Has any one here hunted the king Ranch ? I'm looking for a combo Havelina and hog hunt in mid April. Only interested in quality outfitters on large low fence ranchs. I'm interested in hearing from any one who has hunted on the king Ranch or other outfitters that might offer similar services but I am not after "bargain" hunts. If any one in Texas knows of a good processor who can smoke the hams/bacon and make good sausage I'd like to know about them as well.

I have hunted there several times. Great place, expensive, free range. You likely will not get much personal attention as most of the hunting is from a stand or from a truck. You will see some very large deer.

I do not believe you can hunt Javelina in the spring as in Texas, javelina are game animals. Feral hogs are open season all year.

I would check the King Ranch website for details.

Chuck, I have hunted them in northern Kali, great free range hunt and some monsters. I will try to find the phone number and send you a PM.

In the S. Texas counties where most of the King Ranch resides, there is no closed season on javelina or hogs, but you have a yearly bag limit of 2 javelina. They are a game animal, so they must be taken by gun or bow during the daytime. Hogs can be taken in any quantity, any time, by any means.

If you want the 'King Ranch experience' by all means go for it. Since you are limiting yourself to those two, you have a LOT more options available and still be in South Texas. Have fun!

As CDH said, there are lots of options for feral hogs and javelina in South Texas. My hunting lease is through an outfitter who does dove, quail, deer, and hog hunts (including javelina) on some large acreages in South Texas, closer to Laredo than the area the King Ranch is in. The ranches are not high fenced but some of the neighbors are, so you might see high fence on some of the boundaries, but not all. They will start the hog hunts once deer season is over.

Some of the hog hunts are in the area in this picture I took last year:



I have seen much the same this year, and killed one boar each of the last two years while really concentrating on deer hunting.

Right now, while the pressure on them is light because of the focus on deer hunting, the hogs are everywhere and I see 50-100 during a typical 3-4 days of hunting. Later in the year with more pressure I think they will respond by moving less in the daylight. The javelina are present on some pastures but not all.

I can give you more information if you like. There are many, many ranches in South Texas with similar hunts available.

I have my meat processed at Kuby's Wild Game Processing/Kuby's Sausage House in Dallas. They do a great job for me but are not convenient to South Texas. The outfitter or ranch you book with may be able to help you there.

Good luck.

Picking someplace to hunt a pig looks as difficult as finding a quality deer ranch. I also considered the Nail ranch but the King has the option of Havelina. I do need to call them back and ask what their success rate is and how many hunters per guide. Initially I was assumeing (ooops!) that is was 1 on 1 with 100% shooting opportunity. I don't mind stands or feeder hunting. I'm just takeing my Marlin 44 mag carbine so I'd like to be around 75 yards or less any how. The biigest concearns I have so far is capeing/quartering and processing. Some places cape and quarter while the King Ranch leaves it to the guide but its not in the contract. I'm open to hearing about other ranches in South Tejas.
Jimmy, thanx but the Big Boss says I gotta take her to hill country this April to see the wildflowers and go to the bluebonnet festival. The trade off is Pig hunting and all the Texas BBQ I can eat !

More info would be greatly appreciated. Laredo is workable but I don't want to get much further west than that. Initially I was thinking I'd hit Padre Isle on the way but then I remembered that thing called Spring Break !

You can also check out the Mariposa Ranch which adjoins the King Ranch: http://www.mariposaranch.net/

I'll send you a PM with more information.

Chuck, I've had the chance to hunt just north of Freer. It was some of the finest deer hunting that I've ever had. Here's a link to the Los Cazadores Contest held ever year. I keep it as a favorite and check it out once a week for updates.
http://www.loscazadores.com/

Hogs and Javelina are considred a nuisance. In all honesty I can't understand why anyone would pay to hunt them. I'm overrun with hogs and would gladly pay to get rid of them!!!All my roads are torn up, my pasture looks like shit. I can't shred without barely kreeping along in my tractor. I keep joking that I don't have to disc anything at all if I want to plant a foodplot....the gd hogs have it all disced up.

I tell everyone who hunts on my land if they see a hog and don't want to deal with the carcass to go ahead and gut shoot them. After deer season I'm going to take my M16, go full auto and unload a clip to see how many of those fuckers I can kill.

As you can tell I'm fed up with hogs.....but if you want to really hear someone bitch, talk to a rice farmer!!!!!They are NOT a game animal in Texas, they are considered the equal of coyotes- shoot em and let em lay. Most people go into rice fields at night with night vision scopes and shoot the shit out of them.

My recomendation is to book a nice deer/exotic hunt. You'll be able to shoot hogs and javelinas free of charge/included.
Don't waste your money on just hogs, believe me they're a nuisance and anyone with a shred of honesty will also tell you so and not charge you to shoot them.

