The more I think about this post the more I believe it's an anti hunter trying to get some good info to use for their side (as mentioned above in another post). Sounds kinda fishy when you read his/her post closely.

If your thinking of hunting as getting meat by the lb. then you have the wrong idea. If you want cheap meat then go to the grocery store on Labor Day weekend. If you want to make priceless memories by spending time in God's creation with good friends then go hunting. For me, hunting is about getting out of the concrete jungle and into the quite solitude of a treestand to view nature. It's a deeply spiritual time that helps you better appreciate the glory of God. In today's society, these treasured experiences are not cheap. None of us do it because we can fill a freezer with cheap meat. However, that is not to say the meat is not highly prized. Wild game is low in fat, calories, cholesterol, preservatives, hormones etc... And high in satisfaction and flavor. If after reading this you don't understand you should read something by Aldo Leupold or go to Kroger.

Bona fide meat hunter here. After you've killed you're first moose and eaten a nilgai, whitetails (even with big jewelry) just don't cause a quickening like they used to. Unless you're hunting private land under an MLD or a depredation permit, it's tough to put enough venison in the freezer to completely supplant store bought meat with the tags that the state has seen fit to issue, however, it's easy enough to rack up a significant quantity of browse fed, alkali bodied, ultra lean, nutritionally dense meat with a high ratio of HDL to LDL cholesterol.

If you get on YouTube you can find some how-to's that will eliminate the meat processing costs. I can have a large-bodied doe boned out in about 30 or 40 minutes if I'm by myself without any kids asking for lessons. If I'm keeping the cape it takes a good bit longer.

As others have said, if you want to fill the freezer you should look into pig hunting. Do you like cuban pork? You can make a great cuban sandwich with feral pig shoulder.

Deer in WMA's and public areas tend to be extremely wary. It's easy enough to bag meat, but public lands with decent deer tend to be archery/muzzleloader/shotgun only OR they tend to be RAKED OVER AND DANGEROUS AS CHIT

Try this. Looks like you can harvest a doe for $325

http://houston.craigslist.org/spo/3296061984.html

My advice to the OP, is to do some hog hunting to get the 'hunting experience'. Hog hunts are aplenty,a nd reasonably priced. Once you know you like the outdoors and hunting in general, then expand into deer hunting.

As for public land hunting, you will get out of it exactly what you put into it. I have a buddy that does very well every year hunting public land, but he works his butt off for it. And it costs him surprisingly little to do it. He's up at least 2 hours before the hungover crowd, walking at least twice as far, and really has his work cut out for him when he drops a deer. But he hunts the same WMA's every year, and the same areas within those WMA's. Years of scouting and experience with not only the land, but other hunters' patterns has given him an edge. But again, he loves to be outdoors in general.

If you are looking at hunting from a money savings standpoint, you will be hard pressed to ever justify hunting. It's a passion, plain and simple. Bringing meat home is a by-product, a bonus.

That is outrageous. You can find doe hunts for half that price.

If I saw a hog, as opposed to a deer, I would certainly take it. Some of those doe leases on Craiglist are inexpensive (at least under $300 though many require 2 people). I don't know if I would want to kill a deer hanging out at a feeder. I've read that hogs are quite close to being a pest in TX and landowners are happy for someone to kill them.

I may not make it to any hunting this year, since I have a lot to plan and prepare for. Hopefully at the range I will meet some hunters who can give me some tips.

I'm primarily interested in the meat and learning a new skill.

I am looking for my first hunt as well, was hoping to find someone who hunts sam houston national forest to learn from.

I dont know about anyone else but these guys are the ladt people i wanna see with a gun in the forest lol lets hope they took and passed the hunters ed class!

