Hunting on Texas Public Lands advice?

[txgolfer45]

Thinking about taking up hunting for small game this fall. But, I need some advice. I'm in the DFW area and the closest public lands are Lake Ray Roberts area and Lake Aquila area (from what I've seen so far).

1. I've never been hunting. Don't have a private lease. What can I expect if I try hunting on TP&W Public Lands? Yes, I know I need a Public Lands hunting permit. Most likely will start out with squirrels and rabbits.

2. Public lands closest to me only allow shotguns. I know nothing about shotguns. 12 gauge? 20 gauge? .410? Pump? Semiauto?

Thanks,
Scott

 

[one-shot-one]

tx pub. land

well use to be, before they started charging to hunt "public" land that during deer season it could be real dangerious, lots of morons with no ethics or saftey concerns. it is better now at least to the south of you i am in the conroe/lufkin area.
small game should be ok, try to scout the area you want to hunt before the season starts. for squirl sitting still between stalks will be your best bet.
any shot gun will do i prefer my 20ga auto. but even the .410 will work if your a good shot, the 12ga will work also but will be heavier to carry all day, side by side, pump, auto, or single shot will get you by. squirle/rabbit hunting is supose to be fun do not over complicate it.

 

[Art Eatman]

Since you will be restricted to shotguns, you might check in that forum to see if anybody lives near you. There are a fair number of D-FW folks here. As a beginner, there are a lot of things to learn before buying, as well as the practice after you find "that treasure".

It sounds like you may have already touched base with TP&WD about how they run "the deal" on public lands hunting?

Art

 

[labgrade]

With zip anything to offer other than your "shotguns only" hunt, I'd go with a pump 12 gauge.

Most any SG will do what you want, but the 12 will also offer some extra versatility for some other stuff.

12 & 20 will also serve very well for home defense, but the 12 has added flexibily (& cost savings) down the road, just because of the offerings available.

20s are lighter to carry, may have some added boot re recoil using same-same loads. & still, the 12 has that added overall "extra" just because more use 'em.

Segue over to the shotgun forum for some added input.

 

[Lennyjoe]

Looks like I'll be in the San Antonio area from 30 Oct til 11 Dec.

Think Im gonna have to take my weapons and find a place to hunt. Any suggestions?

Deer, hogs and birds are what I'm looking for.

 

[Jeremae]

Art must be out scouting about...

If you want to see lot's of deer but of small stature, you only have to drive about an hour west of there to be in the Edwards plateau region (basically Kerr county and surrounding) very liberal bag limits and LOTS of deer... plenty of day hunt leases available. Most game ranches in area also have hogs and exotics.

For Big bucks drive south...

I think Army Ranger is in San Antone He could get more specific probably

 

[Greybeard]

Scott -

You might also want to check out LBJ National Grasslands (north of Decatur) and/or Caddo (north of Bonham). Lots of acreage. Both on same map (available for $5 to $10 or so in office just north of Decatur on 287).

TP&W's Public Hunting Permit jumped to $48, but is well worth it to me just to have more places fairly close to tromp around in the woods. Opening day for deer and dove tho can be like the name implies, quite PUBLIC.

The Corps of Engineers at Lake Lewisville and Grapevine are also semi-hunter friendly (again, shotgun only).

If you are among those born after Sept. 1, 1971 and have not had a hunter ed. class, that should go near the top of your "to do" list. (Game wardens seem to love hanging out in the parking areas ... ) This is my next-to-busiest week of the year for hunter ed. classes, so that's about all I can add for now.

 

[Grayrock]

I just discovered about 1100 acres near me in Texas that is Public Hunting by permit only. Anybody done some of this land for dove before? Is it wall to wall hunters? Is there a decrease in activity after opening week? Do you have to wear blaze orange? Is it full of lowlifes and idgets? Who has direct experience with the $40 Texas Public Lands Hunting Permit? Am I risking getting shot?

 

[Greybeard]

What part of Tejas ya in? Which public hunting 1100 acres?

 

[Grayrock]

Let's just say it is south of Austin. The less people that know about it, the better for me.

Anyone have any first hand experience hunting on public lands in Texas??

 

[Greybeard]

General location helps. Tejas a big place, ya know?

Quite a bit of experience here on various public lands north, east and west of DFW. And have spoken with thousands of hunter ed. students from all over Tejas.

Yes, at least on opening day or weekend, the units in "Dove Hunting Supplement" close to major metro areas often have hunters waaaaaaay too close together.

And hunter education is not truly "mandatory". TP&W will sell the public hunting permits to anyone who buys license and has the money. Game Wardens here sometimes don't bother to go out into the fields - too easy just to wait in parking areas.

Since dove are considered migratory, hunter orange usually not required - but a good idea anyway to reduce risk of getting peppered if in the midst a bunch of yahoos. Many of the dove units just north of DFW are in the 200 to 400 acre range. Some OK, at least early, some pretty worthless. At least on 1100 acres, maybe room to find a spot away from the crazies. When on one unit opening day several years ago, the first bird I saw dropped at sunrise was a hawk ...

Unfortunately, some of the private land "day hunts" are not much better. Sometimes more density of birds, but also often high density of hunters - at around $50 a day instead of around $50 for the whole year.

 

[waterhouse]

I've used the Texas public hunting land for the past 3 or 4 years, pretty much only for dove. You don't have to wear orange when dove hunting on public land. I'm in Austin and usually hunt around lockhart.

A couple years ago the dove numbers were pretty decent all season. The past couple years I've done well opening week and that's about it. Opening day is usually packed, so I usually scout out the area a week beforehand so I can find my way in the dark when I show up at 4 on opening morning. People do get too close together.

The rest of the season is very empty hunter wise, and sometimes I'm the only person at the property. I've honestly gotten more into the "enjoying a good walk, while occationally shooting a dove" mindset, so for me it's great just to have a big piece of property to walk around on.

Another bad thing about it is that they change the areas every season (depending on whether the land owners still want their land used), and you never know what will be close to you until you buy the permit and they send you the maps.

They way I figure it, worst case scenario is I made a $50 donation to parks and wildlife. If I don't get anything more out of it than a few good walks, so be it.

waterhouse