There is Davy Crockett and Sam Houston. Lot's of acres but is it overrun with hunters and no deer?

In areas yes. Though later in the season, middle of the week especially, there are some big deer that get shot. If you know what to look for you can still find areas that have good deer populations.

While some areas see a lot of action, there are others that hardly ever see a hunter.

I took this deer in the Davy Crockett several years ago and have seen deer taken with far bigger racks.

The deer are there. But as with all public land, you have to both work smart and work hard.

Problem with the National forests in east Texas is that old growth pine forest isn’t great whitetail habitat and the numbers of deer reflect that.

Best thing they could do would be to clear cut large portions of it

I hunted the SAM this year for the first time and feel like I’d been duped. All I hear about public hunting lands is they’re overrun with hunters, and conflict is around every corner. That couldn’t have been further from the truth. I hunted weekday mornings so I’ll admit I didn’t see it on weekends, but I think I saw 4 other hunters the entire season and I went out about 10 times. Those hunters were just driving by in their trucks too, so never actually saw anyone out actively hunting. I think the whole “public land hunting sucks” comments are just public land hunters trying to scare guys from trying it out. Maybe I got lucky, or maybe I just made enemies of the other public land hunters on the forum

I’ve hunted public land in several western states.

It can range from being crowded to wondering if we will see a person. I’ve has luck in crowded areas but I’ve also been in areas that if something would have happened to me it would have been a long while before someone found my body

It's what you make of it. My guess would be that only about 20% to 25% of the land actually gets hunted on any of the 4 big units. Most of that is within 200 yards of the road or up the local creeks. Use satellite maps to find places that require a little more walking or be smart and hunt the places that the deer escape to when the crowds hit ! Oh, and this is important..... hunt all day long when possible! The foot traffic in and out will push deer to you if you have positioned yourself properly! Good luck!

It's been about 15 years ago but I found the area I hunted in Sam Houston devoid of hunters. A friend and I hunted opening weekend and we both harvested spikes. We had doe tags issued by the park service but we were meat hunting and took advantage of the first opportunity. We camped in the local camp ground and had a great time!!!

You can kill great deer on public land but you will have to hunt for them and always keep in mind that if you found him chances are someone else has to.

No and No. It’s your land go enjoy it. We make our own opportunities

^^^ This. 99% of hunters will not venture more that 1/4 mile from their vehicle. Get in deep and you will probably have some luck.

Don't forget Angelina National Forest. A guy at work that grew up near Nacogdoches talks about it all the time.

My landlord is a bow hunter and hunts Davy Crockett national forest almost exclusively. According to him it's great for whitetails.

Public land that borders private land that's heavily pressured with hunters can be very productive. It's often where the deer, and especially mature bucks go to bed and hide once all the shooting starts. And while some might see public land as the most likely places to be hunted out, the number of mature bucks that die of old age on public land might surprise you. No ATV's and feeder traffic means less noise.

Wello, sort of a back up if I didn't get a good lease. Thanks.