Hunting in Texas

[Zachlanning1]

I am moving to the Dallas/Ft Worth area this October from Washington State. I am extremely concerned about the lack of public land in Texas for hunting. I love Texas and the freedom I feel when I am there but I also don’t like leasing land. I hunt anything that will fill the freezer and would love any tips on places to hunt there that are public and I can pack into. Thanks for any tips.

 

[ddavis_1313]

There are some awesome places close to DFW that hold big deer. look into the the Hagerman draw. Some 170’s killed there almost every year. There are a few other places that hold some giants but I can’t give you those. I gotta keep those quiet. Here are a couple pics of some north Texas public deer.

Shot this one 2 years ago on public.

One I was chasing on public

This one was in the same area as the two above but was illegally poached

This one was killed on public close to dfw and sent to me by a friend

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[oldskool67]

DDavis nice buck !

Check out texasbowhunters.com they have a decent forum with a thread on public land. I just bought a house in Texas but won’t be living there for another three years. I’ve been doing a lot of research on public and lease hunting there. But I feel your pain, escaping Commiefornia but sure going to miss all the public land and mountains

 

[Zachlanning1]

Awesome, I am glad to hear this. Was mostly wanting to just hear that there is good public hunting and that’s awesome. Thanks guys.

 

[@fulldraw]

Awesome, I am glad to hear this. Was mostly wanting to just hear that there is good public hunting and that’s awesome. Thanks guys.

Oklahoma and KS also have some good public land opportunities and are a stones throw from the DFW area.

 

[Zachlanning1]

There are some awesome places close to DFW that hold big deer. look into the the Hagerman draw. Some 170’s killed there almost every year. There are a few other places that hold some giants but I can’t give you those. I gotta keep those quiet. Here are a couple pics of some north Texas public deer.

Shot this one 2 years ago on public.

One I was chasing on public

This one was in the same area as the two above but was illegally poached

This one was killed on public close to dfw and sent to me by a friend

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Awesome bucks, thanks for the tips. I am definitely going to do my own research and scout my own spots when I am there. Now I feel better about the hunting and I am getting pretty excited for the move.

 

[theCaptain]

I live in Central Texas and struggle with the same thing. Don't really like the idea of leasing. I am fortunate where i work we have about 1200 acres that employees can bowhunt only, which is nice. And about 30 minutes away is some WMA land that i've hunter a handfull of times. If you put in the work of scouting, you can make the best of the limited public land available in Texas.

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

An APH (Annual Public Hunting Permit) is like $30 on top of your license fee and there is a list of all the public hunting locations throughout the state. Also, check out the special draw opportunities available, new catalog for 2019/2020 hunts will be out this summer.

 

[Zachlanning1]

DDavis nice buck !

Check out texasbowhunters.com they have a decent forum with a thread on public land. I just bought a house in Texas but won’t be living there for another three years. I’ve been doing a lot of research on public and lease hunting there. But I feel your pain, escaping Commiefornia but sure going to miss all the public land and mountains

Thanks for the tips, also I am glad to be escaping commiewashington. Like you said public lands and mountains are an abundance but it doesn’t do any good when wild life management is piss poor and a lot of good areas are over run with hikers and yuppies. It’s getting old that my hunting licenses pay for 80% of the public lands and the hunting only gets harder and access becomes less and less.

 

[Zachlanning1]

I live in Central Texas and struggle with the same thing. Don't really like the idea of leasing. I am fortunate where i work we have about 1200 acres that employees can bowhunt only, which is nice. And about 30 minutes away is some WMA land that i've hunter a handfull of times. If you put in the work of scouting, you can make the best of the limited public land available in Texas.

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

An APH (Annual Public Hunting Permit) is like $30 on top of your license fee and there is a list of all the public hunting locations throughout the state. Also, check out the special draw opportunities available, i believe the deadline to apply is coming soon this month.

Do you know if I can apply as a non resident? Since I am not living there yet.

 

[LostArra]

Oklahoma and KS also have some good public land opportunities and are a stones throw from the DFW area.

Public land in Oklahoma? Yes
Deer? Nope, none spotted in years.
I would just keep driving to Kansas or head to the East Texas piney woods and get plenty of venison and pork for the freezer.

 

[Braaap]

Do you know if I can apply as a non resident? Since I am not living there yet.

You can apply as a non-resident. I lived in Austin for almost 5 years and couldn't wait to leave Texas. Texans are the friendliest people you'll ever meet but moving there from the West was tough, and staying permanently wasn't an option.

I would plan on going out of state to hunt. If you're like me you'll miss actual mountains and public land.

I still apply for mule deer in West Texas because I think that would be a fun hunt, but draw odds suck.

Good luck with the move.

 

[eamyrick]

Not a lot of public land which is why trucks from Texas are all over New Mexico, Colorado, etc come big game hunting seasons. The way I look at it, I make 30-40k more here than I could out west and I lease some ground out West Texas and pay for flights out of state every year. Fair amount of public fishing and duck hunting opportunities in Texas.

 

[Macdad]

Tpwd has drawing for public land hunts but also look down st Del Rio area. Long drive but there are public land around lake Amistad for bor hunting. Deer, hogs and a few rams

 

[theCaptain]

Do you know if I can apply as a non resident? Since I am not living there yet.

Yes, you can apply as a non-resident

 

[LostArra]

You can apply as a non-resident. I lived in Austin for almost 5 years and couldn't wait to leave Texas. Texans are the friendliest people you'll ever meet but moving there from the West was tough, and staying permanently wasn't an option.

I would plan on going out of state to hunt. If you're like me you'll miss actual mountains and public land.

I still apply for mule deer in West Texas because I think that would be a fun hunt, but draw odds suck.

Good luck with the move.

A good number of Texans would not consider Austin as representative of the state.

 

[Zachlanning1]

You can apply as a non-resident. I lived in Austin for almost 5 years and couldn't wait to leave Texas. Texans are the friendliest people you'll ever meet but moving there from the West was tough, and staying permanently wasn't an option.

I would plan on going out of state to hunt. If you're like me you'll miss actual mountains and public land.

I still apply for mule deer in West Texas because I think that would be a fun hunt, but draw odds suck.

Good luck with the move.

My plan is to out of state hunt for elk, elk hunting in Washington is terrible anyway. I am a bow hunter I also have family in Colorado so hunting there isn’t a big deal. I prefer Idaho or Montana, I am mainly asking so I can do some weekend hunting locally in Texas to fill the freezer. Like most hunters my main goal is to not eat store bought. I will miss the mountains for sure but I have been to Texas 12 times in the past 3 years and every time it feels more like home.

 

[ddavis_1313]

Austin is not Texas..... it’s where socialist liberal snowflakes congregate. I hate that city and by pass it every chance I get....


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[Braaap]

Austin is certainly different politically than the rest of Texas but it's still Texas. The lack of public lands and mountains was incompatible with my lifestyle. I was traveling out of state to ride my mountain bike, snowboard, camp, etc. I barely hunted while I lived there because I couldn't get into hunting deer that are eating corn from a feeder on all the deer leases.

Texas is a great state but I caution those moving there from Western States that it can be a huge lifestyle change.

 

[Felix40]

Theres national forest in TX and it holds deer. Also a bunch of small WMAs. 5 deer tags a year for $100, year round hog hunting, handfishing, bowfishing, frog gigging, lots of good things going on in TX that people dont even know about.

If you want to backpack hunt you will have to go out of state though.

 

[TBHasler]

A good number of Texans would not consider Austin as representative of the state.

Like everyone from outside of Austin...and many inside