Drawn for the USFS anterless deer permit - SHNF

I was fortunate to be drawn for the antlerless deer hunt at SHNF. Valid dates are from Nov 4 through January 17. This will be my first public hunt and my first deer hunt. I have a couple basic questions.

Am I able to hunt and harvest my one antlerless whitetail deer anytime during the stated dates? I believe this is the case, but just want to make sure that I don't need to show up on the first day to register or anything.

Do I need any permits or anything else aside from my hunting license and the tags that they are mailing me for this hunt?

I'm assuming that I can also go ahead and harvest any feral hogs that I happen to see while hunting for this deer, correct?

Any tips on hunting in the SHNF for a novice like myself?

What you have is a permit to shoot an antlerless deer on a walk-in hunt during any of the dates listed. Walk-in deer hunts at SHNF are usually for bucks only, so with the permit you have a much better chance of getting a deer. You don't need anything beyond that, your hunting license and annual public hunting permit. Your permit isn't for a scheduled hunt; you can go whenever you want and no registration is required. You do need to take any deer hunted to the designated check station, though.

And you can hunt feral hogs year-round at SNHF with the APH permit.

My tip is for you to check out satellite pics of the area you want to hunt, scout on foot if possible, and get set up in a likely location before dawn and plan to stay all day. Areas nearest the cities and along the main roads will be most crowded, so try to find out-of-the-way areas. Public hunting is challenging, so be prepared. Are you in good enough shape to hike a mile or so in the wilderness with a rifle and pack, and hopefully hauling a deer? Know how to find your way out of the forest?

Good luck!

You can hunt whenever you want. There is no registration. You will need your antlerless permit, your hunting licence with proof of hunter safety education, and an Annual Public Hunting permit. You get that the same place you get your licence. You will use the antlerless permit for your doe and the tags on your licence for your buck.


This FAQ should answer most of your questions. Read it carefully. Game wardens are active in the area and many tickets are written because folks were unaware of the rules.

https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5426745.pdf

Yes you are good to shoot a doe with a rifle during regular rifle season with your doe tag. You need your hunting license your drivers license and your doe tag along with your hunter educ cert.

No, you do not have to take or register your deer except if you shoot a one on Opening day and up to noon on Sunday then those days you have to go to a check in station with your deer but the rest of the year you dont have to do anything but load her up in the truck and head home. If you have never hunted the SAM before then I would not worry about that. I promise you wont bag one on your first day and especially on those 2 crazy days when it is like a madhouse.

Know the rules! Orange must be worn. No loaded rifles near the truck. No baiting. Park in a spot that doesnt block any forest roads etc etc Read your APH booklet for the rules.

You can shoot hogs all year long during official daylight hours of course.

If you have never hunted the SAM before you will be a little overwhelemed. 100,000 acres is a lot of land to hunt. Break it down and forget google earth. Go to mytopo.com and look at the area by topo map.

You want to find animal highways. Once you figure out a place or area that you know deer move through your next problem is shooting lanes. If you are in a treestand no problem but if you are hunting on foot then these shooting lanes are what you are looking for constantly.

I suggest you start out by hilly areas along creeks that will give you a lot of visibility. Get in your predetermined spot before the sun comes up and be still and quiet and see what comes in to your view. It took me 7 trips to bag a doe last year and I saw deer on almost all of my trips except maybe 1 or 2. I saw multiple deer most days and was busted twice. Maybe I needed a HECS suit.

Good luck

Thanks for all the great info. This will be my first time hunting public land, and my first time at the SHNF. Is there a primer somewhere on exactly what I need to do? I am wondering about the following:

Do I need to check-in anywhere before I start hunting?

I see that there are designated hunter camp sites. Do I need to leave my vehicle parked at one of those sites, or can I just park on the side of a road (in the designated public hunt area), and walk in to a hunting spot from there?

Do I need to camp at a designated hunter camp location, or can I stay at one of the other campgrounds that have better facilities?

I am planning to drive up from Houston on Friday evening after work, and stay through the weekend. If I need to check-in when I get there, how can I find the hours of operation?

