“All the while his teeth kept going like castanets, with rapid champing sounds. I ran up close and killed him. His tusks were fine.” Stated Theodore Roosevelt, April 1892, hunting javelina with his friend from Uvalde, John Morgan. He described his hunt along the Nueces River bottom in his 1902 book, “Hunting the Grizly and Other Sketches”. The hunt had started on a ranch adjacent to the Frio River bottoms. Unfortunately, by the time Roosevelt arrived, market hunting had taken most of the local collared peccaries for their hides, at the time worth 50-cents each.
On their journey south to the Nueces River, Roosevelt and his host encountered a local goat herder who owned two dogs trained to hunt javelina. The dogs soon bayed a small herd allowing Roosevelt to dispatch a sow and then a boar. Shortly after doing so, Roosevelt stated he felt hunting javelina on horseback with dogs using a spear would be a more sporting way to take the little swine-like denizens of the brasada.
There is not much I would argue about with one of my lifetime heroes, but hunting collared peccary on horseback with a spear would be one of them!
The javelina, collared peccary, musk pig, or, scientifically Dicotyles jajacu is a native of the southwestern US, Mexico and northern part of South America. A “cousin”, the white-lipped peccary, is found in southern Mexico south.
Fossil records have them first appearing 37-million years ago where present day North Dakota is now. And no, they are not “rodents” as some proclaim, they are a family and genus all by themselves.
What makes them unique is their teeth, upper and lower canines arranged so there is no side to side movement of their lower jaw, only up and own. Each time their mouth opens and closes their razor sharp canines or “tusks” are honed. Both sows and boars look very much the same.
Secondly, they have a musk gland located essentially in the middle of their back. It produces a milky fluid with an odor unlike any other animal.
These territorial herd animals’ favorite food is prickly pear. They also eat a variety of other vegetation, seeds and fruits.
Javelina, during the late 1800’s, were hunted for their skins, which makes unique and tough leather, to the point their future was in jeopardy. Today, they are again found in considerable numbers across South and West Texas and south into Mexico.
Texas’ annual bag limit is two javelinas per year, per hunter. The hunting season is open year around. Most javelina are taken during the fall whitetail season into late winter.
These truly unique animals, considered by some to be North America’s smallest big game species, are truly fun to hunt. A few years ago they became part of our Texas Big Game Awards Program. Today the Grand Slam of Texas big game animals includes whitetail, mule deer, pronghorn antelope and javelina.
My favored way to hunting is with a mouth-blown predator call (Burnham Brother’s C-3 Long Range). After locating a herd, by finding tracks, droppings and chewed upon prickly pear, I set up to call close to the nearest thicket and start blowing my predator call as loud and long as possible, take a deep breath and continue calling. Javelinas will generally come charging in, hair and hackles standing on end, champing their jaws creating loud popping sounds, and squealing.
Why they respond I am uncertain. I simply know they do! Being charged by several jaw-popping, squealing, enraged javelinas makes for an exciting few moments! Might I suggest calling from a raised positon, particularly if you are one who gets overly excited and easily spooked!
My favorite firearm hunting javelina, whether calling or spot and stalk, is my .454 Casull Taurus Raging Hunter handgun loaded with either Hornady’s 240 or 300-grain XTP ammo, and topped with a Trijicon SRO red dot sight for quick target acquisition. Bow, crossbow, air rifle, and your favorite “deer rifle” work equally well.
There is one thing I have learned about hunting javelina. Other than when blowing a predator call, I never “hunt” javelinas, specifically hunt javelina. I have gone days without seeing one while hunting for javelina. But, when hunting deer, rabbits, game birds, or for that matter giant sloth or mastodon, they are everywhere! You’ve been forewarned!
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