Anyone ever been drawn for a public hunt? Was it good/bad/waste of time?

Throwing my name in the pot for a few this year.

Draw hunts can be all of the above. It depends on your methods, expectations, and past hunting experiences.

newmayne4 said:

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Anyone ever been drawn for a public hunt? Was it good/bad/waste of time?

Throwing my name in the pot for a few this year.

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Ive been drawn a few times and its not usually a waste of time. You may not always be successful (didnt even see deer the last two hunts) but its not really a waste imho. Having said that, I'm done entering the draw hunts unless its for my kids. They usually dont line up with my schedule and the odds have become abysmal.

Couple of guys I hunt with were drawn for Black Gap Mule deer and only hunted 2 days ... biologist said they hadn't seen many deer (I think there was a die-off) and they left early to come hunt the lease.

Another guy I know had a successful Nilgai hunt on LLM (not sure exact name of WMA). Takes a little bit of work and willingness to go farther off the trail than your normal hunter.

I always apply for 3-4 just to raise money for TPWD and possibly win a hunt... have not been so lucky yet.

Be prepared to wait. 17 years for my first buck hunt. 19 for exotic. Antlerless and management hunts have slightly better odds.

I drew the archery exotic hunt at Garner SP last year in my first year trying. It was cold, wet, and I never drew my bow... but it was still cool to be hunting.

Yeah if I don't get picked I will most likely show up for the standby. According to their stats sheets most places have really good odds for standby hunters. The stats sheets are super helpful for sorting out the not so good places.

i haven't been drawn, but i do put in every year the last few years. will continue to do so. it's a contribution to TPWD that I don't mind making.

2 years ago my niece got drawn for the youth hog hunt......I took at as an opportunity to scout some area jut in case I ever got drawn. We ended up getting 3" of rain that weekend and only saw a doe and yearlin in between down pours.

ought1ag said:

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2 years ago my niece got drawn for the youth hog hunt......I took at as an opportunity to scout some area jut in case I ever got drawn. We ended up getting 3" of rain that weekend and only saw a doe and yearlin in between down pours.

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Does the Texas Wildlife Association still have their youth hunts? They had pretty good odds when I was under 17 and some awesome hunts. Just curious...

I'm putting in for Brazos Bend which had something like a 78% success rate in 2016. Cancelled 2017 hunts due to Harvey

I got drawn for a doe hunt in east Texas last year (maybe year before, can't remember). I couldn't make the dates because of conflicts, but it is possible to actually get drawn. Plus, the money goes to a good cause, so put in for the hunts and look at it as a donation with the outside chance of a reward.

They have quite a few. Alligator, Exotic, Hog, Deer Javelina and Turkey........all free until they turn 18 I believe.

Did a coyote hunt on Black Gap a while back. Didnt see a single dog. 7 teams went out i think. Only one kill. Fun though.

newmayne4 said:

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Anyone ever been drawn for a public hunt? Was it good/bad/waste of time?

Throwing my name in the pot for a few this year.

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got drawn for a youth deer hunt and had a great experience with my boy! He got a buck and a doe!

Old Sabine WMA = waste of time

I've been to several over the years.

-I've been to Black Gap 3 times as a youth back during the late 90s. Killed a 24" wide 3x3 the first year, a small buck the next year, and skunked the last time. But the last time I went we saw a buck that was probably around 30" wide, and he gave us the slip.

- Mason Mountain on a doe/spike hunt many years ago. Killed a doe.

- One of the private land whitetail hunts down in south Texas many years ago. We killed a few doe and a coyote.

- Somerville SP on a hog hunt many years ago. I don't put in for the hog hunts anymore.

- JD Murphree for alligator 3 years ago (and drawn again this year!). We got 2 small gators.

- San Angelo SP for turkey a few years ago. Got close but couldn't seal the deal on a tom.

- Caprock Canyon SP for mule deer a few years ago. Only saw whitetail bucks. And buffalo.

- South Llano River SP for doe/spike last year. Killed an axis buck. Could've shot multiple whitetails but I was only after exotics.

I've also drawn a few others in the past several years but was not able to go. Kerr for mgmt whitetail, and 2 of the refuge hunts for deer/nilgai.

2016 - Drew a doe/spike hunt at Gus Engeling WMA. Saw some big bucks, no spikes and a big doe really close to my stand that I spooked when trying to raise my gun

2017 - Drew a whitetail management hunt at Pat Mayse WMA. So a deer through the brush about 30 minutes after I started scouting my compartment, but was never able to determine what flavor it was. At the end of the day I was setting up a ladder stand for use the next morning and after the securing the horizontal brace I climbed to the top to secure strap it to the tree when the bottom shifted in the soft soil causing the whole thing to rotate and throw me 12 feet to the ground where I broke my back (L1 compression fracture). I limped back to the truck, checked out and headed home.

