First Time Texas Tags Recommendations

[GingerFredMan]

I'm a brand new (bow) hunter. The hunts have just been released for Texas and I see 5 archery categories. Is the best course of action apply for all the archery ones and see what you get? Obviously, I see a lot of WMA’s so to apply for all is pricey but it seems the odds are quite low? What’s your course of action, do you cherry-pick or go for broke? Any recommendations?

 

[Mojave]

Texas Draw hunts have bad odds. If you live in Texas they are a local reprieve from hunting leases. Or in the case of folks that do not have the cash to do a hunting lease, this might be their only option.

I apply every year for the hunts I feel are worth it. I am not going to name hunts. I have been drawn twice in 5 years. I know people that have never been drawn, that have been applying for over 15 years. Both these hunts are what most would consider to be low grade hunts. One was feral pig and the other was javelina.

Non-residents and residents have the same odds. There is a points system that you are 15 or 20 years behind.

If you draw you have to buy a Texas hunting license, and a pay for the fee for the drawing. I think paid $75-150 for the javelina hunt. I do not remember the cost of the hog hunt. No one killed anything on the hog hunt, the javelina hunt about 8 people out of 14 tagged out.

The only hunts that I think are worth doing are the very few guided hunts.

The raffle hunts have similar odds to the draw hunts. Similar to the way most Western high quality high demand hunts work. Like bighorn sheep. You can probably win a raffle tag before you will ever draw a hunt.

Lastly, I have heard of people pulling into camp on the WMA and the biologist is standing there in the cooler with 3 dead bucks hanging in the cooler, that they killed. The WMA biologist have almost a carte blanche hunting license for the wildlife on the place.

My last hunt was on the Elephant Mountain WMA south of Alpine. This was the last hunt of the year before the helicopter mishap that claimed the lives of two of the WMA biologist, a TPWD veterinarian/pilot. It was kind of a shit show. They use it for cattle grazing, so you are fighting the cattle on every stalk. https://abc13.com/helicopter-crash-...nd-wildlife-employees-3-workers-dead/6362674/

So to recap:

1. Huge points scheme you are 15-20 years behind.

2. Low odds of draw.

3. Quality of hunts is heavily over sold.

 

[Fitzwho]

Everything that Mojave said. This will be my 10th year applying in Texas, I drew one NWR tag in 2021 and ended up not being able to hunt that tag. I haven’t drawn much of shit anywhere this year, so I’ll be pretty aggressive in TX this year.

 

[SDHNTR]

Huh? It’s Texas! You get your tags attached to your license at the same time when you stop at the liquor store to pick up a 12r of Shiner!

 

[Mojave]

Huh? It’s Texas! You get your tags attached to your license at the same time when you stop at the liquor store to pick up a 12r of Shiner!

Not for Texas draw hunts.

 

[2rsquared]

I put in for about 10 or so hunts every year for the last 15 years or so. I also put in for some of the Big Time Texas Hunts. I’ve never been drawn.

It’s pretty much like buying a lottery ticket. Maybe the odds are better hitting Powerball I don’t know, but you can’t win if you don’t play.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[guylaga]

I apply for a few in each category, mostly the ones that I find to be interesting or opportunity to harvest multiple different species. But I'm lucky enough to own land I can hunt on for the regular stuff.

The odds are low for just about any hunt that is decent - like 1% or less low. You have better odds as a non-resident applying for 2nd Archery in the Gila than a lot of the Texas draws. And the point system is heavily weighted to those that have been applying for years and years.

You never know unless you try, and it doesnt cost too much in the grand scheme of things to apply for multiple draws. If its your only opportunity to hunt go through the list and find something with better odds, or go for broke and apply for it all.

 

[oldskool67]

I was lucky and drew one of the e postcard archery hunts my first time after moving here. I didn’t get a buck, but the WMA was full of good bucks ( according to my camera before opening day). Anyway I think a lot of the people that hunted on my draw hunt were used to driving to a hunting blind and shooting something over a feeder, so they complained about the WMA and having to walk in etc. ( not that there is anything wrong with that type of hunting) Just saying what I have seen here on WMA’s and NF is not as bad as I was led to believe about Texas hunting. It isn’t easy on public land here, but I think there are lot more opportunities than people think. Sorry for the long response, but yes I think it’s worth putting in for the draw hunts. You can also show up for standby when people who drew a hunt don’t show up.

 

[wavygravy]

I always applied to a bunch and would get selected to 1-2 a year. Not the highest quality ones, but still fun to see something different. The guys who say they havent pulled a tag in 15 years are only applying to the golden tickets with high success rates, lower your standards / be willing to drive and you have a better chance. The problem is once you have enough points in a category the math starts to kick in that you dont want to waste all your points on a crap hunt, then you start applying to the gold... Dont forget, you can also do standby. Also a crapshoot, but if you're local or have the time, why not try?

