Big Bend Texas Mountain Javelina Hunt

[DW5]

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.

[danno50]

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.

[DW5]

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...

[224KING]

Good luck tomorrow.

[Blackbear3]

Beautiful scenery, good luck with the rest of your hunt.

[Big Muddy rancher]

Rough looking country, Good Luck

[terminator]

Hope the hunt went well today DW. What rifles calibers you and your Dad using for this hunt?

[DW5]

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.

[terminator]

Your Dad is a wise man.I like his thinking.I hope he gets to put the .257 to use.

[DW5]

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...

[zonie]

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. 

[DW5]

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. 

[zonie]

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.   

[DW5]

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!

[Big Muddy rancher]

If you taste the scat maybe you can narrow down what they are eating.