New to the forums and excited that my first post is to say me and my son got drawn for powderhorn either sex hunt in January!!! I have been browsing the threads for information and have read some promising posts. Does anyone happen to know a good place to stay while we are there? And any info that may help us on our hunt would be greatly appreciated. Thank you all in advance! And come January i will be sure to update about the hunt and hopefully post pics of my sons trophies, fingers crossed for a sambar?!?

I have no info but congrats to you and your son, thats awesome.

Thank you! We are both totally stoked and now just have to wait 4 long months..

Congrats on the Draw!!

You might reach out to Cajun Raider here on the Forum by PM, for some general info...

My boys got drawn for the Powderhorn either sex November 2nd-3rd. We are super excited!! Since our trip is before yours, I'll let ya know anything we learn that might be of help. BTW, looking at last year's stats, they did 2 youth hunts with a total of 31 hunters. There were 16 Sambar bucks and 21 Whitetail bucks harvested!!!

Thanks again folks. We are definitely excited and counting down the days!

Clydeg- thats great stats from last year, hope yall have a great time and add to the stats for this year. I would appreciate any info your willing to share after yalls hunt. Wish your boys the best of luck and stay safe out there

My son was drawn last year. It was a Great Trip! We stayed at American Inn and Suites in Port O'Connor, about 15-20 minutes from the main gate to the WMA. Nothing fancy, but clean. The section we hunted had another gate closer to POC, so that was a bonus.
It was pretty hot, and the mosquitoes are something else! Getting around on the roads is easy enough. Off the roads it is rough, marshy brush. It looks completely flat, but maybe knee-high grass, or chest deep water.

We only saw one a few whitetail in the early morning and evening time. We saw a nice 10 pt whitetail, at about 10:30 AM but couldn't get a shot. About 11:00 the same morning we saw a Sambar bull, in velvet, out in the marsh. Fortunately he was busy feeding, splashing and making a bunch of noise, so we were able get in to position for a shot. My son hit him in the heart and lung, (.270 150gr Sierra Game King). The deer ran ~50 yards and piled up on a small island. We got him gutted, but were not able to move him, so had to call the guys at the office to bring the ATV out to get pick him up, which they did, no problem.


Here he is feeding in water up to his chest



Field dressed, he weighed 308 pounds. The meat is Excellent!

Taxidermist called this morning, shoulder mount is ready



As for advice, I would look for the sambar in the water during the middle of the day.
They are covered in ticks - bring Off and extra trashbags or whatever to wrap up the hide/horns.
Bring "The Big Cooler(s)"

Best of Luck!

Below is link to Port O'Connor Business Directory. You may be able to find a reasonable vacation rental since it is in January and you would have a full kitchen to prepare your own meals. May even give them a call, they are helpful as well. Where ever you stay, make sure you don't leave any valuables inside your vehicle as they have a tendency to grow legs and walk away.

Port O'Connor Chamber of Commerce Business Directory

Thanks chickenfried, looks like yall made some awesome memories! I appreciate the info on where you stayed and about the hunt itself. Were yall there in january also? We will make sure and take the 'big' coolers for sure and just about everything else we can think of. Again my son is super excited, as am i of course too! Will be checking into lodging this weekend for our trip to get it booked and out of the way.

Are the youth hunts always just 2 days, Instead of the usual 3 or 5 day draw hunts?

My son was also drawn for the January 4-5 hunt. We will see you there.