We have lots of customers from Texas,and I know that you fine folks kill some really nice hogs and deer down there.  My question is this:  Is it all private hunting preserves or leases, or is there actually some public land that yields decent hunting in the Lone Star State?  If so, in what general areas?  (no, I'm not asking for secret hunting areas)

Thanks gentlemen!

God Bless,

Marshall

Few and far between.  Most of the big tracts of public land are in east Texas, there are a couple of national forests and some timber company land.  A friend actually shot a pretty good buck one year on public land, I have no idea where.  Lots of hunting pressure.

The rest is really scattered out.  The Parks and Wildlife folks (game wardens) hold some hunts by drawing in various state and federal parks and such, just to keep the herds thinned out.  It's by drawing and I've entered a few times and never been selected, although I understand that there is now a place near where I live (Granger WMA) which has some walk-on hog hunting at certain times of the year.

So, that leaves private land.  Ridiculously expensive for the 90-lb. whitetails we have.  However, very reasonable for hogs.  Most places with hogs, have too many hogs and really want them shot out.  For less money per day than you would spend in a good hotel, you can stay in the deer hunter's cabins/trailers in the off-season and shoot pigs for them.  You might even have a 10,000 acre ranch to yourself and your buddies for a few days, fun to just tear around in the brush in your 4x4 and see what there is to see.  The serious deer hunters don't want to mess with pigs, for the most part.

I know guys who have shot 30-50 pigs annually on their deer hunting ranch, just to try and keep them thinned out, without much success.  Generally when you get invited to shoot pigs for free, you are under an obligation to shoot every one you see.  Bring lots of ammo!

My deer hunting in Texas has been shooting does for people who have too darn many deer on their property, and ran out of tags to shoot them with.  Free, and taste just as good.

Shot plenty of javelina also.  They are thick in some parts, and generally considered a pest.  No closed season.  .30-06 will go through ... uh, several, with one shot.  Saves bullets.

There are a lot of exotics (basically anything not native to the state, including elk) but the costs are astronomical.  I'd rather hike around in Colorado for a week and not see any elk than pay thousands and thousands of dollars to shoot one down here.

On the plus side of hunting private land, you don't have to worry about it being overrun with hunters.

Mike G,
Where's the best place to hunt jackalope?

Golf courses!

Mike is sure right about the cost.
I live North of San Angelo and there is some public land around the lakes there. Shotgun only and there is a lot of pressure. Good bird hunting though, we see lots of dog carriers and high dollar rigs during bird season.
Pigs are a glut. Everyone needs pigs culled.
It is pretty easy to get invited to cull does during the late season. Everyone runs out of available tags

How do the wild piggys compare to the domesticated ones, taste wise?  Pork chops and sauerkraut is one of my favorite meals.  I do prefer quail to chicken, moose to beef and wild sheep to mutton or lamb.  A good bear roast from a bear that has been hiding in the berry patch is really really fine.

AK, the basic difference is that the wild ones are a little leaner.  In the 75-125 lb. range they are really tastey, and not too hard to load in the truck (you don't know how "heavy" a 100lb pig can be till you try to lift it into the truck by yourself - low to the ground and nothing to hold on to).

Bet you'd love it...

Sounds good.  I'll have put some more cabbage in the ground!!!  Got a friend down in Tennessee helping find a place down there.  I'd love to do a handgun hunt for them.  Bet they good spit roasted over a slow fire...

Hey Mike and William,
Any Coues deer in Texas or are they limited to portions of Arizona and New Mexico?  I've read where David Miller and Jack O'Connor seem to prefer hunting the little desert deer to whitetails.  Do you have any experience with them?

None that I am aware of.  Possible that there could be a few in the very western part of the state, but seems unlikely.  The game regulations have no mention of Coues deer so they would not be considered a native animal, but it is possible that some could have been brought in.

As you might guess I have no experience with them, only whitetails and mule deer (in Colorado although Texas has a few mulies).

