I'm new to hog hunting and I'm gathering tips and idea. Right now I guess I'm not willing to pay for a trip to a ranch. Anyone tried hunting in public lands leased by the Texas Wildlife and Management? What is the rate of success?

Thanks.

What part of Texas are you in?

good questions! im trying to learn myself. let me know what you find out.

Hog hunting on Public land is pretty tough...mostly because you can't hunt at night, not allowed to bait on most, etc, usually shotgun or archery only... If you're going to give it a shot (no pun intended), it takes a lot of scouting and walking through the woods. Most parks department personnel are usually more than willing to tell you where they've seen hogs as they destroy the land. Winter also seems to be a little better for public hog hunting because they are more active during the cooler days than the hot muggy summer days. Good luck. Rate of success....I had a 50%rate of success last year.

I've only seen hogs on public land about 5 times, in 5 years. They are predominantly nocturnal, so unless you stumble on where they are bedding, it's not likely you'll see them moving during the day.

I know in the Austin area granger st park is about the only game n town. Put your walking shoes on, they are deep in the woods. You can find them for sure but got to work. They let you bait, use something you don't want stolen though

it depends on where you are. there is a WMA out in east texas caled Old Sabine Bottom. you can do some decent hog hunting here. its rimfire/shotgun/muzzleoader/bow only. no centerfires except certain times of year. but buckshot is effective in that dense cover. that place is a long drive though. like for me its a 4hr drive to get there. so you need to start figuring on what your fuel expenses are going to be before you assume that paying a package hunt closer to home might not be more economical. i have hunted and taken hogs on OSB. none of the other places i have been have yielded any success. its hard hunting out there. no blinds, no feeders, no bait, no night hunting. lots of walking, lots of ticks. and if you kill one you better have help because you have to pack the out. we hunted in 3s down there. that way we always had lots of help. id say if you could find a ranch offering a day hunt for hog, for $100-$200. some place that had a blind and feeder going and might be closer to home that your cost would probably end up being similar after all said and done, and success rate probably higher. dont want to discourage, the public hunts were a blast. we did a lot of them until we got our own place. but they are a lot of work. you need to be prepared.

hunting those WMAs is an adventure though. will bust some weight off of you too.

Huntin pigs is cheap...Wanna kill some..Pay up!

There's a difference between hunting pigs and killing pigs. Despite the fact that there are thousands of those buggers tearing up the land in texas, I still get a heck of a thrill finding them on public land. Do I spend more in gas and time than paying for a day hunt? Definitely YES. Do I get more satisfaction as a hunter out of finding them lurking in the woods? YES. Is the adrenaline rush that much more intense when you find them in the woods instead of under a feeder exactly at 6:17pm when your feeder goes of? Big time YES.

There is one place I go to hunt that is public land. I'm there in the spring to hunt turkeys. Last 2 times I went, I had hogs within bow range. First time was a sow and one little piglet. I let them walk on by. The second time, it was a group of big pigs and piglets. I found out that day that a 3 1/2 in #5 turkey load will drop a 100 lber in their tracks!!!

I hunted some Public Land in east Texas last year and seen allot of hogs...Shot two...

depends on the unit, some areas of east TX you can't hardly walk without kicking one of them.

I am in the same boat. I have been looking up maps and I'll share what I found with you

Theres the problem. Most people dont want to work for anything. What? You mean i have to walk????? OMG!

Reminds me of people that will drive around a parking lot for 10mins trying to get a spot up front, instead of just doing a normal function....walking.

If you want to do some scouting, and are ok with coming up empty. Go for it. I would suggest to checkout the tpwd website to find the nearest place to hunt. Scout like crazy. Find game trails, water sources, food sources, ect. Dont worry about having to use a shotgun (for firearm friendly wma's). A rifled slug can be pretty dang accurate out to 50-75yds...

matthewb thanks for posting these maps. Would you please post the URLs where these maps can be found.
I'm new to Texas and have purchased a license for the 2011-20012 hunting season. I enjoy being outdoors and being able to hunt is just icing on the cake.
Best Regards,
Matt