Deer hunting on public lands?

I've never been deer hunting on public lands. Is it worth my time? Any advice or words of wisdom?

Yes , it's worth it, if you're willing to put some leg work in. If you archery hunt PM me.

It's worth your time if you like being outdoors with the possibility of taking game. Every place is different. Lots of public land in Texas, mostly east. Your question comes up often. There are many threads on THF regarding public hunting. Get out and enjoy the outdoors!

Some good deer on public land.

Anybody here done Caddo National Grasslands or Ladonia? Those are the two I'm looking at.

There are deer there. Lots of hunters at certain times. I've been there before. Great area for camping. If you see a deer, that's icing on the cake

Hunters often focus on the same areas, especially when camping is only allowed on or near those areas. If you don't mind driving, or if you can find private land to camp or hunt that's near public land that's also off the beaten path, you may find yourself the only person hunting it.

Be ready to do plenty of walking but it can be worth it.

Oh, I don't mind. That's all good news, I'm glad to hear its not out of reach to hunt without a $3-$5k lease.

Sent you a PM - I've hunted it quite a few times.

In my opinion, it is more fun to hunt on public land. Because, it has more challenge and more unpredictable.

If you hunt at a true "public" land, which is opened to a large group of hunters for the whole season, you may have to compete with other hunters as well. This may be more difficult than chasing the game. You may have to hunt at a spot that not many people can reach, this always means more hard works for you; or hunt when most others cannot hunt, i.e. weekday.

Any particular location you want to give out

This one was killed on public land last year about 400 yards from where I was hunting.

It is definitely worth it. The APH permit is only $48 annually. There is a lot of public land here in Texas. Be prepared to do your share of scouting, and be willing to go where others aren't in order to increase your odds. I've been bow hunting the SHNF for the last 2 seasons, and have had pretty good success. Good luck.

Just keep it in your head that successful deer hunting is a lot of work, year round. If you don't hunt a lease or private land, you still have to put in work days scouting and researching. It gets easier as the years go by because you build up a list of places to go and when. You still have to keep scouting and looking for more places because things change. Over the years, some of my most productive clearcuts and burned areas have grown up and are no longer productive.
I'm headed out right now to scout a new spot to add to my list.

We have always had luck at least seeing game. Get the public hunting permit and go walking. You will see game.

Anyone on here hunt the bow hunting only APH land near Newton?

There are some huge public land bucks on the Aransas Wildlife Refuge. But, get a blood transfusion before you go...

Sure..all ya gotta do is ask. Won't even mention places someone can't access.

Leading up to turkey season this year I was scouting on the Caddo WMA outside Ladonia and came upon two adult deer and a juvenile watering at a tank. Also, land that is closest to the Sulphur River showed lots of deer tracks. So they're there. I haven't been out there during deer season; I'm guessing that weekends can be crowded. When I went during turkey season I only ever saw one other hunter and that was on a weekend.