Sam Houston National Forest

Planning a trip there in a few weeks to do some bow hunting...never hunted there before. Planning on camping there also. Wondering how it is down there? Any tips or suggestions would be great. thanks in advance

do a search and you will find some info here.

Make sure you comply with all of the laws and know them. The game wardens are thick during deer season and they are not too forgiving on "not following the rules" so make sure you know your APH handbook.

Be careful of dead trees and dead branches especially during high wind or rain. Things are crashing down in that forest constantly!!!! Do not sit or stand under them!!!

Make long walks to hard to get areas away from people and you will do fine and hopefully get lucky with a 150.

Plenty of camping.

Watch out for sasquatch that is his main stomping grounds here in Texas!!

good luck!

PS Dont shoot sasquath if he looks like this guy!! That is just Bigfoot

Thanks Bigfoot. wish I had time to do some early scouting before I went but work gets in the way sometimes. I will definitely go deep away from people. any certain areas you recommend?

Hey Bigfoot- How many people should I expect on the first day?

I have never hunted deer so I do not know how busy it will be. I start hunting pigs a day or 2 after deer season is over and the game wardens are gone and I have the forest all to myself. I love that!!!!!!!!!!

Deer are everywhere but it would be hard for me to tell you where to go because everywhere should be decent and I have only hunted 1 area for pigs.

Without scouting you will have a hard time. If you do have a few days there I suggest you pick out just one area and spend the first day walking through that area and scouting then hunt the next few days. So far I have picked out one area and I have spent all of my time in it so I feel comfortable there because I see the deer in the same places all the time and pigs in the same places all the time.

i have seen deer every day I spent in the forest so there are plenty but last year was my first year to hunt and first year in the forest so I am a rookie.

I am very surprised that more people have not chimed in willing to help others out. This forum doesnt seem to have a lot of people willing to help or talk about the area

Hey Bigfoot how often do you go to the forest. I've never been public hunting am just in for hogs hows the terrain is it only archery.

I'm going to be down here around middle of October. want to arrive on a Thursday and thru the weekend. Still trying where abouts I want to camp and hunt. I plan on bring my climbing stand to hunt out of also. I kind of know the area by just driving thru traveling for work but have never ventured off the highway really. Also I always see lots off deer on the side of 45 running north out of Houston. I'm always willing to hunt anywhere once

Last year I spent about 2 full weeks in the SHNF from January till late March. Any legal firearms are allowed in the SHNF except the areas marked ARCHERY ONLY in your APH handbook

Terrain is semi-rough. Some areas thicker than others of course. Lots of dead trees and thick areas but also lots of logging roads to get close to your area before walking in the forest. My strategy is to walk 1-2 miles down a logging road before I enter the forest.

Nice thanks i will make a solo trip after deer season is done

For pigs go to the bottom lands along the major creeks. I never hunted in the early morning but I probably should have and will this year. I only saw pigs on one occasion during the day ( I had a perfect shot at 125 yards and my heart was beating so fast from excitement that I missed) and my other sightings were almost always in the last 45 minutes of daylight when they were moving. Not sure where they were going but they always came from South to North and along the same areas so what I would do is set up according to the wind where I can intercept them as they travel thru and get a shot.

I almost always saw deer in the same areas (does) on my way down to the bottom lands so this year I may go hunt the rut and hopefully get lucky. I have never shot a deer before so I am excited about trying it this November and seeing what happens.

the coolest thing that happened to me was having a doe and 2 fawns come up within 8-10 yards of me and they never spooked. They just walked right past me and it was amazing! Almost as exciting as the hunt itself.

When you say bottom lands do you mean close to the lake? Or do you mean north side? I went out Saturday and it was not crowded which I thought was great but I didnt see much of anything either. the area I went to was closer to the lake which was heading down hill- but then I was thinking maybe the deer wouldn't be down that area as much cause they could be trapped. But I might be over thinking it..

Just take this advice with a grain of salt since I am a professional fishing guide and not a professional or experienced hunter by any means. If you ask me about fishing I have confidence in what I am telling you but when it comes to hunting I just started last year so my experience is very little.