Sorry for the basic questions, and thanks in advance for any info y'all can provide.

You will receive a booklet whenever you purchase your aph permit it has all of the rules in it as far as checking in know you don't have to check in anywhere just go hunt whenever you want wherever you want you can stay wherever you want whenever you want no rules

You can park anywhere you want just do not block a road

Thanks. When I bought my license at Academy, I got a booklet titled "Texas Parks & Wildlife Outdoor Annual Hunting and Fishing Regulations". Is this the booklet you are referring to? I think I need to read it a bit closer.

Nah thats just the free booklet anyone can have. You're gonna have to pony up 48.00 to get the APH book that list all the WMA's.Maps are included in it.I never hunted SHNF but apparently it is a WMA and you must buy the APH to hunt there.

No that is not it. Did you pay an extra $48 for the APH annual public hunting permit? When you pay for that you will get the book for public lands

You need the aph to legally hunt the sam

I never hunted SHNF but hunted the old unit #120 outside Palestine for several years,and timber company land that wasn't posted.Similar terrain. Best advice I can give is dress from head to toe in blaze orange and hunt opening weekend.Lots of deer will be killed that weekend.Tons of hunters in the woods keep the deer moving.After the first few days mature bucks will go strickly nocturnal.

Yes, I paid the $48 for the APH, and I have the APH notation on my hunting license. Were they supposed to give me the map book at Academy when I got my license, or is that something that gets mailed to me by TPWD?

It will be mailed to you.Might take a couple weeks.

My son and I also won ADP's for SHNF. We hunted Alabama Creek last year. I recommend good hiking boots, not going on opening weekend and this app on your phone to keep from getting lost. www.onxmaps.com It saved me 2x last year from getting lost.

I guess that means you were able to get cell service the whole time you were out there? I use a handheld gps because I got far enough in a few times that my phone lost all service.

Can a gps still get signal under all that canopy?

I use my phone if I need to and I typically always have service out there.

Mine works great. Got all my spots and trails marked in the gps with no orange tape to lead others to my spot. It’d be a sad day if I ever lose it though....

Anyone been out there lately? Still alittle too early for me but I was.thinking of heading out one afternoon to set up my ground blind and look for a few hogs. Just curious how thick the canopy still is?

Leaves are in the process of falling. I went yesterday and the only noise I heard the whole time was leaves falling.

As usual too many people for opening day last weekend. Fewer this weekend but still a lot. I haven’t seen a single deer yet although I’m all over good sign.

It definitely makes it tough ehen everything is green and thick. Hopefully we will get some cool weather and get those deer moving. Im guessing they are only moving in the mornings right now

I have a doe permit also for Sam Houston. Was going to hunt this Friday. I just noticed that the regs for Montgomery county say no harvesting of doe between 11/4-11/26 on National Forest Service land. Does that apply even if you have the drawn tag?

If you have a doe tag for shnf then that tag is good for the dates listed on the tag itself. As long as you are in the sam of course.

Anyone been out here lately? I plan on going soon and trying to make good use of my doe permit.

Any rules or regs that I should be aware of that can be overlooked easily? I was planning on maybe walking a pipeline corridor or something.

Dont go back to the truck with a loaded rifle. That is a no no and will get you a ticket.

Dont block a road or path when parking. wear orange all the way back to vehicle. Dont hunt within 50 yards of pipelines roads or trails.

Pipelines are good to walk however I suggest you go walk creeks instead. Major creeks. Look for obvious game trails with fresh tracks and also look for fresh dung. Once you find that area you know they are traveling find some shooting lanes for your treestand or build a small ground blind so you can come back the next trip. Get in that blind before the sun comes up and see what comes walking your way. i will usually sit till 10 or 11 am depending on how cramped or how much I have to take a whiz. 10 am is about the latest that I saw deer last year, I saw deer on 5 of 7 trips last year. This year I have been too busy to hunt. I made 1 trip to set up my ground blind and I havent had a chance to go hunt for deer yet.