East Texas Hunting Help

[Unckebob]

Because there is very little public land in Texas, I have have always hunted private land since my return to Texas. To my surprise, I drew a chance to hunt in the Trinity River NWR for deer and hogs. Unfortunately, my family means I will have no opportunity to scout the unit I drew. Furthermore, I will only be able to hunt for 2-3 days. I don't have a stand to use.

Looking at the unit on Onyx, all I see are trees and I know there are wetlands in there. It is not a huge tract of land either.

How would you hunt a dense forest/wetland cold? What would you look for?

Obviously, I will not be carrying any of my rifles set up to shoot long range. I'll probably use a Kimber 243 or my 300 BO because they are pretty handy little guns.

Note: I would be happy with a pig or two. Apparently, the forest is full of them and the deer population is limited.

 

[LIWolverine]

I promise you that deer in the Trinity are not few and far between. There are also some GIANTS in there, tons and tons of hogs too.

If you have a ghillie top, wear it and sneak around edges. Use onX, google earth, etc to find any terrain or vegetation changes that look interesting. Try to find any edges you can, Pine/hardwood, thicket/open, wetland/dry areas and concentrate on hunting those. Still hunt all day if possible. Stop as often as you want but try to stop in likely areas.

I’ve killed tons of deer and pigs doing exactly that. I’m from Magnolia on Lake Creek bottoms so I hunt all that same type of stuff. You’ll almost 100% see deer or hogs. Go have a great time and let us know how you do!


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[Unckebob]

I promise you that deer in the Trinity are not few and far between. There are also some GIANTS in there, tons and tons of hogs too.

If you have a ghillie top, wear it and sneak around edges. Use onX, google earth, etc to find any terrain or vegetation changes that look interesting. Try to find any edges you can, Pine/hardwood, thicket/open, wetland/dry areas and concentrate on hunting those. Still hunt all day if possible. Stop as often as you want but try to stop in likely areas.

I’ve killed tons of deer and pigs doing exactly that. I’m from Magnolia on Lake Creek bottoms so I hunt all that same type of stuff. You’ll almost 100% see deer or hogs. Go have a great time and let us know how you do!


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Thank you so much for the advice.

 

[SBTX]

Thank you so much for the advice.

How did this hunt go? I have a similar drawn area coming up and would appreciate any lessons learned. Thanks

 

[RockyRoad]

How did this hunt go? I have a similar drawn area coming up and would appreciate any lessons learned. Thanks

I’d start with some map work and key in on any 1-5 year old clear cut edges, especially if they have creeks/SMZs on the edge leading into. You’ll find these to be key transitions. In a wetland area I’d be looking for high ground bedding in the thick of it.


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[Unckebob]

I’d start with some map work and key in on any 1-5 year old clear cut edges, especially if they have creeks/SMZs on the edge leading into. You’ll find these to be key transitions. In a wetland area I’d be looking for high ground bedding in the thick of it.


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The problem with my hunt was I didn't have much time to prepare for it or scout the property. It was my fault I didn't get a deer.

This year, I signed up for the drawn hunts again and still haven't heard if I won anything. They give about 4 weeks notice.