottom of some of these and sleep and you can get busted if not approaching with the wind right. sometimes is best to get up on the side of the hill and just work slow and stopp often to listen for their sounds. That should help, have a great time.

[Roadkill]

That is just plain great advice