Hi y'all,

I have never hunted before so I am looking for a guide in the east Texas area (preferably no more than 5 hours from Houston) to take me on some sort of summer hunt, and am also looking for a deer hunt in the fall. I am looking for something fairly affordable, and am looking for someone with patience and willing to teach me a few things as I have never hunted before and am eager to learn. I am not at the point that I am looking for a trophy animal, I just want to learn and put some meat in the freezer at the same time. Please pm me if you have any leads on this. Thanks.

What's the price you are wanting to stay at?

I honestly don't know what a fair price is. (That's how green I am.) I am hoping to finally settle on a rifle to buy in the next week or two so that I can get out practicing at the range and know what my budget is. Probably along the lines of under 500... is that reasonable, or do I need a higher budget. I know the sky is the limit as far as hunts go, but I'm not ready for something of that nature yet. Largely want to start learning before I try a few solo hunts in the national forests...

Welcome to the world of hunting and the outdoors. For a first time hunt and getting to learn some basics, I think you are smart looking to go with an outfitter on a local ranch. I don't know of any place personally to recommend, but think that this is a good start. Some things to ask for when booking the hunt is what it includes. Some are just taking you out onto the land, others include a place to stay, feeding you, and cleaning the animal for you after you shoot it. I think being shown how to gut and skin an animal is where a lot of new people get discouraged, so having a pro show you how is almost worth the price of the hunt.

For a summer hunt, it's hard to beat Axis deer. There are a lot of them out there, they are beautiful, they are one of the very best tasting animals, and the best time to hunt them is just beginning.

I suggest creating a list of as many guides as you can before committing to one. The more you talk to personally on the phone, the more you will learn about who offers what. Some will have small pieces of land, others will hunt ranches several thousand acres in size. Some will want a lot of money for a deposit, others will be more reasonable.

After you have your list, google their names and their business names. Sadly, some of the most friendly guys on the phone turn out to be the biggest crooks out there.

Good luck

Sent you a PM

There are several outfitters that are on here that are quite reasonable on there price and have tons of happy clients. Spend some time in the outfitters and exotic hunting section and you will go quite out prettty quick who they are. Eddie is right about axis deer and they would be a good animal to start with.