A while back I was at my lease in Vanderpool, Texas, a low fenced ranch of 3,000 acres. My buds and I had been there for several days and had shot a number of animals. We also had about 200 lbs of corn that had got wet, moldy and sour smelling. I decided to take a tub full of guts as well as about 100 lbs of the sour corn and put it out at the south end of the property that has some pretty good canyons and very little traffic. I put the guts and the corn in a pile next to each other in the AM, figuring I would come back and hunt a stand about 150 yards away that evening.
Since this stand was big enough for two people one of my buds came along that evening. His rifle of choice was a 243. I had a 7-08. We had sat there for about an hour and had watched several does and a spike across the canyon. We also had seen some audad, but they were too far to shoot and it was too late to attempt a stalk. We were glassing the cedar on the side of the rise in front of us and across the canyon when I looked in the direction of the gut pile. I had to do a double take. There were six critters that had suddenly appeared. I hunt and kill hogs all the time but something was different about the way they moved and looked. I said to my bud who was still glassing the canyon. Those are javalina. He takes down his binocs and looks toward the gut pile and instantly says, GW, your full of $$$$. I say, no, those are javalina. So he puts up his binocs and a couple of seconds later he says, I can’t believe it, those are javalina.
I had hunted this ranch for three years, coming up and hunting some kind of game monthly. The land owner has lived on the premises since the mid sixties. In all that time neither he nor any hunter had seen much less shot a javalina on this ranch. So you can imagine how surprised we were. I quickly suggested that he pick out the left most animal and I would take the one on the far right. We counted down from three, to fire and did just that. Looking through my scope after cycling the bolt and recovering from the recoil I could see we had two animals down. Were we jazzed. We had two javalina and bragging rights for sure. The only negative was the way these two little buggers smelled. Reminded me of a skunk. I usually cape out my mounts before I take them to the taxidermist to keep as much meat as possible. This time I decided to let him earn his fee for sure.

GWB

Way to go Geedubya!! Great story!!

I like that mount geedubya! You are tempting me to book a hunt for them!

Geedubya,

That is a really good story! Good looking javies! LOL on the smell! One of my favorite hunts, in Arizona, is archery javelina and thats how I have found many a javie honey holes...by that distinctive smell.
Next time try the meat, it is really good. Used to crock it in barbeque sauce, now we have it made into summer sausage...darn good eating!

Great story and pics.

JMO, but javelina are beginning to expand back into some of their old range and moving into new areas.

I think changes in agricultural practices, the increases in people supplementaly feeding deer on their places, and possibly the changes in the climate we have been experiencing the last few years, are giving javelina a window to expand their numbers and move back into areas where they had been shot out or displaced due to land clearing.

Once I start getting clients in for a hunt, after the first couple of animals I don't really pay attention to how they smell.

One thing I started doing last year is to split the carcass lengthwise down the middle of the spine, and then cut the two sides of the back, from just in front of the hams all the way to the base of the neck, into bone-in chops.

Season them with your favorite meat seasonings and grill over a mesquite fire. The bone in seems to keep the chops moist.

I love hunt and guide peccarys here in Argentina we have 3 species collared,lipped and big QUIMILERO peccary,thanks for sharing with us.Juan