Balconies Canyon Lands?

[Ungawa]

Bow hunt, So you you have to spend $48 on a permit just to enter the draw and only 10 permits? Is this correct? And no gun hunts? That would seem a little steep for me, if that is the case.

[Calrob]

That place is huge though. Never hunted her, but as a landowner, Id still like to hunt out there. There are great numbers of deer and likely big bucks.

[Ungawa]

That place is huge though. Never hunted her, but as a landowner, Id still like to hunt out there. There are great numbers of deer and likely big bucks.

I agree, but I think it use to be only $10 entry for the draw.

[Ungawa]

I agree, but I think it use to be only $10 entry for the draw.

Actually I went back in my draw hunt file and it used to be $3 per entry.

[jaredmartin]

Don't waste any money on that hunt. I hunted last year during rifle. We had well over 20 hunters out there for 3 days and barely anything was harvested. It is great for pigs, but thats about it.

[bowhunterhelm]

Don't waste any money on that hunt. I hunted last year during rifle. We had well over 20 hunters out there for 3 days and barely anything was harvested. It is great for pigs, but thats about it.

You aren't the first person I've heard say that and I can't comprehend it. This place is prime Hill County Deer habitat. I don't live very far from there and I'm usually covered up in deer. We have taken some nice ones over the years. It would seem the deer population would be very high there with some good bucks in the mix.

[Ungawa]

You aren't the first person I've heard say that and I can't comprehend it. This place is prime Hill County Deer habitat. I don't live very far from there and I'm usually covered up in deer. We have taken some nice ones over the years. It would seem the deer population would be very high there with some good bucks in the mix.

No baiting on the hunt is probably why.

[jaredmartin]

I hunt near Fort Hood, and have plenty of deer, including multiple trophy animals. Last year a few weeks after I hunted Balconies my daughter had a hunt down the road at Inks Lake. While there I was able to talk with the biologist who was conducting the CWD testing. She stated that it was not known why the deer population in that refuge was low, but it is significantly lower than the surrounding areas.
The pig population is the highest I have probably ever seen. I hunted a 3000+ acre unit there with 9 other hunters. 2 does and 2 turkeys was all that was harvested. Some other units that were smaller had a little better luck, but not much.
I would definitely not waste my time on an archery hunt.

[jaredmartin]

My area

Here are a few shots from the high ground I sat on and glassed for 2 days. I could easily see a large area, and only had pigs crossing anywhere.

I would not tell anyone to completely disregard the hunt, but go for more of the outdoor experience, and less of the harvesting game experience.

[Reaper]

I hunted it a couple years ago and had the same experience as most people do, there are hardly any deer there and a handful of pigs. We had a pasture to ourselves and saw 1 deer the whole time.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

[Greenheadless]

I would guess the high pig population has something to do with that.

It is interesting that all these public lands that have minimal hunting allowed are only turning into refuge for wild pigs. We have the same problem in the Trinity River Refuge system.

Why they don’t open these places up to year round pig hunting/trapping is beyond me.

[Ungawa]

Thanks guys............ interesting. I just cant understand why such an increase in the entry fee? $3 entry vs $48. I realize if draw back when it was $3 you still had a $75-130 fee if you accepted the hunt, but for just a chance at being draw $48 is steep.

[ctom87]

If we're talking about the same permit, which I think we are, it's not just for this drawn hunt. If you're going to hunt public land in 2020-2021 (not part of a draw but during normal hunting season), most (or all) places run by the state require you to buy a new permit each year.

From the TPWD site:
Today's Public Hunting Program includes over a million acres of land located throughout Texas. The downloadable map booklet and the website has information on property owned by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) as well as acreage leased by TPWD from other state and federal agencies, forest product industries, and other cooperating private landowners; and includes the Public Dove and Small Game Hunting Areas.

To access a property for hunting and other recreational activities, purchase one of the following annual permits:

Annual Public Hunting Permit — $48
Full privileges including hunting, fishing, camping, hiking and other recreational uses.

[RShockley]

Ok so lets explain. The $48 annual public hunt permit gives you access to a large amount of public hunting land that does not require a draw. Just get the permit and go hunt. In addition to those lands, they also offer free E-postcard hunts. There is no entry fee and no permit fee if drawn. If you are not planning on using the permit for any other reason then to apply for a single E-postcard hunt I would say pass on it. With that said it offers plenty of hunting opportunities both through the draws and general lands the permit offers. You don't buy a $48 permit for each application so you can apply to as many of those E-postcard hunts as you would like. When looking at what you get access to for $48 dollars the permit is actually well worth the money.

[doeboy11]

I don't buy the $48 permit until I get drawn.