Gave up our lease this year and was looking at doing some public hunting. What are the best options that allow rifle hunting. I am not against going to a neighboring state either if that is a good option. Any info is appreciated. It has been a very long time since I hunted public land.

What type rifle hunting... If could aford it, taday is a beautiful day for a rifle hog hunt.. Weather for en & chillen or just ta help the surounding land owners... Could do spot & stalk hunt, old rubs, & might bump deer or two, can always use info for later hunts, i like ta carry small not pad & write down cordenances... Seen thread earlier theirs open leases in pats of whin could aford too, was on several... Best wishes

There is public land that allows rifle hunting up near Bonham. You will need the annual hunting permit to use the property. All of that info is on the Texas Parks and Wildlife Dept. web site.

There are two ways you can do rifle hunts on public land in Texas: postcard hunts and walk-in hunts. For both you need a TX hunting license and the annual public hunt permit.

Postcard hunts are when you enter drawings for particular hunts (deer, hogs, javelinas, etc.) on particular areas on specific dates. There's a lot of competition for these hunts, so it's difficult to get drawn, but the success rate is pretty high.

Walk-in hunts are done where you just "walk in" to a public hunting area during the appropriate season, pick out a spot and hope for the best. There are usually a lot of rules (blaze orange, no baiting, no vehicles) and there are very few spots around the state where you can hunt big game with rifles, so success rate is usually low.

Some of the national forests have rifle hunting, and there are a couple of other places around. It's all spelled out on the TPWD web site.

No way I'm hunting public land during deer season.
I prefer my body free of bullet holes. While it's
rare, there would be no way for me to calm down and
enjoy the hunt, thinking some dumb arse might "mistake
me for a deer". ie. shoot at the general direction
of noise or movement.

Hot, muggy night, no wind, cant sleep.. Hunting public land gun deer hunts are a challange compaired ta privet land... Every one trying ta find good place, on lease every one has a stand, usualy buddies or family.. Public land ya have ta wear the bright orange, deer & hogs are color blind, yet can detect the movement of the solid color.... Have humted several public land during rifle hunts... For the price it gives the lw income , under privlaged a place ta hunt... Thing i like about it, ya dont have ta listen ta lease members & their, that ones too small, or too young... Legal is legal & if ya want big racked deer, they are out thar, & the 13"+ rule educates the deer, they have survived several hunting seasons... Best wishes & safe hunting...

The neighboring states have a short rifle season for deer.

Yeah I have heard a lot of horror stories. Looks like I wont have to be doing it after all. I have a hunt booked in December. And got invited to NM for mule deer only cost will be my tags.

I have hunted public lands since the 80s. almost always get a deer
be it buck or doe. If you do your research and spend the time I thinks its great hunting. Some thing about setting in a blind waiting on a deer to come and
eat some corn does not excite me. One on one in the forest is true hunting
and feels very rewarding. My wife has also been hunting with me on public land since the early 90s and also has a good track record on getting deer.
Even on the few years I have been on a lease I find myself back in the SAM.
Good luck to all !!

ta THF.. on the public hunts.. Gave up leases whin they opened up WMA just down the road... Will say enjoyed the group that hunted with on leases, most dont hunt any more, & land owners were okay... Its archery anly, does have draw hunts.. Seen lots of nice deer over the years just as nice as ones on the photo form ... Some great times, as they say, all good things come to an end... Now a days ya gotta bring gun ta chuch... Best wishes on up comimg hunts.. Safe hunting.. Acidents do happen,

An fella from the Richland area told my dad they lost a lot of deer due to flooding. If that's true then it makes sense to cancel. They could still let me hunt and the deer would be safe. Taken 2 shots with my bow out there and missed em both.

If you put in for a drawn rifle hunt, you don't have to worry about other hunters. That's what I'm normally do. I've never hunted public land with a rifle.

East Texas Forest Hunting can be productive & have seen and collected some nice deer over the years.
when hunting in the forest make sure you do your scouting . We always used climbing tree stands go out early / go up a tree / pull off blaze orange and disappear & not have to worry about other hunters . I actually use the late arriving ground hunters to drive deer to me / worked out great for a number of years. Hunting in East Tx pine forest is pretty cool. but once back on the ground put your blaze orange back on. The major reason I quit hunting there is they outlawed ATV or just about any wheeled vehicle or even horses. you can hike it off road but getting a deer out from 2 miles in will flat bust your @ss . Wife shot a buck over 2 miles in and after we packed it out she said never again.
if you hunt with a group of guys it would not be so bad as long as you had willing help. but hunting with my wife 5 foot nothing and 125lbs guess who gets to do most of the packing out.

I bought a 100 dollar game cart. It's great for hauling deer and pigs out or hauling duck decoys and gear in. I even use it as jetty cart when I get a notion to fish saltwater.

been hunting for two years nothing yet but haveing fun in the woods

ta THF... Whin they opened up the WMA just down the road, started hunting it, archery only, back then permit was $40.00... Hunted some of the ones that offered rifle.. Over the years seen several go back ta leasing, Unit #120 just one of them.... Whin ya low income, just starting out, cant beat the price... Have helped people find deer, bring out hogs, & have had friends help me... Best wishes...

Unit #120 was a good one, I got a deer every year but one year plus a few hogs.

on the unite #120 the one hear is archery only, enjoyed me archery hunts... Whin son passed the hunter safty corse, got him a 270 & we used ta hit #120 their was two sections, biggest was bout 18,381 acres, then it had a smaller section bout 8 miles away on other side of 84, off cr397... Great memories, friend & i hunted it also that last year, they were. cutting timber, leaving strip's...

I've been to Sam Houston Nat'l Forest a few times, and seen a few deer, but they are always too far away for whatever I'm hunting with (either archery or Black Powder). A few years ago, I was scouting out some possible areas the day before Archery season started, and on the way out, I saw a beautiful 10 point buck that a guy hit with a deer. I pulled off the road to see what was going on, and there were 3 guys there that looked like they were about to cry. One of the guys told me he had hunted the forest for years and had never seen such a nice deer. Unfortunately, a Game Warden came and hauled the deer away to some lucky family. I spent the next three days in the woods and never saw a deer, but one of these days.....