Spike Camp
Weatherby Nation => Around the Campfire (General Discussion) => Topic started by: DW5 on February 07, 2019, 09:12:51 PM
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Well, no javelinas seen so far but some miles hiked and some goodtimes had. Still have 2 full days of hunting ahead and we have not covered near half of the land we have to hunt. Below are a few pics of what we are hunting. In a coupe of the pics you are looking into Mexico as we are hunting VERY close to the Rio Grande river.
The valleys and dry creek beds are where we have been told the javelina hotspots here, but to effectively hunt a lot of them we must hike to the tops of some of the hills and mountains and then hunt down into them. Also included is a pic of the motel we are staying at in Presidio TX.
I need to tell y’all about our “guide” (not a guide really, but he met us in town and showed us how to access the property) when I have more time. He had quite life experience to share.
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The scenery looks great and the hunting areas in the pictures look promising too. Take water out there and good luck in the next couple of days.
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The scenery looks great and the hunting areas in the pictures look promising too. Take water out there and good luck in the next couple of days.
Thank you Danno, and you are right about the water! It may be Feburary, but it is certainly not “winter” here. I’ve learned my lesson the hard way exactly one time about not enough water on a hunt like this. Don’t plan on learning that one a second time...
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Good luck tomorrow.
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Beautiful scenery, good luck with the rest of your hunt.
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Rough looking country, Good Luck :)
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Hope the hunt went well today DW. What rifles calibers you and your Dad using for this hunt?
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Hope the hunt went well today DW. What rifles calibers you and your Dad using for this hunt?
We are using .257WBY and .240WBY. I am carrying .240bee in Vanguard Wilderness and Dad is carrying a MKV Deluxe in .257bee. He’s a better man than I in that regard, seeing as I want the lightest rifle within reason, and he wants to carry something he finds proper to gaze upon, even if it means an extra pound or two. And, if he happens to scratch that pretty gun up, so be it.
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Your Dad is a wise man.I like his thinking.I hope he gets to put the .257 to use.
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Quick update on the hunt.
Another day of striking out, but potentially productive nonetheless. We may have found a bedding area, but IDK... I’m not at all familiar with peccary scat. Below are three pics of what we found toward the end of the day (one is just a zoomed in photo) and one pic of javelina poop I took off google- the last one. Let me know if you think/know if we are on the right track or not...
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I enjoy Javelina hunting, at least in AZ we tend to look for prickly pear cactus, and we glass a lot on hill sides or canyons, they do hunker down under trees or rock formations getting a little shade . I heard on the news a couple days ago a Javelina attacked a guy in AZ , most likely got too close too mama and her babies. Got to have a food source where they been rooting around or munching on cactus. About the only way I tolerate eating them is either bbq or made into tamales with lots of spices. You will get one, actually my favorite Javelina gun is an old Remington 25 pump in 32-20 doesn't tear them up too bad. Looks like the scat, look at the tracks around them that will tell you.
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I enjoy Javelina hunting, at least in AZ we tend to look for prickly pear cactus, and we glass a lot on hill sides or canyons, they do hunker down under trees or rock formations getting a little shade . I heard on the news a couple days ago a Javelina attacked a guy in AZ , most likely got too close too mama and her babies. Got to have a food source where they been rooting around or munching on cactus. About the only way I tolerate eating them is either bbq or made into tamales with lots of spices. You will get one, actually my favorite Javelina gun is an old Remington 25 pump in 32-20 doesn't tear them up too bad.
Zonie, thanks for the reply. Your tactics are basically 100% what I’ve been trying to follow so far on this hunt. My two problems seem to be it’s so rocky here it’s almost impossible to find a good rooting area and prickly pear might as well be the second most abundant native growth around here, only following rocks. :o
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Look at the tracks and what's in the scat i.e what they are eating, water, washes, plus little ravines with brush in them where they might be hiding. They don't see very well and you can usually follow them or circle to get a shot. Head em off at the pass so to say. If you find a place with green vegetation especially any kind of green plants it's like a grocery store to them and they might not venture too far unless they totally destroy the green area. A friend of ours in town had an bunch of Javelina get in her flower beds and they ate until they couldn't move and this is in town, she was so pissed. If the javelina are there and it looks like they are , prickly pear is major food source for them in AZ and they get liquids out of them , I guess that's one reason why they survive so well, although they don't tolerate extreme cold very well, but we are seeing more and more up on the mtn where we live in the more summer months and retreat back down to lower elevations in the winter months.
