Ft Boggy and Fairfield SP's

does anyone have any opinions on either of these 2 SP's as far as a place to hunt...I've never been to either one, uh check that ...I pulled the last Bassboat to Fairfield from Carrollton uhh sometime in the late '90's looking to catch some redfish or stripers and got skunked...

I donated another $6 to TPW at the last minute looking for a GDA Permit...and see that Fairfield had a 12% success last year and Ft Boggy did not have a Hunt at all last year...oh well it's better than buying another 6pak of brewski's I guess.

What say the Peanut Gallery ???
Ron

I made my first bow kill at Fort Boggy many years ago. I like the place. It is not a slam dunk hunt though. Deer densities in that area aren't as great as other parts of Texas. If you are into just staring at a pile of corn from a box blind, you may not have much success. On this hunt, you will have to work for it. A climbing stand works good there.

I have hunted Boggy 4 times on a archery hunt. On all 4 hunts, I either got a shot or had a shot opportunity. I have never hunted Fairfield, but it will be like FB. FB has a lot of underbrush. You really need a climber or lock on to get up over that stuff. Forget the corn. Find the acorns, you will find the deer.

I grew up camping at Fairfield and remember seeing deer around every tree.. it wasn't until I was maybe in junior high or high school did they begin the draw hunts and from that point on, we rarely saw many deer. This past November, we camped a week or two before the annual hunt and I may have seen 3-4 deer over a 3 day stay. Those sightings were up front near the ranger check station, but we don't see many if any in the camp sites now days. There's sign if you hike the trails as well as hog sign... just not what it use to be in my opinion.

Lottery Hunts are usually assigned blinds...Guadalupe River SP is the only one I've ever been on that had tower stands or ladder seats strapped to a tree. I've never been on a Lottery Hunt that allowed you to bring your own blinds unless it was a by assigned compartments that will not have any blinds furnished...but then I don't Archery Hunt and those Hunts may be totally different... as GRSP-Bauer Unit was initially..and is now all assigned ladder blinds as I understand it for BP Only Hunters exclusively.

OK then, FF SP & Ft Boggy sound like about what I expected. Might look/see what FtB has to offer and walk the area but if the undergrowth is like it is here in Dogwood City around the Brushy Creek area next to Davey Dogwood Park across the street from me...I'll need a bazooka to put a round thru the bamboo, pine & oak thickets for shots at more than 25 yards.
Ron

My son and I are new to hunting. Last year we had no luck in the draw but, this year we snagged a spot at Ft Boggy. Naturally, it is the one park I applied for that I know nothing about, other than it's location. So, I'm also looking for tips/info on Ft Boggy as well. Regarding brush and gun selection, are we talking .30-30 iron sights or .30-06/7mm-08 scoped?

Thanxx,

Mitch

TM Wellll I got the Email about being selected for a Fort Boggy GDA Hunt...close enough to the house I can sleep at home. I'll drive down in the next couple days to see what's what and give you a shout about what I find.

I seem to remember seeing someone on here saying that you could get drawn with multiple Permits within the same category...TPW will get a phone call manana AM to check that out...but over the years I'v always entered more tha one entry in a Category and never been drawn twice in a given Category.

Good news is I only had 1 Loyalty Point at play, and if FtB is a bust out I didn't waste my 15 or 16 LP's in GDE on this selection...but haven't had a Selection Notice either.

As far as a shooter to use..I's think LOW power scopes & not more than 100 yard zeros, but mebbe somebody on site at the SP can clear that up. I'm going to hunt a T3 SuperLite 6.5 Swede wearing a 2-10x44...and bring a backup in a 7x57 wearing a 2-10x50....I ALWAYS bring a back up shooter.

Was in Buffalo this afternoon and came home up Hwy 75 to Fairfield to avoid the construction in Oakwood on Hwy 79...and saw one of the largest WTail Does I've ever seen crossing the hwy about 5:30 this afternoon, stopped the middle of the hwy and was confused about continuing to cross, looking back into the pasture she'd just left before scooting across into a thin wooded area as I got closer, running about 60-65.
Ron

Ron,

I appreciate that. I'm gonna try to get my son up there to do some recon in the next few weeks but, not sure I'll be able to make it before the hunt so, ANY information is a help.

I have to say, being sandwiched in between I-45 and Hwy 75 makes me wish I'd stuck to smaller guns. Ah, well, how else can you get experience, except to experience. I'm leaning toward 7mm-08 but, that's subject to change based on advice. The only rifle I have lighter is an old Carcano 6.5 milsurp. Not happening. That's what I get for concentrating on having a solid hog gun.

