Quick question - I'm 90% sure I know the answer to this, but want to just confirm - You can rifle hunt hog and rabbit year round on the Sam Houston NF, but need to wear hunter orange as long as its not an area that specifically notes no hunting or archery only, correct?

not sure about rabbits and i cant recall ever seeing a rabbit.

Hogs you can hunt all year just wear your hunter orange and keep your gun unloaded around your vehicle.

thank you sir. weird about the Rabbits. I did a quick search and see a few similar posts where people say they've never seen them in the Forest. Would have thought they'd do pretty well in there

Squirrels are a bit more common for sure!

Yes, hog and rabbit year round in Sam Houston, daytime only. Hunter orange is mandatory for those critters. Much of it isn't very good rabbit habitat and I think what rabbits that are there are mostly going to be nocturnal. I'm sure there will be exceptions.

You would think there would be thousands of squirrels in that forest also but there arent really that many. I see a few here and there but not as many as I would expect.

There are TONS of squirrels in Sam. You see them mostly right at dusk. I've had them climb the tree that I'm sitting in. Also had them come up a neighboring tree to mine and stare at me face to face while I'm in my climber. I see squirrels almost every time I go out.

I have seen a few rabbits in Sam, but not that many. One year while sitting in my climber I had two adult rabbits playing, and chasing each other around out in front of me. They were making quite the racket.

Hog hunting is legal year round. According to the Public Hunting Lands booklet I just received, on page 118, it says "rabbits & hares". No limit listed, and no seasons listed-so it must be open season all year. Hunters orange required basically at all times if you are hunting anything.