This is my first year entering for drawn hunts. I think I will enter quite a few of them.

I am curious about how soon they will get back with you if you are drawn and how they will let you know.

Also, I would like to hear short summaries on your different hunt experiences if you were drawn. Which hunts, where, how it all went.

You can call an 800 number to find out if you were drawn or not. I've been drawn 5 different hunts and all were conducted very professionally.

Call (512) 389-8221 and follow the menu. No need to call until about two weeks or better after the deadline for that particular drawing.

As for my experience with drawn hunts, I have had several OK hunts, and a few AWESOME hunts. I've never had one that I would call bad. Regarding specific locations of where the great ones are, I'm waiting until after the draw dates to share that.

I've been on quite a few. I wouldn't waste my time calling to find out. By the time you do get thru, you will get the notice of selection in the mail first.
If you do get drawn, you will get a notice in the mail, not long after TPWD does the draw. In the notice will be a form to fill out to return along with the permit fee. You will have a deadline to get this back to TPWD. Once they get it, TPWD will send you the permit for that hunt. Then you will take that permit with you the day of the hunt.
As far as the hunts I've been on, I can only recall one hunt where I didn't have a shot opportunity. I have enjoyed every one of them.

I have been drawn down at Chaparral the last two years and have seen some great deer. I look at it this way, it is an opportunity to sit and hunt in areas that I might not ever get the chance to otherwise. Remember it is a hunt and just enjoy the time outdoors.

You guys need to listen to Palehorse, he speaks the truth. I still remember that beautiful Muley you took up north. Baker

Thanks.

If you are drawn for a hunt you will receive a letter of selection about 2 weeks after the drawing deadline. If you are not selected you will receive a card on "Notice of Non Selection" about 3 weeks after dead line. If you are selected, about 3-6 weeks after deadline you will recieve a letter from the hunt area. It will include names drawn on your card, basic maps of area, basic details of hunt, information about hunt and contact information for area. I alway enjoyed every hunt we have been on. Great to see some different beautiful country and great game on the WMA and sites. TPWD personell have always gone overboard to make sure you have a very enjoyable hunt. Most of the areas (with camping grounds)will allow hunter camping during hunts for normal fee.

I have not been drawn but I have gotten on a couple hunts by going stand by. Just call ahead and see if there are any stand by spots. If there is you show up at a predetermined time and they hold a drawing for the spots. I have really enjoyed the hunts I have been on. I was assigned a compartment. Some of the time there was others in my compartment but some time I had the whole compartment to myself. I have used pop ups, lean to, hang on and tri pods. I have a 90% succes rate on the hunts I have been on. I have hunted Richland Creek and Gus Engling. Good luck.

For the hunts where baiting is allowed.....

Do you just show up and put out corn the day before or do you know your stand location ahead of time where you can go out and bait in the days and or weeks before the hunt?

You will not know which stand or compartment you will be hunting until the first day of the hunt. If the hunt is by assigned blind, and they allow baiting, they will sometimes bait the area for a few weeks prior to the hunt.

Choosing your compartment or blind will sometimes be done in the order in which you were drawn, or sometimes they pull names out of a hat. The first drawn gets first pick.

If you get drawn, do a little research and ask the folks on this forum about the individual WMA. There is most likely someone who has hunted it and will usually give some nice tips. I have a lot of good folks on here to thank that have helped me out with prehunt intel.

No baiting ahead of time, not even the day before. You can only put corn out once your hunt starts.

Thats how it was done on the 2 hunts Ive been on where baiting was allowed.

If the hunt is by compartment, once they turn you loose, do a speed scout of the area, then pick 2 or 3 spots and corn, if that hunt allows baiting.
I've been on one draw hunt, (Mineral Wells SP),that was by assigned blind and the dept did the corning. They told us they had been corning the stands for almost 2 weeks. What they did when we were dropped off, was spread out a coffee can of corn. They really wanted us to take a lot of deer off.
And I did my part!!!

Nothing but good experiences here. I like to pick different locations/hunts each year and it has allowed me to travel to all points of Texas to hunt and meet new friends. I still get invited to hunt a friend's lease each year, however, if you want to see more of what Texas has to offer...this is the best thing.

Sounds like a great opportunity where do you sign up at?

I've hunted several of them. The only one I didnt have a good experience at was White Oak. The others have been ran well. Like others have said you get to see some country you normally wouldnt be able to see.

I put in for a bunch of them. Am I fooling myself thinking I might get drawn for one or two on my first year trying?

That's what I was wondering. If some if the areas keep the same ratio of permits to applicants then some odds are like 10 to 1. Which is pretty good if you put in for a good number like that. But then again idk how the preference points work

The odds are probably not quite as good as you think, especially in your first year. For every year you are not drawn in a category, you get another point. These points are essentially another ticket in the drawing. So it there are 500 applicants and 10 get drawn, you may calculate it as 1 in 50. However, you don't know how many preference points the others had.

I've been putting in for 4 years, and have yet to be drawn.

Nope. My brother and I got drawn for a management hunt our first year putting in for the draw, but haven't been drawn in any category in the two years after. Your chances are less than those that have put in before and have preference points, but you still might get lucky like we did. Hoping year 4 will result in us getting drawn in at least one category.

So on the application you send in there is a space to list other group members. If they draw me, does my buddy get a permit for an animal too or does he just get to tag along?

Question #2 is, if it is the case that he would get a permit as well if I my app is drawn, can he still fill out his own app and list me under the "other group member section"?

Question #1. Everyone on the application gets to hunt.

Question #2. No.

"ONLY ONE APPLICATION PER PERSON will be allowed in each HUNT CATEGORY (example GDE: Gun Deer Either Sex). A person may
apply in each of the HUNT CATEGORIES (examples GDE, GDA, EXO, etc.). If MORE THAN ONE application is received for the SAME
HUNT CATEGORY (GDE) with the same individual�s name or Social Security Number appearing anywhere on the application cards, ALL
applicants on the application cards will be DISQUALIFIED and the application fees WILL NOT be refunded. It does not matter where
your name appears on an application card, THAT IS YOUR APPLICATION for that hunt category. Even if another person puts your name
on their application card or you apply for different areas (Kerr, Chaparral, Garner, etc.) in the SAME HUNT CATEGORY (example GDE),
EVERYONE on those cards WILL BE DISQUALIFIED, and none of the application fees will be refunded."

Read the book and all your questions will be answered.

Thanks for the response. Dont have the book and couldn't find any clarification on the website, so thats why I asked on here. Again, thanks for clearing it up for me.

No prob compadre. you can download the book here.

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/publications/pwdpubs/media/pwd_bk_w7000_0112.pdf

Just to clarify none of the deer you take on a drawn hunt will take away any of your tags? True or false