Welcome!

I hunted public land for many years before finding a few land owners that wanted hogs gone more than cash in their pockets. I too do odd jobs and do what I can to both maintain our friendship and respect their land. Case of beer (or Dr. Pepper) on the door step after a late night hunt also goes a long ways.

When hunting public land look for natural food sources that are in season like plums, blackberries, acorns, pecans, etc. and hunt first and last light hard. Plan on hunting a bunch and success being hard earned.

On private lands I really like a hog tube or spin feeder with a solar light and hunting into the wee hours.

Welcome again and best of luck!

-ww

welcome friend if u are anything like my buddys in Minnesota am sure ur a great guy, ant got much to add maybe u can get on a good lease in the area , if u ever get used to hunting private land were it is controlled who and how many is allowed u may actually like it, I have hunted up by internatnal falls and been able to take two bears, and have made some very good friends , took four of them hog hunting two weekends ago we did not get any but saw serveal groups , hope u get a batch og hogs and a bunch of new friends in texas, its different but u will find not all bad .

Welcome!

I was reading an article today and thought of this thread. Thought I would share with you because this is how I found a place.

"The quest for permission involves maps and phone calls, networking with other hunters, talking with wildlife biologists and game wardens, and then doing more networking—with school bus and mail drivers, taxidermists, and others who might lead you toward a receptive landowner.
The opportunities to develop innovative approaches and strategies are limited only by the hunter’s imagination. For most situations, simply projecting a positive, confident, responsible, and respectful attitude while making a reasonable request is usually enough."

God Speed!

Thanks for the welcome, kind words & tips guys! I keep looking forward to this move more and more. I'm still waiting on my ATF & FBI background checks to get back & once that clears I'm on the way! I keep reading more & more every day about the awesome hunting & fishing out there as I sit up Nort' freezing my butt off! We've actually had some really nice days lately & the waterfowl are migrating though the Dakotas. Quite the spectacle! Btw, I shoulda offered this earlier, but if you scratch my back I'll scratch yours. I'll be making 3+ trips to NoDak every fall for waterfowl & pheasant, & if any of you guys would be willing to show me the ropes down there & maybe get me on a few hogs, you're more than welcome to tag along with me! Believe me when I say it's the best wing shooting in the country. Killed 99 ducks & geese & 43 roosters last fall, & that's after working 80-120+ hours/wk & no dog.

Fishing in Victoria is pretty good to. Coleto reservoir has decent bass and blue cat fishing. Not sure about crappie. I know it has em, never fished for em though. And port oconnor, rockport, sea drift are all close. Plus you can fish the innercoastal canal for red and specks. I grew up there and miss the salt water.

Well then you should look at it from a Texas landowners perspective.

One thing you will find out when you get here is we do not have state income tax here in Texas. To compensate for that, our sales tax is a bit higher than other states, and our property taxes are a LOT higher than some other states. And oh by the way, that is also why there is so little public land to hunt on.... 'cause if the govm't owns the land, they ain't collecting taxes on it!!

So while you chastise that landowner of several hundred acres filled with wild hogs and other game for not letting you hunt for free, just know that he is paying out the nose every year for that chunk of land. And if he can recoup some of that expense by leasing out the hunting rights, then why shouldn't he?