. i will not be able to afford getting on a lease this year so i thought i would try the texas public hunting walk in program. this is for deer and hog not as interested in waterfowl but am on occasion... i want to know if anyone can give me their personal opinions on this program (pros and cons) or if i should abandon it all and just cross my fingers for next season... any input is appreciated.

My first hunts were on public land here in Texas. They were tough...lots of walking and lots of research....not many animals. It's tough tough hunting....but extremely rewarding. Most of my public hunting has been for waterfowl and hogs....also squirrel and dove with my son. We never limited on anything, but always had a great time. Public hunting is an affordable way for anyone to get out there and hunt.

Pros: Affordable, rewarding, accessible
Cons: Not many animals, hard work, Avoid the weekends to avoid crowds if possible

public hunting away from DFW is much different. My buddy and I walked about 2.5 miles through brush and crap to a public hunting spot last night to find another group of hunters set up where we were going to hunt. Ended up walking around 4.5 to 5 miles just for exercise. Now, that is public hunting at it's finest!

IMO, public hunting around DFW is too crowded and not safe to bring my child.

Thanks yea luckily,or not really sure how lucky, my weekends are on tuesday and wednesday so i would forsure avoid the weekends.... thanks for your input.

What about houston/beaumont area or are there any south plots?

I love public hunting. There are many pros to it vs. a lease. I'll follow hpd's format..

Pros: Affordable.
No worrying about getting screwed by the land owner.
No corn to buy, feeders, box blinds to buy and maintain.
No worrying about someone hunting your stand when your not there.
Some of the drawn hunts are better quality than I could ever afford with a lease.
More freedom to hunt how you like, still hunting, spot and stalk, ect.
I can hunt a variety of areas from piney woods to hill country to desert.
The challenge and reward of taking an animal that is truly wild, not stocked behind a high fence or trained to come to a timed corn feeder.

Cons: It takes a lot of time and research to find areas to hunt that aren't over run with orange hats.
Anyone can hunt on public land so there are a LOT of hootleheads out there who don't give a damn about hunting safety (not as big an issue on drawn hunts)
On the drawn hunts, it takes a few years to accumulate enough points to start getting a hunt every once in awhile.
Deadlines for applications, doe permits, ect. If you don't get them in on time, your SOL.
It's much more physical (although that's not a con in my book)

There are a number of areas around Houston/Beaumont. Get the APH permit anywhere they sell licenses and you will receive a booklet in the mail with all the details....it's a little easier to browse than the links on the TPWD website.

There are more blinds, hog traps and feeders on Lewisville than at all the 4 private places I hunt.

Thanks for the input...really leaning towards the permit...... anybody gotten close to filling tags or was it just usually one? And is SHNF the biggest or just most well known and im guessing you have to wear a certain amount of orange or is that just at Sam?

@BossHawg2012

Hunter orange...

400 square inches of hunter orange material with orange headwear and at least 144 square inches appearing on both chest and back during daylight hours at times when hunting with firearms is permitted. Exempt from these requirements are: (1) authorized department personnel and landowner employees, (2) persons hunting turkey or migratory birds, (3) persons within the enclosed passenger compartment of a motor vehicle, (4) persons within a designated campground, designated vehicle parking area, designated boat launching facility or departmental check station, and (5) persons other than hunters on COE properties.

NOTICE to archery hunters and recreational users: You must wear hunter orange during daylight hours at any time when firearm hunting for any species is authorized on the unit. Many units allow firearm hunting year-round for rabbits, and firearm hunts for squirrel and dove often are conducted concurrently with archery deer hunts.

The above is from the 2012 - 13 public lands book, page XI.

-Mickey

It's also just north of Houston. Good luck dealing with that.

the public land I hunt on is great.....no crowds to speak of,no long walks(1/4 to 1 mile) and tons of game to boot.....if you research right you'll find that there are no downsides....may find crowds on opening day but only seen 1 hunter afield in 8 years(not including dove hunts which can be crowded)....some areas crowd up faster than others while some you can have all to yourself....footnote I usually hunt during the week

Although I have access to two separate private tracts, I always hunt public land when I want an area all to my myself.

In the area where I hunt, I always see vehicles parked in the same spots every season. Like myself, I suspect these are the same hunters who have scouted and located specific stand sites near travel areas that deer have been using for generations. It makes total sense when you consider how locals will often report seeing specific spots that deer have been using for many years to cross roads.

With all I have read on and off this forum, I keep coming up with the same question. Everyone talks about the safety issue on public land, which makes complete sense to me. My question is - how often do hunting accidents occur on public land? Is this a constant scare but not something that happens often, or do people actually get injured?