Last winter I spent my first 2 days exploring around the lake and I didnt see much at all in tracks or signs(saw some but not a lot) and it was really thick so I decided to make a move up to the Stubblefield Rec area and walk the Trinity river fork and its feeder creeks and thats where I have stayed. Just like a fishing report I cant give you exact gps coordinates or the roads I am traveling. You have to spend the time like I did to look around. I feel those 2-3 days I spent exploring that area gave me an invaluable learning experience because I really learned the lay of the land. I saw tons of tracks and deer and a few hogs but I only heard 1 sasquatch call. Probably a human but you never know!! go to mytopo.com and you can print off topo maps of that area or any area you want to explore. Typically the hogs signs and hogs were in 250-275 ft of elevation or less. Basically in the lowest elevation areas.

I hope this helps!

twas that bout one-fifth-ty-tree sat. ya hear a loud thud just before de howl. fell asleep in me stand again. had one of them thar fancy 12ft safty straps, but miscalculated & me stand twas only 11.5

[/quote]

twas that bout one-fifth-ty-tree sat. ya hear a loud thud just before de howl. fell asleep in me stand again. had one of them thar fancy 12ft safty straps, but miscalculated & me stand twas only 11.5 [/quote]

LMAO

Next time Colt I will know it is you and not bigfoot. Just keep whooping and I will come get you out of that harness but if your head be split wide open I aint carryin ya back threw those woods 2 miles back to the truck. Your gonna have to live with bigfoot and let him heal you up with some secret herbal medicine only found in them thar woulds!!!

Did a lot of work around new waverly in the national forest by the lake a couple years ago and actually flew it in a helicopter. Only deer we saw was off the beaten path a ways. Good luck.

twas that bout one-fifth-ty-tree sat. ya hear a loud thud just before de howl. fell asleep in me stand again. had one of them thar fancy 12ft safty straps, but miscalculated & me stand twas only 11.5 [/quote]

LMAO

Next time Colt I will know it is you and not bigfoot. Just keep whooping and I will come get you out of that harness but if your head be split wide open I aint carryin ya back threw those woods 2 miles back to the truck. Your gonna have to live with bigfoot and let him heal you up with some secret herbal medicine only found in them thar woulds!!! [/quote]

That is what I was looking for! Thanks!

Anyone on this forum hunting the forest and any pics of any deer downed by bow?

Sure would be nice if guys would get more involved in a SHNF thread like they do on texasbowhunter

Anyone Bueller Bueller?

I was drawn for a antlerless permit for gun season. Have been thinking about hunting around the coldsprings area. Planning on taking a archery trip in 2 weeks for hunting an scouting.

I should have applied for one but wasnt sure if I was going to actually hunt a whitetail. But I have hunting fever and will be in the forest during that first or second week of opening season during the weekdays of course.

Doubt I will even get a shot at a buck but you never know. Getting it out of the forest is going to be the hard part that is for sure.

I hear the buck to doe ratio is way out of whack in the SHNF so I really wish I would have applied for a doe tag

I was selected for a doe tag, but not sure what part of the forest I will try, hoping for a couple of scouting trips before season opens. Any suggestions on where to try?

have enjoyed & have many great memmories hunting WMA tried ta get a muzzy hog hunt together last year on OSBWMA, people think i'm can't blame-em best wishes ta all, safe hunting

When I started walking the pipelines is when I finally found what I was looking for so I suggest to start there and be ready to do a lot of walking.

Walking those pipelines will allow you to look for tracks and get back in to hard to reach areas without just heading off in to the woods.

look for gametrails and most of all Oak trees!

If you do not know how to recognize oaks I suggest you study them before you go.

So, anyone know what the park road situations are like during rifle season? Do they close down the roads? Is there a place online that tells you what roads are open?

hey bigfoot where is your fishing guide service at? Got a link?

I'm a newbie to hunting WMAs but plan on giving some of them a try this year. anybody ever done any duck hunting in SHNF?

Galveston Bay of course! galvestoninshorefishing.com

nothing against SHNF, have U tried lake Cooper, lake Tawakinee they little closer & have seen ducks on both

THE FIRST FEW DUCKS HAVE STARTED TO ARRIVE. SAW A FEW FLOCKS IN UPPER GALV BAY TODAY. FALL IS ON ITS WAY AND GREAT FISHING OF COURSE. FUNNY HOW THE BAYS KIND OF CLEAR OUT OF PEOPLE DURING THE BEST SEASON OF THE YEAR BECAUSE ALL THE HUNTERS ARE IN THE WOODS. I GUESS THAT IS WHY I HAVE NEVER HUNTED BEFORE. THE FISHING IS JUST TOO DARN GOOD IN NOVEMBER.