I also drew a feral hog hunt at Gus Engeling in 2017 as well (hunt was in May 2018). I went with my brother and a friend, only 13 people showed up for the hunt including us. Saw lots of pigs, shot a few, brought home a couple.

Public land deer I've killed over the last 3 seasons.








Neither of these hunts required a draw. Walk in, public land hunts. One requires the $48 APH. The other does not.

Well I guess I'm a little slow. Didn't realize that was your new handle.

BurrOak said:

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Well I guess I'm a little slow. Didn't realize that was your new handle.

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There was at least one other handle between his old one and the current one.

I was aware of the previous one. Acronyms are hard.

Been on 3 draw hunts..

Pat Mayse 20 or so years ago. Killed a small deer. First deer I ever killed.

I was drawn for the Chap in 2006. Beat the odds and got to hunt there. It warmed up and I saw some small deer but nothing like I was after. We did see an incredible double drop tine buck the day prior to the hunt but he knew when the hunt started... :-) This is an extremely hard hunt. I loved it but it is South Texas hunting with no feeders/scouting to pattern the deer. Very difficult.

Last year, we were drawn for Matador. Spectacular area. Met Log there (he was standing by). Missed the rut by a week. Had a fabulous time but saw smaller deer. This area has tremendous potential but we were a week early. If you aren't hitting the rut here, it is difficult.

Good luck. With no preference points this year, we will keep our entries limited.

Wes '87

I put in for a 4-6 this year. Some for my daughter and some for me. Hopefully I get drawn but no worries if I don't becasue it's a great cause.

I'm really hoping we get one of the youth hunts for my daughter. She wants to be a game warden and has claimed multiple times that she needs to be "in the field" a lot more hahaha

Been wondering where u went. Nice kills

Take the mulie with an arrow?

Nope. That one was killed with a gun even crappier than a Ruger American.

Put in for a few hunts for my son. We did a hunt through the TYHP.org in Bandera last year where he was able to take his first deer and had a great time. He's super excited about the upcoming hunting season.

OregonAggie, good luck to you and your daughter on getting drawn!

LEJ said:

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Nope. That one was killed with a gun even crappier than a Ruger American.

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Applied and drawn at Hagerman twice.

It's a big place & they draw 75 per hunt weekend. The parking areas were full, but we never saw anyone else once we got off trails in the woods. It's bike/hike only, which royally sucks if you don't have a fancy bike/trailer rig. We had 3 setups about 2.5 miles in from the parking area. First morning it was 20 degrees, and by the times we rode in & ditched the bikes at the trail end, I was pouring sweat.

1st trip was so-so, saw 2 decent legal bucks in shooting range & saw a brief glimpse of one of the fabled monsters up a hill above me. Never saw his body, just the tips of his main beams glinting in the sun - and they were spread out waaaaaay wider than on any buck I've ever seen. Squeaky tree bark under my stand busted me on that one.

Learned a lot about the logistics of public hunting on that trip & a little about pressured animal behavior.

2nd Hagerman hunt will be this year.

Ah.
They aint that bad
My son's 22-250 compact is a white tail death dealer

I've got a RAP in 6.5CM with an adjustable mounted bipod and Leupold Ultralight scope (less than 9 oz). It's a killer.

I will have tosecond the texas youth hunting program. This probably wasnt directed for a youth hunt, but they tend to make sure kids get drawn for their first hunts, so odds are great and they work well with you.

Put in for JD Murphee gator hunt for 7 years, finally drew last year but cancelled because of Harvey. Entered the drawing again this year and didn't draw.

aggolfer said:

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Put in for JD Murphee gator hunt for 7 years, finally drew last year but cancelled because of Harvey. Entered the drawing again this year and didn't draw.

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F that noise, dang

Been drawn 4 times for deer and 2 times for waterfowl. Have also taken 2 pigs on walk in spots that aren't drawn hunts.

1st draw was a long time ago don't remember it going well or being spectacular.

2nd was guad state park. It was 97 F in mid November. I passed on an axis Doe that slipped through the clearing quickly turns out she was all alone. Did see a lot of wild cats fox ad skunk



3rd was at Kerr on a management hunt. Saw some Doe the first 20 minutes and passed should have learned my lesson from previous hunt. Saw a trophy 11 or 12 but couldn't shoot it, was probably 3 year old. Saw some javelina but they were a long way off. One guy did shoot a wart hog. That was awesome.



4th was at Richland chambers wma ended up killing a good 9 point a Doe and shot a pig but no recovery





2 waterfowl draws there RCWMA were very successful.