Best and Worst Public Land/Draw Hunts for Texas-Opinions Wanted

[tps7742]

I doubt many will chime in on the good ones. Drawing is hard enough without drawing more attention to them.

I have only drawn Garner SP. I won’t put in again. But I did kill a little axis buck.

I agree with this statement and understand totally. It’s inline with killing a big one and posting pics, etc of the location of where you killed it at.

[Grndchecker]

I’ve only been drawn for two. I’m not sure of the name of it, but it was close to Bandera. Saw some deer and shot a spike, which was my first ever deer with my bow.
The other one was Aransas. Never ever again will I go there because of the mosquitoes.

[Yakinthebox]

I've drawn the Laguna Atascosa NWR three years in a row and this year I didn't pay the permit. All of the hunts have been archery. I didn't pay this year because I also drew The Chaparral WMA Archery and will be attending.

It's a neat place but I think with Rifle, it would be awesome. It's too big of an area for archery in my opinion. Most of the animals I laid eyes on were in wide open areas out of range.

[ZINS708]

I have been on alot of them.
Not saying it's the worst place to hunt, but for that hunt, it was for me. Atlanta SP. Nobody killed anything. But the year before, my brother killed 3.
All the rest were great. RC, Kerr WMA, and Fort Boggy SP are some of my favorites. This year, I get to try the Chap out!!!

Good luck at the Chap! Are you on the Gun/Deer hunt out there?

[TxBowHntr]

I've only been drawn once, for Elephant Mountain Mule Deer, and it was flat out AWESOME! I loved every minute of it! Highly recommend

[Sika]

I've only been drawn once, for Elephant Mountain Mule Deer, and it was flat out AWESOME! I loved every minute of it! Highly recommend

Must have been a good year. We went there during one of the wettest seasons on record and only saw 3-4 deer total - all does and yearling bucks.
Only one deer was killed during the hunt.

[ZINS708]

I agree with this statement and understand totally. It’s inline with killing a big one and posting pics, etc of the location of where you killed it at.

Everyone has their own opinions on sharing information, which is great. I personally enjoy discussing these hunts with like minded hunters especially on the TBH forum. Now am I going to post a pin drop of an area or advertise standby spots at a highly sought after location? Probably not, but PM me and I'm always willing to help where I can as several have helped me in the past.

More than anything I'd like to understand people's opinions on places, especially hunts that they may feel aren't worth the time. I was picked up for the Mason Mountain Gun Deer Hunt a few years ago. We put in for so many hunts, that sometimes we dont read all the info on new places. We had 13 preference points in the category. When we were selected, I researched it and saw that you could only shoot a 6 point or less! 13 years of putting in for the gun deer category and we get picked for a hunt to shoot a cull at best and would burn all our points! Luckily we called TPWD and declined the hunt and got our preference points back (also good to know that you can usually do that if you ever get drawn). Now some people stated that hunt was amazing because they had a great lodge to camp at and there are a ton of exotics and big WT that you can see, but not shoot. It just wasn't the hunt I was looking for. That kind of information is great to share and have available to other hunters in this community.

Once again, totally understand individuals willingness to share information, but you dont know until you ask!

Best of luck this season!

[sqiggy]

I doubt many will chime in on the good ones. Drawing is hard enough without drawing more attention to them.

I have only drawn Garner SP. I won’t put in again. But I did kill a little axis buck.

IDK about that. With the new system where you can apply as much as you want in one category, drawing just one is even harder. I've been drawn or been in a group that got drawn probably close to 20 times. I can think of 2 hunts where I didn't see anything and those 2 were by assigned blinds. I really like the compartment hunts. This will test your skills and not to rely solely on one person saying "this looks like a good spot for a blind"!!!
With that said, what you may not hear or see is somebody telling everybody exactly what compartment and where in that compartment you killed your big buck!!

Good luck at the Chap! Are you on the Gun/Deer hunt out there?

I'm on the first archery hunt starting Dec 3.
What I need to know, what compartment to choose from and where in that compartment to set up!!!

[BuckSmasher]

I’ve never won a drawn hunt, but follow the threads, view the statistics, and hear stories about the hunts. I’ve been to both of these areas and am pretty familiar with them.

Best: Richland Creek has to be one of the best. Every time I’ve been out there pig hunting I’ve seen multiple good deer. No huge bucks, but for a meat hunt it would be solid.

Worst: Old Sabine Bottom WMA. The biologist has mentioned about 3 deer being taken off the place yearly, and that’s being done by locals rather than draw winners. I’ve seen 1-2 deer total in many outings out here. If you’re okay with taking pigs on a deer hunt, then this draw wouldn’t be so bad.

FWIW I saw a illegal 6 point swim across the river INTO the OSB last year. It has deer if it isn't underwater.

[Sika]

You can go online and look at the harvest numbers for each draw hunt going back several years. It’s easy to see which hunts produce. Not like it’s a big secret.

[Chad74]

I am not familiar with the draw hunts at all. To be honest I never knew about them till I got on this site. I used to put in for the big game hunts many years ago but once I got on a lease I stopped doing that. When I first moved to Texas 23 yrs ago I would buy the public land permit to duck hunt but never deer hunted on public land.
So if someone is willing to explain the draw hunts I would be more than interested to listen. I'm not asking for specific places but more of general information like compartment sizes, can you scout year round, etc.

[ZINS708]

I am not familiar with the draw hunts at all. To be honest I never knew about them till I got on this site. I used to put in for the big game hunts many years ago but once I got on a lease I stopped doing that. When I first moved to Texas 23 yrs ago I would buy the public land permit to duck hunt but never deer hunted on public land.
So if someone is willing to explain the draw hunts I would be more than interested to listen. I'm not asking for specific places but more of general information like compartment sizes, can you scout year round, etc.

Every hunt is different with different rules. Do an internet search for TPWD draw hunts and you can access the annual book of available hunts.


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[Chad74]

Every hunt is different with different rules. Do an internet search for TPWD draw hunts and you can access the annual book of available hunts.


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I did more digging on this site and found the below link which answered most my questions.

https://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/hunt...ing/faqs.phtml

[Hoggslayer]

I've never been drawn for a hunt through TPWD. Tried to get picked for standby at Brazos been 3 years in a row with now luck. Two of those years there were 3 spots and 4 hunters on standby and I lost both times.

[Chad74]

I do have one question I can't seem to find. I keep seeing "compartment" is that your area only? Can someone explain ?