Not much public hunting here. However you can hunt any of the river beds as they belong to the state.

This may not seem like much but here in West Texas the bottoms are set by the flood stage waters which can be substantial. However, most of the year there is only 3 inches of water 2 feet wide in the channel. These narrow but long waterways provide some good hunting. Usually very brushy. They are hunted pretty hard but not so much during the weekdays. Good hog hunting and whitetail, some turkeys too.

Make darn sure you know where you are though. Step off onto somebody's place and the lead might fly!

Leases can be found for not a lot but it is a lot of work. The good ones are never in the Sunday paper. Don't expect to wait until September to find a lease for $1.00 an acre. Have three good leases right now, very good country, houses on two properties at $2-$3.00 an acre. Took me two years of really looking to find them-and I have them all booked!

Have been known to lease large tracts for the $2-3 dollar rate. I then carve out a really good piece for myself and rent the rest to some Big D yahoos right before season at $5 an acre. They think they died and went to heaven (beats 6-7 an acre their buddies paid!<!--emo&;)--><img src="http://beartoothbullets.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=';)'><!--endemo-->.

Where ya at? &nbsp;Any good hog hunting up your way?

I'm in Amarillo. Texas Panhandle. We don't have hog hunting out my back door but within an hours drive it's pretty good. If you are willing to drive 2 hours we have what is without a doubt the best hog hunting in Texas, dare I say the world? Too, the hogs are expanding their territory and within 10 years the country right here will be much better also.

Lots of pigs and quite a few big ones. &nbsp;Quite a bit of agricultural land with peanuts and winter wheat. They love rooting out those peanuts. Most often the ag land is surrounded by big ranches with vast tracts of very rough country. Hogs live in the canyons and mesquite flats and raid the crop fields for food. We have good luck there. Not unusual to see 20-30 pigs in a field at a time. Have had as many as 9 on the ground at once.

Yup, that sounds like hog hunting. &nbsp;What direction from Amarillo? &nbsp;I'm near Austin so I hope your answer is "South", if I have to drive north of Amarillo to hunt, might keep going into the national grasslands to shoot prairie dogs!

Are these guided hunts or just on your deer lease or something else?

South and east of Amarillo. To my knowledge there are no pigs north of us excluding some parts of Oklahoma of course.

Generally talking Hall, Motley and Cottle counties. Childress and Briscoe aren't bad either but I have nothing there and haven't hunted a lot of ground there.

South toward Abilene in King, Knox and Foard counties is pretty good, used to hunt there quite a bit. If you can find a place in any of these areas you will have pigs. The further north you go though the fewer they are.

My hunting is on my leases and on those of friends. Some owned land as well. There are a few outfitters though in those areas. It's getting pricey fast. Bunch of East Coasters coming in and buying up large tracts of land for Quail hunting.

I have heard of some pigs as far north as Canadian in the eastern Panhandle. Of course they have a lot more timber on that side of the Panhandle than on my side. The public hunts on Matador Wildlife Area are pretty good if you can get drawn. Good Luck.

Last time I drove up through that area, going to Kansas, saw several pigs that had been run over on the side of the road. &nbsp;If I recall, it was near the Canadian river(s). &nbsp;Seems like it was not far from OK. &nbsp;This was definitely near a river bottom. &nbsp;One of the pigs was very large, I thought it was a small cow or calf at first. &nbsp;Would hate to have been the person who hit it. &nbsp;So they're definitely in the panhandle.

Hmmmm... may have to get back with you regarding shooting some pigs. &nbsp;Let me know if you ever need help, have quite a few friends who are dedicated pig hunters and we have hunted them in all sorts of conditions, day/night, various forms of bait, etc. &nbsp;Just finished a batch of wild pig sausage and came out really good if I do say so myself.

They are my favorite game animal. I hunt them every chance I get. Close to home, no bag limits, no equipment restrictions, year round season...what's not to like? As a bonus they are great to eat. &nbsp;My second freezer is full!