Seems to me like no one has adressed the most important (to me at least) issue here. OP hunting for meat is admirable. It can be expensive unless you can hook up with a friend or family member that will let you hunt their lease. It still won't be as cheap as grocery store meat. The most important thing to know is, you can't just go out in the woods wtih a hunting license and a gun and expect to kill a deer. For one, it's very dangerous to be a complete beginner and just "wing" it. You have to take a hunter's safety course! It takes years of hunting with those more experienced than ourselves to be able to walk out into the woods and hunt safely, much less see, stalk, and kill a deer. Most of us have the advantage to have been doing it from the time we were young children. But at this point my 8 year old is more experienced than you and I won't allow her to even shoot a deer yet. I am not by any means trying to turn you away from the sport but I think you should look into an all inclusive guided hunt for your first time. You can get a doe hunt for a reasonable fee and they will take you out, sit you in a stand, tell you what to shoot and even clean your deer for you. Then, if you enjoy it, as your experience level grows, then and only then would you be ready to be turned loose on public land and have at it. JMO

TxHunter25 Was this to include myself?

I didn't take my HSC... would you hunt the same woods with me? I think the guys don't have someone to take them. 25 years ago he would have showed up green as an apple wanting to hunt. Atleast he's going to the range practicing instead of waiting till the deer is under the feeder to make sure his gun is on!

Thank you for the backup, I was a little disappointed that my first post was asking for help and I felt like I was being stepped on. And incase some people are still questioning me just because I'm new to the sport, I am very competent, disciplined and safe. I will have completed an HSC and be compliant with all laws before ever setting foot in a forest with the intent to hunt. I got my firearms competency however in my 8 years of military service including two combat tours in iraq, I also have been hiking and backpacking since I was a child, extremely competent with a map and compass being it is important to know in the infantry. And as for my marksmanship I didn't just run out and buy a rifle I have had it a few years and zero regularly with .308 win 168 gr hornady sst, with nosler tips. I also have knowledge in field dressing and tracking, I just havnt had the chance to put it to use, which is why I was asking if someone more experienced didn't mind me tagging along and learning. Sorry I know I talk a lot but I felt I had to explain myself.

I will tell you what. You seem like you really are sincere in wanting to learn and participate in this great hobby. Send me a PM, lets talk about a few things, and maybe I can take you out to my place and teach you a few things, show you the ropes, and let you take one of the does and/or some of the many many hogs we have out there. It would be a great way to learn, and get some real field experience under your belt. You would be with an experienced hunter, and if its your first year hunting, you can get an exemption for your first on the HSC. I always want to encourage those who have never hunted before, and I see no reason for this case to be any different. Of course you would have to travel north a bit.
I am glad your interested in hunting, and although I don't really believe the payoff for the meat only will be worth it to you, I do feel that once you have been in the field and have been bitten by the hunting bug, you will never want to stop.

hunt other states....come out cheaper and limits are liberal in most cases...get to enjoy the experience of hunting in other environments...LA(6 deer),AR(6 deer),TN(no doe limit in certain zones).....1 tank trips,max of 7 hour drive so,something to think about

If you already have land, a gun, and the equipment to process then yes it's practical.
Otherwise not even close to practical.

Matthew, this post was not directed towards you but to ASUS. I in no way meant any offense. The OP came off as inexperienced. By all means get involved any way you can. I wouldn't want anyone who had never hunted before and wasn't very familiar with firearms just walking out into the middle of national forest to try and kill a deer. I am not saying that I wouldn't hunt with anyone who didn't have a hunters safety. I hunt with people all the time who don't have one. But if I'm hunting a high traffic area like the national forest around my place on opening weekend, inexperienced hunters scare the bejesus out of me! Matthew welcome to the sport and good luck to you

Asus: its all relative! If you never hunted before, start out getting a cheap $250 rifle scope package they are out there, not fancy rigs, good time to purchase is after hunting season is over, hr in TX Feb time frame, or before Tax season when those who cannot control they're spending sell all the toys they own! Then once you get hooked, you may get into reloading like i did, started back in 79, now i load 14 calibers, shot only 3 regularly today!
So it can be a habit hard to break! Some people are never cut out to go hunting, getting out of bed and starting coffee over a campfire, bacon cooking, biscuits in the dutchoven on a cold winter morning with a nice couple does or bucks hanging in the tree is the catsmeow in my book!

my 5cents worth!

gud luck!