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Look at the tracks and what's in the scat i.e what they are eating, water, washes, plus little ravines with brush in them where they might be hiding. They see very well and you can usually follow them or circle to get a shot. Head em off at the pass so to say.
Ha! Well, I guess that’s why we call it hunting and not shooting... We’ve been following your advice to a tee. It is reassuring hearing it from someone who has some experience chasing these little dudes around in somewhat similar terrain, thanks for the pointers!
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If you taste the scat maybe you can narrow down what they are eating. ;) ;D
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If you taste the scat maybe you can narrow down what they are eating. ;) ;D
I question if you are being as sincere as Zonie... :D
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Big Muddy Rancher lol ;D that was pretty good. I don't care to walk a lot any more so I tend to drive the roads, trails and glass, we can cover a lot more ground that way, but once found the walking starts. Hunting Javelina is actually fun. Any quail down there?
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Big Muddy Rancher lol ;D that was pretty good. I don't care to walk a lot any more so I tend to drive the roads, trails and glass, we can cover a lot more ground that way, but once found the walking starts. Hunting Javelina is actually fun. Any quail down there?
Not sure how plentiful but yes, we’ve jumped two coveys so far.
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When you do get one be careful not to cut into that musk gland on their top of their back rump area, easy to see looks like a nipple, just don't cut into it. Stinky little guy's
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When you do get one be careful not to cut into that musk gland on their top of their back rump area, easy to see looks like a nipple, just don't cut into it. Stinky little guy's
Been worried about doing that. Thanks for the heads up about looking like a nipple. Really hoping to avoid it.
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I don't know what to tell you about hunting them where you are.In the Winter time and while hunting them out West around Sonora, and Barnhart I had the most luck driving the high flats.For some reason they seemed to like the edges of the ranch roads especially where the cactus was thick like Zonie said.
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Is today the last day of the hunt (Sat.) or is the hunt over and you're on your way home?
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Take care of snakes. Place looks like terrtory that bastards are a lot. Here in Pampas we have four kind of very dangerous snakes. Yarara. Cross Yarara. Coral and Cascabel. Thats shits are very agresive or active in hot days. I use a whitewater gaitors bought from your country. Be a lucky man boy. Salutes
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Is today the last day of the hunt (Sat.) or is the hunt over and you're on your way home?
Today is the last day. We took it pretty easy this morning since we have only found one seemingly promising spot they may be and do not want to jeopardize ruining it until we think it is prime time to hunt it, which will be this afternoon.
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Take care of snakes. Place looks like terrtory that bastards are a lot. Here in Pampas we have four kind of very dangerous snakes. Yarara. Cross Yarara. Coral and Cascabel. Thats shits are very agresive or active in hot days. I use a whitewater gaitors bought from your country. Be a lucky man boy. Salutes
Thank you Juan! Not gonna lie, I don’t think our chances are great this afternoon, but I like having a plan based off some sort of javelina sign. Was kinda beginning to feel like I was just out taking my rifle for a walk through the mountains before Dad found the scat area.
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If theres absolutely no water holes anywhere in the area, also look for heavily shaded areas or mesquite trees that may be adjacent to heavy cacti growth. Theres little movement during the heat of the day. All the javelinas I've seen, or shot, I was always walking or riding down senderos, or at my feeder during deer season. Just never actively hunted javelina, so not much else to add except good luck this afternoon.
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Wow, that is some tough terrain. Didn't know TX has mountains like that. Learn something every day. LOL!!!!!
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Well the javelina hunt was a bust as far as success goes, not even a sighting of one. But a good time was had none the less. We decided to take off this evening and get some miles behind us on the trip home. Below are a few pictures I took in the town of Marfa TX. One is of some of the art work that they are becoming known for, one a historic marker concerning Prisidio County TX, and the last is one of the famous Marfa lights! I don’t really see what all the fuss is about personally... :D
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Bummer on the hunt.Glad you guys had fun anyway. At least you didn't run into any human or drug smuggling operations.
