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Anyone hunt Houston or Leon Co. ? #7505823 05/06/19 08:44 PM
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I like the landscape of East Texas , thinking of buying some land there . Would like to hear anyone’s opinion

Re: Anyone hunt Houston or Leon Co. ? [Re: Biscuit] #7505835 05/06/19 09:00 PM
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I have an inherited place there, 11 miles east of Grapeland. I love the solitude of it. Some big deer but not a ton. No cell signal where we are. I think Antler Restrictions are doing there job and we have bigger bucks.

Re: Anyone hunt Houston or Leon Co. ? [Re: Biscuit] #7505898 05/06/19 10:15 PM
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Leon County

As in many posts about buying land and hunting, it all depends:

1. Your neighbors
2. Antler restrictions are in force, makes it tough to kill a 13" buck
3. Doe restrictions are in force
4. How many acres do you want/need
5. Real estate agents giving glowing reports, deer, ducks, geese, hogs, squirrels but are they there
6. Does your neighbors lease out their land
7. Water and electricity can be expensive it not there
8. Fencing on all sides, fencing is expensive if not.

Re: Anyone hunt Houston or Leon Co. ? [Re: Biscuit] #7506158 05/07/19 04:00 AM
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Houston county near Arbor is where we hunt. Tough hunting but we’ve killed several nice bucks. Use feeders to keep doe around but hunt the woods for the bucks.

Re: Anyone hunt Houston or Leon Co. ? [Re: Biscuit] #7506492 05/07/19 04:53 PM
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Just so long as those idiots that were doing all the poaching in Leon County are still in jail.

Re: Anyone hunt Houston or Leon Co. ? [Re: Biscuit] #7506503 05/07/19 05:09 PM
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I bought a small place in Houston county in this past December. The reason I picked this particular place was that it is surrounded on three sides by the Davy Crockett National Forrest so it will hunt much larger than the actual 34 acres. Once I put up a couple of feeders in the right location I started seeing and filming does and bucks (of course right now the bucks only have the growing bumps on their head) with as many as six or seven feeding at one time. One of my feeders is constantly drawing in the hogs with as many as 20 on camera at one time. I also see a lot of squirrels in trees and at the feeders. One coyote and a couple of pictures of bobcats and a fox have also appeared. I have found multiple deer rubs on smaller trees on my place. I guess I'll just have to wait to see if any of the bucks have decent racks.

All in all I think location of any land you might purchase will have a lot to do with what type of wildlife you see and the neighbors also. I do have two large ponds and two smaller water holes as well as two creeks for borders and with all the rain, there is a lot of water source for the animals. On the bad side, a tornado a few weeks ago went through the National Forrest and missed my place by half a mile so I was lucky there!

Two different guys who hunt nearby have showed me pictures of NICE bucks they have shot or arrowed just south of my place and one told me that the place I bought is a real Honeyhole!

Last edited by Ringtail; 05/07/19 05:13 PM.
Re: Anyone hunt Houston or Leon Co. ? [Re: Biscuit] #7506534 05/07/19 05:48 PM
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"I bought a small place in Houston county in this past December. The reason I picked this particular place was that it is surrounded on three sides by the Davy Crockett National Forrest so"

How do you keep the great un-washed masses out, those who trespass and use your feeders since you have only been there since December? The locals are going to love your efforts.

Re: Anyone hunt Houston or Leon Co. ? [Re: fishdfly] #7506545 05/07/19 06:01 PM
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I had heard about that so I diligently check my cameras, always walk around with a 45 on my belt and have met the locals that live nearby and drop hints that I won't tolerate trespassers although I try to make it seem as if I'm talking about other people. The previous owner told me that he had no problems but of course he is going to say that. He did own it for 15 years and moved to Colorado so that wasn't why he sold the place. With 165,000 acres of National Forrest right there you would think they would have plenty of room to hunt.

Re: Anyone hunt Houston or Leon Co. ? [Re: Biscuit] #7507174 05/08/19 01:44 PM
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You can expect deer sightings to drop significantly after the first two or three weeks of the season. Once the lead starts flying in East Texas, it doesn't take the deer long to figure out folks are after them. That's when mid-week hunting can be most effective when more mature bucks notice the sounds of ATV's, slamming truck doors, and other noises have stopped.


"Some people will never like you because your spirit irritates their demons."
Re: Anyone hunt Houston or Leon Co. ? [Re: Ringtail] #7507179 05/08/19 01:51 PM
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Originally Posted by Ringtail
I had heard about that so I diligently check my cameras, always walk around with a 45 on my belt and have met the locals that live nearby and drop hints that I won't tolerate trespassers although I try to make it seem as if I'm talking about other people. The previous owner told me that he had no problems but of course he is going to say that. He did own it for 15 years and moved to Colorado so that wasn't why he sold the place. With 165,000 acres of National Forrest right there you would think they would have plenty of room to hunt.


