Hey, thanks a lot for you post. I really do appreciate the recommendations. And it's nice knowing that it can be done when starting from zero. Hopefully I'll get a pig or doe this weekend so that my girlfriends dad can show me how to properly dress an animal. That way, once I go out with some guides, I won't be completely clueless, just a little clueless. I did have a question about hunting public land. How is that done? Can I just go out on the weekend to some public land and basically, just show up? Or do I have to enter a draw?

Thanks again,

I am no expert on the public land rules, but I have looked into Caddo National Grasslands and LBJ National Grasslands, both in North Texas. They each have unique restrictions (e.g., no rifle on LBJ), but you can hunt SOMETHING on them pretty much year round.

There are other public lands where you have to enter for a drawn hunt. I don't know about the exotics or other animals, but I did put my name in for a couple of deer hunts this past year. Most deadlines seem to be in the August - September time frame. There are different categories (Gun Deer - Antlerless, Gun Deer - Either Sex, etc.), and you can put in one application per category. If you get drawn, you pay an additional fee and then get to hunt that land during the time frame for which you were chosen.

It can be a bit overwhelming at first, but I think the bottom line is: There is land you can hunt without a drawing, and there is other land where you will need to be drawn. I don't know much about Austin, but the TPWD website (and just calling the offices) was very helpful for me to figure out where I could hunt without a drawing.

Well, here goes nothin...

How did it go?

Well, I scared the hell out of a pig. Haha. I took a shot at a pig early the next morning. I was aiming at his head at about 150 yds and jerked the trigger. Just a plain old bad shot. Saw a doe that was pretty big, but I would have had to shoot through some branches, and decided to wait for a clean shot. Unfortunately she never moved into a better position and took off shortly after first spotting her. Other than that, I came up with zero, but learned a lot. Should be going again in a few weeks and hopefully I'll have better trigger control the second time around.

You're on the right track. Waiting for a clean shot on the doe shows me that you are being an ethical hunter. A lot of us here can appreciate that. Nothing wrong with missing. It happens, especially when you are starting out, and learning to deal with the whole "buck fever" thing. Keep a good attitude, and you will eventually get the hang of this thing. Please feel free to PM me, if you have any questions that you don't feel comfortable asking on a public forum. I'm a huge supporter to people who are just starting out in this great sport. Best of luck to you!

Glad you were able to get out there, I'm sure you learned alot. Nice job on not risking a bad shot on the doe, and way to man up on admitting the miss. A little more range time will help that problem. Breathe and follow through.

Hey Guys, I just wanted to give a quick update... and brag just a little. Went out again for the second time this past weekend and this time, I didn't miss. Got me a nice ~100 lb sow. I know it's not the biggest, but I'm damn proud of it. It's the first animal I've ever taken. Girlfriend's dad showed me how to gut it, skin it, and quarter it. Really learned a lot. I don't think I could do it myself yet, but I think that a few more times watching and helping, and I'll know enough to get the job done by myself. The experience itself was incredible. Now I know what the allure with hunting is all about.

I was sitting in the stand looking over a spring fed creek. On the other side of the creek, about 130 yards away was the feeder. At 5:45 pm, about 2 hours after first sitting down and seeing not so much as a squirrel, I listened to a gang of coyotes yelping at each other in the distance. They were quickly put in their place by the howl of what I'm guessing was the Alpha male (do coyotes even have "Alpha Males"?). He was loud and very close to me. I looked about 400 yds to my left at the creek bed and watched as he moved out from the tree line, and let out another powerful howl. He looked massive and strutted across the creek like he owned the place. It was amazing!

It was getting dark at about 6:15 and after watching that incredible display of badassary, I thought "I don't even care that I didn't get a chance to take an pig or a doe, seeing that was worth the sit." I started gathering my things in the stand and putting on my jacket to begin the walk back to deer camp. As I am unlatching the door, I looked left and realized that while I was packing up, 7 pigs were busy chowing down on the corn from the feeder. After my heart came down out of my throat, I calmed myself down, took aim at the biggest sow in the group and popped her with a perfect shot behind the shoulder. She went down immediately, did the Curly shuffle for about 45 seconds and then she expired. I've never felt anything quite like that in my life. Excitement, joy, pride, and even a small bit of guilt, all at once. I know that a little pig isn't much to you guys, but to me it will always stay with me, because it is my first. I'm totally hooked and can't wait to get back out there.

Thanks to everyone who posted and gave bits of advice, it really helped me follow through on trying something totally new and unknown.

Excellent! Sounds like you experienced the full range of emotions that make us love hunting the way we do.

Also kudos on getting your hands dirty and processing her out. Don't sell yourself short, I bet you could do one on your own now. It may not be perfect, but hey, thats how we learn!

As for the coyote encounter...man, that sounds a lot like a wolf to me! Awesome experience, either way.

Oh yeah, also great to see someone who's wearing a North Face jacket ACTUALLY wearing it outside the urban jungle

Haha. Ya, why buy a rugged and very warm yet thin jacket, and not wear it when you really need it most? Never thought about that. I have friends that would never wear theirs out camping or hiking because they don't want to get them messed up.

Way to go Chip!

WAY TO GO CHIP "BLOOD N GUTS" CHIPPERSON!

I can tell that you enjoy just being out there... that's what it's all about.

Good job, Bud!
Glad to see you connected.

Great job!

I want one of those adjustable Gambrels (pictured), anyone know where to get one?

Good job, now you're hooked...



X2

Hey, thanks a bunch diver. I just couldn't miss two trips in a row. I wasn't going to let it happen. If it did, there's no way I could show my face around that deer camp again. haha

Don't feel like the Lone Ranger. I missed a couple of shots recently at hogs. I feel snakebit. Great job on your kill.

A belated congrats!

Thanks Newtexan, appreciate it. Going turkey hunting in a few weeks. We'll see how that goes. Never tried to call anything before.

If you really want to charge your batteries, book a nilgai hunt in South Texas. They will lead you out by the hand, dress the animal for you, and you'll end up with a good supply of meat and the experience of killing a good sized animal. Just an alternative to consider; you aren't far from the hunting areas.