AZ: Unprovoked Javelina Attack; use of Improvised Weapon Saves Woman

Gun Watch ^ | 8 May, 2016 | Dean Weingarten

[marktwain]

While growing up, I read a constant litany explaining that Javelina's were not dangerous. I read, over and over, that all the old stories of them attacking humans were old wives tales, not documented, never happened.

So, I was a bit surprised to come across a news article from the 7th of May, 2016, that had hard evidence of an unprovoked real world attack by a herd of javelinas.  It was life threatening for an adult human with two leashed dogs. From fox10phoenix.com:

The victim told authorities that a herd of javelina came out of a nearby wash, crossed the road, and attacked her and her two leashed dogs unprovoked.

Arizona Game & Fish spokesperson Amy Burnett says the woman lost her footing and fell to the ground as two of the javelina began biting her. The victim's husband and a neighbor helped to free the woman from the animals on the attack, and they brought her to safety using a two-by-four plank while the javelina continued to chase her down and attack her dogs.

The woman suffered several bites on her upper body and neck area. She had to undergo surgery, and is receiving rabies treatment as a precaution.

It should have been a defensive gun use (DGU).  In Arizona, no permit is needed to put a pistol in your pocket when you go for a walk.

A large javelina will run 40 pounds.  Any firearm can put them down. A good friend in Panama shot one with a .22 short out of a single shot rifle.  It went down decisively.  I was very impressed with the power of a 29 grain bullet at 1,000 feet per second.  It went through the skull, through the neck, through the vitals and ended up in the rear thigh, shot front to rear.

The rifle was equipped with a homemade silencer that took 30 minutes to build.  The loudest sound was the sound of the bullet impacting the target.  .22 shorts out of a rifle are fairly quiet to begin with.

The words that the Game and Fish and the reporter use to blame humans for the attack are strained.  The woman "lost her footing" instead of being knocked down.  Game and Fish have information that a "contributing factor" was human feeding of javelina's, because people reported that people were illegally feeding javelinas in the area as recently as two months ago!  From the article:

Game and Fish says two people in the nearby area were reportedly feeding javelina and coyotes as recently as a couple of months ago.

Another article says attacks on humans by javelinas are "rare".  Hmmm.  I thought they never happened!  A game camera at my ranch showed a javelina a couple of months ago.  The potential of animal attacks has always been a good reason to go about armed.  Lots of animals are dangerous in some circumstances. Now we can add another one to the list. 

©2016 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
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[MeganC]

You sure you don’t mean the .22LR and not the .22S?

[sockmonkey]

Not in the rodent family

[Eddie01]

Catalina. Catalina. ....... Catalina.

Nice catch. Pulling that out of cold storage tonight!

One of my top 20 musical passages happens here:

Is this the old loft with the paint peelin’ off it
By the Chinese police where the dogs roll by?
Is this where they keep the philostophers now,
With the rugs and the dust, where the books go to die?

[marktwain]

The .22 short was the first round. It was chambered in the Smith & Wesson No. 1 revolver in 1857, and was very popular in the Civil War. The long did not show up until 1871, then the Long Rifle in 1887.

Rifles were chambered in the round fairly early. The 1873 rifle was produced in .22 short. Nearly all .22 rimfire rifles were capable of shooting .22 shorts until the late 1800’s.

With smokeless powder, auto-loading rifles were chambered for shorts exclusively. Many rifles are still chambered for “ .22 short, long, and long rifle”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.22_Short

[SisterK]

just testing

[Terry L Smith]

Dear Dusty,

re: “They are not pigs!’

Ok, the “geekified-species-nomenclature is ‘collared peccary’.

They squeal like a pig, tear up, root up, and are omnivorous like pigs, and are just as tasty, but not so much bacon-y, like pigs.

Fair enough?

[Squantos]

Right at the border point where NM/AZ an Mexico meet, up and to Road Forks NM on Interstate 10, was the best Javelina hunting in the world. I use a custom 6 inch Smolt / Smython 357 magnum with a 2-12X power Burris LER scope....... loved that area for hunting Javelina. Now its a draw. Limited etc.... may try the AZ side this coming season versus the NM side.

Stay Safe !

[Squantos]

Nice ....

[Squantos]

Very good...... extra care in dressing out, cleaning of course. Great sausage etc..

[eastforker]

It went through the skull, through the neck, through the vitals and ended up in the rear thigh, shot front to rear.

I doubt that seriously from a 22 short.

[Squantos]

Got my first whitetail deer with a Winchester 74 rifle, .22LR back in the 60’s..... 22 long Rifle is a versatile tool that has a place in everyones hunting arsenal. Cottontails, Squirrels, varmints, pests. I’m a big fan of 22 caliber revolvers as well.... CB caps, 22 short, long, long rifle all will shoot reliably regardless of finicky semi auto pistol style stoppages.

[marktwain]

The animals generally weigh less than 40 lbs.

They are not large.

[going hot]

Lot quieter, so as to not offend the nosy neighbors, and with a suppressor, I would imagine one can’t hear a thing.

[eastforker]

Yea but still, I know what a 22 short is capable of. When we butchered on the farm, the 22 short was used because we knew it would not travel any further than the brain cavity and possibly endanger people or other animals. Sorry, just don’t believe that bullet did what the story says.