Planning on taking a 2 day hunt to the caddo grasslands any tips? little brother will be going with me it's more about putting him on a deer than me, never hunted public land before any advice is greatly appreciated thanks

I've hunted there a few times in the past. The deer population is real skimpy,you'll be lucky to see a legal buck. You'd have better luck at LBJ Grasslands at Decatur. Shotgun or muzzleloader only. Doe days coming up this thur-sunday.

Saw deer the first day out but the 2 days after that had too many people shooting for fun you could tell they weren't hunting cause they'd unload mags that or they ran into hogs and are bad shots cause nobody would show up with any game, it was pretty much game over once those shots were fired not even the song birds or squirrels showed signs of activity let alone deer or hogs, did find a couple of spots with lots of signs of hog and deer activity but they might be nocturnal cause we tried both afternoon and morning and nothing ever walked by

Thanks for the update Eddie, I have been thinking of heading over there but I here to many of these stories. I am over here in lamar county. I think I will just stick with around here. I imagine there are big deer their but They must be deep IN close to the creek. A canoe trip could prob put you on some monsters. Maybe one day I will try it.

I was out in Caddo between the lakes the day after Thanksgiving and managed to shot a nice mature doe. By the time I was back to the truck the parking lot, which only had 2 trucks in it, was packed to the point that I couldn't leave. I shot a nice 8 point last year out there but man the amount of people that don't use that land for what it intended for is nerve racking.

Avoid opening weekends and holiday weekends. I hunted for quite a few years and learned to avoid those times and found myself hunting with very few others and usually zero or maybe 1 other hunter in the areas I liked. The only trip during thanksgiving was after they stopped the doe lottery and went to doe days. There were so many people out that I did not feel safe going to and from the spots I hunted. The deer were on total lock down due to the tremendous pressure. I knew then, never again. Bow season allowed doe hunting last time I hunted there.

Can you use a rifle at Caddo?

I feel somewhat safer at LBJ because it's shotgun/muzzleloader only.

Yes centerfire rifles allowed.That's probably why the deer population is so thin. I remember when centerfire rifles were legal at LBJ in the late 70's.The hunting was terrible,it was front page news if anyone even saw a deer! When they banned centerfires in the mid 80's the deer herd really came back strong. Probably should do the same at Caddo.

Been to the Ladonia section several times. Saw pig tracks and rooting near the ponds but did not see any wildlife other than rabbits. Even after deer season just walking around scouting I did not see a thing.

Same, I've been working this area lately.

Trying more for hogs than deer, but I did spook one off the small pond near the put-in location. I've scouted deep and there's lots of hog sign throughout, no rubs, scat or scrapes though.