Men,

I'd like to know where the BEST public hunting land is in your very fine

State. I am strongly considering moving my family there in just about 2

years. But, I ain't goin' where I can't hunt OFTEN, and, with reasonable

odds of seeing hogs, deer and "what ever" game. I am grateful for your

comments! {Same question posted in Big Bores}

Jack, Texas has very little public land. Nearly all of the state is privately owned. There are National forrest in east Ttexas and limited hunting in state parks.

Keith

I really did NOT know this...

Can a guy realistically get into a club that owns land

or has leases or what ever in order to hunt often?

Jack,
Hog Killer is right, very little public land here accessable to hunting, depending on where you locate there are opportunities. Lots of drawings to put in for, not many chances. Sadly the days of "Go up and knock on a farmers door, to get permission are gone" Most farmers and ranchers supplement their agricultureal income by leasing their land for some kind of hunting. A really good lease can cost up to $5 per acre and you might need as much as 5,000 acres per man. Mostly you pay for what you get. Hogs have become a source of revenue also for the landowner and due to hunting pressure have mostly gone nocturnal. There are places that run NoKill/No pay operations. Dove and Quail hunting can run from as low as $35 per day to $100 per day or more in prime areas. The State is big enough that you have to travel some distances for good hunts on certain species. Suggest you start checking out the Texas Parks & Wildlife website or some of the Hunting Brokers here in Texas.
Good Hunting

Tetonka
DRSS
NRA Life
RMEF
FNAWS Life
450/400 3" N.E. (K-Gun)
Lots of Bolt trash

The little areas of public land are within easy driving distance of Houston and Dallas and get over run and over hunted during the deer season. It would be easy to hunt the Sam Houston National Forest every weekend during the deer season and not see one deer.

For a nice family lease expect to pay minimum of $1,000 per gun per year. For a trophy lease $5,000 per gun per year and maybe get on a waiting list to join.

You get what you pay for. Cheap leases are more often than not a place where guys pay to go drink heavily and get away from their wives for the weekend with not much hunting going on. No waiting list for this type of lease. They always have openings and don't charge extra for all the drama that goes on.

Jack, all I can say is Ditto to what the other responders have said.

Texas is a great place to live in many aspects.

It is not a great place as far as Public hunting and now in many spots Public fishing is concerned.

The state and the Feds just do not own that nuch Public Land that can be accessed by hunters, especially rifle hunters.

Archers/Shotgun/Muzzle Loader hunters do have it a little easier, but except for a few spots, hunting with centerfire rifles os a no go, especially on the lands that can be accessed without going thru a lottery draw.

Leasing hunting land in Texas is becoming even more convoluted/competetive annually.

Sorry to come across so negatively on the subject, because I do love Texas and being a Texan, but unless a person is willing to pay the price, hunting opportunities can be hard to come by.

Jack,
I have no idea where these guys are getting their numbers, but my dad manages a deer lease and it's 2000 per gun, and the deer are by no means trophy...now people define trophy in multiple ways. Nothing over 150". Decent deer in the 120-130's and does...

5 dollars an acre is super cheap, 8-10 is more likely if not higher.

Now I don't know anywhere or anyone that has a $1000 lease that has any good amount of game or facilities. There are plenty of people who will pay 1000 for a place to put a camper and sit in the woods. But for someone who really expects to hunt and shoot multiple deer a year, you're going to spend some bucks.

If I was only allowed to hunt public land in Texas I would find another hobby! Just my opinion...

Oryx has it pretty well right .. if you plan on shooting more than a "shooter" deer, and certainyl if you want more than 1 deer over 120 BC every couple years, then you are going to pay big bucks ..

HOWEVER, i think his price range is way too high on the "super cheap" side ..

$1000 leases are generally no power, no water .. there's usually plenty of shootable deer, and hogs ...

in today's dollars, I don't see myself as a lease member on a 10K lease .. no thanks .. but I don't hunt white tail .. too little, and horn's don't taste very good ..

HOGS -- are my favorite thing to hunt

No real public hunting. Truth be known it's more economical to go on a commercial hunt from a $ standpoint- with the generic $10/acre, the diesel, corn, protein, supplies etc..... Now that does not replace the joy (time, blood and sweat) of a lease, but if you need to travel 10hrs each way that is a consideration.

Hogs are despised like coyotes. They are NOT game. Those motherfuckers do nothing but tear up land, ruin roads, etc. Sows are the prefered first shot as they are breeding factories. A lot gut shoot em so as not to be bothered having to drag them off. I try to line up 2 in one shot. (I don't want to hear any ethics BS, like coyotes and prarie dogs (<- LOL) they need killin.)

You'd be a fool to pay $1 to pay to hunt one. Go to a rice farming community and they've got posses with suppressed ARs and night vision scopes. They drop em by the dozen. If you go to a rice farmers house, knock on the door and ask if you can hunt hogs, he'd prolly tell his wife or daughter to blow you to "seal the deal"..........

Oryxhunter is right about lease costs typically running higher than the other guys have said, but you'll get a very nice place if you're willing to wait for the right opportunity and pay top dollar. However, I don't think you should change your mind based on high lease costs. Many people in Texas hunt without leases, and they do so without going bankrupt.

