Spring turkey hunts on public land?

[rhendrix]

I wanna get a rio grande or eastern turkey this year with my bow, but I don't wanna pay a day lease to go hunt, anyone know of WMA's that have spring turkey hunts. I've looked all over TPWD's website but can't find anything. Maybe I'm just not looking in the right counties?

[rhendrix]

ttt

[SolocamShooter]

pm sent

[Texas Grown]

Try a search in the Public Hunting forum here.

[bowhuntertex]

The only public Turkey hunting I know of is through the TPWD draw hunts. I do think there is some federal land that you can hunt on, just don't know where it is or what it is called.

[bowhuntertex]

I found a bunch of areas to hunt turkey for free. You just need to buy a Public Hunting Lands Permit and they will send you a book with all the places you can hunt anything. I am wanting to do a DIY pheasant hunt this year.....

[Firecuss]

Bow only

I wanna get a rio grande or eastern turkey this year with my bow, but I don't wanna pay a day lease to go hunt, anyone know of WMA's that have spring turkey hunts. I've looked all over TPWD's website but can't find anything. Maybe I'm just not looking in the right counties?

X2
I have never taken a Turkey gun or bow but am looking forward to the day I get a shot with my bow.

[froghunter]

bowhuntertex, LSBA is having an archery pheasant hunt feb 5th and 6th. details are in the trad forum.

[rhendrix]

I found a bunch of areas to hunt turkey for free. You just need to buy a Public Hunting Lands Permit and they will send you a book with all the places you can hunt anything. I am wanting to do a DIY pheasant hunt this year.....

Think you can post up some links, I tried looking up turkeys by county in hopes that you could see the WMA's that were in each county, but that didn't work. There didn't seem an easy way for me to go about it unless I went through every PDF file for every WMA on TPWD's list and look to see if they offered turkey's.

[Txjourneyman]

I killed a turkey at LBJ Grasslands a few years ago. Its a tough hunt but its possible.

[grizzman]

I went on a turkey hunt at Matador WMA last year that was draw, but we had some standbys show up and all of them got to hunt. It's always a roll of the dice on standbys though. It will still cost you whatever the permit fee is, anywhere from $80 to $130 depending on the length of the hunt.

[denowt]

Think you can post up some links, I tried looking up turkeys by county in hopes that you could see the WMA's that were in each county, but that didn't work. There didn't seem an easy way for me to go about it unless I went through every PDF file for every WMA on TPWD's list and look to see if they offered turkey's.

Here's a link to the book they send you once you buy your APH.

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/hunt/public/lands/table_contents/media/pwd_bk_w7000_0112a.pdf

[sqiggy]

I know of one place that is the old type 2, but just a few people know about it and if I told ya, then I'd have to kill ya! I have only killed 1 turkey there and wished I had my bow. Shot him at 16 yds with the scatter gun, but he had went behind a big oak tree first, giving me the oppurtunity to draw my bow IF I HAD IT!!! But the last 2 yrs, I only had 1 day to hunt it, heard them but didn't close the deal. Easterns can be very hard to hunt. Sometimes they gobble, a lot of times they don't. They just show up.
Now, I do know there are birds on the Sabine NF, but where, I don't know. I just know some folks that deer hunt it and they see turkeys all the time, but they don't turkey hunt. The main thing you need is time. Time to scout before the season and locate some birds.
Good Luck!!!

[bowhuntntxn]

White Oak WMA has some Easterns. LBJ has plenty of Rios. Rios are easy to hunt compared to an Eastern. If you get the public permit, you can look at the North East part of the state, RR county, Bowie County, and in that area for public spots.

[sqiggy]

If you get the public permit, you can look at the North East part of the state, RR county, Bowie County, and in that area for public spots.

Been told by a few friends of mine that live in Red River Co, that they have a very LARGE population of Easterns there. I just don't know about the public land part there.