I just got back from a week-long javelina hunt on the CE Miller Ranch in southwest Texas. When I asked one of my companions, Dan Novotny, where this ranch was at he said, "Google Prada Marfa. The turnoff is about 100 yards past it." Well, I did just that and learned that "Prada Marfa" is a piece of art right in the middle of nowhere. It has an interesting history that I will let you learn on your own.
There were 10 stickbow shooters in camp, most of them I knew from the United Bowhunters of Missouri. A feller named Russell Hines, from Kentucky, rode down with Dan and me. Dan knew him from a PBS event. We all stayed in the remnants of Fort Holland, which was built in 1918 to help thwart the raids of Pancho Villa and his gang. The story I heard was that the fort was built by WWI German POWs. I think it was decommissioned in 1921.
We were near the Davis Mountains at an elevation of around 5000 feet. The terrain is RUGGED! Using a walking stick is highly recommended to keep from breaking a bone.
Javelina are tailormade to hunt with traditional archery equipment. One of their favorite foods is prickly pear cactus, so if you find some that have been chewed on, you are in the right place. We would glass for them, but probably found the majority just by listening for them eating and fighting. Their eyesight isn't the best so it is fairly easy to sneak in close to them, provided you can physically reach their location quietly.
We had stalks every day and Dan was the first of us three to bring one back to camp. Tuesday morning, he stuck this dandy boar. It was also the biggest one killed all week with a weight of 57.3 pounds.
We did a long walkabout Tuesday afternoon to the top of one particular mountain. While Russell was resting, Dan and I went to explore a bit. 15 minutes later, Russell called to tell us he was stalking one. We arrived just in time to see him arrow it. That javvie had some serious drag marks on him by the time we got him back to the truck!
It was cold Wednesday morning so we figured the best place to find the critters was where the sun was hitting the mountainsides. Russell worked his way south of Dan and me while we slowly worked our way up the lip of a canyon. We were soon in the thick of feeding javelina and I arrowed this nice boar in short order. We were all pretty positive it was going to beat Dan's in weight but it came up short at 57.1 pounds. The scales used were Dan's so Russell and I still think something hinky went on. Russell ended up killing his second javvie that morning while Dan and I were taking pictures of mine.
The wind was terrible for three of the days and we ended up being in dust storms just like we've all seen in those old westerns.
On the plus side, it sure made for some beautiful sunrises!
Our group ended up killing 14 and I think the longest shot was 15 yards. My shot distance was maybe 5 yards. I always thought that, pound for pound, the toughest animal I ever hunted was the gray squirrel. Now I believe that crown goes to the javelina. They have a will to live like you can't believe and the environment they live in is harsh, to say the least. I'm looking forward to doing it again next year!
Darren
Topic: Chasing javvies in southwest Texas (Read 364 times)
