New to Public Land Hunting

[fowcbler]

So I am relatively new to hunting (by relatively I mean never done it before),
I have a brother in law who has and is assisting me in upcoming season for lease/private land hunting, but what are the steps needed to get on in these Public Drawn hunt systems?
I have browsed most of the TPWD drawn hunts coming up and have pinned a couple for "opportunities", and now just am curious of what and how to go about applying for these along with how the different systems work (regular draw, e-post card, email application, etc...)

[CrossTimbers]

Most of the draw applications will take you years to draw. Some people draw it their first time with no points, but the reality is it takes most people years. Your best bet, and only guarantee, is to get an APHP and hunt the lands that your permit will allow. Once you have the APHP you are allowed to apply for the special e-postcard hunts.

[fowcbler]

That makes sense.
I got to start somewhere though right...and no time like the present.
Guess I will get that APHP Sept. 1st seeing as there is only a month or so left in current season.

[sqiggy]

That makes sense.
I got to start somewhere though right...and no time like the present.
Guess I will get that APHP Sept. 1st seeing as there is only a month or so left in current season.

I believe you can purchase the permit on August 15 when they start selling license for the 2021-2022 season. Some of the postcard hunts will be due September 1st.
The other hunts, choose what you can go to if drawn and apply.

[Mule Skinner]

So I am relatively new to hunting (by relatively I mean never done it before),
I have a brother in law who has and is assisting me in upcoming season for lease/private land hunting, but what are the steps needed to get on in these Public Drawn hunt systems?
I have browsed most of the TPWD drawn hunts coming up and have pinned a couple for "opportunities", and now just am curious of what and how to go about applying for these along with how the different systems work (regular draw, e-post card, email application, etc...)

Here is a great resource for you.

https://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/hunt/public/public_hunt_drawing/faqs.phtml

[Deerguy]

Many of the postcard hunts are also difficult to draw for and you don't accrue points like you do with the regular draw hunts. Put in for at least 1 hunt in every draw category you're interested in (either now or in the future) to start accumulating points.

[aaronwragg]

Good advice on this thread. Do you keep a log of which hunts you put in for each year so you can track points?

[sqiggy]

Good advice on this thread. Do you keep a log of which hunts you put in for each year so you can track points?

Every year you apply, you can see how many points you have. TPWD keeps track of those.

[fakeworest]

So I am relatively new to hunting (by relatively I mean never done it before),
I have a brother in law who has and is assisting me in upcoming season for lease/private land hunting, but what are the steps needed to get on in these Public Drawn hunt systems?
I have browsed most of the TPWD drawn hunts coming up and have pinned a couple for "opportunities", and now just am curious of what and how to go about applying for these along with how the different systems work (regular draw, e-post card, email application, etc...)

Just submitted 69 draw applications for this season. Good Luck!

[JackKennedy]

get started now

[ainsleyhunt]

get started

[txchuck]

Be sure you can navigate with map and gps. Be ready to bike or walk. Using Google earth and picking spots by the gps coordinates can work to give you ideas about where to scout.

[TexasArchery_27]

TPWD has a very user friendly and easy to understand format for drawn hunts. The regular draws and the E-Postcard draws are slightly different. The key difference between the two is that for E-Postcard hunts, you must purchase the APH (Annual Public Hunting Permit) Prior to applying. (the $48 APH Permit is required to be purchased to hunt any WMA, and if successfully drawn through regular draw hunts.) These Permits go on Sale August 15th and are good through 08/31 of the following year.

The E-Postcard hunts in my opinion are slightly easier to draw since they're less desirable and the preference point advantage doesn't apply. Last year I won three separate hunts in the E-Postcard category and 2 within the regular draw categories.

For E-Postcard I won Big Lake Bottom, Richland Creek for Archery Deer and Nannie Stringfellow for Feral Hog.
For the regular draw I won Gun Deer- Anlterless/Spike Lake Whitney SP with 2 preference points. Also, Gun Deer- Either Pat Mayse WMA with 2 preference points. You don't need much for most categories. If you're wanting to hunt a very high demand - low supply property or species it's a different story.

You won't be able to buy a preference point alone, but looking at the data provided on # of permits and typical applicants can help serve as a preference point for $3. For example, If I wanted a preference point for Pronghorn I could apply for the Rita Blanca Hunt in that category. There are 12 permits available and 8000 applicants last year. If I were applying for this hunt with 1 point (You gain preference point automatically after applying) my odds are extremely low. Take into account that preference points act as additional tickets in the hat. Preference points are now counted as cubed entries. So those with 27 preference points would have 19,683 (27*27*27=19,683)tickets in the hat vs your 1 (1x1x1=1). For this specific category across 8000 people applying I would imagine the average preference point count for all applicants is around 8 which means total tickets in the hat is probably above 4 million.(Average Applicant with 8 points = 512 tickets x 8000 = 4,096,000 total tickets in the hat) Applying for this hunt with very low preference points is in essence similar to buying a point now for a greater chance in the future.

