i just moved here from new york. i'm a hunter. trying to figure out how to get started here with the hunting. it's very different here in new york you get your licence and go in the woods and kill a deer and call it in to the department of envirolmental conservation when killing a deer. here you got to lease land or know someone to hunt or own land or hunt on government land. any idea's on how to get started when i get my hunting licence or who to contact.

As far as places to hunt, this forum is a good place to start.

Regarding the license, you can go to most any sporting goods store (Academy, Bass Prop, Wal Mart, etc.) to pick one up. You pay, they'll ask you a few questions, and print one out for you (along with tags for any animals you harvest) The license process is pretty simple here.

97% of the land in Texas is private.

Over 80% of the land is in Alaska is public.

You pay to play in Texas. I'm fortunate and have a lifelong friend that owns 700 acres that my son and I hunt.

Like D-Day said, most of Texas is privately owned so you have to either know someone that invites you to hunt, join a lease, or hunt public land of which there are thousands of acres across the state. If you want to hunt public land then you will have to get a permit and you will get a book of maps that shows all the public hunting places and the rules for each. Getting a license is simple enough but using it can get confusing for newbies. The county you hunt in will have its own bag limit per species so you have to know that. Many of the counties now fall under antler restriction guidelines so you need to familiar with that. One of the things that gets lots of veterans is not filling out the hunter log on the back of the license- its one thing to use the correct tag but make sure you fill out the log on the back of the license- that is the first thing a game warden will look at if you get checked.

Just go hunting. Dont let the crazy deer people ruine your hunting. Texas is real special!
Went to grociery store in town yesterday. On the way home me and my girlfriend saw some does in a field by a bisuness. Pulled over to look at them with binocs. Then drove off and then an insane guy started following us around in a new truck. He ran up along the side of us in the oncoming traffic lane flashing his truck headlights and cut us off to pull us over. He yelled what are yall doing?I said what are you doing? He made poaching accusations. I could see two beers in his center console and told him he was an insane drunk and that looking at deer is not illegal!! He drove off. I followed him and called in his tags to DPS and noted that that he was drinking and pulling people over on the edge of town to police them on not doimg whatever was goin on in his insane mind about deer.
Just go hunting and stay away from the sick deer crazed Texans. Enjoy. They are nuts. I try real real hard to do so and they always make their way into my biz.
PS. Deer gazing in town in my shorts and tennies with binocs at some slick heads aint poaching!! Calm down wanta be wardens and just go apply at the state offices.
Welcome to Tejas.

First, you need to know where you are going to hunt.

Public land - I hunted it for over 15 years, before Antler Restrictions, and saw very little to shoot and it was pretty dangerous. So if you hunt PL you need to scout the area, now before the start of gun season, you do not want to be walking around opening weekend looking for a place to hunt disturbing other hunters. You need to be alert at all times for hunters around you. It can be quite rewarding but you will need to put the work in.

Lease hunting - I've "hunted" it for the last ten+ years. You pay land owner or agent. They take you around to find an open area to hunt. You buy a feeder or two and get it/them set up and filled. You buy/build a stand and get it set up. Then opening morning you wait for the deer to come to the feeder and pick out the one you want and shoot it.

I think that covers it.

If you were born after 1969 you will need to take Hunters ed as well before hunting . It can be taken online , about 6 hours of butt time.

FIY if hunting public land... go later in the season. You will most likely not be able to take a doe but you will see more deer and fewer hunters. Keep in mind that our fire arms season is 2 months long and if allowed on that property, you have a muzzle loader season that extends another 2 weeks.

Z