SORRY i KNOW NOTHING ABOUT DUCK HUNTING OR WHERE TO GO SO NOT TRYING TO HIJACK THE THREAD.

JUST KEEPING IT GOING

shhh, lower your typing your scaring away the ducks. ps, U need some one ta ride shotgun on your boat, sounds like U seeing more ducks than here

tHEY ARE MOSTLY THOSE SMALL BLACK DUCKS THAT EVERYONE HATES. I FORGET THEIR NAMES. COOTS OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT

WE ACTUALLY HAD ONE FOLLOWING THE BOAT ON SATURDAY. IT WAS BLOWING 25 MPH DOWN IN GALV AND THIS DUCK JUST STAYED RIGHT BEHIND THE BOAT WITHIN 4 TO 5 YARDS. I TRIED FEEDING HIM SOME SHRIMP BUT HE DIDNT WANT IT. JUST FOLLOWED US FOR ABOUT 15 MINUTES. I COULD HAVE SHOT HIM WITH MY 45 HE WAS SO CLOSE!!

Be careful that any pipelines or power lines aren't part of the main hiking trails. It is illegal to hunt within a 150 yards of a designated main hiking trail. The game wardens will gladly give you a financial encentive to not do it again if they catch you with a loaded gun on or near one of those trails or a road.
Get an official National Forest map and be careful where you hunt.

Good luck!

Well before you go, study these rules along with the rules in the APH book. It could save you a lot of money or even your hunting license.

http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5426745.pdf

So that link says there is a WMA and a general forest sections. Or did I read that wrong? just wondering if im only allowed to hunt the WMA sections APH book???? Or is can I hunt other places? sometimes wording on rules can be so sketchy

I'm going to give them a call tomorrow. I don't think any question I could ask would be a dumb one when I comes to me getting a ticket. Nobody likes those things!!

Your APH handbook shows the huntable sections by shading them. If it isnt shaded it isnt huntable . Should be fairly straight forward. But it never hurts to ask the wardens and rangers about rules.

I think he meant that hunting the pipeline is a no-no unless you are at least 150 yards off of it and that is true. The pipeline is like a trail for hikers so it is not huntable but it gets you back in the woods quickly before walking in the woods. That was my actual meaning.

Got ya!!

if ya sit on or close ta trails for people moving in & out of de woods, ya may see more people, dan wildlife. & most of sign ya may see tis done at night, yes thar tis exceptions. best wishes

I agree about the animals being on the pipelines at night. But you can definitely find areas that hold game and areas that dont. Lots of tracks and you are in the right area. No tracks and no game. I have never seen any animals on the pipelines in daylight hours and I have spent a lot of time on them. But it definitely showed me areas that I needed to explore and not explore.

You can hunt the general forest and the WMA sections both. It's just the rules change depending on where you are. You also need to buy the $48 Annual Public Hunting Permit to hunt the WMA sections, but not the general forest.
It can be confusing. That's why it's very important to know the rules for both, and to know where you are while hunting. The best thing to do at first, is pick an area and just get to know the rules in that area. As the years go by, you expand the areas you hunt and get to know the rules as you go.

I think this is really good advice!

getting itchy!!! 3 more weeks and it will be blasting time. Reading the posts on TX bowhunter it looks like the deer are moving at night right now with all of this heat. Ought to be cooler by November and hopefully I will have my new stock for my rifle in time.

Anybody know how crowded it typically is during the first week during the weekdays?

Maybe if I quit thinking about it the time will fly by! But I doubt it!

here before de fullmoon hit deer were moving sprodic, one day had buck doe in morning, then a fawn just outa spots hitting min, lick round noon, then doe later in evening. just gotta be out thar. best wishes

Too hot to be out there with too many snakes and skeeters and tics. I will wait till its nice and cool and then go for a few days at a time huntin and campin!!! Then fishin on the weekends!

U had chance ta get down ta SHNF any luck.

