DIY BUDGET HUNTS

Agilliam

FNG
Joined
Sep 30, 2019
Messages
24
Location
Emporia, KS
Helllo! Looking to do some diy budget public land hunting where ever. First thoughts are North Texas public land hog hunting in the Gene How WMA specifically or private for cheap. Anybody have experience here? Also looking at West Texas audad. Thinking Big Bend WMA. Advice welcome please!!!
 

jspradley

WKR
Joined
Mar 16, 2016
Messages
1,725
Location
League City, TX
The only budget W TX aoudad you are going to get will be the TPWD draw hunts, I put in for them every year, draw odds are low but the price is really right!

Not a lot of options for OTC/Walk In exotics in TX, if W TX is doable then check out the NM OTC aoudad hunts. Dirt cheap and legit hunting you gotta work hard for
 
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Agilliam

Agilliam

FNG
Joined
Sep 30, 2019
Messages
24
Location
Emporia, KS
Are the tx draw hunts for the national park ground? The texas website looks like anyone can go buy a 5 day license and hunt on any public ground? I'll look at NM for sure south NM I assume?
 

jspradley

WKR
Joined
Mar 16, 2016
Messages
1,725
Location
League City, TX
Are the tx draw hunts for the national park ground? The texas website looks like anyone can go buy a 5 day license and hunt on any public ground? I'll look at NM for sure south NM I assume?


In TX you can hunt on the public lands that allows hunting for the animals that it allows during the time frame it allows. It all varies depending on which chunk of ground you are on. It's not quite as simple as the western states with BLM and USFS lands and such.

It can be a little confusing but it's not that bad

https://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/hunt/public/public_hunt_drawing/

Here is the site for the draw hunts, the catalog has all the info for the draw hunts.

Here's the general public hunting lands booklet that basically covers the non draw hunts

https://tpwd.texas.gov/publications/pwdpubs/media/pwd_bk_w7000_0112a.pdf
 

jspradley

WKR
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Mar 16, 2016
Messages
1,725
Location
League City, TX
I mean TX is hardly a paradise for public land hunters but there is some decent hunting to be found if you are willing to work for it.
 
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Agilliam

Agilliam

FNG
Joined
Sep 30, 2019
Messages
24
Location
Emporia, KS
Soooo I looked at the web pages and draw hunt info and to my knowledge, the draw hunts only pertain to the units they list correct? If a piece of public land is not mentioned in the draw information, then it does not require a draw and only requires a APHP (Annual Public Hunting Permit) unless otherwise stated on that specific public land information?
 

Sportsman

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Dec 8, 2018
Messages
192
Location
AZ
Do you already hunt KS as a resident? Probably more options in KS with walk-in program than TX. TX is not a big public land state.
 

jspradley

WKR
Joined
Mar 16, 2016
Messages
1,725
Location
League City, TX
Soooo I looked at the web pages and draw hunt info and to my knowledge, the draw hunts only pertain to the units they list correct? If a piece of public land is not mentioned in the draw information, then it does not require a draw and only requires a APHP (Annual Public Hunting Permit) unless otherwise stated on that specific public land information?


Read the public hunting lands booklet. The lands listed on there are the state lands where you can hunt without a draw and what you can hunt for there.
 
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Agilliam

Agilliam

FNG
Joined
Sep 30, 2019
Messages
24
Location
Emporia, KS
The website for Texas is so damn confusing. I think ide have better luck calling the offices and letting them tell me step for step lol. Anyone have private land they know that wants hogs gone?
 
Joined
Oct 20, 2017
Messages
6
There are plenty of ranches that charge 100$/day no kill fee on hogs around the Dallas area, kill as many as you can on private land. I’d recommend if you’re going that route to try and save a couple extra hundred and head to what we call the hill country and try your hand at any of the numerous exotics locates in that area. Specifically something that eats better than a pig, try searching for Axis hunts, all you need is a hunting license for axis

As a side note no one needs a hunting license to hunt hogs on private land, resident or non resident.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

jspradley

WKR
Joined
Mar 16, 2016
Messages
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Location
League City, TX
The website for Texas is so damn confusing. I think ide have better luck calling the offices and letting them tell me step for step lol. Anyone have private land they know that wants hogs gone?


I honestly think your best bet is to narrow it down to an area then research the rules for that particular area as they differ, by a small margin but still one that makes things confusing, instead of worrying about the rules overall. That's the way I've gone about it because you'll go nuts trying to figure out the rules across the board.
 
Joined
Oct 20, 2017
Messages
6
You can message me your questions. I’ll gladly answer them, I have lived and hunted in Texas my whole life.
If you want a copy f the yearly hunting manual I can send you one of those too.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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Agilliam

Agilliam

FNG
Joined
Sep 30, 2019
Messages
24
Location
Emporia, KS
The specific areas ive looked at targeting are the LBJ Grasslands northwest of Dallas for hogs and the black bend area for audad and javelina. These were both areas I had no luck finding information for in the Texas hunting regs on drawn or permit hunts.
 

jspradley

WKR
Joined
Mar 16, 2016
Messages
1,725
Location
League City, TX
Caddo/LBJ Grasslands is federal, you'll have to go to the fed website for the rules there.

Not familiar with Black Bend, do you mean Black Gap WMA?
 

swede8200

FNG
Joined
Nov 23, 2016
Messages
38
Location
Kansas
If you're not dead set on going south, look at Wyoming for antelope. Some areas have a ton of leftover tags with an ok amount of public land to hunt on. I'm a Kansas resident and can tell you its a whole lot easier to get tags there then it is here. I did a diy hunt in northern WY over a long weekend and had several opportunities to shoot antelope. I came home with a nice one. I HIGHLY recommend an On-X type mapping system though. Nobody in that country posts their land and it can be pretty hard to determine exactly where the boundries are from the crude maps from the feds and state.
 
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Agilliam

Agilliam

FNG
Joined
Sep 30, 2019
Messages
24
Location
Emporia, KS
If you're not dead set on going south, look at Wyoming for antelope. Some areas have a ton of leftover tags with an ok amount of public land to hunt on. I'm a Kansas resident and can tell you its a whole lot easier to get tags there then it is here. I did a diy hunt in northern WY over a long weekend and had several opportunities to shoot antelope. I came home with a nice one. I HIGHLY recommend an On-X type mapping system though. Nobody in that country posts their land and it can be pretty hard to determine exactly where the boundries are from the crude maps from the feds and state.
Man that'd be awesome. I would love to do a Wyoming hunt. Can you share how to go about getting a leftover tag and decent units for it? A buddy and I were actually planning a speed goat hunt there next year but would love to get out this year if I have the chance.
 
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