Never done the public route. Heard the horror stories of crowds and safety. Got a few places picked out but mainly interested in waterfowl and meat deer hunting. Anyone want to share experiences, tips, units? Home base is Wise County. Try and keep it within 1-3 hour drive so some scouting can happen. Also interested in anywhere in west Texas / Panhandle with good views for glass'ing / stalking if that even exists. Will be taking my 12 yo daughter with me.

For deer your best bet is to enter the TX draw hunts. Especially the youth hunts with your 12 year old. Explore different weapon options other than rifle. Also check out TYCP hunts with the 12 year old.

Waterfowl is a whole different ball game I am not familiar with.

Never hunted public land in Texas but I hunt exclusively public land in NV, Ca, and Wy and I have rarely had problems.
Opening day waterfowl can be tight spacing but I find most people want the same thing you do so just get their early and talk to your fellow hunters. It's pretty manageable.

TdoubleH said:

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Also interested in anywhere in west Texas / Panhandle with good views for glass'ing / stalking if that even exists. Will be taking my 12 yo daughter with me.

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There is always Meredith. Lots of pumpkins out there though based on inet intel.

Edit: check out the TPWD APH booklet for locations near you. It is online.

Looks like I'm a little late on the deer. Seems like most places have a drawing for deer. Was looking at Hagerman in Montague County.

Check out Texas Youth Hunting Program. Lots of hunts for kids for a very minimal charge.

Good access in Ok...also need to be aware it's $300 per license for gun and $300 per license for archery for
Non-res hunters.

Texas draw hunts for deer pretty much over except for youth exotic, which is Devils River for Aoudad and pigs. Very cool if you can get it

They national refuge exotic and pig is still open. The youth e-post card is still open for antlerless/spike.

However today is the last day to apply.

Public hunting in Texas is very limited, there just isn't that much state land or BLM land when comparing to other states, especially the massive amounts in the western states.

Most reservoirs managed by the Army Corps in Texas allow public hunting. However, hunting dates, method and type of game taken, and permits vary from lake to lake, so check ahead.

Also check Lake Meredith National Recreation Area.

I don't think there are any glass and stalk opportunities outside the TPWD drawn hunts or the the Texas Youth Hunter Program

Never done the waterfowl on public lakes, however I think that is much more accessible, particularly if you have a boat.

Thank y'all. Got some feedback on LBJ grasslands. Looks as though it's a true walk-in area within their hunting units. It's 30 minutes from the house. Been out there trail riding with our horses years ago and never knew of hunting it.

In my opinion, the horror stories about crowds and safety are overblown. I would even guess you're much more likely to find unsafe hunters on private than public.

Public is awesome.

TdoubleH said:

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Looks like I'm a little late on the deer. Seems like most places have a drawing for deer. Was looking at Hagerman in Montague County.

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I went up there recently to scout. Looks like a good place to hog hunt. I spoke w the game warden while I was there and he told me they had over 160 people hunt that place last year(it is only 800 acres much of which is open). Not many deer left after last year.

Anyone familiar with Sam Houston national forest? I was thinking about trying public lands this year but have heard horror stories about shnf. I was thinking about hitching a ride on my buddies boat and entering on the lake side then having him pick me up later in the morning or evening. Do alot of people enter from the lake?

TdoubleH said:

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Thank y'all. Got some feedback on LBJ grasslands. Looks as though it's a true walk-in area within their hunting units. It's 30 minutes from the house. Been out there trail riding with our horses years ago and never knew of hunting it.

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Good excuse to take up deer hunting with a bow, shotgun or muzzle loader. Good luck

Grew up hunting the grasslands. If you can hunt some of the smaller, isolated units or the interior of the bigger units, you can find some decent deer.

That was my thoughts. Drove out to an isolated unit this evening. Saw 5 doe as I left on the neighbors property to the unit. They were headed that way. Is it buck only and need a doe permit from USFS or is it just county regs? Spike or >13" Buck or doe?

Haven't look at it in several years. Used to be you applied with the FS for doe tags. Beyond that, yes, county regs.

Sam Houston National Forest is getting encroached on all sides by development and suburban sprawl. It's the only National Forest in Texas that has OHV trails. It's got the Lone Star Hiking Trail that draws crowds. It's in the shadow of the 4th largest city in the US. This all makes it very busy. To top it off, it's all a WMA managed by TPWD so the hunting rules are more restrictive than the other National Forest and Grasslands in the state.

With that said, it's not hard to learn how to hunt it. It will take some patience and bravery though. It's heavily patrolled by law enforcement and the different user groups do quite a bit of policing their Forest so it's not all bad.

I found this digital map of the grasslands and the unit boundaries to be handy and more convenient than using the map they'll sell you in Decatur.

https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1GMBJfHutGcJ_H0f_5p33GqKVSLY&ll=33.33917818731856%2C-97.63992905&z=10

I've shot a few ducks up there and have also seen multiple groups set up on small ponds.

There's opportunity to be had but it will come with lots of failed hunts too. Texas just isnt blessed with a lot of good access.

Deer- If you are looking for rifle hunting there is one or two via the $48 APH out west within your time frame as mentioned there's also Meredith. There some archery options via APH
The draw hunt system is probably the best bet for you and your daughter also look into the youth hunting program its not really public but its access without a lease.

Ducks. There's a lot of options within your drive time frame it will take a lot of driving and scouting as well as learning the "legal" side of it, each river or lake authority has different regulations for access and hunting times. IT can be pretty crowded on weekend and Holiday weekend will be the worst. IF you can make mid week or even Friday AM hunts you will fare alot better. Its not as bad as its made out to be but it can be pretty frustrating at times even when a group or two are each 500 yards away it flares the birds, but thats public you dont get it all.

Dove. The APH land is access but there are only a few that I've found to have success on. If you go after bow season starts you'll have the place to yourself really if you go after the first week that is probably true.