You have to go to texas bowhunter to get up to date and current info on what is going on in the SAM. I am still waiting on the skeets and chiggers to disappear before heading in the forest. But I am getting an itchy trigger finger.

they quiet bout public hunting here on THF gives ya de culd shoulder tried ta get a muzzy hunt going last year. silence, can understand their point of view. hope ya see some deer down at uncle Sam's Tip me hat ta the bowhunters have enjoyed many a hours at OSBWMA during archery hunts. wish twas thar now.. cooler weather setting in things be moving

May have to just do a pig hunt/deer scouting session with this nice weather. Still having problems though getting my rifle sighted in with my new scope. AArrgghh!! I guess I could use my very accurate AR which is my secondary pig huntin gun but I would rather use a 308. Oh well I guess the fun of having guns is figuring out whats makes them shoot better or worse. I am ready to just get out in dem dar woulds you be always talkin about in yer backyerd colt!! Hope i be seein ye thar sometime!

tis wee bit furder north than uncle Sam's that ya catch me wondering about the woods. OSBWMA. switch cain, palmedda's. it been thinned out, still think theirs some close ta the 300# size, didn't pull trigger on last one seen. twas bad day, me pard like ta make me walk home, he big enough ta carry me & hog out. lot of great memmories . weather here has cooled. did get hit by one mosketoe taday. U ever show up round here, would be my pleasure ta go on hunt. have taken several hogs with piierete AR-15 .223 keep shot close range. if ever get money, always wanted ta do off shore fishing. best wishes

Just got back from a scouting trip this past Sunday to SHNF area around Phelps and Four Notch RD, all i can say is WOW it is THICK and most of the roads dont have a marker of any kind. Thank goodness i had a GPS cause it is a hard area to scout. Did see a small 6 pt with two does and a lone yearling while driving around. Having never been to the area, cant tell you how invaluable scouting was to get the lay of the land. Got lucky and scored an antler-less/doe permit for rifle this year and want to make the most of it, so if anyone is willing to share info; send some my way. I will be going back in a couple weeks and will provide info as i can. On a side note for Bigfoot, hiked all around for about 5 hrs in the woods without bug spray and only got 3 mosquito bits and not one chigger!

ta THF best wishes

It is thick this time of year I am sure. I stopped hunting for hogs around early April. Everything was in full bloom and no more shooting lanes and it made it tough to hunt. So the season was done for me until hopefully this December then maybe get a few days in if we lose some of these leaves a bit quicker. Too busy to hunt with this nice weather now.

hey guys never had the chance to get down to SHNF and hunt. That thing called my job always gets in the way. But I did get a doe tag so I will be making a trip sometime this year just not sure when yet. Lets keep this thread going with any updates or pic from Big Sam. Happy hunting everyone!!!!

safe Hunten

How crowded does it get during gun/deer season? If you hike back "in there" can you pretty much be by yourself? Anyone camp while hunting there?

you cannot camp in hunting areas... designated camping sites. no idea on the crowds. if you plan on hunting SHNF, i cant express to you how important it is to get a GPS and scout the roads ahead of time as most the area i went to did not have any road signs

MR2david, I think you need to go over to TexasBowHunters & read the thread on camping in Sam. I think you are now allowed to camp ANYWHERE in the forest you want to camp, including in designated hunting areas.

Here's a link: http://discussions.texasbowhunter.com/forums/showthread.php?t=390824&page=72

If you read through that post it talks about a previous federal law that prohibited camping in hunting areas has now expired...

During deer season you are only allowed to camp in designated spots. Plenty of camping areas available for you close to your hunting area also. I have never hunted during deer season but the prior threads say that the weekend is typically crowded especially opening weekend but weekdays aren't too bad. Plenty of forest for everyone to spread out a little for sure. Good luck!

Bigfoot, again, please read the post.. You can legally camp ANYWHERE in Sam Houston during deer season (if I am reading correctly & understand what has been posted thus far).

If anyone has spoken to a Game Warden or Park Ranger that has given them different information, I'd love to hear it.. Otherwise, people ARE ALREADY camping in previously designated non-camping-during-deer-season areas.

I only came back to let you guys know I shot a pig last night in Sam! Whoo-hooo! Not the deer I was after but I was just as happy as if it had been a deer.

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/hunt/wma/find_a_wma/list/?id=30&activity=camping
"Users may not camp or build a fire anywhere other than in a designated campsite."
"Camping is allowed anywhere except during hunting season, gun and archery, then all users are required to camp in designated camping areas."

An excerpt taken directly from the post I linked above; "Yep, that order was in effect last year but has expired as of Feb. 01, 2014. Now anyone can camp anywhere they want. Right in the middle of your hunting spot!!!!"

