New to public land hunting

[Heckmonkey]

Okay I am new to this, so I will try to keep this somewhat educated or at least sound like I know what I am kind of talking about after having researched this for a few years.

So there obviously is Public Hunting and Draws. And these can happen on WMA's, at COE's, and even Private Lands via the special draws etc, so there are multiple ways to do a public hunt???

So I would like to try hunting public areas. So lets say hypothetically I complete my hunting application for a COE (I live in Collin County) So lets say Lewisville, Grapevine, or Lavon or something like that? or maybe I drive to LBJ grasslands to hunt? Having never hunted public lands, how does this work? You have your map provided by COE or WMA to know the areas aloud for hunting, and you're following all the rules of course, orange man suite, etc... its not like you just go walk the property till you find a spot you wish to hunt? is it?

I would hate to walk past someones tree stand, or whatever? I mean allot of people here have hunted these areas for quite some time? So how do I avoid possibly walking even 50 yards from someones spot?


Thanks, (edited and reduced to be easy on the eyes!)

Heck

[HR3]

Okay I am new to this, so I will try to keep this somewhat educated or at least sound like I know what I am kind of talking about after having researched this for a few years.

So there obviously is Public Hunting and Draws. And these can happen on WMA's, at COE's, and even Private Lands via the special draws etc, so there are multiple ways to do a public hunt???

So I would like to try hunting public areas. So lets say hypothetically I complete my hunting application for a COE (I live in Collin County) So lets say Lewisville, Grapevine, or Lavon or something like that? or maybe I drive to LBJ grasslands to hunt? Having never hunted public lands, how does this work? You have your map provided by COE or WMA to know the areas aloud for hunting, and you're following all the rules of course, orange man suite, etc... its not like you just go walk the property till you find a spot you wish to hunt? is it?

I would hate to walk past someones tree stand, or whatever? I mean allot of people here have hunted these areas for quite some time? So how do I avoid possibly walking even 50 yards from someones spot?Thanks, (edited and reduced to be easy on the eyes!)

Heck

be the first truck in the parking lot or the only truck in the parking lot, walk no less than 3/4 mile in.....otherwise, AIN'T gonna happen....LOL..............in 8 years of hunting public land, I've seen another hunter in the woods...ONCE...couple of squirrel hunters last season on opening day...and to be honest they showed up about 11am so I was on my way out

[Heckmonkey]

Hey HR3 thanks for responding? Heck only took 200 views before I got a single reply! But I thank you for the info. Man was wondering if I had posted something wrong? I have a buddy that has been kind enough to let me hunt on his lease with him for the last few years! Great Friend! And its been a good property owner too allowing me hunt with him all these years w/out upping the amount. However, my buddy can only go so often, and I would like to go out more frequently. So I was hoping to try out some public spots. Any other advice?

[Deerhunter123]

WMA is the only place you have to wear orange and have a type 2 license. COE you do not have to wear orange or have special licensing. I am curious as to if they are opening public land in Rockwall County now that they have passed the new law for archery season?? Or is it just for private land at this time? As far as how far to walk in, you can walk as far as you want to drag the dead animal out in my opinion. Find the hardest place to get to to avoid pressure from other hunters, and like HR3 said be the first truck in the parking lot. Other than that, SCENT PROTECTION is a must in my opinion

[SolocamShooter]

COE you do not have to wear orange or have special licensing.

This is not entirely correct! That is the case on some COE areas but on certain COE units you are required to wear orange during gun season and have a special corp permit to hunt. You need to check their website to see the requirements for the area you are wanting to hunt.

[bryan sandlin]

i did this hunting back in the early 90"s my brother still does. we found unit 106 in san augustine county. at times its a race trac. others, just one or two hunters. some of the local folks did not care for the out of town hunters. 144 square inches of orange is still required. brother has done some draw hunts. all in all. the best 50.00 you can spend hunting. i only wish most of the deer hunting units had hog hunting year round. both nephews, thats most of what they see. each place is different. check the total hunters for the acres, and harvest rate. use the numbers in the book. good luck.

[MojoTexas]

Get your public hunting land permit with your license, and they give you a book with the public hunting lands and details on special rules, seasons, etc. I live in McKinney and I've hunted both the Bois D'Arc and Ladonia unit of the Caddo National Grasslands WMA. It's not very crowded during archery season but it's crazy on opening day of rifle season.

You can look at last year's info at the link below. If you want to hunt hogs at Lavon you don't need the TPWD public land permit--you just fill out a form and get a permit directly from the COE. Be warned that Lavon is federal land and you're not supposed to carry a concealed handgun for backup, even if you have a CHL.

