How far into the hill country do those rascals go?

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/pu...wd_bk_w7000_1669.pdf

Found it!

I killed a javelina about 20 years ago in Kent County (just southwest of the Panhandle on the map in your link). At the time, they were classified as non-game species without a closed season, but now I believe hunting javalinas is regulated in Kent County and no open season exists. It was one of a pair and at first we thought we were seeing feral hogs. It is believed to have come from the "introduced" area near the Red River. For whatever reason the folks on the extensive Waggoner Ranch (Wilbarger County and vicinity) thought establishing a population there was a good idea.

If you're seriously interested in hunting them, the densest populations are generally in the first couple of tiers of counties adjacent to the Rio Grande. It seems as if they get a little larger in the Trans Pecos than in South Texas, but I'm not sure that is much of a consideration as I've never seen a Boone and Crockett listing for the little pig-like animals.

I shot two a while back on a ranch that borders SH187 just north of Lost Maples State Natural Area.
Recently caught sight of a couple on a game cam near Reagan Wells, say 5 miles south of Concan,Tx.

GWB

INteresting distribution map--says Guadalupe County is "former range" but I have a game cam pic of one in the last 6 months or so.

MOA, don't pay any attention to those distribution maps.

I support TP&W in nearly everything they do, but they are staffed by humans, and humans sometimes take a lot of convincing that things are not exactly the way they have been led to believe.

At one point in time, Javelina/Collared Peccary were present in most or all of the counties south and east of the Cap Rock i.e. the High Plains of Texas. They ranged all the way into Louisiana/Arkansas and south-Eastern Oklahoma.

Because there are so many feral hogs in the state, many folks may be seeing Javelina but think they are small feral hogs.

When my father first became a federal agent we were posted in Arizona and then New Mexico before we got to move back to Wyoming/Montana where we were originally from.

In Arizona they are a propper big game animal, and thought I was too young to have a hunting license I remember how wonderful I thought they were.

In New Mexico (I was about 14) I didn't draw a tag. And we lived in Socorro about 200 miles from where they were.

One of the guys I works with is from south Texas near San Marcos (he calls it South Texas not me). His father's friend owns a ranch within 80 miles of the Mex border, and the lucky SOB has shot several high fence 180 type whitetails ( Nice bucks, the photos are amazing). Anyway he told me that in South Texas they are a hated nusance.

Funny how they go from being beloved Arizona big game to hated nuisance as you go farther east.

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Anyway he told me that in South Texas they are a hated nusance.

He was not lying. In fact the same applies to west Texas where I do my hunts.

Hunted on their own terms, they are a lot of fun. Have had the pleasure of helping a few AR members get their first Javelina, and would not trade those experiences for anything.

To a person, all are first class indivuals and have not hunted with any that I would not hunt with again.

The problem with Javelina is that for most folks, they are a One Time/Bucket list type deal.

I will hunt them every chance I get, and really enjoy helping clients get their first one.

I've never shot one although had plenty of opportunity when I was on a lease near Cotulla. I think maybe spot 'n stalk with a bow would be OK, but with a rifle, too dang easy.

Spot and stalk with an open sighted lever action rifle or pistol can be dang fun. Even a scoped bolt action rifle can be fun, especially if you have someone that ain't ever shot offhand all that much. It is what you make of it.

One time during one of my hunt periods, I was between clients so decided I needed to shoot a javelina for camp meat. Had a spot I had been baiting to keep a big group readily available for the next group of hunters I had coming in.

Went over to the area, refreshed the corn line and set down in a folding chair about 12 or 15 yards off the end of the corn line. I was using my Marlin Model 60 .22. set therre ablout 20 min utes and the animals came in and I popped a 50+ pounder right between the eyes. Not a lot of sport involved with that one.

Turn that around and stalk in on a corn line like that with a bow/pistol/rifle with iron sights and things get a little more western.

The most fun however In My Opinion, is blind stalking them and jumping them out of their beds in thick brush on cold, rainy, windy days.

Get into a draw with the wind in your face and ease along and when you bump in to some a lot of times you do so at 10 yards or lessn and not knowing how many may be in the group or which directions they are going to tear out of there in makes for a pretty exciting little dance, same with feral hogs.

From my experience for most folks javelina hunting is a "One Time-Bucket List" activity.

My first wildboar was killed under a feeder at 50 yards, she was young and dumb.

The most difficult thing I ever took was a mountain zebra in Namibia. Probably had 30 blown stalks before fate worked in our favor.

Easy or hard all hunting is wonderful.

Javelinas are fun to stalk on the ground. If you are careful you can get absolutely close enough for a clean one shot kill with a .22 or hand gun. Like pigs, they have poor eyesight so slow and easy is the best way to approach them, like a cat.

Another thing that is fun with Javelina is if you are in an area with quite a few, corn a sendero and try to get two different clans to come to the corn. With all the teeth clicking that goes on it sounds like a bunch of tap dancers. All the posturing and growling and teeth clicking it ends up to be quite a comical site.

while deer hunting in Mexico 20 years ago, 50 miles up route 2 from Nuevo Laredo you could see the whole side of hill move as super herds moved through the pear. In south Texas - herds I have seen are smaller from 6-12 animals.
Also I have heard tell of them chasing folks up small trees and clicking their teeth in a very aggressive manner. A dentist friend had me flesh out & bleach a skull as a neat kind of european. mount. Those insisors are impressive. If i ever shoot another I would do that again.
One of the guys on the mexico ranch shot the largest Mt. Lion I have ever seen. I wonder if he got that big eating collard pecaries???

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Those insisors are impressive.

If you will check, their tusks are their canine teeth instead of their incisors.

Go my first Javelina down near Douglas AZ. Great fun stalking them in the prickly pear.With one eye out for the stickies and the other looking for Javelina its not easy to see the illegals!

I have shot a couple of them down near Big Bend.

They were fun to hunt.

My Deer lease is in Throckmorton County.

I have seen as many as 12 Javelina at one time there.

In that county there is no Javelina hunting season.