Apparently there was a federal mandate in place previously but that law/rule/mandate has expired. Maybe SHNF is exempt from this.. Maybe the person who posted that had no clue what they were talking about. I'll back off my previous statement and say it's better to be safe than sorry and just camp in the designated areas only during hunting season.

on hog. they may be misinformed. Their is a reason for desiignated camping area's . SAFTY .

According to the APH

"Camping is restricted to developed campgrounds only from one day prior to the start of Archery season to one day after the general season."


Where is the pic on your pig???

I have the pic on my phone & will try and get it uploaded.

I posted a topic to try and get my question resolved, but nobody really replied with an answer. I am new to Texas, and want to go whitetail Deer Hunting with a rifle (Don't have a shotgun right now. Will get one for next year). I did the research, know what I need, where I can hunt, but the Means is a little confusing. For example, The Caddo Grasslands. The APH booklet says that any legal firearm is available for deer, but their website says only shotgun and muzzle loaders.

The Sam Houston says any legal firearm as well, and i could not find anything otherwise, but wanted to find out from some regulars to that area before I take the time off work, and the 2 1/2 hour trek there. Any other spots you can hunt whitetails with a rifle that are close to DFW would be greatly appreciated.

I am from Michigan, and only had to travel 2 minutes to the nearest public hunting land. I need to get back out there!

you can hunt Caddo with a rifle.

The amount of public hunting lands open to the public in Texas is pathetic.

Yes the SAM is legal for rifles. Hogs deer whatever you want.

It is very crowded on the weekends but if you put your time in you should be able to harvest some meat

don't have this years book, in past years it is Legal ta hunt with rifle on SHNF. not sure were last years book is, found one for 1999-2000 season it has a phone number for area 409-344-6205 it may have changed. best wishes

been fighten with android, slow typer. one post gone missing. thought ya could use rifle, they change. Unit #120 is were took son on first over night hunt. Think it was 18,000 + acres rifle hunts. it gone missing. theirs several others. OSBWMA is archery only except draw hunts. that brings up deer population. seen great improvements in number of deer. Tis proud supporter of WMA for $48.00 permit ya can't beat price. best wishes

Thankfully the order was reinstated. Camping is in designated areas only.

U get chance ta hit SHNF. any luck

I have been working fairly steadily throughout November so I havent had a chance to get to the SAM but I think I am going to head up there in the morning and do some hiking/hunting.

Hope to shoot a pig but if I get lucky enough to see a nice buck I am sure I may have to think about it hard.

Looks like this little bit of rain ought to help with fresh tracks and quiet stalking conditions.

Finally get to go!!!

best wishes

Finally got a chance to go be one with nature and it was a really nice day. Got there late Thursday morning about 8 AM and wasnt really interested in looking for deer. I am a pig hunter and so that is what I was after. Made myself a nice little ground blind and sat down in the bottomlands at 10:30 I heard a shot to my NW and then at 10:35 I heard another shot that was much closer to me. The only other shot I heard was at 5:30 PM. Didnt hear or see any animals after a few hours and picked up and went to a spot where I had seen deer in the past and didnt see much there also. 3rd spot I had a beautiful young doe walk out in front of me and she never saw me and I thought for sure Mr Buck would be on her tail. But it wasnt meant to be and it was awesome just having the chance to see that doe at 50-60 yards.

I did find a few nice scrapes that I should have taken a pic of.

Never saw any tracks of pigs or pig signs. May have to move locations and go look for pig activity elsewhere.

cool read. think its archery deer & hog going on at OSBWMA. i've sat for days off ATV trails in climber stand over place were hogs tore it up big time. edge of thick stuff. may see few on the move out of bow range. think most was done at night. best wishes

I hunted there for several years. It's tough, more so for deer than hogs. Lots of hogs, but getting in contact with them isn't so easy as they move around. I put up my game cam a lot on creek crossings and generally, hogs would move through only about once every three days, so if you are willing to come out for 3-4 days straight you'll probably have success. I also found they moved a lot between 9 and 11 AM, coming out of the non-forest fields to lay up for the day in the forest.

Really, the NF isn't for someone who has just a few days at their disposal, which is why the most successful hunters are the ones who live near by.

Except for the first two weekends of deer season, you'll have the place mostly to yourself.

On thursday there were 3 other hunters in my area but I only saw one other hunter as he was walking out.