I know that some were killed on the golf course in Canadian so they run much further north on the eastern side of the Panhandle. Know what you mean about hitting one. Had one run into the side of the suburban one night, staggered him for a second and he took off-$900 worth of damage!

Seems like Abiline is about 5 hours from here, so that's not too bad of a drive. &nbsp;May have to see about doing some hog hunting in your area. &nbsp;Thanks for letting us know about the opportunities. &nbsp;South Texas is just getting out of hand for hunting, waaaaay to expensive. &nbsp;Pigs are still cheap, though, as everyone has too many.

With the hot dry weather this year they should be easy to hunt if there is water nearby. &nbsp;Do you bait them or just drive around looking for them on the edges of crop fields? &nbsp;Ever do any spotlighting?

Most of our hunting is done by spotlighting or by spot and stalk. It's too far to drive to keep feeders full. Hogs eat a lot!

And, what would we put in them? It's the peanuts they want. In some areas corn would draw them in but again, too far to drive to keep the feeders full all the time.

We run probably 90% successful on our trips. When we do have success it's usually multiple kills. When they're out they're out, if not......

I'm imagining trying to fill a feeder with peanuts, LOL. &nbsp;Sounds like it would clog up easily. &nbsp;I once found a feeder 'stopped up' with an expired squirrel! &nbsp;I guess you could say that the problem solved itself....

I've got just the vehicle for hunting hogs. &nbsp;'68 Bronco, you can take the top off, fold the winshield down, even take off the tops of the doors. &nbsp;Nothing sticks up over the fenders except the roll bar and steering wheel ... very nice shooting platform. &nbsp;At night, driver runs the spotlight and of course the vehicle headlights. &nbsp;Passenger shoots. &nbsp;In moonlight, sometimes you don't need a spotlight and both guys can shoot. &nbsp;Lotsa fun....

Funny you should say that. I run a 1978 Bronco. Pull the top and the two back seat guys have a built in shooting rest while the driver runs the light, front passenger may run 2d light or shoot. Switch off after each kill. Momma no longer lets us drive the 'Burban!

If you are the driver, bouncing over wheat fields, it can be disconcerting to have two guys firing semi auto .308's over your head and hot brass flying everywhere but it works for us.

Good choice!

I keep my earmuffs on when driving, you can imagine why!

My bronco could really use an automatic tranny for this sort of stuff but you can generally leave it in second gear most of the time and not have to shift too much.

When we need to stop I just shut off the key and hit the brake.

Too bad you can't fold the windshield down. &nbsp;Another awesome vehicle for this sort of thing is an old Dodge power wagon (military surplus).

My rig has an auto tranny and I just throw it in neutral usually. I have a set of electronic range muffs that I wear as well. Like minds....

What guns do you shoot? Of late my favorite has been a customized Vepr II.It's an AK variant in .308 that has been set up to take m14 mags. It has a KVAR scope rail on it and a 2-7X Leupold.

Most people don't realize it but I have always found it easier to shoot scopes in low light than open sights. Only one thing to focus on versus trying to line up a front and rear sight you can't see. Too, a little magnification helps.

A variety of stuff. &nbsp;With the close-range shooting that invariably happens at night, I too have found good optics to be a critical factor, the gun/cartridge much less so.

My current truck gun is a Marlin 336 .35 Rem, set up with a Leupold 2.5x compact. &nbsp;Very handy rig with only a 20" barrel, and certainly effective. &nbsp;Also easy to shoot from either shoulder, another good point. &nbsp;Only one hog so far but it was night hunting and I was very quick to get on the pig - much handier than my bolt guns.

Prior to that my next best thing for the truck was my .257 Roberts (Ruger 77 / 3.5x10 VX-III), as it had a 22" barrel. &nbsp;Even just being two inches shorter than either my .30-06 (Win M70 / 2.5x8 VX-III) or .338 (Ruger 77 / 3x9 VX-II) made a big difference in getting it in action without banging on the door frame, roof, etc. &nbsp;The 338 is fun when you have room to use it. &nbsp;You don't wonder if the pig is going to run off - when you hear the big 'whock' through your earmuffs, you know you have a piggie down.

