Well gents/ladies, we're just about a month out from Draw Hunt App Season.

Got me to wondering,

How many points does everyone have in the popular categories?
What are your most sought after draws?
What draws have you hunted and would you put in for them again?

I've had good success over the years with getting selected but it has always been in the easier to draw categories. Actual harvest success has been a diff story.
Over the past 8 seasons, I've taken 4 animals on draw hunts. Not great odds but I'm grateful for the chances I've had.

Personally I've hunted;
Laguna Atascosa NWR twice for Archery- No Success
Chaparral Archery- No Success
Trinity River NWR Archery- 1 Deer
" " General- 1 Deer
" " Muzzleloader- 1 Deer, 1 Hog
Balcones Canyonlands NWR General- No Success, no animals even seen.
Nannie Stringfellow WMA- Waterfowl- 6 Ducks
Richland Creek WMA- Waterfowl- Did not attend (Personal Life Schedule Conflict)
Keechi Creek WMA Multi Species- Did not attend (Conflicted with another Hunt)
Hill Country SNA- Antlerless/Spike- Did not attend (Conflicted with another Hunt)
Hagerman NWR- Feral Hog- Did not attend

also been a few random hunts I've drawn but didn't accept permit for some reason or another...


My 2 Daughters have drawn;
Chaparral WMA- Antlerless/Spike- 1 Javelina
Muse WMA- Antlerless/Spike- 2 Deer (Each got one Doe, 5 minutes apart from each other) (First Deer for each)
Mad Island WMA- Feral Hog- 1 Hog
Devils Sinkhole SNA- Either Sex- 1 Deer, 1 Hog (Oldest Daughters First Buck)

The Youth Hunts have been the most fun for me!

Interested to see numbers from others.

-Yak

Best I can remember right now. Been at it several years. I have been on these hunts and there may be a couple others if I think about it longer. In no particular order off the top of my head...

Gus Engeling alligator
Young county private dove
Powderhorn WMA Gun Either Sex
E postcard Teal Richland Creek
E postcard Squirrel Gus Engeling
Mad Island WMA Quail
Muleshoe NWR Quail
Granger WMA Pheasant
Sea Rim State Park Alligator
JD Murphree WMA Alligator (several hunts)
Gus Engeling Gun Antlerless
Gus Engeling Archery (several hunts)
Caprock Canyons State Park Exotic
Mason Mountain WMA Archery
Mason Mountain WMA Antlerless
Bee Cave private antlerless

Not all, but the more notable animals I have taken on drawn hunts. Trophy Aoudad, Sambar, and Ibex. Also two or three 11-13 ft Alligators out of several taken.

That Powderhorn hunt I took a Buck and Sambar on, I think I had 27 points when I drew it. I have double digits in a few categories, but the one now with the most points is Pronghorn with 27 points. So next draw with 28 cubed I would have 21952 drops in the hat if I apply alone and don't average down as a group with friends.

For the longest time I only put in for 1 hunt category. Then about 5 years ago I started putting in for hunt's that did not conflict with the youth hunts that I had put my son in for, so I do not have a lot of points in any category.

Exotic - 4
GDA/S - 2
GDE - 4
GDM - 2
JAVI - 4
NWR ARCHERY -1
NWR EXOTIC - 1
NWR DEER - 1
NWR MUZZY - 2 (wish they had more areas available instead of just the Trinity units)

Have not killed a lot of animals over the years but have always had a great time. Have killed a few does and some small Bucks and lots of hogs.
Highlight was this year when my son killed a Nilgai Bull on a youth hunt.

I've got 8 points in GDE this year. 5 in Gun Management. 5 in Archery.

My older girl has 5 in Youth Management.

My GD-A/S got reset to zero last season and it conflicted with another hunt. That stung a lot. 7 years of points down the drain. Drew Hill Country SNA but couldn't accept it...

My youngest has 3 in the Youth Either Sex category. Hopeful she'll draw this year or next.

Actually forgot 1.

Took my younger daughter for a standby @Masterson State Forest and she got selected. Didn't see anything though. It was hot and a full moon. Animals were nocturnal.

I have been on a ton of draw hunts over the years and i had a great time on all of them. My oldest son is now 16 so I'm going to be sad next year when he's too old to apply for the youth hunts

I feel you on the aging out thing! I've thoroughly enjoyed getting to tag along with my girls on the youth hunt's. Nothing beats watching and playing a role in your kids having success!

I will say, I've been trying to pad their loyalty points while they're young and it's free. Especially in the more hard to draw categories. GD- Either Sex, A/S, Pronghorn, Exotic etc. This way when they age out of youth they won't be starting over completely.

Sniper John, out of curiosity, how many points did you average before you pulled gator tags?

Was actually just thinking it was about time to look at the draw hunts again...

I've been on three.

Balcones NWR (Saw several deer, including one legal buck that walked under my blind but I let him pass due to his age)
Mad Island WMA (Saw a plethora of animals the first day, shot two hogs)
Nannie Stringfellow (Did not see any legal game for the hunt)

I will be applying for less hunts this year as I have a full time lease now, but I still plan to put in for at least one hunt in every category. I'll apply for more in categories outside of whitetail like gator, exotics, and what not.

Even with a lease, I still enjoy going to different areas to hunt. especially if its a species I've never hunted before.

I always at least send in a chance for the Bighorn, and I've always tried to emit "positive waves" so I might draw before I die. But I read an article in Lone Star Outdoor News that the population is down 50%. Some kind of pneumonia-like disease that's passed between them, from livestock, AND AOUDAD. 'Course, the article left out that the state began the aoudad problem in the first place. They need to start seriously aerial gunning those things.

