looking for recommendations for some where to hunt

ok guys this is my second hunting season! last year I got lots of Dove, Lots of Ducks, and one Hog,we have good places to hunt for these but this year I want to get a Deer or 2 so does my gf. Also we want to try and get a Aoudad sheep and some Sand Hill Crain. Can anyone turn me on to a list of public Hunting lands we can look into for each animal?? I love in Corpus Christi and don't mind driving a few hours to hunt or a hike to hunting grounds. I heard that Sand Hill Crain can be taken at Choke Canyon but what is the density?

Any help for me would be awesome! I have been going through the Public Hunting Lands maps on TXPW and am going nuts not being able to find what I'm looking for lol


it would be awesome if someone could organize the public hunting lands on here by the type of game you can hunt on it. like a list of Lands that you can hunt Deer, or just Birds, ect.

Closest place to Corpus for a walk-in hunt would probably be Sam Houston National Forest. There are closer areas to you but you have to enter a drawing for a permit and the deadline has passed for most of those areas.

Look in your APH. It is listed every way you can think of. You can look at the deer column and go right down the list for sure. SHNF is a good place to go but you will need a doe tag specifically for the SAM unless you are in Muzzleloader or bow season. Lots of legal spikes running around also for meat in rifle season

I would recommend that you not waste your time in Sam Houston Natl. Forest. You would be better served finding someone who is MLD that will allow you to take some does. I know a place that only charges $150 for a doe, and they are covered up in them.. You can almost close your eyes and point your rifle away from you and kill one. Not much sport in it, but if you want meat for the freezer, it's almost guaranteed to get one.

I've been hunting Sam for 9 years now and have not seen a legal buck deer during legal hunting hours, during deer season in that time. I've seen lots of does, but you have to have a doe tag to kill them during rifle season. I've seen lots of bucks that DO NOT meet antler requirements.. But NO LEGAL bucks in 9 years now. I know they exist, but I think they are just too smart to be shot during legal shooting hours. And if you think you are going to "hunt the rut"-you already missed it. My game cameras show end of August, beginning of September, was prime "rut" time for Sam. The scrapes on my frequent trails are all getting covered in leaves and have not been checked/urinated in for a while now.

Your best bet might be to find guided hunts and/or try high fence ranches. Sure makes hunting a lot more fun when you are seeing a lot of game.

I think you need to re-examine your data.Highly unlikely deer in S.E. Texas would be rutting that early.

https://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/hunt/planning/rut_whitetailed_deer/table/#savannah