 

[Ozarkansas]

I got a lifetime license when I lived in Texas since I have family with land down there. I apply to at least one hunt in each category every year to build points, but I’ve never been drawn. Just read up on all the hunts and apply to whichever ones interest you, keep in mind a lot of the hunts are by assigned blind only.
As others have said the good hunts are very hard to draw, but the e-postcard squirrel hunts have a pretty high (>50%) draw rate, so you have that to fall back on

 

[cuerro viejo]

Not for Texas draw hunts.

texas draw does not require a license to apply nor are there any NR caps or choice limitations.

you just pay $3 per hunt choice. If you draw then you pay the hunt fee.

You can draw a tag every year, may not be a premium hunt though.

There are also COE hunt options that arent on the Website that you can draw every to every other year. You normally have to do those in person though.

Most the TPWD hunts are MLD tags so they dont count toward your 5 deer licenses.

 

[cuerro viejo]

Texas Draw hunts have bad odds. If you live in Texas they are a local reprieve from hunting leases. Or in the case of folks that do not have the cash to do a hunting lease, this might be their only option.

I apply every year for the hunts I feel are worth it. I am not going to name hunts. I have been drawn twice in 5 years. I know people that have never been drawn, that have been applying for over 15 years. Both these hunts are what most would consider to be low grade hunts. One was feral pig and the other was javelina.

Non-residents and residents have the same odds. There is a points system that you are 15 or 20 years behind.

If you draw you have to buy a Texas hunting license, and a pay for the fee for the drawing. I think paid $75-150 for the javelina hunt. I do not remember the cost of the hog hunt. No one killed anything on the hog hunt, the javelina hunt about 8 people out of 14 tagged out.

The only hunts that I think are worth doing are the very few guided hunts.

The raffle hunts have similar odds to the draw hunts. Similar to the way most Western high quality high demand hunts work. Like bighorn sheep. You can probably win a raffle tag before you will ever draw a hunt.

Lastly, I have heard of people pulling into camp on the WMA and the biologist is standing there in the cooler with 3 dead bucks hanging in the cooler, that they killed. The WMA biologist have almost a carte blanche hunting license for the wildlife on the place.

My last hunt was on the Elephant Mountain WMA south of Alpine. This was the last hunt of the year before the helicopter mishap that claimed the lives of two of the WMA biologist, a TPWD veterinarian/pilot. It was kind of a shit show. They use it for cattle grazing, so you are fighting the cattle on every stalk. https://abc13.com/helicopter-crash-...nd-wildlife-employees-3-workers-dead/6362674/

So to recap:

1. Huge points scheme you are 15-20 years behind.

2. Low odds of draw.

3. Quality of hunts is heavily over sold.

higher end hunts have bad draw odds. But you can draw a whitetail hunt every year on the lessor hunts.



Its not a true PP system. its just number of names in hat.

 

[schmalzy]

I'm a brand new (bow) hunter. The hunts have just been released for Texas and I see 5 archery categories. Is the best course of action apply for all the archery ones and see what you get? Obviously, I see a lot of WMA’s so to apply for all is pricey but it seems the odds are quite low? What’s your course of action, do you cherry-pick or go for broke? Any recommendations?

I’d save the money and buy an annual public hunting permit and a decent lock on and sticks and start googling. Good opportunities within 3-4 hours of just about every major metro area in Texas.


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[GingerFredMan]

Thanks all, this was precisely the advice I was looking for, and mean's I most likely go in on a bunch of locations and see what happens. I'll also utilise the WMA's for the Hog and whitetail which I have tags for already. Thanks all a bunch!

 

[guylaga]

Thanks all, this was precisely the advice I was looking for, and mean's I most likely go in on a bunch of locations and see what happens. I'll also utilise the WMA's for the Hog and whitetail which I have tags for already. Thanks all a bunch!

Just so you know, any drawn hunt on a WMA / NWR / State Park does not use a tag from your regular Hunting license. If you draw you have to pay the permit fee and follow the limit for the respective hunt.

 

[S-3 ranch]

These hunts are really just glorified meat hunts to reduce or control the population on the WMA , definitely not a trophy hunt,
imo a nonresident looking for a quality hunt would be better off driving to a different state

 

[Red Letters]

I have applied 28 years and have been drawn for 1 hunt…the first year I applied. A couple years ago I lowered my standards and applied for what I thought might be a hill country meat hunt. We had a horrible wind (literally lost a ground blind) for all but 1 morning hunt. That morning a game warden drove to our stands to check for license at 9:00 am. Pissed doesn’t even come close to describe that day. This was a federal land hunt, so we had to purchase an extra permit before they would allow you to pay for the hunt. I have bought a hunting license every year, it’s all documented on their computer/phones. Point being they knew who I was (assigned unit) and they knew I was there because you have to sign in and out before and after each hunt.
They do all kinds of stuff like that to mess with you. Bunch hunts one right after the other, adults immediately following kids hunts etc, while 2/3rds of the season nothing is going on.
They are better for kids.