I generally leave the scopes either set on the lowest power or maybe 4x-5x if I'm anticipating a little bit of a longer shot. &nbsp;Doesn't take but a second to twist the power ring up if you need it. &nbsp;Once in a while some will run right out in front of you and on the higher powers it can be difficult to find them if the field of view is too small.

Totally agree about good scopes in low light. &nbsp;There is no more critical factor when hog hunting as they are so often taken at night or low light. &nbsp;Probably at least half the hogs I have shot have been in conditions where iron sights would have been totally useless. &nbsp;If it's daylight I generally like to try to get close enough to use a handgun, for a little more sport.

We have lots of customers from Texas,and I know that you fine folks kill some really nice hogs and deer down there. &nbsp;My question is this: &nbsp;Is it all private hunting preserves or leases, or is there actually some public land that yields decent hunting in the Lone Star State? &nbsp;If so, in what general areas? &nbsp;(no, I'm not asking for secret hunting areas)

Thanks gentlemen!

God Bless,

Marshall
Marshall, First of all, Thanks for providing a great forum. I've only been on this site for a few weeks, and you've already cost me $1000 on a new rifle that I had to have. The information I've gained from this site is tremendous.

There are wildlife management areas and state park hunting all across the state. But you are right, probably 98% of the state is private

You can go to the Texas Parks & Wildlife website and it will give you plenty of places to look. There are numerous Wildlife management areas to choose from as well as the newer state park special permit hunting programs. Smaller Parks such as Mineral Wels State Park (Steve Jones is the Ranger) have about 3000 acres available, and the deer hunting is good to excellent. Some years, tags go unfilled.

South Texas has always been known for big racks but lately, the west and northern part of the state are coming on. I think it will really surprise folks if they just look.
We are manageing for bucks in the 4-6 year old range. Where I'm from, they will field dress at about 135lbs sometimes more, and will usualy have a score of 130-145BC
Occasionally, high 150's and 160's are shot but they are not the norm. With all of the management that's been going on, I will say that the deer are getting older and bigger than before we started our program on 8500 acres.
The best management program I've ever seen is to keep your finger off of the trigger,and let them grow.
If they don't take your breath away when you first see them, chances are they aren't a trophy.

I've developed many contacts in this business down here. I say that to let you know that there were leases last year left empty because of a bad economy in '02. It happens sometimes. Usually the smaller places 150-300 acres come available more often.

Anyway, its late and I'm rambling.
Good Luck
Tom
Good Luck,Tom

I know this is an old topic but I will add this. There is small bodied whitetail that has lived an isolated life in the Trans Pecos area of Texas. I've heard about the deer since the 60's and I believe the SCI recognizes it as it's own sub species like the Coues Deer. This is the Carmen Mountain Whitetail. I believe the Carmen Mountains are a North/South range of mountains that start in Eastern Brewster County and run into Mexico where the get big. It's the mountains you see to the Southwest of Del Rio or Eagle Pass. I understand that the Carmen Mountain Whitetail in Texas are on a single ranch and that hunting is extremely limited. Here is a link that shows some of the deer but these are the deer taken in Mexico.

http://www.cazacimarron.com/gallery1/

Marshall...
You asked about public hunting in Texas. There are a couple of good draw hunts in South Texas. If you want a good opportunity to hunt hogs in South Texas try applying for the rifle deer hunts on the Aransas Wildlife Refuge. The deer hunting has been slow the last couple of years but the hog hunting is unreal. It's not uncommon to have dozens of shooting opportunities. This is some of the toughest country in Texas bar none so it is a hard nasty hunt. Gators, snakes, and skeeters but I love it. It's brush country that is a coastal swamp. Real strange and spooky country. I try to go every year.

