Hey guys,
I'm a Nevada resident and am going to be in San Angelo area during hunting season and am really interested in doing some hunting while I am in TX. How does TX work the hunting? For big game (white tail, etc) is there a draw? Being stationed there will I have to purchase non-resident license? What is the public land access like around there? Anything else good and fun to hunt around there? I've heard about hog hunting in TX and that sounds like fun, anything else? Thanks for your help and info in advance.

Hunting will be much different here than what you are accustomed to in the past. Texas is 97% or more private land so access for the most part is by leasing land from a landowner to hunt. There is some public land in that area but hunted hard and not much of it from what I have heard. TPWD does there annual draw in the early fall starting in Sept with mid August deadline to put in for draw hunts on State Park lands for all big game species in the state.

What is standard charge for leasing land? Does hunting on private land still require drawing for a tag and purchasing a license? Ive seen some of the "Ranch" hunts and man those are expensive (at least for me), I'm use to paying my $35 for license and applying for a draw where application fees are $10-$20 and tag fees if you draw are $35-$150 or so. Then 90% of NV is all BLM land and you just go. Would really like to do some TX hunting while I'm there, I looked at the TX parks and wildlife site and it got me real hopeful, but maybe it just seemed too good to be true.

Private land hunting is over the counter tags that are on your license. Once you lease the hunting rights from the landowner then the county regs and landowner rules come into play on bag limits and no draw is needed. Upkeep on private land is expensive and that is why your lease payments vary from area to area based on what the game is after your are hunting. TPWD site will also let you get a booklet describing all the applications from drawings on Public Land Hunts on state park lands. Lots of different draws also.

Browsing some leases around san angelo it's looking like that probably won't happen for me. I found the section on TPWD site about the public hunting and special draws for a couple sites around the san angelo area and will probably give one of those a go and hope for some luck Thanks for your help and info ranchman! If not maybe I can find someone willing to let me tag along with them and at least get out there and see what TX hunting is like.

If your active military and considered a resident your license will be free

510 Active Duty Military Super Combo Resident Cost; Free

Try the draw hunts, there are quite a few in your area or within a couple hours. If you are a shotgun or archery hunter there is TwinButtes offering access for just the cost of the permit, whitetail-hogs-turkey there.

Lots of good places to hunt hogs nearby just do a search in the paper or on here or if Im down in the area I will take you out for a few bucks to our place right outside Sonora.

Plenty of info and Im sure more guys will chime in.

You might check with the recreation office on the base that you'll be stationed at. The military may have access on some of it's bases for hunting. Several military bases in Texas offer hunting to it's members and the general public. It's worth looking in to.

PM sent

http://www.huntingwithsoldiers.com/

PM father of 4 on here

With you being in the military getting a lease might not be the best option. They can get pretty expensive for a season and if you don't think you'd be able to hunt that often then it wouldn't be worth the money.

Just keep posting on this forum. The guys on here do a great job taking care of military folk. You could probably get some good hunts at discounted rates or maybe even free cull hunts. Texas also has a lot of exotics on private land if your interested.

Like the others said, get involved with the TPWD public hunt drawings as well.

Thanks for your service.

You might be able to get a Texas residence hunting licence. Depends on what type of orders you'll be here on and for how long. Not sure if any of the military reservations around San Angelo have hunting on them or not. I know Ft. Hood does. Also some National Guard camps have hunting on them also. Keep in mind for hunting on any type of military reservations you'll have to have a hunter safety card.

What part of Nevada are you from?