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Our guide was a local cop in Presidio and man did he have some stories to tell about that, including finding copious amounts of drugs either on or very close to the property we were hunting and one dead body on it.
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Our guide was a local cop in Presidio and man did he have some stories to tell about that, including finding copious amounts of drugs either on or very close to the property we were hunting and one dead body on it.
That could explain the lack of javelinas.
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Yeah that is a wild area down on the border there DW. Nice to have a Weatherby with you and a side arm.
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God know what he does. No matter no javelinas. Yours are good and without problems. Badlands. Forget that place. It is in order what I have understood. At final you must to think luck and God were with you. Bye friend
Juan
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Wow that light is something, almost worth the trip in itself :o
Joking aside, going on a new hunt in a new place is always an adventure. Some work out and some don't. You guys had fun and seen some new country, and a story to tell.
Have a safe trip home, and start planning your next adventure!!
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Great hunt. thanks for taking us along. Funny about the light, when people come to visit me I tell them to turn right at the stop light on main street and if they go through a stop light turn around because that's the only one on main street. A couple of years back they replaced the hanging light with all new pole lights when they could no longer get parts for the old one. Speed limit in my town is 25 mph. The hardest thing for me was timing my pull outs into traffic because everybody here seems to observe the speed limit.
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Thanks for sharing your hunt, sometimes the best part of the hunt is the characters you run into and the scenery you encounter.
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Well DW, The adventure part was well worth the trip. I'da been looking over my shoulder every few minutes. :) How did you know that this area around Presidio was available to hunt, and was it a public hunting area? Did you have to check in with anyone prior to the start of the hunt. I know you're still in Texas, just curious about the set-up? Even though you weren't able to score on any javelina, the DIY unsupervised hunt with your dad into a vast area like that is a trek to remember, and a little spooky I'd bet. Kudos
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Well DW, The adventure part was well worth the trip. I'da been looking over my shoulder every few minutes. :) How did you know that this area around Presidio was available to hunt, and was it a public hunting area? Did you have to check in with anyone prior to the start of the hunt. I know you're still in Texas, just curious about the set-up? Even though you weren't able to score on any javelina, the DIY unsupervised hunt with your dad into a vast area like that is a trek to remember, and a little spooky I'd bet. Kudos
Danno, I found this place on a recommendation from Cbloom20. It is a 6000 acre ranch that is primarily an Aoudad ranch offered through West Texas Hunting Org. Since we were just after javelina, I paid a few hundred bucks and had the entire ranch to ourselves Thursday-Saturday.
I was probably just as much interested in seeing that part of Texas (closest I’d been was Alpine, TX during college) and having a place like that to ourselves than I was in strictly hunting the javelinas. Since I knew it was going to be in a very remote place I went ahead and paid some extra money to have a “guide” take me to the property the first day and give me a 20min-half hour orientation. After that, we were on our own. Camping was permitted on the property but we chose to drive about 30 mins each way to and from Presidio, the closest actual town.
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DW.Did you see much wildlife other than the quails you mentioned earlier,aoudad,deer?
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God know what he does. No matter no javelinas. Yours are good and without problems. Badlands. Forget that place. It is in order what I have understood. At final you must to think luck and God were with you. Bye friend
Juan
You are right Juan! On to the next adventure! Turkey season is coming up and I’m sure I’ll be after the feral pigs several times this spring and summer. I believe I may set my sights on an axis deer hunt as the next thing I want to look into as far as booking a hunt goes.
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Wow that light is something, almost worth the trip in itself :o
Joking aside, going on a new hunt in a new place is always an adventure. Some work out and some don't. You guys had fun and seen some new country, and a story to tell.
Have a safe trip home, and start planning your next adventure!!
That’s the plan!
For those who may not be familiar with the Marfa Lights we are talking about...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marfa_lights
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DW.Did you see much wildlife other than the quails you mentioned earlier,aoudad,deer?
No! And we put 5-8 miles in a day. The quail and two jackrabbits, that’s it. This place is vast however, and you get the feeling that sometimes there may be animals on your specific property and sometimes they are a ridge or two over. Makes the animals no concern but all the difference in the world for a couple of hunters. We did see plent of scat and tracks for both deer and javelinas.