As for scopes, do you think my 3-9x40 will be okay there? My local range is max 100yds so, the max zero is not a problem. As a newbie, I wasn't planning on trying to match my brother's 300+yd shots or impress anyone with the distance. I just want to hunt safely and take animals as cleanly as possible.

As for points, last year was the first time I entered. 2 people in 4 draws, 2 GDA and 2 GDE. I doubled that to 4 GDA and 4 GDE this year. So, if FBSP doesn't pan out, I haven't lost many points. Based on your GDE points, I guess my odds aren't that good for a GDE this year but, we'll see. Hoping for Enchanted Rock or Colorado Bend if I get drawn.

Mitch

A 7-08 would be a good choice anywhere, about like my Swede or 7Mauser, but the 30-30 & open sights might also be a good choice too especialy if you are more than just familiar with it, based on what was said to me on another thread earlier by some stick&string guys.

Just noticed this is a assigned COMPARTMENT Hunt...that means the SP WILL NOT furnish blinds & the S&S guys were recc'ding a popup, ladder or tree stand but emphasized getting up over the brush to be able to see any distance.

Where I live in Palestine, there is a creek bottom at the end of my street and it is really thick down there...IMO FtB is gonna be just like that I'd be willing to bet. The outside edges will be the thickest, as no sun gets into the middle of a thicket, but the edges are where the sun feeds the vegatation, and you can find short "shooting lanes" inside a thicket.

Your 3x9x40 is the great American avg scope setup, and I bought a couple tad bigger scope's in the 30mm 2-10's for just this application.

If possible I'd look at the idea of practicing shooting offhand with PDQ see, mount, acquire and shoot tactics in one smooth motion...think rabbit/squirrels on the ground hunting with a 22lr rifle at 30-50 yards in the woods. I used to practice this when I first started hunting on some available COE ground by chasing a soda can or similar using a tube fed bolt action 22lr rifle at about those distances....and got good enough to use a tennis ball or a golf ball when I was Really ON. Ummm that was 50 years ago so scratch that idea for me anyway.

The bolt action makes you slow down, concentrate and develop a rhythm and I did better in hitting what I was aiming at with that rig than with my scoped 10-22 spray and pray gun.

Also noted in the TPW write up describing the Hunt details ...no restrictions on weapons ie mebbe a semi auto shotgun and slugs or an AR platform of some sort, and why the old Remmy 740/742/7400 series always sold best in Deep East Texas.... no caliber restrictions at FtB either.
Ron

I could go with an AR in .308. If somebody said "hey, that place is crazy-loaded with large groups of hogs", that's the one I'd go with. I got it for range fun and hogs. I'd need to get a different scope for it so, that would be an opportunity to acquire a scope like what you suggested.

I have a pop-up but, also noticed the rec for high ground. Fortunately, I'm on a diet and recently dropped below 250 so, a portable tripod stand is now within the realm of possibility weight-wise. I have ankle problems so, I'm waffling on the idea of toting another 70lbs across an unknown distance of uneven ground though.

I must admit, I rather thought this would be another year of racking up loyalty points rather than actually getting a hunt. I was hoping if I got lucky that it would be one of the later hunts so I would have more time to get in shape and get prepared. I went ahead and put in for FBSP because it was relatively close and didn't have any terrain warnings that would require me to be in much better shape than I currently am. I can do this without the tripod stand. With it, I'm not sure just yet.

We got drawn for Fort Boggy also. Which hunt were you drawn for? WE were drawn for the Oct 18-20.

Mitch

BT I am also on the 10/18 - 10/20 hunt schedule. Where are you located as home base? Gonna be lots of hunters on the ground with 50 permits & add on's available 'tween both Hunts, and using up some acreage with the Compartment Assignments.

The only good thing about pre sited blinds is that they will be sited with shooting lanes in mind. OTOH with the amount of tree's & brush I am expecting to see you probably could not squeeze a bullet thru the woods more than couple hundred FEET. Since hogs are on the Menu...depending on where the 1st session guy field dress anything they are able to put down ...that could become verrry interesting too.
Ron

BT I am also on the 10/18 - 10/20 hunt schedule. Where are you located as home base? Gonna be lots of hunters on the ground with 50 permits & add on's available 'tween both Hunts, and using up some acreage with the Compartment Assignments.