If you travels take you thru I-35, stop @ Nemecheck Bros. in West,TX.They are processors/butchery.Try the ring bologna oohhh man! Their slogan is 'You cant beat our meat"!Awesome stuff. web page

LMAO....I don't know what's funnier. That slogan or the fact that I got the map out and started looking in western Texas for WEST texas on 35 !
That is actually a very convienient location for me as we will be traveling down I-35.
I understand Hogs are a nuisance. I'm not willing to pay a bundle that's for sure. I looked at several sites today for places that want over $1,000 for a pig hunt based on double occupancy ! I can shoot a porker here for a couple hundred bucks. Even though they might throw them in on a exotic hunt they would have to pay me to shoot some weird critter in the pet zoo. No Thanx. Not much deer hunting going on in April ( I hope ) but I've hunted Texas a few times and I'll certainly be back another time for that. One of the other things I'm hearing is that after March the hogs get nocturnal.Geez...All I really want is some PORK CHOPS !

Frank C, where are you located at. I could get a group of bowhunters that would be glad to knock off some of those hogs.

Frank, the only exception I've hear to your view is the area up around Abeline. They don't seem to mind the hogs up there. I guess the soil isn't as sandy for them to root up as the southern areas and its too hilly for the rice farmers. Now if I could bring my little JD2210 down and shoot hogs from my tractor I really would be in Hog Heaven ! Here if you hunt my camp and you pass on a coyotee you better leave before I find out.....and NEVER come back. Gut shot is even better so the other dogs can eat em !

I live in El Campo, an hour south of Houston. I've got a pretty quarter section that I leave untouched except for deer season. I only check the feeders, replenish protein in the middle of the day, don't fart around on it on 4 wheelers, etc. I try to keep it untouched for deer season.....but those gd hogs have absolutely tore the place up.

Like I said, for the life of me I just can't understand paying money to shoot em.

I appreciate the help offers, but I've got some buddies who go commando-night hunting. After deer season we'll set the hog traps, do some night hunting and get serious. But as y'all know, you just can't keep up with em.

Oh and I am very, very serious about the M16. I got it in the spring and soon it'll draw blood!!!!!!!

If your travels take you through the town of West. make sure you find a place that sells colachees (spelling?). Just one of the many things that can only be found in texas and tastes damn good.

I have hunted the King ranch many times, but it is a high fenced ranch for the most part, however the pastures are the size of most states and the brush is thick, thick....Don't overlook hunting the Nilgai while you are there...I have not hunted the King in about 10 years but I am sure its still a great place to go...

Javalina are about everywhere in Texas and you can kill one about anywhere in the southern or western part of the state, for a lot less money, but the king is always an experience, the deer are big and lots of them...West Texas in the Big Bend country is great for Mule Deer, Whitetail, Coues deer and Javalina also and those ranches average about 100,000 acres with 3 strand barbwire for fencing..

I have some quality Mule deer, whitetail and coues deer, Javalina, hogs, all the exotics in that fine state, its my birthright.

You will enjoy the hunt on the King I suspect...

H Yturria Land & Cattle Co. located just south of King Ranch offers Nilgai, Wild Hog, Javelina, etc. hunts and Fred Gilbert, their head guide is a great fellow to hunt with.

These pics were taken on the Punta del Monte pasture last summer, plenty of hogs moving during the day.





Their office phone # is 956-542-4212.

Regards,
hm

Ray, I did know that some perimeters were high fenced etc to seperate them from the smaller surrounding ranches and help control poaching. I'm not under the impression that its closed in. I think a whitetail taken on the King will qualify for a BC official entry....my wallet just won't qualify...or it will but then I'd have to sleep on your couch for a month before the CFO let me back in the house !
CC ok whats a colachee ?????? If its any thing like menudo I'll pass !
I really am thinking about passing on the pig and focusing on a Javelina as the logistics of handeling the meat while on another vacation seem like a PITA. I would really like a whole Javelina mounted for my camp. I have no desire to mount a boar, in fact I just was interested in sows under a couple hundred pounds for the meat.

Punta del monte ? Hey I'm not terribly fluent in espangol but that doesn't sound very nice !

Punta del monte translates to "Point of the brush" , is approximately 11,000 acres IIRC, low fenced except along hwy. 77. It is one of several ranches owned by HYL&C.
Regards,
hm

oops my interpretation was *itch brush ! Time to break out the old spansh travel dictionary.

yeah a kolache is a czech item, The ones I have eatin are sausage& cheese or ham&cheese, they are very good tasting bread/roll with either sausage or ham baked inside, They make for one hell of a breakfast. Gosh just thinking about them are getting me all hot and bothered, that along with a real bfast burrito made by someone who speaks nothing but spanish. Its almost worth a trip back to texas just to indulge myself.

Some counties you can hunt javelina year round, in others it does end in february. Just be careful!