Big Bend and Black Gap WMA Small Game - Texas

[TN Wild Man]

Hello,

I've got some time off from work coming up in the beginning of February and my plan is to make the long drive from Houston to Big Bend National Park and do some tent camping and just basically take a few days to get away from the big city. I've never been to Big Bend, and while I was checking things out on the intweweb I noticed the eastern edge of the NP butts up against the 100,000+ acre Black Gap Wildlife Management Area. Based on what what I've read online dove, quail, and rabbits will all be in season when I am planning on making my trip. Access to hunt the WMA requires the purchase of a special Annual Hunting Permit in addition to the regular TPWD hunting license.

First off, I am curious if anyone else on the board has experiences they'd be willing to share from Black Gap WMA. There are some primitive campsites on the WMA, but it appears to be a very low traffic area.

Second, I've never gone hunting for dove, quail, or desert rabbits so I'd love to hear about the feasibility of hunting these species by myself. I'm taking this trip alone, and I suspect there is a lot more to it than just wandering around with a shotgun.

I am headed out to the western side of Texas to do some camping regardless of the hunting, but once I started reading a little about the WMA I got the idea in my head that spending a couple of days camping out away from the crowds at Big Bends and getting in a little bird and rabbit hunting might be a really nice little bonus to add onto my trip.

Thanks!

 

[Harrier]

Hi Wild Man,

You should double-check your info on doves -- the season ended in Texas on Jan. 23. Quail and rabbits should be OK as long as they're permitted at Black Gap. All of the WMAs are different. You can find out the restrictions at TPWD's Public Hunting website.

I haven't hunted Black Gap, but I've hunted the relatively close Elephant Mountain and Big Bend Ranch State Park. Expect rugged and challenging but beautiful West Texas terrain. You should see lots of rabbits, and it shouldn't be too hard to flush a covey or two of quail. Be prepared to do a lot of walking, make sure you have plenty of water, and watch the weather forecast.

Good luck!

 

[Irrelevant]

Post pics when you get back!

 

[TN Wild Man]

Thanks for the information guys. Harrier, you're 100% correct, dove season is over!

I'm still planning on taking my shotgun for a few nice walks. I talked to one of the rangers (I'm not sure if that's their official title) at Black Gap and he said running shoes might be in order for a Blue Quail. Apparently they enjoying running more than flying when they are flushed. At any rate, I'm going to give it a whirl. I'll definitely post some photos once o get back.

Thanks again,
Wild Man

 

[TN Wild Man]

I returned from my trip yesterday evening and wanted to share some pictures with you guys. I spent two days in Black Gap MWA and it did not disappoint.


Black Gap WMA Headquarters Entrance

I drove in after dark and checked in at the Visitor Center. For future reference, it was no issue to check in late a night. There is a small metal building at the headquarters with a sign in sheet inside. They also provide small maps of the different campsites which was nice. I picked camp #6 since it looked to be a little out of the way and headed that direction. The roads were in decent shape and I had no issues in my 2 wheel drive pickup. I did see several jack rabbits and two groups of javelina on my drive out to the campsite.


Javelina on the road to camp

It was a clear night and almost a full moon so I was able to pitch camp without using a headlamp. Man, is it quiet there! I'm talking about the sort of quiet that makes the ringing in your own ears sound painfully loud. It had been a long time since I had experienced that. The next morning I got my gear sorted out and set out along a gravel road from camp. My plan to was to walk about half a mile to the end of the road at a water catchment and then work my way across a large drainage and onto the adjacent hillside. About 50 yards from camp I flushed a covey of quail from some bushes right next to the road. I never thought they would be hanging out so close to camp and I still had my shotgun slung on my shoulder (Rookie move #1). So I just stood there, watching the group of birds (maybe a dozen of them) fly across to the hillside I was planning on hunting. Perhaps I could take note of where they landed and make a big loop around and get into the same covey again later on that afternoon. Right about that time whoosh two more quail flushed from the same bushes to go and join the others. I still had my shotgun on my shoulder (rookie move #2, there might be more birds dummy!!). So after checking the group of bushes for more birds (shotgun out and safety off at this point!) I continued down the road and into the drainage as I had planned. I spent about 5 hours walking up and down the hill and through the large drainage. I saw two cotton tail rabbits but no more quail that day. In retrospect I should have take a shot at one of the rabbits. It jumped out of some bushes and ran to a spot about 35 yards away under a cactus and then stopped to look back. At the time I thought it was too far for a shot, but after walking it I realized it wasn't all that far. The upper part of the slope was covered by basalt boulders and I didn't see a single animal up there. Plus, it was a pain in the ass to walk around on, so I stuck to the lower half of the hill for the most part. I did see some spent shotgun shells in a couple of spots along the hill, so apparently some other hunters had at least seen something worth taking a shot at.


Setup at Campsite #6


View of hillside east of camp


Photo from hillside east of camp (note camp/truck on right hand side of photo)

I went back to camp in the late afternoon without firing a shot, but I still had a lot of fun hiking around. The next morning I got out earlier (started hunting about half an hour after sunrise so I had much cooler weather).


Sunrise on the 2nd morning from camp

I didn't see any game on the slope west of camp. My thinking was that rabbits might have been hanging out in the sun first thing in the morning to warm up after the fairly cool night (it got down into the upper 50s). Perhaps I camp back to camp and had some lunch and broke things down. I spent most of the afternoon driving farther east into the WMA and it is some very pretty country. Marvallis Canyon is really spectacular and there are several campsites right off the main road. I'm from back east, so I am not too familiar with Mule Deer but I did see some pretty large scat in Black Gap that was from something that had been eating plants. It wasn't the usual pellet shaped deer poop that i'm familiar with, so I am not sure what it was. I should have take a picture but I just didn't think of it at the time. Again, I didn't have any problems with my 2WD truck, although there were a couple of places I decided not to drive into after getting out and checking it out on foot. There is easily enough accessible country to spend a couple of weeks in this place. I didn't see or hear another person the entire time I was in the WMA which was a welcome change to my day to day life in Houston. I am sure there are more people driving around in Black Gap once it opens up to the rest of the public after hunting season is over.

I spent a couple of days in Big Bend National Park too and it was just amazing. I've posted a couple of photos below.


Sunset looking west over the Chisos Mountains


Panorama of sunrise looking east and south over the Chisos Mountains and toward Santa Elena Canyon.

The last day I took a drive through Big Bend State Park on FM 170. That is a rough and rugged place, but certainly beautiful in its own way.

The trip was definitely a learning experience on the hunting side of things. Always, have your shotgun ready (even if you're right next to camp) and just because a covey of quail just flushed out of the bushes that doesn't mean a couple more birds might not still be hanging out just a few feet away. I think it would be a lot of fun to take a couple of hunting buddies as well. I suspect that you'd have a lot more luck finding rabbits with a couple of people. I saw rabbit sign all over the place in Black Gap, so I am fairly confident I walked past more rabbits than I saw, but perhaps I just didn't get quite close enough to get them moving.

There is definitely enough country in the Big Bend area to keep me coming back for years to come. It's really nice having the state park, national park, and Black Gap all right next to eachother. It makes the 9 hour drive a little more bearable knowing that there are all sort of different things to do out there depending on what you're into. There is fishing in Black Gap as well along the Rio Grande and I saw a few people had marked that down in the register when I was leaving the area. I'm interested to hear what some of you other folks have done in that area in years past.

 

[cshire]

Dragging up an old post.
Nothing to add on hunting, but agree that the whole BB area is beautiful.
Camped there in the early 90's with a buddy, went back again in 2014 with my daughter who lives in Dallas.
need to get back there again