Been through Aransas, but it looked rough. Hogs running across the road in broad daylight, though - plenty of them.

Wouldn't mind going to Aransas on a hog hunt if I had any idea of the layout of the place and a good place to set up.

A cross between a swamp, a desert, and a brushpile, that's for sure! Never seen so much green stuff with thorns.

Not much public hunting here. However you can hunt any of the river beds as they belong to the state.

This may not seem like much but here in West Texas the bottoms are set by the flood stage waters which can be substantial. However, most of the year there is only 3 inches of water 2 feet wide in the channel. These narrow but long waterways provide some good hunting. Usually very brushy. They are hunted pretty hard but not so much during the weekdays. Good hog hunting and whitetail, some turkeys too.

Make darn sure you know where you are though. Step off onto somebody's place and the lead might fly!

Leases can be found for not a lot but it is a lot of work. The good ones are never in the Sunday paper. Don't expect to wait until September to find a lease for $1.00 an acre. Have three good leases right now, very good country, houses on two properties at $2-$3.00 an acre. Took me two years of really looking to find them-and I have them all booked!

Have been known to lease large tracts for the $2-3 dollar rate. I then carve out a really good piece for myself and rent the rest to some Big D yahoos right before season at $5 an acre. They think they died and went to heaven (beats 6-7 an acre their buddies paid!<!--emo&;)--><img src="http://beartoothbullets.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=';)'><!--endemo-->.

I just want to ask you about your comment that all rivers in Texas are public lands and as such, are available for hunting. Is this the case? I know that Texas rivers and streams are owned by the state, but I can find no information regarding hunting on Texas rivers or streams. Can you tell me more about this?

In most states, IF the waterway is determined navigable, then the bed of the stream to the line of mean high water (MHW) belongs to the state. Now, if the water is low, I suppose it would be possible to to hunt below the MHW. Unless you know exactly where the MHW is for any given point on a particular stream, and if it has been determined navigable, it would be very easy to run afoul of the private property owner. Most states will have a catalog of navigability determinations for streams or creeks that are at least 150 feet in width, lakes of 50 acres, or greater. In some cases where water rights have created issues in the past, the catalog will be more extensive and include much smaller streams. Just because a stream is smaller than 150 feet in width or a lake is smaller than 50 acres, does not mean it isn't navigable, though. It is a touchy case in most states and even though it has been tested in the U.S. Supreme Court, new cases appear from time to time that further muddy the waters.

Navigability can be suggested by the state or federal government, but can really only be determined in the court.

It is interesting that the entire length of the river does not have to be navigable. For instance a river with waterfalls or extreme rapids along different areas does not effect its navigability determination. Also, the river does not have to be free flowing year 'round. I'm not sure if a river that actually goes dry could be determined navigable, but the requirement is for commerce (and other uses) at the normal state of the river. So, I do suppose that if the river went dry for one month out of the year, though was sufficient to meet the other requirements for 10 months of the year, it could be considered navigable.

I'm not sure this is the case in Texas, as Texas does have some special exceptions that other states do not. Hopefully someone versed in Texas' land law can help clarify the state's position.

Thanks for your response. I have a son and a daughter who have never been hunting, and I would really like to take them. The touble is - we have no place to hunt and can't afford the high price of a hunting lease. I remembered reading somewhere that rivers in Texas are open for hunting, but want to make sure first, so that I don't run afoul of the law. Any advice about where to go to find out about this?

In most states, IF the waterway is determined navigable, then the bed of the stream to the line of mean high water (MHW) belongs to the state. Now, if the water is low, I suppose it would be possible to to hunt below the MHW. Unless you know exactly where the MHW is for any given point on a particular stream, and if it has been determined navigable, it would be very easy to run afoul of the private property owner. Most states will have a catalog of navigability determinations for streams or creeks that are at least 150 feet in width, lakes of 50 acres, or greater. In some cases where water rights have created issues in the past, the catalog will be more extensive and include much smaller streams. Just because a stream is smaller than 150 feet in width or a lake is smaller than 50 acres, does not mean it isn't navigable, though. It is a touchy case in most states and even though it has been tested in the U.S. Supreme Court, new cases appear from time to time that further muddy the waters.

