Texas hill country

[Fish_monger]

I’m considering a job offer on the north side of San Antonio.

I’ve never been anywhere near TX so I’m just wondering what life is like for an outdoorsman.

 

[TxxAgg]

Lots and lots of critters to shoot at and the coast is 3 hrs away for saltwater fishing.

The hard part is "paying to play" since it's all private lands.

 

[Uncle Bill]

Traffic is gonna suck around any metro area here in Texas. There’s all kinds of fishing and hunting opportunities here but very little public land and what there is of it is usually packed. All kinds of lakes rivers and coastline to fish. If you have the money you can do an African safari and never leave the state. All kinds of exotic animals here to hunt. Hope this helps.

 

[huntertx]

North of San Antonio is beautiful country. Like everyone has said above, you'll have to pay for a hunting lease, but there are leases for every price point. Most leases are year round so you can hunt deer, hogs, turkey, dove, and duck (depending what area you're in).

 

[EastMT]

I transferred to Texas last year having grown up and lived in the mountains most of my life. If you like Texas, love living there, please don’t take offense…..I absolutely hated it. I was miserable for 13 months, now I’m back in Montana and happy as a lark.

It’s a completely different culture there than out west, and I just couldn’t live that way. I just flat refused to pay the cost of hunting there, $2500 for a buck I’d pass on any public land any day is nuts. Montana buck tag +/-$500, Montana antelope $225, WY buck $325. 3 tags, places to hunt, $1050 leaving $1450 for gas and a few supplies.

If you are used to “civilization” I guess you’d be fine, but if you are used to being able to hunt when/where you want, it rough.

My apologies to Texans, I know there’s lots of pride for the state, but it’s not for everyone, or we’d be 49 short.

 

[Kbhillhunter]

Bad traffic and high fence hunt$ as far as the eye can see. Good fishing in the gulf though.

 

[Mt Al]

Don't know that I could live there, but have three close friends who do, all of them enjoy living there, and I've been to SA many times. The fishing in the gulf is killer. If I had to move there I'd most likely not hunt much or at all, but would go all-in on a flats skiff and fish, fish and more fish.

 

[gelton]

Here is a list of draw hunts on public land where entry is limited, the pronghorn hunt has excellent success rates with high odds at a trophy as do the deer and most hog hunts.

Drawn Hunt Catalog - 2024 - 2025 Hunt Categories - Drawn Hunts - TPWD

tpwd.texas.gov

Most other public land is pretty crowded, especially for waterfowl.

But a lease gives you true year-round opportunities at quail, unlimited hogs, unlimited exotics, predators, javelina, audads (depending on the location)turkey, dove and waterfowl not too bad, and if you get the itch it's never too far to head out west, oh and the offshore fishing IS awesome but so is the bass and crappie.

 

[Cowbell]

Depends on where you live now. Texas seems great for some, but I find it overrated. Badly.

 

[JRMiller]

I’m moving to the New Braunfels area in about a month.
Been to Texas many times over the years (visiting friends and family) and as others have mentioned you must pay to hunt and it’s not cheap. Except for hogs, but who wants to pay to shoot hogs over a feeder.
Anyhow, im aware of all this and totally ok with it as I have been driving all over to do public hunts out of state anyways and so have no intention what so ever to hunt in Texas.
The $10 entry for a Ram hunt on public in North Texas is worth an entry every year though. Might get lucky and score a tag.

 

[schmalzy]

I’m considering a job offer on the north side of San Antonio.

I’ve never been anywhere near TX so I’m just wondering what life is like for an outdoorsman.

Where you coming from?

Good quality of life to be had but as others stated, hunting can be pretty different. Lot of public land opportunities for solid deer within 3-4 hours of you in East TX. Not easy, but fun hunting. Like anything else, have to put time
In.

I’m not a native Texan but have spent a large part of my life here. Not many others places that offered the professional opportunities, cost of living and “reasonable” outdoor options for the money that I had. Been able to raise a family on a reasonable single income and own a decent home in a neighborhood that I had no questions about leaving my family there by themselves while working extensively out of town. Texas is a state that is what you make it. It can be the best place in the world or a bear, just depends on your values and outlook on life. Thankful for the opportunities that I’ve been given while living here.

With that being said, San Antonio area offers many options. City, suburb, rural, etc. Anywhere along 46 is where I’d be looking.


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[KAGR]

Good info on the hunts

 

[Fullfan]

Have hunted turkeys of the Kerr WMA, which is NW is SA. Were lots of critters there. Camped across the road In a church campground deal. The fallow deer were everywhere.

 

[def90]

Hill Country between San Antonio and Austin is one of the top places on my list of where to move to. The only downside is lack of public land.

 

[BuckSmasher]

I’m considering a job offer on the north side of San Antonio.

I’ve never been anywhere near TX so I’m just wondering what life is like for an outdoorsman.

Depending on where you came from, not great. Very little public land and access to private is not a good value for the low quality that you get.

I transferred to Texas last year having grown up and lived in the mountains most of my life. If you like Texas, love living there, please don’t take offense…..I absolutely hated it. I was miserable for 13 months, now I’m back in Montana and happy as a lark.

It’s a completely different culture there than out west, and I just couldn’t live that way. I just flat refused to pay the cost of hunting there, $2500 for a buck I’d pass on any public land any day is nuts. Montana buck tag +/-$500, Montana antelope $225, WY buck $325. 3 tags, places to hunt, $1050 leaving $1450 for gas and a few supplies.