I'll probably try mule deer again. Drew Sierra Diablo once, but it was a long time ago and I've built up some points again.

It varied. I don't think I ever hit double digits. I have been on something like 15-20 drawn alligator hunts. We first started putting in for the hunts when alligator became legal in the mid 1980s. I got to take my oldest son on the first ever youth hunt too. When my dad was still alive we always put in for any date and would never miss applying each year no matter what. We had one stretch were we drew Murphree 5 years in a row. The manager at the time jokingly accused us of having an insider at Austin. So there is a lot of luck involved I guess.

That's encouraging. I've only got a couple points in the alligator category. I don't own a boat so I'm mostly just trying to accrue points for when I do. Thanks for the reply!

It's interesting, I have categories that it seams like I draw every other year or so and I have categories that I should have drawn years ago but still haven't. Alligator is one of them. Ima draw this year. I know it.

Squirrel was another. I couldn't believe how many people put in for squirrel.

And hogs. I've drawn E draw hog hunts and Hagerman several times but I've never drawn an honest to goodness pay the privilege hog hunt.

I'm not going to post what I will apply for (everything) but I will post what I will draw:

Alligator
Archery deer
Gun or Archery Mule deer
Squirrel
Waterfowl
Hagerman Hog, again.

No, I won't draw pronghorn but I'm sure I will draw sheep the year I'm not healthy enough to go. I believe this because I believe God has a sense of humor and Irony.

PM me which alligator hunts you are thinking about when it comes time. I have a duck boat but my son won't be able to go. Boss lady said I can't go by myself anymore. She wants the body identified for the insurance.

I get more and more excited about these hunts every year. I have already been studying different wma's in the prior statistics and doing a lot of searching on google maps over the past few months. I draw something almost every year and last year I drew multiple again. I have been very lucky. I am also 6 for 6 on standbys. 4 of them last year. It was a great year that I cant wait to build on now that I have some experience at some of these wma's. That being said I have never won one of the more popular hunts like chapparal or powderhorn. I only apply for 3 or 4 of the biggest hunts in the gun deer either sex category for the hopes of some big horns one day. I have 9 points in that category. Same with Mule deer 9 points and i usually hit up every one of those hunts every year but so far nada.

I seem to win the same refuge hunts year after year. I absolutely love these hunts and I have had some absolutely fantastic hunting days out there. It is a lot of walking which gets tougher for me every year at 55 but stalking can make for some incredibly exciting hunts.

I have my game plan ready again and next year I will have 7 weeks of vacation to use for mostly hunting but some camping. Cant wait for fall!! The countdown is on already!!

Thank you for that kind offer. How many points are you at in the Alligator Category? I'm only at 2 but it'll be 3 this coming season. My work buddy is applying but he'll be at only 1.

Your drawn hunt journey sounds similar to mine.

This will be my 8th year participating. I've drawn something every single year. Mostly NWR hunts. I have enjoyed them for the most part. I actually drew Chaparral a few years back on my 3rd year applying. It was an archery hunt and believe it or not, it was one of the worst hunts I've been on so far. Probably only hunt worse was Balcones Canyonlands NWR. It was brutal. I've already been comparing dates from last season to see what they "might" be this year. I work shift work so my schedule is always crazy. On call every 3 months. I'm jonesing to see all the dates for this season! I can't wait!!!

I don't have as many as I thought. Three in alligator and 1 in alligator management. Could have sworn I've applied to it more years than that. I think I always intended to apply but usually missed it or just didn't. I plan to apply this year. I'll use my 14ft duck boat.

What made Balcones so bad? I drew two years back and enjoyed it. Didn't see a ton of game, and the terrain was a challenge for sure, but I enjoyed it for the most part.

I got an assigned blind on a hunt that you're not allowed to bait. Couldn't be away from my blind. It didn't seem to be located very well at all. I saw 1 deer over a 4 day period and it was a spike that was hauling a$$ through the unit. Thus no shot opportunity.
I personally feel like these NWR hunt's should allow baiting since it's perfectly in the state of Texas.

Starting to get excited but it is getting hot! I always look forward to the draws and like several of you have mentioned being with the kids and seeing them kill some good animals is a blast. Still hoping for a draw for GDE and EXO. I have double digit points there with my oldest but, he's a coach and dates are limited for him during football season. Chaparral was a good hunt with the kids; hunted the management hunt a few years back and didn't kill a deer but shot some javelinas. South Llano anterless was a fun hunt but didn't connect on any exotics. Got drawn for San Angelo last year but didn't see a deer. We have drawn Balcones and killed deer both times and we keep putting in for those Hill Country hunts but not drawn yet. Maybe this year...

More similar than you know. I also was picked for Chapparal javalina hunt on my 3rd year and I never saw an animal except a bobcat as I was driving out one day. But at least I have a good idea now of what to expect if I ever get drawn for some antlers.

I'm going to apply mostly Turkey. I got drawn last year for Turkey at James Daughtery after 4 years of trying. First time ever Turkey hunting. Got hooked even though I didn't shoot one. Prob apply for some deer and hogs that are close to where I live at. Might put in for an alligator, but don't have a boat yet.

Can’t wait to see what changes they have in store for us. I truly look forward to the Draw “book” to come out this time of year.

So true! I'm beyond addicted to the Draw hunts. It's like a big game. I enjoy all of it. Reading through forums of past hunts, good and bad. Comparing stats over the years at different locations. Calculating odds of drawing even though I can't account for people's loyalty points.

I'm a true nerd for this Drawn Hunt game. Lol