Navigability can be suggested by the state or federal government, but can really only be determined in the court.

It is interesting that the entire length of the river does not have to be navigable. For instance a river with waterfalls or extreme rapids along different areas does not effect its navigability determination. Also, the river does not have to be free flowing year 'round. I'm not sure if a river that actually goes dry could be determined navigable, but the requirement is for commerce (and other uses) at the normal state of the river. So, I do suppose that if the river went dry for one month out of the year, though was sufficient to meet the other requirements for 10 months of the year, it could be considered navigable.

I'm not sure this is the case in Texas, as Texas does have some special exceptions that other states do not. Hopefully someone versed in Texas' land law can help clarify the state's position.

The State's Department of Parks and Wildlife (http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/) should be able to confirm which waterways are in the public domain, as well as lands owned by the State.

I would stop by their office and request a map depicting public waterways and public lands at a scale that you read with certainty. A phone call with the information would work if they will mail you the information. I would bet that an email request would delay receiving the information you need.

Also check with Texas' Department of Environment and Natural Resources. They will have the information for sure on who owns the water and issues surrounding the waterways.

Seems every state has a different name for these types of departments, so I wasn't quite sure what they were called. It might be most convenient to contact the Department of Parks and Wildlife since the issue is hunting. It looked like there were several State owned Wildlife Management Areas available for hunting at first glance, but I didn't look for the restrictions. Another thing that might be worth checking out is to see if the military bases allow any hunting there. Here in Alaska there are special permits available for specific animals and times. My understanding is that these are getting more difficult with the new Homeland Security regulations, but they are still offered.

Hopefully some of our other Texas members that hunt public lands can chime in and give the real story.

Not all. In some places, the property lines are drawn right to the center of the riverbed.... techincally, you can float the river, but step foot on the river bottom, and you are trespassing.

The real problem with trying to hunt these areas, you may well have to cross private land to get to the river.

Other issue that comes to mind, shoot a deer in a 'public' area, what happens when in runs off to private land?

There is more public land for hunting in Texas than you might think, check Parks and Wildlife, also the USFWS has hunts in places like Aransas Wildlife refuge.

Good luck.

Thanks Mike,

I have been looking at these Wildlife Management areas. There are two of them that are pretty near me. It's just that my Dad was a founding member of the Texas Gas and Water Association many years ago. He insists that Texas rivers and streams are huntable. I think I will just try the Wildlife Management areas, at least until I get a chance to talk to my local Game Warden.

I appreciate all of the replies I got on this. It is an interesting board.

Janet

Not all. In some places, the property lines are drawn right to the center of the riverbed.... techincally, you can float the river, but step foot on the river bottom, and you are trespassing.

The real problem with trying to hunt these areas, you may well have to cross private land to get to the river.

Other issue that comes to mind, shoot a deer in a 'public' area, what happens when in runs off to private land?

There is more public land for hunting in Texas than you might think, check Parks and Wildlife, also the USFWS has hunts in places like Aransas Wildlife refuge.

Good luck.

Not much public hunting here. However you can hunt any of the river beds as they belong to the state.

This may not seem like much but here in West Texas the bottoms are set by the flood stage waters which can be substantial. However, most of the year there is only 3 inches of water 2 feet wide in the channel. These narrow but long waterways provide some good hunting. Usually very brushy. They are hunted pretty hard but not so much during the weekdays. Good hog hunting and whitetail, some turkeys too.

Make darn sure you know where you are though. Step off onto somebody's place and the lead might fly!