Parks & Wildlife has some drawing-based hunts on public lands that are worth putting in for -- and I'm not just talking about the stuff with super long odds. You may be facing 5-10% draw odds on a hunt that will give you a good chance at shooting a 130-140 class mule deer or a 120-ish whitetail, or an axis deer, but the entries generally cost just $10 each.

I think the real strength of living in Texas, if you don't own private land, is the huge variety of reasonably priced guided private land opportunities. And you don't need to buy special tags to take advantage of those opportunities -- just the general resident license (something like $70 for the super combo that covers everything, including fishing and all state stamps). I took a 180+ mule deer last year for way less than what I would have paid in Colorado, Utah, etc. You can hunt antelope for about $1,500 (with a landowner tag), if you look around. You can shoot a nice 130-140 class management whitetail for about $2,500-$3,000 (but ask about the circumstances of the hunt, unless you're comfortable with shooting deer under a feeder), and many places will let you turkey hunt unguided for almost nothing and with a guide for a few hundred per day. In West Texas, mountain lions can be hunted with hounds at any time of the year for around $4,000. Free range aoudad are another West Texas trophy that can be killed year round for not much money -- maybe $3,000-4,500, at the upper end, and you can probably find much cheaper if you're willing to look. Sandhill crane hunts in the panhandle are another cheap and fairly unique opportunity. In South Texas, you can shoot free range nilgai for $1,500 or less for a bull, and for about $500 for a cow -- some of the best eating around and a challenging hunt. We also have pheasant hunting, more hogs than we can count, and plenty of javelinas and prairie dogs. On top of this, there is great dove hunting available for cheap day rates, excellent duck hunting for more money, and the country's best wild quail hunting, if you're willing to pay the price. You can even hunt alligators, if you draw a tag. And we have great bass fishing and good saltwater fishing, too. It really is an outdoorsman's paradise.

I believe Austin and San Antonio are the best big cities in terms of being close to a large variety of high quality hunting and fishing opportunities, but others may disagree.

Well thanks to all of you! I appreciate your info and I am learning

what's what. It's different than what I had expected, most certainly.

Believe it or not, here, in north west NJ, the hunting is truly GOOD.

I ain't sayin' wildly great, but it is honestly good here.

I apologise for coming across so negatively.

Texas is a great place to live, I can not imagine what it would feel like to not be a native born Texan.

I do however prefer to deal in realities, and in Texas, the reality is, if you don't care what you shoot, there are hunting opportunities.

If you are a trophy hunter, the opportunities are available, just at a higher cost.

If you are happy with meat for the freezer, you can find low cost or no cost whitetail doe and feral hog hunts by just doing a little networking once you move down here.

When it comes to hunting for bucks, the scenario changes, and $$$ becomes the deciding factor.

As has been mentioned on the 2 threads on this topic, there are hunting possibilities, but there is going to be a lot of homework involved on yout part to tap into them.

True, TP&W does offer drawing hunts, and while I have been fortunate enough to have been draw for an average of 1 hunt a year, I have known people that have put in for hunts for years and have never been drawn.

As someone else stated, there is Public Land fairly close to Houston, but if your work only allows you weekends off, your enjoyment of the hunt and success rate are going to be really low.

If you are an archer, your options of finding places to hunt increase a lot, thru Corp Of Engineer properties and some of the Federal Lands open to hunting.

I am proud to be a Texan, but I am a realist along with that, and for the average New Texan, moving into the state and finding places to hunt is problematic at the least, unless you have the $$$ to pay for it.

I'll be retired. IF I work at all it would be

when I felt like it. I enjoy muzzle loader

hunting a lot, and shotgun too. Of course

the D/R is KING.

Marrying an Aggie worked for me.
During my 15 years in Texas, I was blessed to have made many happy memories afield. Admittedly, I was not using a D/R in search of a trophy rack. {Sadly, I did not catch that bug until after leaving Tejas.} -But opportunities for hogs, waterfowl, quail and dove were aplenty.

Public hunting in East Texas National Forests isn't so bleak a picture as has been presented. Almost every year I've hunted there, I've had opportunities at 120 class deer, and I once blew a chance at a 140-150 class buck. I don't get "run over" by other hunters, either. What you have to realize is that if you are willing to hunt WAAYYY back off the roads, you'll be ok in that regards (and you'll see more deer).

I've mostly hunted the Angelina NF near Lake Sam Rayburn and the Crockett NF. Not hunted the Sam Houston at all, the Sabine only once. In the Angelina, I've seen fewer but better deer. Place I hunt (about a mile hike back in a wilderness) I've only seen other hunters 2x out of 10+ years hunting back there. In the Crockett, I see more deer, but also more hunters. You can get away from other hunters reasonably well . . . if you're willing to walk in a good way. You'll see deer regularly if you're willing to spend time scouting, and do your homework.

Hogs are present in both areas, but are far more unpredictable . . . mostly I bump hogs in the dark walking in to hunt, but my wife shot a nice boar last year before Thanksgiving.

Troy

THANKS GUYS!