I have found that a twenty minute walk usually puts me some distance from the chuckleheads. I have had more shot rain down on me at private "high dollar" places because most people refuse to walk five minutes from the parking area. Most places don't allow rifle hunting which is a positive. You do have to do the research, but nothing worth anything is free.

Scout public land via maps and ask yourself what areas have very limited public access; most of the time that's where you'll find old bucks that don't get pressured.

I have found on public land that a lot of deer actually bed down VERY close to major roads. I personally know of 2 major bedding areas that are within 50 yards of a major road.

Also, I know of several places where the deer will bed down close to private property where they have dogs. Not only are the deer not afraid of the dogs, but they use the dogs as added security. When the dogs start barking the deer go on high alert. Every time a car passes the private residence-such as a hunters vehicle-the dogs start barking and the deer know to be on high alert.

I'll admit I hunt Sam Houston. I'll also admit that I always see the most deer CLOSER to private property and roads then deeper in the forest. Roads that are frequently traveled by cars usually have a deer trail running parallel to them within 50 yards within the woodline. These parallel trails are often highly traveled by deer and always have fresh tracks. I've killed a few deer in Sam, and they have never been more than .5 mile "into" the woods, or away from a major road. Not saying that the big boys don't hide out WAY out in untraveled areas (are there even any areas like that in Sam???), I'm just saying that most hunters in Sam probably walk past more deer on their way into the woods than they want to believe.

Pros:
Small Fee to hunt (APH permit & license)
Usually there are public places close by
Lot's of land to scout
You can hunt morning/evening and still get to sleep in your own bed (unless you just want to camp)

Cons:
You can't leave ANYTHING in the woods and expect it to be there when you get back
Too many people who wait till the last minute to scout so they trample through the woods on opening day, or the week before opening day, hoping to jump something. This late scouting simply signals the deer that hunters are coming, and they then abandon those trails once they smell that someone has been there. If you are going to wait so late to scout-it's better if you don't scout at all and just go in the first morning & hunt. Going in the week before drives the deer away from the area.
Too many people hunting/trampling the woods drives the deer nocturnal & also forces them to retreat to private property during all legal shooting hours
Too few deer
Too few deer that meet antler restrictions
Too many rifle shots the first week of open gun season so the deer are beyond twitchy. I counted 48 shots between legal shooting time (and some shots even before that) through 10AM one year. That was just within earshot. I wonder what the total count would have been across the entire area? Also, all deer have to be checked at the ranger station the opening weekend. I can tell you that for all those shots, I did not see but 5 deer being checked in that morning at the ranger station. Pigs? Maybe. Private property? Maybe. It's like a war zone out there.

If you go hunt on "public land" make certain you read the rules from the particular organization that administers the land you will be on. NF, COE, land as part of the Texas Public Hunting Permit...not all these lands are administered by the same org, and will likely have different rules, including different season dates, type of legal weapons and so forth. As an example, I just got off the phone with the folks that administer the LBJ National Grasslands north of Decatur, hunter orange is not required during the deer-bow-only season if you are bow hunting and not carrying a firearm, which is contrary to other properties.

Bottom line...know the rules before you go. It can get expensive if law enforcement has to explain it to you.

Good hunting.

I dont have money for a lease but I feel like I have one cause of public land. Do your research and scout and talk to people. Iam a mile one way and a mile and a half from access points. I talked to a man and got written promission to access the public land though his land and I see deer in bow range every sit. I just been passing does trying to get one of those monsters on my cam to show up in daylight hours. I check my cam every weekend on saturdays last saturday I had 933 pics all deer and hog.

Just depends on where you are. I personally hate hunting an area where I do not have at least a rough estimate of how many guns are around me.

Remember the movie Hot Shots?

here is a survey concerning the safeyof hunters http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/JVW9995 thank you

I am hunting public land. NOt too bad if you can avoid weekends.

probably depends on what u hunt...
-deer would def be harder and probly more rewarding than popping a whitetail under a corn feeder. might be worthwhile if you bow hunt. I wouldn't feel safe rifle hunting on the heavily pressured public areas in texas. hogs are probably the same.
-ducks again harder but more rewarding; you have to put up with things like people setting up on top of you, people fishing close by, etc. also your decoy spread will have lots of competition.
-dove i have had good dove hunts on public but i would avoid the first few weekends.
-upland: wouldn't bother with bobwhite quail or pheasant, supposedly you can find decent woodcock hunting on east tx public. have also heard of decent hunting for desert quail species in far west tx public...but thats a long drive unless you already live there.

Some studs come off tx public every year...put your time in and work hard and its very rewarding.