I’m close to owning my own place near Linden and you guys have me worried.

Poaching and wandering hog hunters on the roads.

One of the biggest poaching places use to be south of Palestine near Long Lake.

Dad and his side of the family been out North of town since the 70’s never been a big issue. Does it happen, certainly, but not a big issue. More “I heard so and so” rumors than anything.

It's no worse than any other region in Texas that
I've hunted at. Pretty evenly spread around.
Any place you go there's trespassing if you're
not living on site to keep an eye on it.
You can have 50 acres and the neighbor can
have 1050, and they'll still come over onto yours
as soon as they see you lock up and leave.

Grass is greener and all that

Depends on your neighbors. Really now rose than anywhere. Lot better than Oklahoma.

I think the biggest reason is because it's heavily wooded, properties tend to be smaller, towns are closer together so more people. Poachers sneak through the woods without being seen much easier than more open places. When my Son was about 8-9 we had a lease in Cass county. We decided to hunt mid week. Still hunting through a pin oak flat I saw a deer ahead. Threw up the scope and it was a local wearing a buckskin, Daniel Boone type jacket. We backed out of there. No cell phone back then. First and last year on that lease.

There is a lot of Poaching in parts of East Texas the best way to find out about your area is to contact the local Game Warden in the area of the property.

Good Luck

Bad enough that even the Game Wardens do it, like Chris Fried. https://www.statesman.com/news/2016...n-admits-breaking-law-but-holds-onto-job

It’s no coincidence that the greenest part of the state has the lowest deer densities.

Land ownership will give a plenty of things to think about, poaching will be far down on that mental list.

Come on. I work out of Linden and don't hear horror stories of the past. Couple good wardens here.

Never has a problem on the place I hunt in Marion County.

It is no better or worse than any other parts of the state. Its just alot easier to stay concealed in the timber stands. Keep a good perimeter around your place.

Im not too far from you, give me a shout if you need anything!

Cover, population density, and meth.....may not be any worse or better than any other region but per-capita population numbers suggest more poachers per acre than out west....

Poaching is always worse where they are caught. Many areas they are not caught so no one knows just how bad it really is in their area. I can name pockets in south and central Texas that have or had very bad poaching problems. Just never reported or even known about since the poachers keep it quiet. Back in the 60's and 70's it was really bad in pockets in just about every county in South Texas.

Poaching is a fact of life in east Texas, it happens. We have found headless carcasses. But I don't really know how much it is actually done. Don't like it, but it's going to happen. What I HATE is the thieves/poachers that come thru, breaking into campsites, finding cameras or whatever and stealing them. We actually had an elevated stand stolen, came in one nite with trucks and lowered it onto trailer and drove off with it--during season!

Great example of law enforcement officers being above the law and why they get a bad name. There is ZERO reason this officer is still employed by the state. It’s an embarrassment to the badge, the oath and everything a game warden should stand for.

It’s a shame because there are more good ones than trash like this one.

Great podcast: Episode #257: Charles Beaty "Prince of Poachers"

https://bighonker.libsyn.com/episode-257-charles-beaty-prince-of-poachers

Erath stated some good reasons on why its worse if it is worse.

It’s as bad as you hear. I quit deer hunting when I lived in east tx. I never liked anything but the duck and squirrel hunting. To be honest the only thing I really enjoyed about east tx was the fishing and that was hard to beat. I never did get used to all of the pine trees. Being a west Tx man I always feel boxed in if I can’t see a gas plant From 20 miles away.

It can be bad. Really depends on where your place is, how often you are out there and how well you know your neighbors.
My family has owned property in Blackfoot for 50+ years. Grew up in Palestine, our place is about 15 miles outside of town.

^^^^^^

Hog Doggers are more of a problem in East Texas than poachers (for deer).

That said, we DO have our share of poachers/trespassers. And yes they get away with it frequently because it is wooded and easy to disappear in.

In my area (Deep East Texas) poachers are a bit like Baptists. You know they are out there raising hell, you just can't catch them at it.

Joking aside and no offense to any God Fearing Baptist's.....it's really only a problem in certain pockets, but East Texas didn't get it's reputation for nothing. It's kind of a different world behind the Pine Curtain with respect to game laws and attitudes.

I have to believe this COVID situation and people not being able to work has resulted in more game and fish laws being broken so people can eat more cheaply.

we have 63 acres of family land by jefferson,live in ft worth so don't get out every weekend,have caught people hunting at least 4 times on our place,very frustrating.

It’s not just game laws. I was raised in Harrison County and now I own a place on Lake Livingston. The people there are different. They view property owners as rich folks ripe for the picking. You cannot find an honest handyman or carpenter there. Every lawn service wants to rip you off. They lie constantly and won’t do what they agreed to do. They disappear after they’re paid. They will steal from you too.

I finally found a Handywoman from Houston that I trust. I use her for everything. She and her brother sleep in my bunkhouse. They work like dogs, we treat them like family.