WOW, thanks for all the responses and advice.
Mulie_mike that would be phenomenal if we could get together sometime, always better to hunt with someone who knows a bit about the area.
T4PL, I've seen some of the exotics on the lease hunt sites and all I can do is drool, I had no idea creatures like that roamed on American soil, most of that is probably out of my budget.
Rcinit, I am from a small town on the east side of the state called Ely, although I currently leave in Reno.
I am only going to be at Goodfellow for 7 months so I'm not sure how the license will work, TPWD site says active military personnel stationed in TX are eligible for a resident license, but it's not real clear if there is a certain amount of time you have to be stationed there or not.
Really starting to wish I was going to be there longer, I've found all this hunting there and lots of other stuff that is looking so interesting to check out. We'll see how much I can do with my budget which isn't going to be much since I'm still going to be supporting my wife and 3 kids back here in Reno while I am there. Rest assured I'm gonna do all I can manage though!

-Edit-
I'll hunt any way I can, archery, shotgun, rifle, or muzzleloader (have to bum it from my dad or brother) although I've only done 2 archery deer hunts both unsuccessful (spot and stalk in the NV desert isn't easy )

When are you showing up? I take it you'll be on TDY orders. Not sure about them. I know guard/reserves that are indivually activated and sent to the Texas can get a resident licence with their orders but they are normally at least a year or more.

I moved to Vegas when I was in High School from South Dakota. Talk about culture shock! lol One of my uncles took me hunting a couple times up around Elko. I never was able to put a deer down but he did both times we went.

Go see the caverns of Sonora while your in Angelo......(cheap plug). If I hear of anybody looking for hunters down here in Sonora I'll let you know. Some people allow day hunters for whitetail....

Hey hey caverns sound pretty cool, I'll check them out. I jumped on craigslist for san angelo and typed "hunt" and found some ads there for people asking hunters to come out and take a few hogs so I'm getting this figured out a little bit at least. Enough that I'm definately bringing my guns and bow down. I also seen there was an archery club in San Angelo so I'll be coming out for some of that!

using search is coming up with nothing for Father of 4, am I missing something when it comes to finding him? is he affiliated with "Hunting with Soldiers"?

Well if you went from Vegas to Elko you passed through my hometown of Ely. There are some good Mulies to be had up around Elko, Sorry you weren't able to fill your tags, 400 yard shots aren't that uncommon so bring your eyes and a good scope!

amcvicars, you'll have to have PCS order bringing you to Texas to get the free military licence. There's some non-resident 5 day licence options but if you want to hunt deer you'll need to get the general non-resident hunting licence. It's $315 dollers. They go on sale around Sept 1st and it's till the 30th of Augest the following year.

Welcome to THF amcvicars and Thanks for your service.
You will be centrally located for a lot of good hunting in a lot of areas. Good luck.

Spend a little time on some of these sites.
http://www.texashuntingforum.com/forum/u...S_AN#Post348583

Be careful about the Craigslist hunts. Yes some are good but others are nearly scams. Be sure to do your research before paying to hunt some place.

Hope you have a great time in Texas. Thanks for your service.

I registered just to answer the OP copied from the regulations.
A RESIDENT is a person who has lived continuously in Texas for more than six months immediately before
applying for a license. Members of the U.S. Armed Forces (and their dependents) on active duty anywhere are entitled to purchase a resident license. The term “active duty” means full-time duty in active military
service, including the National Guard and Reserves of the United States. Such term includes full-time
training duty and attendance while in the active military service at a school designated as a service school
by law or by the Secretary of the military department concerned. N on-residents under 17 years of age are
designated as residents for hunting license purposes (not valid for Lifetime Licenses).
Residency is proven by any three of the following (all documents must reflect the applicant’s name and
a physical address in Texas). E xcept for a valid driver’s license or a state issued identification card,
documentation is not required at time of purchases or while hunting or fishing:

Well I will be able to get a resident license then. Now will I have orders in time to apply for draw hunts. If not what can I do with my license? In NV you can hunt rabbits, upland and migratory birds in season just about anywhere you can find them.

You can't do jack without land to hunt on. Most land around here is privately owned so you need to get landowner permission or become friends with someone with a lease

How exactly do leases work? I understand it's hunters leasing the right to hunt from a property owner, but does the property owner limit what and how many of an animal are taken? Do hunting seasons apply to hunting on leased land? Just trying to understand.