If I were in your shoes I would try to apply in as many different categories as possible, and not necessarily load up on one category. For example, apply for 1 specific hunt within Gun Deer- Either, Gun Deer- Management, and Gun Deer- Antlerless as opposed to 4 within Gun Deer - Either only. L

Look for the less desirable hunts as far as properties and dates and apply to that specific hunt within the category. If the hunt runs Monday- Wednesday or has a very low success rate you stand a better chance. If the property can be hunted during the regular archery season (Like Old Sabine Bottom WMA) it will be less desirable as there's little point for most people in applying to access a property you don't need to win a draw to access. Keep your expectations realistic; you can do a lot to increase your odds, but there are no guarantees in the game.
Be on the lookout for Standby opportunities: Let's say for example Pat Mayse WMA offered a hunt 11/20-11/22. 60 Permits were available during the drawing. only 57 of the 60 winners purchased the $80 permit after winning. 3 tags are available. On the start date of the hunt you show up with 2 other guys as standbys. You three would get to purchase an $80 permit and hunt alongside the winners of the draw. If more than 2 other guys showed up for hunt as standbys y'all would do a separate in person drawing to purchase the permit. Not all properties or hunt staff allow this, but check and ask. If you happen to win a standby you pay the permit fee, but I don't believe you lose any preference points in the category.

[justletmein]

Best thing to do is dive in head first. Since you're in SA go through the Apply button and submit an application for Government Canyon. It'll cost you $3, you won't draw it, but after you see the process work the rest is a piece of cake.

[PoppinPiggies]

TPWD has a very user friendly and easy to understand format for drawn hunts. The regular draws and the E-Postcard draws are slightly different. The key difference between the two is that for E-Postcard hunts, you must purchase the APH (Annual Public Hunting Permit) Prior to applying. (the $48 APH Permit is required to be purchased to hunt any WMA, and if successfully drawn through regular draw hunts.) These Permits go on Sale August 15th and are good through 08/31 of the following year.

The E-Postcard hunts in my opinion are slightly easier to draw since they're less desirable and the preference point advantage doesn't apply. Last year I won three separate hunts in the E-Postcard category and 2 within the regular draw categories.

For E-Postcard I won Big Lake Bottom, Richland Creek for Archery Deer and Nannie Stringfellow for Feral Hog.
For the regular draw I won Gun Deer- Anlterless/Spike Lake Whitney SP with 2 preference points. Also, Gun Deer- Either Pat Mayse WMA with 2 preference points. You don't need much for most categories. If you're wanting to hunt a very high demand - low supply property or species it's a different story.

You won't be able to buy a preference point alone, but looking at the data provided on # of permits and typical applicants can help serve as a preference point for $3. For example, If I wanted a preference point for Pronghorn I could apply for the Rita Blanca Hunt in that category. There are 12 permits available and 8000 applicants last year. If I were applying for this hunt with 1 point (You gain preference point automatically after applying) my odds are extremely low. Take into account that preference points act as additional tickets in the hat. Preference points are now counted as cubed entries. So those with 27 preference points would have 19,683 (27*27*27=19,683)tickets in the hat vs your 1 (1x1x1=1). For this specific category across 8000 people applying I would imagine the average preference point count for all applicants is around 8 which means total tickets in the hat is probably above 4 million.(Average Applicant with 8 points = 512 tickets x 8000 = 4,096,000 total tickets in the hat) Applying for this hunt with very low preference points is in essence similar to buying a point now for a greater chance in the future.

If I were in your shoes I would try to apply in as many different categories as possible, and not necessarily load up on one category. For example, apply for 1 specific hunt within Gun Deer- Either, Gun Deer- Management, and Gun Deer- Antlerless as opposed to 4 within Gun Deer - Either only. L

Look for the less desirable hunts as far as properties and dates and apply to that specific hunt within the category. If the hunt runs Monday- Wednesday or has a very low success rate you stand a better chance. If the property can be hunted during the regular archery season (Like Old Sabine Bottom WMA) it will be less desirable as there's little point for most people in applying to access a property you don't need to win a draw to access. Keep your expectations realistic; you can do a lot to increase your odds, but there are no guarantees in the game.
Be on the lookout for Standby opportunities: Let's say for example Pat Mayse WMA offered a hunt 11/20-11/22. 60 Permits were available during the drawing. only 57 of the 60 winners purchased the $80 permit after winning. 3 tags are available. On the start date of the hunt you show up with 2 other guys as standbys. You three would get to purchase an $80 permit and hunt alongside the winners of the draw. If more than 2 other guys showed up for hunt as standbys y'all would do a separate in person drawing to purchase the permit. Not all properties or hunt staff allow this, but check and ask. If you happen to win a standby you pay the permit fee, but I don't believe you lose any preference points in the category.

Great write up, thanks for the summary. Very informative