Cant wait for deer season to be over so I can get in there to do some pig hunting. Definitely need to explore a new area this year for hogs.

Just got back from New Orleans last night and had a day off so I decided to head to the SAM to see if I could make it happen. Really hoping to see pigs but instead I went over to the area where I've seen deer a few times in the past since it is still deer season. I Set up looking down on a draw where I have decent visibility. I am not even there an hour when I hear something running at me from the rear, of course. I look over my right shoulder and I see movement and as soon as I looked left on the other side of the tree I was sitting against all I saw was a whitetail just cruising. Couldnt tell if it was a doe or a buck all I saw was the tail but it was close at about 50 yards. Probably a doe since I have yet to see a buck out there. It was haulin a$$! 5 minutes later but 200 yards down in front of me in the draw I am above and looking down in to a hunter goes walking by. So I am guessing that deer was pushed past me by that guy since it was on a dead run.

Lots of hunters out today and I did hear 1 shot fairly close to me about 4:10 pm. Watched a coon come down out of his nest up in a tree and mill around me for awhile. Great day in the woods and it definitely got my blood pumping at least for a minute or two.

Definitely need to find some pigs!

Was lucky enough to be able to go hunt all day long on Tuesday. Way too many hunters and pressure over near Stubblefield rec area so I decided to try a new area. Found some areas that looked "piggy" on the topo map and headed over to the East side of the forest to go check them out. Man did I get lucky. As I am walking down my first pipeline of the morning about 1/2 mile in I come across obvious signs of pig activity.

SO here it is 7:30 AM and I have already found a great spot. Followed the trails in about 150 to 200 yards and found more areas where they were rooting up the ground. Hunkered down till about 10 AM in that spot with no signs of pigs and went off looking for more areas. Drove around and hit a few more spots but couldnt find what I was looking for so went back to the spot I found that morning about 4 pm and hunkered down till the last few minutes of shooting time and headed in. No I didnt shoot anything but it sure felt good to go explore a totally new area and find exactly what I was looking for. Very positive and educational day in the field. Cant wait to hunt it on another wind direction and hit this area hard over the next few weeks.

Anyone seeing woodcock out there?

Wouldnt know if I did see one but I rarely see birds. Vultures are the #1 species out there it seems.

This might be my favorite thing about public hunting.

I went out yesterday morning looking for some hogs. I arrived at my spot around 7:00 A.M. , there was no one in sight as the day was calling for cold weather with an 80% chance of rain. The rain hit pretty heavy at 8:30 and stayed consistent all day, I was stalking and miserable! I heard a total of 7 shots fired within 400 yards of me, so someone was getting lucky! I only saw 4 small squirrel and heard a ton of commotion near a creek bed, never could find out what it was though. On my way out, I managed to catch 4 trees branches with head! Be careful when you are out there, several dead trees and limbs falling everywhere!

colder weather hits should see more hog movement. warmer weather they close ta water, shady thick areas. hunters around the public land will put preasure on hogs at night. public land at night hogs get alittle break. best wishes

Once deer season is over and the woods are void of hunters the pigs should get a little more comfortable and move around more during the day.

But I am going to hope that is not the case since I will be hunting the SAM for the next few days.

Shooting times are 6:44 AM to 6:01 PM

So I plan to be in the woods and in the hot area setup and ready before 6AM that is if I dont scare them out of there on my way in. Gonna be cold that is for sure!!!! I am excited to get it on !

Ill be out there again all day on wednesday, I'll give another report then as well. Good luck Bigfoot!

cooler weather they dont use the wallows quit as much. usualy ta keep ticks, fleas, chiggers & such off & ta keep cool in warmer weather. trees rootted up by high winds, good water sorce. liked yur best wishes

best wishes Tx. Edit: ta THF

Thank you Colt! I'm ready!

Anyone see any wood ducks in any creeks?

Arrived Monday about 2PM and set up camp. After setting up went to a new area that looked good on the map. Did a 2 hour recon and didnt find too much except this weird tree structure. No tracks just a few minor game trails. Only had a limited time so didnt cover much area.




Yesterday morning hit the spot I found last week before sun up and saw tons of tracks and signs again but they just werent moving during the day at all. I spent all day in that area moving twice going farther up in the woods. NADA! Boring day no sign of anything.

