With the recent news of finding out that I no longer have a deerlease after 20 years, I have been contemplating hunting the National Forest this year. I have hunted the forest between Sam Rayburn and Toledo Bend before but I was with a buddy who was familiar with the area. Any recommendations on where to hunt , or just general information I should know about public hunting before I bail off on this adventure? I am looking for a new lease but I don't really plan on finding the right one before the season starts. I usually get invited on about 2 or 3 hunts a year through work but I would really like to get in a few more hunts than that. Thanks for any information.
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Good luck, never done it, but I hear it is tough hunting.....very rewarding if you do kill something though... -
Google Earth is your friend. I spend a LOT of time on google earth looking for ponds to duck hunt and places to scout for deer season. Sometimes old abandoned roads will still be highlighted. It is also pretty easy to find streams, terrain changes and vegetation changes. I narrow it down to a few good looking locations to check out and then enter the coords in my gps and go.Comment
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big brass...that sounds like fun....
good luck blatiolais...i'm in port neches...hunted angelina national forest a few times in college...seemed to always wake up after dark asleep in the leaves...lol...i'm sure there are some good places to hunt there though...my wifes uncle ONLY hunts national forest and kills deer every year...Comment
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GPS! I've been turned around a time or two (not fun) and also looked for people that have been turned around.Comment
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x2.....turkey hunted in the Angelina forest near Jasper for the past two years - beautiful country, but also BIG country....if it were closer to me, i would definitely try some deer hunting....certainly need some good maps like Google aerials....if you go to the TPWD office in Zavalla you can buy GOOD topo maps ($10 each) with the national forest boundaries on it - really helpful maps...Originally posted by Nitro1970 View PostComment
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I hunt the ANF. It is very rewarding. The most important aspect of hunting these woods is ground work. The more time you spend in the woods, the greater your reward. Get to know the woods and you will find the deer, they are there. Every year I take deer or have the oppurtunity to take one.
As far as quality deer, they are also there. I've seen them! Put some leg work in and you will be successful! I hunt mostly from climbers, anywhere from 25' up. If your not familiar with tree stand hunting, practice then practice some more.
The Moore Plantation has a good deer population and some good ones.Comment
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Ive spent most of my life hunting NF around Jasper and Hemphill, There's good bucks there but you need good-luck and very good scouting skills to kill them consistently. The good thing is as you play cat and mouse with the buck you can move anywhere you need too to kill him where on clubs and leases you are in most cases only allowed certain spots. But there are a lot of frustrations on Public land people being the biggest you just have to accept that and don't let it bother you. But I guarantee you public land bucks are smarter and you need serious scouting skills to kill em on a regular basis. I use to spend 80% of my time scouting and only 20% hunting! For the most part there's a very short window in the rut you have to kill the big ones. you must be disciplined not to hunt him until that window comes or he will just detect you and avoid your stand areas when he does start moving in the daylight! They are mostly nocturnal until that short window. Its a challenge but a good public land hunter can be a successful hunter anywhere on the planet! A heavy dose of patience is needed for sure. All these bucks came from there. 130 to 150" the 8pt in middle is 150" with 21" inside spread far RT is 24" wide. Good luck!Attached FilesLast edited by coop2564; 05-28-2009, 02:05 PM.Comment
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My uncle killed a 165" in the SHNF. I hunted there and saw some good deer myself.Comment
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