The same feeder or food plot you put near your fence with the National Forest can become a magnet for other hunters once they see them. I was on a lease once that bordered the Forest where we had a feeder and food plot near a fence that was the farthest from a public road. We found a hunter who had passed up more than a mile and a half of public land just to hang a stand near the fence. When I told him how it easy it was for me to hunt the same spot of public land that he had to walk such a long distance to reach the stand disappeared. It was obvious to me he had placed the stand where he thought no one on our lease would find it.

I would suggest not only walking the fence but also the area in the National Forest beyond it. Make it a point to include walking it in the late evening or early morning when a flashlight will make reflective markers stand out. Also, hunt these same areas yourself since mature bucks will often stage there before coming onto your property after dark.

Pardon the pun but I've been on both sides of the fence and there's always a solution that works out for both the public and private land hunter. Still, albeit public or private land, there is always those who want to hunt another hunter's spot, just like those who chase after other fishermen's honey holes.

Last edited by Texas Dan; 05/08/19 02:09 PM.

"Some people will never like you because your spirit irritates their demons."
Re: Anyone hunt Houston or Leon Co. ? [Re: Biscuit] #7507291 05/08/19 03:40 PM
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I have land in Leon near the point where Leon, Houston and Madison counties meet. I've taken several nice bucks out of there. My place is mostly covered in youpon so it's a lot of work. I like the area and would recommend it to anyone.


There's only 2 seasons in a year. Deer season and getting ready for deer season.
Re: Anyone hunt Houston or Leon Co. ? [Re: Texas Dan] #7507788 05/09/19 12:53 AM
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Those are some good suggestions and I plan on checking out the Forest area adjoining my land. I guess I'll see if there are problems as it gets closer to deer season.

Re: Anyone hunt Houston or Leon Co. ? [Re: Biscuit] #7507869 05/09/19 02:02 AM
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I live and ranch in northwest Houston County. I feel very fortunate to own and have access to multiple properties. We've taken some very nice bucks here. My biggest problem is trying to figure out where to hunt.


Character is what you do when nobody's looking.
Re: Anyone hunt Houston or Leon Co. ? [Re: Biscuit] #7509001 05/10/19 02:30 PM
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I had a lease 20 years ago just outside of Weches. Not alot of deer but there were a few good bucks taken off our place. Theft was an issue but that was before trailcams, so as far as i know, my losses could have been members on the lease.


Originally Posted by bill oxner
Haven't had it in years but never spit any out.


Originally Posted by bill oxner
I am a sucker for happy endings and strapped cowboys.
Re: Anyone hunt Houston or Leon Co. ? [Re: Biscuit] #7509370 05/10/19 11:43 PM
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My Dad and I had a lease in Leon County for years before we went in with an uncle and cousin and bought our own place. Leon County was before AR's were in effect. It was a one deer buck only county back then unless you were MLD. The bucks were small, basket racks. Our current place is not far away at all. We're looking at about our 30th year there this year, so we've experienced AR's from start to the present. I could lay out a row of racks on my garage floor in date order and without even knowing you could tell the year AR's started as well as when they really started working. Leon has followed a similar path as our current county, so I'd assume results would be similar. We're seeing nice big deer with a couple over 20" every season. We're on 650 acres. Not sure the property size you're looking at. Anyway, just thought I'd toss that out there. Best of luck to you on whatever you decide.


"I have no idea what WW-III will be fought with, but WW-IV will be fought with sticks and stones."

A. Einstein

Re: Anyone hunt Houston or Leon Co. ? [Re: Biscuit] #7509799 05/11/19 07:12 PM
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Buying all depends which is more important, owning land or harvesting deer.

We have had the land since 1965 and have taken one honest 20" buck.

The AR have created a lot of 12" wide tall bucks, if they get any wider, they go on the ground on the neighbors land.

I run a lot of cameras and get pictures from all over 450 acres of the same bucks, they do not stand still during the rut. They wander a lot.

I see better deer than 10 years ago, but the reason is that I am the only one hunting.

Re: Anyone hunt Houston or Leon Co. ? [Re: Biscuit] #7509810 05/11/19 07:25 PM
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Hunter Orange is a good idea to wear if near the National forest.

Re: Anyone hunt Houston or Leon Co. ? [Re: Biscuit] #7509855 05/11/19 08:42 PM
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Life expectancy varies greatly with the degree of
harvest pressure. In areas where antlerless harvest is
limited, does may live to be 10 years old. Bucks suffer a
much higher degree of natural mortality (often 25 percent
annually). In hunted populations where bucks are heavily
exploited (i.e., Leon County, Texas), approximately 70
percent of the bucks present are harvested at 1.5 years of
age. The combination of natural mortality and heavy
hunting pressure on bucks severely limits the number that
ever reach full maturity (Kroll, SFASU, personal
communication).

Leon County, some what dated with AR.

Behavior

Daily movement of deer are closely associated with
feeding routines and rutting activities. The home range
sizes of deer in Texas vary from 60 to 340 acres for does
and 240 to 880 acres for bucks (Halls 1978).

Will give you an idea on the number of deer in Leon County.

My does are bunched up now having their fawns.

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