South TX Questions

Had a couple general questions for anyone that's hunted south TX. Looks like I got a tag for a WMA that's pretty far south, south of Raymondville, TX, it appears. The tag says I can shoot nilgai and pigs, and it's for 3 days in late Feb 2018. Wondering if anyone knows what the weather is usually like that time of year, and if a pair of snake boots would be a good investment for that time as well. Also wondering if anyone has ever hunted any of the WMAs in TX and how their experience was. I've never gone after either species so it'll be a new experience.
Thanks.

Which WMA do you have? My son went on a youth hunt at Laguna Atascosa a few years ago in mid march and it was over 90 degrees. It is most likely going to be warm. I don't recall seeing any snakes, but it wouldn't surprise me for them to be out. With that said, I don't think I would buy a pair if this is the only place you think you would need them.

We stayed in a tent on the area, they had cold storage available there also. If you have any other questions, I will try to answer them.

It could be below freezing. It could be 90s. Normally highs in the 70s, lows in the 50s.

Wouldn’t worry too much about snake boots.

Texas WMA's are a good opportunity to experience Texas style hunting at a very minimal cost. I have drawn three tags down there, Chaparral, Lost Maples, and Matagorda Island, all for deer, pigs, or javelina. It is however pretty tightly controlled. Hunters are assigned a blind by random drawing. They are transported before daylight and dropped off at their assigned area, picked up for lunch, then dropped off again to be picked up after dark. Hunters are not allowed to wander from their blind except to retrieve downed game. Not like wandering huge public land in the West, but I did manage to fill tags just sitting and waiting for the opportunity. I enjoy the Texas geography, different wildlife, and the culture. Nilgai are a great critter to hunt. Texas "thinks" there are around 80000 nilgai in south Texas. It's like hunting a very wary whitetail buck. Bulls are blue gray while cows are tan. Bulls weigh around 450++ pounds. I have hunted twice on the King Ranch, Norias division just north of Raymondville. I ambushed both at less than 100 yards, but if they see you first they are gone in an instant without a lot of time to pull down on them. They're also tough. I used both a .375 H&H and .300 H&H to anchor them. You don't want to try and track a wounded one in the coastal brush. It's almost impossible with any distance. Weather should be in the 70's or 80's unless a blue norther rolls in, and a rain jacket is common sense. Mornings are often foggy and clammy. Snakes? Some big sumbiches down there. You should see the mounts in Hibllers taxidermy in Kingsville. Geez. No I didn't run into one and I don't want to. I recommend snake boots or gaiters since you'll be walking to and from the blind in the dark when those slithering behemoths are out hunting. This should be a great time and good luck.

Just a quick snake story. There was another group of hunters on the Norias pasture hunting deer while we were out chasing nilgai. One of their party was nailed by a rattlesnake. He was hit in the knee cap above his snake boots and had to be medevac'd to Corpus Christi PDQ. Takes a pretty good sized rattler to raise high enough to poke a knee cap and one that size has a lot of venom. Yeah, I wore Justin snake boots and have found they come in handy in the willow bottoms of the Missouri Breaks here in Montana..........but me and Indy..............we hate snakes.

I think Texasbowhunters.com has a thread about WMAs.

icebreaker12 said:

It could be below freezing. It could be 90s. Normally highs in the 70s, lows in the 50s.

Wouldn’t worry too much about snake boots.

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This, litteraly. Texas winters are very strange.

You're very unlikely to see snakes that time of year.

Thanks for the info, been reading a bit on that TX forum. It was the first yr I submitted any apps for TX since I only drew one tag here in NM. I always enjoy new country as well.