Feeling discouraged and cold this morning I decided to sleep in and just hit another new area hard. Boy am I glad I did. I dont know how I stumbled in to this area but I just got lucky. I head off the trail and start walking thru this really heavy thick stuff and after about 40 yards it opened up to an area all rooted up and loaded with fresh pig tracks everywhere and you can tell it is a major game trail. So I find 2 or 3 perfectly turned over trees that make absolutely perfect ground blinds and make good use of one of them as absolutely perfect cover.




I am only 400 yards off the trail now and find a perfect spot sitting in the wind. After about 2 hours here it comes I can hear something coming at me. It is a Doe hauling a$$ again right down the middle of the game trail. This deer was being chased. So I got in to a kneeled shooting position to see if a buck was on her tail when all of a sudden 3 dogs come tearing thru the trail after the deer. Hindsight being 20/20 I should have stepped out and scared the crap out of those dogs and stopped em from chasing that doe. I will next time. But it was too fast to think with them running full speed and this being the first time I faced this situation. Next a straggler dog comes by and then another. Evidently this was a pack of wild dogs running around. Glad I was carrying my AR just in case I had to euthanize a few dogs in self defense. Again no shots fired today but finding new spots that will pay off in the future is a bonus. Especially hard to find spots that have perfect natural ground blinds set up for every direction it seemed like. Another great few days in the SAM hoping to get back on Sunday if I dont have to work for the final day of deer season.

I think these hogs are nocturnal now and hopefully with the end of deer season we will slow the pressure down and get them moving around more during the day. I cant wait to get out to my new area again. At least I had some thing happen today that got my blood pumping! The pigs are there they just need to come out during the day!!




Today made the trip worthwhile finding an even better area than I thought I had before. Last year I spent all of my time at Stubblefield rec area and saw a few hogs but it looks like this year I am going to learn a new area. So far I am much more impressed with the Big Creek scenic area with what seems like easier to find hoggin areas.

BigHen, I have yet to see any wood ducks in the few creeks that I have crossed.

Bigfoot, you're reviews of the trips are truly awesome! Thank you! I have scouted the stubble field area as well, and have since found a new area. The area I found has multiple signs of rubbing, tracks and really tight trails that the hogs are running. I just have yet to see one! While I was out yesterday two heart pumping events happened to me. One, I found a weird tree structure like the one you posted a picture of. I stood up on the thing for 4 hours, kind of like a poor mans tree stand, haha. I had a great view of about 150 yds and could see over all the thick brush. A doe walked out with a nice sized buck following right behind her, sure wish I was drawn this year! Shortly after that, my anxiety was high and I had to start tracking, I went into the thickest, tightest hog trail that I found that day and went directly into it. I stirred up about 5 hogs and they went shooting out about 10 feet from me, never could get a clean shot, but I know where theyre at now! I tried to follow the direction they went but never could find them. Hoping that my third visit to this area will pay off now. Next time I am out, I will take some pictures and hopefully I can produce a nice review like Bigfoot one day.

think ya just did. both great reads. tis amazing what proper english can do. gots me all fired up ta hit OSBWMA. i like ta take pen & pocket note pad, write grid cordenance, time seen animals, scrapes, rubs, wallows, bedding, sheds & such. keep your head held high & your powder dry

them thars the clasic signs of sasquatch boundry markings. did i ever tells ya bouts the squash beds came apone & the squash poop. cooler weather setting in. got videos of hogs bedding around fallen trees, one video were sneaked up on em, & scared de crap out of some sleepen. pic's bring back great memmories. have ta post video.

Just trying to make this a constant thread where reports and updates can be posted for others trying to make sense of how to hunt the forest and learn as I learn myself. Listing major areas is not giving away spots so I dont mind listing the basic area I am in. Reading reports and seeing pics is kind of my way of bringing everyone out there with me. One of these days soon I am coming home with a pig. They are going to stay bedded during the days until the pressure in the woods slows down and hopefully they will start moving around a little. Otherwise staying until the last minute of shooting hours will be your best bet. AT stubblefield I only saw hogs in the middle of the day once. My other sightings were always that last 15 minutes of shooting time when it is basically too dark to shoot in the forest.
I assume it is totally legal to use your hunting green light on Public Lands? Or would that be considered spotlighting and illegal? Anyone know for sure.

good report TXdiesel keep em coming!

