Outdoors With Mat Taylor
TV show brings back memories

Former Soil Conservation Service employee and longtime writer Mat Taylor offers his outdoors column for Dispatch Record readers. He can be contacted at (254) 518-2262 or via email at mntaylor@agristar.net.

Recently, I was channel surfing on my television and began to watch a program entitled "The Best and Worst of Tred Barta" on an outdoors channel.

Barta said he hunts the hard way, using only a long bow and homemade wooden arrows. He believes modern hunters -- with their use of technology, scents, deer attractants, large binoculars, range finders, grunt and other deer calls, and huge scopes on magnumcaliber rifles -- have taken much of the sport out of hunting.

I agree with him up to a point, but that is an argument for another date.

On the TV program, Barta was hunting javelina with his longbow and arrows on the Rosillos Ranch that borders Big Bend National Park. After walking the rough desert hills, he managed to bag two. The program brought back memories of some of my encounters with the animal.

The javelina is a small, pig-like mammal that rarely weighs over 40 pounds and is found in the United States only in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.

Even though it looks like a pig, the javelina is not a swine but a member of the peccary family. Javelina are found in the more arid parts of the state, with most occurring in the South Texas brush country and the Trans-Pecos desert grasslands.

The little mammals travel in small herds or family groups. I have viewed groups of up to 40 animals while hunting mule deer in far West Texas. They feed primarily on cacti, particularly prickly pear, mesquite beans, lechuguilla, sotol, fruits and insects.

Javelina have an undeserved reputation for ferocity. They have poor eyesight and usually remain around humans longer than other wildlife when startled. When cornered, however, they defend themselves with sharp canine teeth or tusks. Aggressive encounters with humans are very rare, but many dogs have been crippled or killed when trying to attack javelina.

During my many years of hunting, I have taken only two javelina, although I could have killed many if I had wanted to.

While hunting for desert mule south of Marfa many years ago, I ran into a small herd of javelina and startled a large boar that was sleeping. He awoke with a start, and he must have felt threatened as he ran toward me clacking his very sharp teeth.

I threw up my rifle and dropped him with one shot. In retrospect, he probably was not charging me but was just trying to escape, and I was in his way.

During several years of hunting deer on our lease south of Marfa, I saw numerous javelina, and many times I have walked slowly through a herd of feeding animals without a single one detecting my presence. They do have poor eyesight and either did not see me or maybe thought I posed no danger.

My second javelina was taken on the Black Gap Wildlife Management Area in southern Brewster County just east of Big Bend National Park. Three friends and I applied for a public hunt on the management area and were drawn by lottery conducted by Texas Parks and Wildlife. About 20 hunters were there at Black Gap, which covers about 100,000 acres of the Chihuahuan Desert.

After checking in, we were assigned an area to hunt and then set up camp with a large tent. After getting everything in order, we spread out from camp and began to hunt.

I walked north toward a guzzler that had been constructed by TPWD to provide water for wildlife. A guzzler is an inverted tin roof that collects rainwater, which is gathered in a storage tank and then piped to a small water trough with a float.

Around and under the guzzler were numerous javelina tracks. I walked a little farther and jumped two of the small pig-like animals. I took a shot with my Remington .223 bolt-action rifle, and one dropped immediately. After less than 30 minutes of hunting, I had my animal.

After two more days of hunting, mine turned out to be the only javelina taken in our group. In fact, of the 20 hunters, only three were successful. We had a good time, though.

Later, I boiled the skull and now have a bleached skull mount of the javelina in my home office.

In Texas, javelina are classified as a game animal and may be legally harvested with a hunting license during hunting season. There is no closed season in many Texas counties.

For persons who like to use a bow or handgun, the javelina is a good animal to hunt as they usually can be taken within 20 yards or so.

As I have killed two javelina, I do not plan to hunt them again. Although some people have eaten javelina meat, I have not because of their strong musk-like odor.

The javelina does make an impressive mounted trophy, especially with its open mouth full of sharp teeth.