Going to be headed to a WMA in a national forest opening day rifle. Taking plenty of orange with me. How crazy will it be, first time rifle hunting public? Will it be safe to scout in the afternoon? Worried about ground blinds taking shots at deer without any idea of the backdrop. I will be saddle hunting. How long does it take for the hunter numbers to drop back down after opening day?

No way in hell I'd walk around, opening day, on public land. I don't care how much orange you put on.

All 'scouting' should have been done Pre-Season IMO.

Best time to scout is shortly AFTER the season closes. All rubs, scrapes and travel routes are still identifiable, gives you a good idea where to hunt the following season and the chances of getting shot while walking around are 'less'.

Can't remember the last time I read about a hunting accident in any of the TPWD Hunting Accident Reports that occurred on public lands. The numbers show they're far more likely to happen on private land, perhaps because hunters tend to drop their guard more when they know strangers are not nearby.

As for which rifle to take, I would grab the one you've shot the most since last season.

You need to have a spot picked out before the first day of the season. I suggest a mile or 2 away from the road. Get there before the sun comes up and be honkered down. The deer will get pushed back in to the deeper areas of the forest as more and more hunters show up. Ill bet by noon 80% have cleared out of the forest. If possible skip the weekend and show up Monday morning. 90% of the hunters will be gone by then and you will have it all to yourself

Stay alert, and move slow. I mean SLOW. Get down in the draws with descent visibility at a pinch-point before light. Sit tight until 8 am. Then (if not tag out); leave the horse, and walk the draw from an elevated position near the bottom. If you cover a quarter mile in less than 30 minutes, you’re moving too fast. Best of luck!

Come on Dan! Anyone thats been in this state long enough to buy a hunting license knows that 97%-98% of the hunting in this state takes place on private land. Naturally thats where most accidents are going to occur. I have hunted both and I will take my chances on private land 100% of the time over public land.

And yet, given conditions that some call "too dangerous" to even step onto public land, it continues to offer some of the best and safest areas to hunt in Texas.

Your comments remind me of what a fellow public land hunter liked to tell others when asked if it was safe to hunt public land. Not wanting to encourage more competition, he would sometimes say there are people on public land that shoot anything that moves. Far better to feed such misguided beliefs so they focus their efforts somewhere else.

More people are killed in automobiles on DFW freeways every year than on bicycles. I guess its safter to ride a bike on Central Expressway than drive a car?

These forums include one that focuses on Public Hunting where your question might solicit more and better feedback.

I can’t see how public land in Texas is going to be any worse than public land in any other state as far as safety goes.

The “people shoot at anything that moves” story has been around since before I was a kid.

LBJ Grasslands in the 70's sounded like a war zone!

Any yet, people continue buying it.

Many other states have a lot more public land and fewer licensed hunters.

States like Pennsylvania and New York have plenty of hunters. I would be willing to bet that Texas has less hunters per square mile on most public lands than other states east of the Mississippi. Texas does not have an abundance of public land but most licensed hunters are hunting on private land, so its not an apples to apples comparison.


I've never hunted big game on public lands here in Texas, so I do not know. When i hunted some public lands in the New Braunfels area for dove 20ish years ago, it was not overly crowded

I’m really glad y’all completely derailed the conversation and offered the OP some advice… take your pissing match to your DMs.

I would find your spot and settle in early before it all breaks loose. Most likely you’ll catch them moving through being bumped by others. Weekdays are always better than weekends for # of hunters but the advice given about scouting post season is good advice. Stay safe and good luck!