We all know about 95 percent of Texas is private land. What if Texas was the other way around, like NM, Colorado ect??? Would this be a good thing or a bad thing as far as hunting for all of us??? Would the deer population deminish??? Bigger or smaller deer, more hunters, less hunters???What are your thoughts????

With lease and land prices steadily increasing, It would be nice to have more QUALITY public hunting areas available. Not sure on the others ???'s, but if it ain't broke......Don't fix it!

What we see now as well managed deer habitat ranches would not be the same. Even the leases that are well managed would be gone. The tag system that we have would mean most would shoot what they see irregardless of age. Overall I think the deer would be in poor shape and the few trophies would be a real trophy. With no feeding programs and no protein programs the deer would be smaller. In West Texas the deer hunting would be like it was 40 years ago, smaller deer and a lot less to see.

Assuming it was mostly public land, we probably wouldn't be able to use feeders. Therfor not as many deer would be killed, IMO. So I don't think it would decrease the population.

If you feed the deer you can get them to come to a feeder almost like clock work. They are a little harder to figure out and find if you have to spot and stalk.

Without the feeders a lot of deer would die of starvation or would be in such shape as not to breed as they do now, also more early fawn deaths. Before the feeders became available there were very few deer in areas that are now 5 deer counties.

I'm not sure what it would be like. I personally think the biologists are doing a darn good job now.

keep it private

I just don't think the feeders feed the deer population that much.

Now, if it were mostly public there would not be as much farm land for them to graze on. That would be a set back for them.

Buy as green as everything has been this year the deer are just not hitting the feeders. I'm sure you've read just as many complaints as I have on here about people not seeing many deer at the feeders because of that reason.

i know that if texas owned our land the deer would looks a whole lot worse than they do now

We'd be over run with guys from Pennsylvania or Florida and the death rate for horse, mules, and cows would skyrocket. Anything brown would be down.

damn......hope they don't see me in the woods then

lmao!!

The deer would manage as they have before. I saw more deer 20 ago than I have seen in the last 5 years.

I dont really care one way or the other however it SICKENS me to see so much unoccupied space and some [censored] wants a fortune for a tiny little plot... ... I mean how is it that with this much land an honest hard working AMERICAN by blood cant get a leg up without a fortune... I think one person should be allowed a certain amount based on his production and purpose and not have some selfish jerk sittin on half a county while other NATIVE AMERICANS struggle to get a darn place to hang their hat...

I'm pretty anti-government / pro-free market, but with the rate that private land is being busted up and developed for subdivisions, one day we're going to wish that we had set more land aside for preservation.

Look at the rate that land has been developed in the last 50 years. What's it going to look like in the next 50?

I agree land fragmintation is a serious problem.

Man sounds like some of you guys want even bigger government than we have now. Limiting how much land a person can buy, limiting what people can do with their own land, and wanting handouts in some cases in this thread. This makes me sick. How about working for your own stuff, and not wanting to limit the choices of others? I can't believe this, maybe we should not be called the land of the free.

I agree HELO!!! I grew up hunting in NM and when I hunted there was such a thing as knocking on doors and asking permission. The the State Agencies got involved and now everything is a DRAW HUNT!....and license fess have SKY ROCKETED! Makes me sick.

Now to answer your question, more public land in Texas would just screw up the good thing we have now. I am sorry that some cannot afford to get on a lease, but when you manage the land you hunt, then you are responsible for the deer you have, take "El Jefe" for example, even though my neighbor shot him, we have had the thrill of hunting this 209" Beast for the past 2.5 years.....you would never get that chance on PUBLIC land with the amount of hunters you have in TEXAS unless things went to a Draw Hunt.....JMO!!?

I say more public land would be nice, but what makes texas hunting what it is is our ability to manage. You cant manage public land, so the deer herd's would suffer.

And 7mag, thats the funniest thing i have read in a while, i am still LMFAO!

you voted for obama didn't you.....


if you want land then work for it, make it a priority, not bitch and moan that you don't have any even though you work hard and "deserve" some

I think your reply is a knee jerk reaction that implies all gov't is bad.

Should we repeal the Texas Open Beaches Act? Or how about selling the National Seashore to private developers? After all, if you want to drive on the beach you should just work for it and buy your own place right...?

My point is that unlike taxes/personal income, there is only so much land. and once it's paved over and developed it's pretty much going to stay that way. I'm concerned about the future generations being able to experience nature. And at the rate we're going there's not going to be a lot of undeveloped area left for them to experience.

The days of knocking on doors to hunt is over. I grew up being able to hunt on every surrounding farm from our own. Now all but one is busted up and sold. My kids will never know the freedom of walking all day and not seeing a house. That is what makes me sick...

as far as walking all day and not seeing a house, this isn't the 1800's anymore, your gonna have to deal with it.

And there is a few ranchers who let people hunt for free/trade work for, but typically they let other rual people do it, not people from the city who they don't even know.

txtrophy, I agree. I was responding to the people who are complaining about having to draw for hunts when they used to be able to knock on doors...

Born in texas but raised in s.w. new york and had plenty of public land to hunt and years ago you could get permission to hunt by knocking on the door. I know things have changed as far as getting permission to hunt but all the public land is still there for the folks who cant pay thousands to hunt. Also the deer are as numerous as ever and if you have the money to lease a property its very reasonable unlike here. People wont pay the prices they do here and the taxes are alot higher in ny than here so the excuse of gotta pay those high taxes wont fly. Dont think anybody has to lease there land dirt cheap but todays prices way to high for most.