Anyone ever do the public land hunts for deer? specifically anyone been to either lake aquilla, or to the big sam houston national forestry place? trying to put together a couple hunts to some of these places next season. which ones are the better areas?

Erich

I pay the 48$ but I hunt at Moore Plantation outside of jasper..good hunting..but with every public place you need to 2 things to come together to make anything work and thats seclusion and food....do you bow hunt?? less pressure during bowseason.. your best bet is to try and find a patch of oaks thats not being hunted..its hard but very possible..you will have to do scouting for sure.. rut also plays a big part..if you can hunt during rut your chances are much better..but try and find a secluded place near oaks and you get a deer

I'll hunt public land in 5 different states.This is the first year I've hunted TX;here I've only hunted Caddo National Grasslands and Aquilla haven't taken a deer on either one but both have good potential.I prefer to hunt during the week as the crowds are a lot smaller then.It's a good idea to study topo maps of the area as this will give an idea on where to start scouting.Going to some public land in Arkansas as their bowhunting seaon has a couple of weeks left in it.Gen 27:3

I have hunted Caddo grasslands,Aquilla and a few other places in the map booklet.There is a lot of land at Caddo and it is very thick but the deer are there but you really have to scout around to find them.I missed a good buck last year and saw dozens of doe.This year I got drawn for doe permit but never filled it and never saw a buck.I did hunt Aquilla more this year it is shorter drive.Aquilla is muzzleloader/shotgun/archery only but I saw alot of game this year.I have never hunted the National Forest but have heard good things about them.I did some scouting in Angelina last summer but never got back to hunt it.I say buy the permit there are alot of places to hunt and if you bow there are even more places.

I used to do it. Not bad. Never got anything though. I went to the Angelina national forest, by Sam Rayburn. Crap load of acerage. Seen does, but not having any doe tags, thet did not do us any good. By the time we went, which was about 3 weeks after open day, they were all shy. Saw quite a few peole not wearing their blaze orange, and if someone was not paying attention, there could have been many accidents. Decent camping areas there also. Not to close to one another. Rangers patrol the area constantly. If it was a new shift, one would stop by to check our licenses and make sure our guns were not loaded at the camp sight. Just some info from my experience.

Glen

I too have hunted Moore. Seen som good ens' taken there. Would love a lease near there. Any help finding one??

thanks for the info. i've bought the public permit for a couple years, but only used it for dove hunting. was wanting to get into the deer and especially the hogs though. i don't have a bow yet, but i've got a shotgun slugger, and a muzzle loader. and wanting a bow.