The only good thing about pre sited blinds is that they will be sited with shooting lanes in mind. OTOH with the amount of tree's & brush I am expecting to see you probably could not squeeze a bullet thru the woods more than couple hundred FEET. Since hogs are on the Menu...depending on where the 1st session guy field dress anything they are able to put down ...that could become verrry interesting too.
Ron

My son and I hunted Fairfield SP a few years ago and could have taken shots up to 300 yards from the stand we were at.

I have hunted Fairfield a couple of times getting in on stand-by. Shot two does there. One at maybe 70 yards and the other inside 50. There was a possibility of shots to maybe 200 at one stand, probably 120 or so from the other. Blinds were brush piled up or put around pallets wired together. One of the blinds I had was not over 15 yards from the road.

Overall, I would rate the hunts a bit below average from the draw hunts I have been on. Don't expect to see a lot of game, but if you are looking to put some meat in the freezer, it beats sitting at home.

I live in Garland. We called to reserve one of the cabins but they would not let us reserve one. My son and I hunted Fairfield three years ago and had a good hunt. My sons blind was about 25 yards off the road and killed a doe and saw more. I had a nice buck at about 18 yds.

I am looking forward to these hunts because it will be the first time one of the guys in my group has got to hunt since having a couple of strokes.

We're on 16th-18th. Coming up from suburban Houston. Probably stay in motel close by as the cabins are booked.

If they have ground blinds with decent lanes established, it sounds like I can skip worrying about a portable tripod. Thank goodness for that.

Keeping those who follow in mind, how far from the blind would be minimum distance for field dressing without fouling the blind area? Even being a newby, I don't want to be "THAT guy".

I need to go take a look at both of these SP's, since I entered App's on both of them and still listed as Pending 2nd draw at Fairfield that is closer to me than FtBoggy is to begin with, but have been eat up working on cleaning up and rebuilding my front yard after having an 80'+ clay sewer pipe replaced, that some idjit covered 1/2 the length of with a driveway.

The plumbers did a nice job with the grassy areas of the front yard, and my skinflint soul as per usual has got me in trouble again when I passed on paying an asphalt contractor almost as much as the sewer pipe cost to redo the circular drive...so I've been swinging a shovel and am using the old asphalt for base material....with a couple tons of new stuff ordered.

At least I can say BTDT when I refuse to do this EVER again. Gotta love rehabbing 50 year old houses with the never ending surprises.

A New Mobile Home is looking better and better, especially outside of a municiple set of Regulations....but I'd probably have to get a divorce to take that route...Hmmmm
Ron

I did an GDA hunt at Fairfield Lake SP back in 2013. The park staff was phenomenal and informative. Depending on what blind you draw and the thickness of the brush/trees, you could have shots opportunities up to 200 yards. The blind I drew was in a pretty thick area and you couldn't see more than 50-75 yards in either direction. I saw 10-12 deer while there, but most were bucks (including a big mature 8 with a high rack). The only 2 does that I saw came in behind me and stopped directly between me and where my truck was parked 100 yards behind me. They stood there looking at me for a good 2-3 minutes and I was just waiting for them to move a few yards in either direction, but when they did, they bolted. Still a fun hunt and I would do it again.

Perhaps the best part of the hunt was getting to speak with one of the other drawn hunters who informed all of us that not only are black panthers in Texas real (he has "seen" them several times), but apparently they hunt in packs like lions according to him.

'98 "packs of Black Panthers" tells me were talkin to a native East Texan, just trying to ward you off his special spot...you shoulda responded with a "Why bless your heart, how good of you to think of my safety with that warning to be on the lookout" yadda yadda and smile back at'em like you were thinking Yep I was born at Nite, just Not LAST Nite though.

GTK though about FF SP's staff, and some open country on some blinds. I'm on a 2nd draw status there.