If you are used to “civilization” I guess you’d be fine, but if you are used to being able to hunt when/where you want, it rough.

My apologies to Texans, I know there’s lots of pride for the state, but it’s not for everyone, or we’d be 49 short.

I am an 8th generation Texan. My family came to San Augustine County in 1821 and my uncle still owns land on the Attoyac River that has been in the family for over a hundred years. BUT. I moved to Idaho for the very reasons that you outlined plus some you didn't. My ancestors came to Texas because it was less crowded than where they came from and had plenty of land to roam, hunt and fish. Exactly why I cam to Idaho.

Also, can't believe this thread has made it this long without mentioning this.... It is HOT... not hot for a month, or two but 10-11 months a year. You probably heard about that big freeze they had in February? Around Christmas I was in San Antonio visiting my best friend in shorts and a t-shirt and his neighbor was mowing his lawn without a shirt, grass was still growing. "Winter" consists of two or three cold fronts that will drop overnight lows into the 'needing a jacket' weather. If it gets any colder for longer than that folks will start to comment on what a cold winter it has been.

With a good deer lease and a nice saltwater boat you can have fun outdoors down there. Plus you can still get non-resident tags in other places as well. Texas culture is awesome. Some of the friendliest people and best food anywhere. Most 'real' Texans outside of the huge metro's are still God fearin' moral decent people. I had several GREAT churches in the areas I lived in Texas. We still sometimes miss launching the boat early in the morning, hearing the laughing gulls, heading offshore as the sunrises and watching the water get clearer as you get farther out.

I wouldn't want to move to the SA metro area. But if you weight your options and go with it, you can make it tolerable.

 

[Mosby]

I lived DFW for 3 1/2 years. Wife hated it. People rave about San Antonio and I spent a lot of time there for work but it isn't my kind of place. Hot and no change of seasons. People from small towns in Texas don't like people who aren't from Texas. If you take the job, get Texas plates as soon as possible. Like any other city it has some pretty rough areas. Like anything else, it is what you make of it.

Deer hunting was ok. Some places have more hogs than deer. The problem with leases is finding a good one and getting on it unless you spend a small fortune. The ones that advertise aren't always the best. The better ones are the ones you get invited to join after they get to know you. You will be in camp with people you don't really know and may not like. The lease I was on had a number of rules and evidently I was the only one expected to follow them. I like hunting large whitetail and they weren't on my lease so I quit and started hunting in Canada. For the sake of my marriage I took another job and we left. We never missed it.

 

[Cowbell]

I lived DFW for 3 1/2 years. Wife hated it. People rave about San Antonio and I spent a lot of time there for work but it isn't my kind of place. Hot and no change of seasons. People from small towns in Texas don't like people who aren't from Texas. If you take the job, get Texas plates as soon as possible. Like any other city it has some pretty rough areas. Like anything else, it is what you make of it.

Deer hunting was ok. Some places have more hogs than deer. The problem with leases is finding a good one and getting on it unless you spend a small fortune. The ones that advertise aren't always the best. The better ones are the ones you get invited to join after they get to know you. You will be in camp with people you don't really know and may not like. The lease I was on had a number of rules and evidently I was the only one expected to follow them. I like hunting large whitetail and they weren't on my lease so I quit and started hunting in Canada. For the sake of my marriage I took another job and we left. We never missed it.

I couldn't have said it better myself. Dead. On.

 

[thegrouse]

If you like fishing it is a pretty good place. I can be at the coast inshore saltwater fishing in 2.5 hours. There is a bunch of duck hunting at the coast on public land, but I have never tried that. You will need to have a friend with land or get on a lease. They are not cheap and usually come with some sort of drama. The weather here is horrible. I sweat from May until October. Even when the nights are nice the mosquitoes will chew you up.

For general outdoor activities it is not an ideal place. There is just not enough public land nearby. You will end up at a small state park and get a very canned experience of the outdoors. I have lived here most of my life, the income to cost of living is hard to beat. I think I will be here another 3 years then head towards a drier climate with more public land.

 

[GatorGar247]

I live in south East Texas.. public whitetail hunting is a hour and a half north . Salt water fishing is 8 mins to the ramp 30 min to the jetties.. I go to the hill country 3 or 4 times a year to hunt exotics. I have a deer lease in Central Texas that's more of a meat lease than a trophy lease.. We hunt duck and dove as well as deer and hogs..
As far as living around San Antonio, screw that.
I wouldn't be caught in San Antonio, Houston,Dallas Austin etc.. liberal hell holes rampant with crime.. stick to the smaller towns and things are fine.. most of us in small towns are fine with out of state people as long as you don't vote for what you are running from..

 

[gelton]

I live in south East Texas.. public whitetail hunting is a hour and a half north . Salt water fishing is 8 mins to the ramp 30 min to the jetties.. I go to the hill country 3 or 4 times a year to hunt exotics. I have a deer lease in Central Texas that's more of a meat lease than a trophy lease.. We hunt duck and dove as well as deer and hogs..
As far as living around San Antonio, screw that.
I wouldn't be caught in San Antonio, Houston,Dallas Austin etc.. liberal hell holes rampant with crime.. stick to the smaller towns and things are fine.. most of us in small towns are fine with out of state people as long as you don't vote for what you are running from..

Golden Triangle?