Your not going to shoot anyting settin on da coach playin wit yo android get on out der an hunt sumptin up for us and take a pic wit dat der android of yourn and show us wat kind o hawgs de got up der way up north almost in yankeeland

hope you saved enuf bullets to go shoot up a fewen this winter and enjoy yourself in this New Year.

I'm right there with you Bigfoot. I'm in conroe, so it's just a 30 minute drive for me. I don't know why I didn't start hunting the area sooner. I lived here for 5 years and have always just looked over it. Oh well, I'll be heading out there on the 10th and will provide another recap, hopefully with some hog pictures this time!

will dosy best eyes cans. Happy New Year

If I lived in Conroe I would be in those woods daily!!LOL I am coming from league City and if go at the right time then I can make it in an hour and 10 minutes. That is an improvement over stubblefield which was about an hour and a half so I am happy about that.

Keep in mind there are bird hunters running dogs thru out January. I am one of them. Been waiting until deer season to end so my dogs don't get shot. Please don't shoot our dogs

I hope you wouldnt allow your dogs to chase a doe because a lot of people will shoot your dogs for that.

DOnt worry I am not shooting any dogs unless it is in self defense. I would think there are some legal issues possibly involved also with shooting a domestic animal anyways.

I assume if you have dogs out there they will be wearing collars and wont be chasing deer so your dogs should be safe to the ethical hunter at least.

I was hoping that the less pressure and cold rainy weather would get a few pigs moving during the day or even at twilight but it was not a successful pig hunt. If I had my .22 I could have taken several squirrels as they chased each other and ran around me in the trees all day long.

Got out there about noon and took my time heading in to my spot looking for fresh tracks from todays rain. Only found what I think where a few coon tracks. Got down in to the bottomlands and it was nothing but mud and standing water. I was hoping to go farther in to the woods and explore today but it was just too muddy. I got in to my "ground blind" about 12:45 and decided I was just going to wait it out and see what happens. Nothing happened!

Wind was swirling at times but it was left to right if not in to me for most of the day.
Getting frustrated now. Havent seen a pig yet in 3 or 4 trips in the Big Creek Scenic area. Lots of pig signs in several locations but no sightings

cool wet weather they not gonna be in the wallows. find the thick brushy stuff, tall grass. have jumped many bedded up. lot depends on pressure, if no hunting allowed at night, they feed more at night in open area's best wishes

Bigfoot, this public lands hunter really appreciates your great after action (or after inaction) reports...please keep 'em up! Also, don't let a few fruitless trips keep you out of the public lands! My "Sam Houston" is White Oak Creek WMA and I've left there more often with full mags than not. Still, every hunt has been enjoyable and I learn a little more about wildlife and the woods each time....of course, all our problems could be solved if we'd ever have a good mast again!

BTW, do you get a good cheek weld on your AR with that RDS mount? Seems really high, but maybe that's just the picture.

MH

That is a LaRue Quick detach for AR's so it is the perfect height

Hunting is like fishing. Try to learn something on every trip, dont expect to limit out or make a kill every day and location is everything.

I will be back out there midweek again and will just keep grinding and take colt's advice of getting in that thick stuff and I might just keep exploring some more backwoods and harder to get to areas.

u had chance ta get back out thar ? we have warmer weather here. that spot ya found the sign may be good place ta set up. some guys hunt with at OSBWMA have had good luck doing that. me, have always had better luck pudding one foot in front of de udder . have sat many hours & day after day off the trails were hogs have torn up ground, got video's, just not posted, during archery season. Without seeing hogs. each place tis different, weather, pressure all play part. best wishes

I actually went last week and didnt see anything in the day but I went to another spot at 4 pm and found a lot of fresh tracks. I made a little ground blind and set up. 20 minutes before shooting hours are up I had a pig walk behind me about 50 to 60 yards. It was so quiet I couldnt move to stalk him and I couldnt see him because of the brush behind me. I just listened to him walk away. I stayed till after dark to see if there were any moving and I think I spooked a few when they got a whiff of me because i heard a few take off haulin [censored] thru the woods in front of me. I was getting extremely frustrated until I finally at least had a pig near me.

at least some one getting some action. itchen ta hit OSBWMA need the exersice. got the use of me daughters truck. the ol gray guilding aint what he used ta be i've been pasturized. dogs keep things moving here. corn starting ta get ears. give a holler if ya get one. best wishes, safe hunten