I had a similar experience being busted at arms length at GuadRvr SP when I got assigned a teepee shaped brushed chicken wire set up and had couple of critters blowing and stomping about 20-25 feet behind me in brush so thick I could not see'em but could smell 'em. If I had been in a ladder stand I coulda done a knife in the teeth Tarzan jump on it's back escapade and had a Real Goat Roping to brag about. The ladder stand I got the next day was behind the Park Mgr's house and spent 3-4 hours watching the Mg'rs black & white tom cat chasing grasshoppers at the foot of my stand, and listening to his kids playing tag at his house about 200-250 yards away on far South East side of the park, about 200 hundred yards south & across the street from the Park Entrance Checkin Booth & Tourist Store. They've now moved the Mgr's house back just north of the water treatment plant last I saw..and where I killed a yearling BlackBuck. I'd go back to HnyCrk or GuadRvr anytime I can get drawn with the good folsk riunning the place back then...IMO Garner's staff could take lesson from these folks.
Ron

The first two times that I got drawn were at Guadalupe river state park two years in a row. Both hunts were antlerless/spike hunts and I got two spikes each year. I would go back any chance I could also. The first year a hunter shot the biggest Aoudad I have ever seen and another hunter shot a blackbuck. There was a lady working there the first year I went I would swear was Gary Busey's twin sister. Ron I look forward to meeting you at Fort Boggy. I have always enjoyed reading your posts.

Mitch

Okay. So, I made it through Harvey without flooding. I'm *VERY* lucky. That said, with regard to this hunt, I'm behind the eight ball. I need to sight in rifles and both ranges I typically go to are under water. One of them, American Shooting Center, is INSIDE the Barker reservoir. The couple others that I know about, if they still exist, are in areas that had heavy flooding as well. Anyone know of a public range north of Houston that is not flooded and has a 100yd rifle range?

The other thing I'm wondering about is, does anyone know how hard Ft Boggy was hit with rain? Are we going to be slogging come October?

Tom

Damage to Ft Boggy...not yet but I should make a tour sometime late next week or so & again in early October. Is Carters out on Trechwig out of commission? Google "Shooting Ranges by County, Texas " and see what comes up, with phone #'s...found a bunch one time up in North Texas DFW area I never knew about.
Ron

I haven't called CC yet but, they are close to some of the flooded areas. On the other hand, they are close to IAH and they didn't get serious flooding there based on the news coverage I saw.

I'll try that Google search. Hopefully it will yield better results than "Houston rifle range". Gave me a lot of indoor pistol ranges and private clubs.

Tom

Last year my son and niece we're fortunate to draw Antlerless/spike Gun tags at Fairfield SP. for the second youth hunt. This made our 5th season hunting the draw system. I must admit this was an awesome 3 days. The fist group had even warmer weather and did not fair as good as the second slightly cooler weathered hunt. The weather was a bit warm but there was alot of deer seen. We hunted two stands on the opposite side of the lake. My niece shot her first two deer ever the first evening of the hunt. Two does. Talking with other groups there was a couple very nice bucks seen. One group hunting on the exact opposite side of the lake from us ( between the ranger station and the camp ground) had a nice 12 point at daylight for 15 min at a corn pile. We had a bobcat in camp the last morning right by our camper under my niece does. LOTS of hogs. My son shot a small hog the last morning. Every morning we bumped hogs off the corn piles walking in. Not sure the final count on kills but I think it was something like 9 deer and 11 hogs. The very far east side of the SP is off limits and holds most the hogs. Big boys too. Several 300+ lb.s killed. The park staff was extremely helpful and always willing to help with accommodations. Another truly great Texas hospitality style place. The showers have hot water too.

Any questions be glad to help.

from the description of the place, I would go iron sights

My son snapped this on the trail in FBSP this afternoon.

.....great pic....those are something to look forward to ....hope they'll stay around past the 1st rifle shot...
Ron

Does anyone know we’re i can hunt in Fairfield TX

I'm first session. I'll try not to scare them all away.

Twelve hours and change until check in.

My son's first hunt, first shot, first deer. I rather like his shot placement. Just wish she hadn't headed straight into the brush. Fort Boggy, and especially TPWD personnel, were good to us.

What a great way to start the young'n on his way with a good experience on the SP Staff's part and a success for his efforts. From the pic, it looks like he had a well placed bullet too.
Ron

Yep, when she bolted after the shot he was afraid it was a bad shot. Naturally, she headed straight for the brush. We couldn't tell where she went. There was not enough blood for us to track through the leaf litter. TPWD personnel came to help us track her down. Knowing the stand so well, they knew right where she was going. I think she made it about 30yds on liquid lungs. They showed him what to look for when tracking, helped him field dress it and, later, gave me pointers on quartering. Even though I didn't take a shot it was a great experience. Just another reason in a long list to love our TPWD. I look forward to more drawn hunts in the future.

BTW: I didn't mention above but, she was 61 lbs field dressed and 3.5 years old.

Anybody bag anything at Ft Boggy during second session?

Congrats!