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild...able_contents/

[MojoTexas]

I would hate to walk past someones tree stand, or whatever? I mean allot of people here have hunted these areas for quite some time? So how do I avoid possibly walking even 50 yards from someones spot?

Also, most of the time that I hunt on public land, I get there early, before first light. If other hunters pull up, I am not shy about introducing myself and chatting with them, and working out a game plan on who is going to be hunting where. It's worked well for me and my hunting buddies.

If you roll in about 8:00 am when the sun is up and there are trucks already parked and then start walking through the woods, then yeah, you might intrude on somebody's setup. Most people get there before sun-up though and it's pretty easy to at least get a basic game plan that works for everyone.

[SARSpecialist]

Lots of good info here all true and correct... I have been hunting Davy Crockett National Forest for 15 years.. My best advice.. Go deep if you can 'most' NF hunters dont wander more than 300 yrds away from the road, Start now looking for a spot to hunt, make sure you know the rules for your area.. opening morning I can promise you TPW Game Wardens have no sense of Humor. If you leave bright orange tape everywhere its a sure thing some last minute hunter will follow it and walk right up on you, Get there early.. I always start camping on the Wensday before season opens so I can see traffic patterns of vehicle and I am sure to get a prime camping spot before ALL the others arrive, and remember not EVERYONE on public land has as much as experiance as you might so be prepared to see some lets say differant hunting tactics..

[buzzcut]

Try to do your scouting before deer season opens to find the spot you want to hunt. If you have to scout during the season do it during mid-day when most guys are back at the truck. If you do happen to bump into another hunter who is hunting mid-day he will usually whistle or wave letting you know to take a detour around his set-up.

[Heckmonkey]

Yeah thank you all for helping out! This may sound really dumb, but two part question.
1.Do yall use any form of light when walking to your location early in the morning before sunrise? I try not to on my buddies lease, but man its sketchy thinking about walking up on hogs out there!
And
2. I know this is dependent on location, trees etc... but how many use climbing tree stands vs pop up blinds on public lands? Since you cant cut limbs or mess with trees isnt it hard to use climbing tree stands?

[SARSpecialist]

I use a head lamp with red led..usually only see hogs In the Evening Where I hunt Hogs are no big deal They are usually eager to get away from humans.. . I use both a climber and pop up.. if you pre scout your area you can locate trees that need a little work and offer a view of your selected route or your travel corridor.

[SolocamShooter]

Yeah thank you all for helping out! This may sound really dumb, but two part question.
1.Do yall use any form of light when walking to your location early in the morning before sunrise? I try not to on my buddies lease, but man its sketchy thinking about walking up on hogs out there!
And
2. I know this is dependent on location, trees etc... but how many use climbing tree stands vs pop up blinds on public lands? Since you cant cut limbs or mess with trees isnt it hard to use climbing tree stands?

Definitely use a light! I normally use a head light because it's easier to use with a climber.
I mainly used a climber last year but it was sort of frustrating being limited on what trees you can climb. This year I have added a real light hang on stand and Big Game Stagger Steps to the arsenal. If you use a pop up you better brush it in extremely well. From my experience a brush blind is better than a pop up on public land.

[MojoTexas]

Yeah thank you all for helping out! This may sound really dumb, but two part question.
1.Do yall use any form of light when walking to your location early in the morning before sunrise? I try not to on my buddies lease, but man its sketchy thinking about walking up on hogs out there!
And
2. I know this is dependent on location, trees etc... but how many use climbing tree stands vs pop up blinds on public lands? Since you cant cut limbs or mess with trees isnt it hard to use climbing tree stands?

I sometimes use a light, sometimes not. I definitely do during rifle season. A lot of times I'll carry a light and just use it as needed, but leave it off the rest of the time.

Tree stands all depend upon where you're hunting. Some of the public land has a scarcity of big mature trees. It's hard to hang a stand on a 15' bois d'arc tree. That's why it's good to scout public land ahead of time, to have a primary plan of where to hunt based on wind, as well as a backup plan in case someone is in "your" spot, etc.

[Heckmonkey]

Ok I think this maybe my final question. yall have been really cool for the help. Is ur area scouted out so good u don't need some form of gps? Or are u all using something like cell phone (which to me seems sketchy based on battery life & connection of my phone) or do yall use some other type of gps device, & no compass pics please. Naw hell it would be funny if u got one, full rambo knife w/ compass. Hey thank u all for taking the time man & answering these questions TG for this forum.