Leases can be found for not a lot but it is a lot of work. The good ones are never in the Sunday paper. Don't expect to wait until September to find a lease for $1.00 an acre. Have three good leases right now, very good country, houses on two properties at $2-$3.00 an acre. Took me two years of really looking to find them-and I have them all booked!

Have been known to lease large tracts for the $2-3 dollar rate. I then carve out a really good piece for myself and rent the rest to some Big D yahoos right before season at $5 an acre. They think they died and went to heaven (beats 6-7 an acre their buddies paid!<!--emo&;)-->;)' src="http://beartoothbullets.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif" border=0 valign="absmiddle"><!--endemo-->.
could you elaborate on that river bottom situation. when I was a kid we went squirel hunting in a canoe, but I expected some rancher to come running up raisin' **** or shooting at us. If I thought it was legal I'd live on those bottms, hunting all the time. But how much land on either side does this actually include? Is it all the rivers in the state? If so I'm getting a nother canoe!

But good luck having success if you have not hunted the area before. Most is in E. TX and for the first two weeks it is very crowded! But after that most folks go back to the city and there is not a lot of pressure especially during the week.

I have taken a relatively nice 8 point a few years ago on Public Land here and I saw a real shooter this past year but just could not get a shot at him.

As far as it costing a lot....thousands and thousands of dollers? It can depending on what you want....I just got on a nice lease for this coming year but it is not crazy expensive...but it ain't cheap either.

I researched some hunts in other parts of the country this past year and Texas is no more expensive than other places in the US!

[quote=bluetick;347057]could you elaborate on that river bottom situation. when I was a kid we went squirel hunting in a canoe, but I expected some rancher to come running up raisin' **** or shooting at us. If I thought it was legal I'd live on those bottms, hunting all the time. But how much land on either side does this actually include? Is it all the rivers The public land part goes from the center of the river to the secondary bank. That would be the permanent bank that a rancher might cultivate. The water's edge is not the secondary bank.

Since the main rivers in Texas are dam controlled, that can leave some widths of 300 ft or so from the center of the river to the secondary bank.

The only problem with the whole idea is that most ranchers in Texas still consider that part, "their land" Its risky to hunt these areas in my opinion even though its legal.

My bet would be to try the state wildlife areas or the state parks.
For example, the Mineral Wells state park has excellent whitetail hunting, and most years, they don't sell all of their tags. Its a cheap hunt but in a good area.

Good luck

The TPWD has done an extensive write-up on this... it's located at their website here (http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/publications/nonpwdpubs/water_issues/rivers/navigation/kennedy/). Click on the "Article Contents (http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/publications/nonpwdpubs/water_issues/rivers/navigation/kennedy/kennedy_faq.phtml)" link towards the bottom of the page for the full text.

I'm a relatively recent resident of TX, and am exploring how/where to hunt on public land - used to live near Cloudcroft, NM in the middle of the Lincoln National Forest, literally had elk at my back door some mornings, and a resident cow tag cost $42. I was spoiled.

Thanks also to others for the suggestions. I didn't realize you had to buy the public hunting permit (separate from the license, right?) before they'd give you all the information on what areas there are, and when they're open, and for what.

Nate

Thanks Mike,

I have been looking at these Wildlife Management areas. There are two of them that are pretty near me. It's just that my Dad was a founding member of the Texas Gas and Water Association many years ago. He insists that Texas rivers and streams are huntable. I think I will just try the Wildlife Management areas, at least until I get a chance to talk to my local Game Warden.

I appreciate all of the replies I got on this. It is an interesting board.

Janet

Gee, Nate - lived in Weed and Sacramento right after WWII. I know where Cloudcroft is! :D

Gee, Nate - lived in Weed and Sacramento right after WWII. I know where Cloudcroft is! :D

:D Still have good friends out there, one actually in Sacramento.

I miss it. I lived in Cloudcroft proper for two years, then out at Waterfall in the original adobe mansion that'd been there since the late 1890's. My wife and I had our wedding reception across 130 at the old Chippeway Stables. Bet you know where that is, too!