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I do not understand your last post when you say plent of scat an words before too. Sorry. Salutes
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Another thing I will add, the .240 Wilderness with the lightweight swaro Z3 was an absolute pleasure to carry on a hunt like that. If y’all remember I bought the rifle a few years back to have a capable rifle in my stable that was a little lighter on the recoil side than what I had then so younger/first time hunters could use it if need be. At first I was gonna get a .243win in something a little cheaper but ended up killing two birds with one stone and more or less accomplishing my original goal and filling in a Weatherby cal I didn’t have at the time.
I’m now really glad I did that b/c I’ve since got my Ruger M77 chambered in 257bob back from my brother in law and that rifle is great for new/young hunters. Now I have a lightweight rifle that is easy to carry around the steep stuff that I would have no worries about using on mule deer sized game on down.
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I do not understand your last post when you say plent of scat an words before too. Sorry. Salutes
Juan, I was saying we witnessed much evidence that animals are on the property we hunted but did not see any actual animals. Scat= animal poop. Tracks= foot prints. No apologies necessary! Please let me know if I can ever clarify any of my posts, I am happy to do it!
God Bless from Texas and I hope to read about one of your hunts in Argentina soon!
DW
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What friendly you are DW 2018 and 2019 are very hards years for me. My best huntings friend, my father is in bed so sick. My mother too and I am one son. You would understand that situation. Last year I changed my 308 for another and I could not give him his first blood yet.
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A friend of mine rent a field about 8000 acres long with a beautifull and confortable house for hunter in some property of hunting in the middle of Pampas.
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Redstag time is out for me this year but I will intent on a wildboar on july or august. If I can get that adventure you will see that in nation pages with pics like below. My salutes for you and everyone there in that beautiful country.
My respects and thanks.
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Juan, yes I do understand. My dad= my best hunting buddy also.
I absolutley love that wild boar mount. The color and the tusks. I hunt boar very often and would love one just like it. Here are a couple of my boar mounts.
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Very nice your mount too DW. In Argentina there are two types or classes of boars. The wild boar and the first premium boar as the european boar. This last is the true jabali. In pampas is a lot of them. Very strong heavy and looked for. The dogo argentino is the prefered dog for fight and some people here make hunting in that way. It is not my case. I go up to a stand shotting in the middle of forest with some moon light and wait hearing movements and sounds until beast appears with luck obviously. Shoots are no much from 50/60 mts. Ok. A little of our passion for sharing
Another view.
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I think this very thing is an excellent reason to own a drone.Just think of the ground you could cover.Locate the pigs and drive close,then go to hunting.
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I don't feel one bit sorry for DW5, I offered time tested advice and he chose to ignore it. :P ;D
Glad you had a great time with your Dad, can't beat that. :)
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I don't feel one bit sorry for DW5, I offered time tested advice and he chose to ignore it. :P ;D
You are not sure I did ignore it. :D
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I don't feel one bit sorry for DW5, I offered time tested advice and he chose to ignore it. :P ;D
You are not sure I did ignore it. :D
I think we would have heard if you tried it cause we would have seen pics of the Javelina 8) 8)
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I think this very thing is an excellent reason to own a drone.Just think of the ground you could cover.Locate the pigs and drive close,then go to hunting.
I’ve definitely thought about them for pigs... Although I’ve heard very mixed results from people who have done it. Basically the pigs usually run if the drone gets close enough to see them.
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I don't feel one bit sorry for DW5, I offered time tested advice and he chose to ignore it. :P ;D
You are not sure I did ignore it. :D
I think we would have heard if you tried it cause we would have seen pics of the Javelina 8) 8)
Touché
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Last posts make me feel all has gone to hells.
Game over for me in this type of things that I dont know what it is my lords.
Bye
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That is one mean looking hog Juan. Congratulations.I sure hope you don't have the time detonator set for that dynamite. ;D I need a clock like that. Nice.
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That is one mean looking hog Juan. Congratulations.I sure hope you don't have the time detonator set for that dynamite. ;D I need a clock like that. Nice.
ROGER!!!!! how are you. That clock is from 1990. It work perfectly. At first everybody explote in laughing. Anothers do fears in fron this and me laugh. Ja ja or LOL. Be fine friend