How does it work like for example if I wanted to hunt around sam houston state park or national park in huntsville. Are there certain days you show up and meet somewhere, have a meeting go out at the same time? Or do you check in drive around and get out start humping it? If so can you usually camp and get a good hunting spot in the morning? I know about there is usually special permits and all that and requriments like orange stuff. Do you take blinds out there? Feeders? Just need some knowlegde on this stuff. Then there was info about checking deer during certain days after field cleaning. Is there different kinds of public hunting like walk in or drawn if so whats the difference and which is better/more successfull/less of a pain?

The national forests are different from the state lands. The state lands are usually by lot only and it's probably too late to get your name in for this season. If you are selected you show up on the date specified and very often you hunt from stands but no feeders. Some of these places have good success percentages, some not.

On the national forests, you buy a yearly permit in addition to your regular license. I think it is $41 extra. This allows you to hunt all season long (actually all year long), any time you want (except at night). Absolutely no feeders or baiting or permanent stands. It's tough hunting, and deer densities are low.

How can you maximize saftey from other hunters. That is my biggest fear is getting shot by some douche hearing noise in the bush. Orange or no orange I still think some morons will shoot. When you look at a map do you try to find a hard to reach place near maybe water or creeks? Do you usually take a temp blind or portable tree stand? When walking through the woods maybe on trail maybe not is there any common thing to do to let poeple know you are passing through(human) maybe whistle softly? What is the common approach if you are sitting watching a creek or pond and you see another hunter maybe close maybe far taking aim on the same spot you are hunting on?

I HUNT IN THE NF AND I NEVER SEE ANYONE OUT THERE .I USE ORANGE ALL THE TIMES WHEN I GO OUT THERE.BUT I DO HEAR GUN SHOTS LIKE A WAR GOING ON OPEN SEASON IM GESING THATS HUNTERS THAT DIDNOT SHOOT ANYTING AND THERE PISS. MAKE ME MAD CUSE THERE SCARING MY DEER SO SAVE YOUR AMMO AND HUNT LATER MABY YOU GET LUKY

everything you hear about hunting in ths national forest is a myth, nobody has been shot in a texas national forest in 10 or more years and that was because the guys wernt wearing orange. furthermore, i hunt the sam houston national forest and successfully harvest 2 deer a year and have never killed a buck less than a 6 point, yes opening day you do see alote of people in the new waverly section of the forest but big deer are harvested every year in that part of the woods. i have buddies that walk 30 yards of the side of the road and get deer all the time. some of them hunt woodpecker flats, which i have a friend that took down a monster 11 point in coldsprings scored 160 b&c last year. me personally i hunt at least a mile or so into the woods. blinds are a bad idea in the national forest cause nobody can see your orange and will walk right up on you and potentually ruin your hunt. i like to jack up into a tree 15 ft. with a climbing stand and i use a deer call.

Yes, the vast majority of hunting accidents occur on private land where hunters are probably more likely to drop their guard.

I would like to correct something said earlier. A public land hunting permit IS NOT always required to hunt National Forest land. While all of the Sam Houston NF is considered Type II, most of the Davey Crockett NF is not. Only the Alabama Creek WMA in the DC requires a Type II permit. All you need to hunt the rest of the DC is a hunting license.

Were is the Davey Crockett NF located?

outside of crockett....i hunted there a couple times and never saw anybody...usually people park whatever they are on at the beginning of the trail they are hunting at...just dont go where you know other people are near

x2
I've hunted the Sam Houston National Forest on and off for almost 30 years, and feel as safe or safer than on some of the leases I've been on. Just use your head, and you will be fine.

How are you picking your spot? Lets say first time or trying new spot? I know about scouting around looking for signs of deer ,but I mean do you just try to get as far from everyone as possible? Would you look to set up somwhere close to lake conroe or a water source? Do they have any information or maps of areas with good food soources? Do you feel like sharing any good spots? I wont be hunting till probably the first real cold snap after opening day. Any advice on tools or techniques I could employ legally that will help my first time chances? Do the antlers have to be a certain length for be antlerless? Do small spikes count?

When I'm looking for a new spot, I key in on food sources. Around here, white oak acorns are the big draw. Find the trees, then find stands that are currently dropping. From there, I look for deer sign ( scat, tracks, rubs )to determine how the deer are traveling to and from the food source. It helps alot to know where they are bedding too. The bottom line is a lot of boot time.

Note: Deer eat a lot of different types of weeds, woody browse, ect., but acorns are their favorite when they are available. If there is none to be had, then I start looking for other food sources. I'm not so big on water sources because there are too many available, but that's a personal preference.

Another thing worth metioning is that if you can get there, so can other guys. Don't assume that most hunters will be 100 yards or less off the road - it just aint so. Hunt where the sign tells you that the deer are, not where you think no other hunters are at.

Anyway - good luck to you. If you hunt and kill a deer legally on public land, you've done something,IMHO.

I've always wanted to give the NF a try but with my luck I'd wind up getting lost on a scouting trip. Do hand-held GPS devices get signal in the forest or are they too thick-canopied to be able to get a signal?

Quit telling people were Davy Crockett is. There's no deer there.

There's no deer there. your

lol... anyone who drives down hwy 7 knows better than that.

I hunted public land for years, killed a few deer and had some good hunts. I also had some that weren't so good. People will bait even though it's illegal. They will hunt while drinking, drink while hunting and walk just any where messing up a good stand site. Then again I got one deer because some walking, drinking, talking too loud "hunters" jumped them up and ran them in front of me.