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Posted: 5/1/2017 7:44:21 PM EDT
This thread is embarrassing to write...but I'm hoping I'll be spared.

I want to go hunting.  Problem is, I don't have any friends or family that hunt, and no land to hunt on.  I know Texas has plenty of public land, but where do you start?  How do you pick a location to hunt?  And doing so alone sounds...strange...at least for a newbie hunter.

Located in North DFW.  I'm 31, work a desk job in IT, but have been shooting since I was 12.  Don't let my desk job fool you - my dad is a retired laborer and I know how to break a sweat and enjoy busting my ass to accomplish a task.  Within the last 18 months I've picked up hand loading, which is a new obsession.  Shooting and all things firearms are my only hobby and passion.  I've always wanted to hunt, but just don't feel like I've had the means.  I know that's probably a sorry excuse, but again I just feel lost trying to get started.  I fear that if I don't learn and get out there now, my life will blow past me and I'll be 60 regretting "Why didn't I do this 30 years ago".  I have twin boys that I want to hunt with when they get older.

That brings me here.  I'm looking for someone that would be willing to let me tag along...learn a few things...maybe ask a few questions and try not to get in the way.  Maybe even get the opportunity to pull the trigger.  I don't care if it's birds, turkeys, deer, hogs, or polar bears...I want to get outside and hunt.  I'm willing to chip in on a lease, do my share of work, humping, hauling, and dragging.  

The idea of a paid hunt on a fenced ranch just seems like cheating to me, but maybe I'll need to resort to that someday.

Anyway...that's my story.  Thanks in advance for anyone willing to reach out.
Link Posted: 5/1/2017 8:57:10 PM EDT
[#1]
I've seen some of your posts in the precision forum and a few other places; you seem like a good guy. We should go to the range a few times so we can feel each other out then I'll see what I can do. I can't offer deer but possibly hogs and predators/varmits at the moment. At the very least I can give you some pointers on getting started. I didn't really start hunting until I was almost 30, almost seven years later it's what a lot of my gun friends and the membership here know me for.
Link Posted: 5/1/2017 9:56:25 PM EDT
[#2]
Funny you mention seeing me around...I've seen a lot of your posts in some of the hunting threads.  I admire what you've shared.

Where do you like to shoot?  I'm at Quail Creek most often, but also have been to Fossil Pointe to shoot on their long range.  I've also been to most of the other ranges in the Metroplex, at least on the North side of DFW, but prefer shooting outdoors with less of the riff raff
Link Posted: 5/2/2017 9:35:12 AM EDT
[#3]
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Quoted:
Funny you mention seeing me around...I've seen a lot of your posts in some of the hunting threads.  I admire what you've shared.

Where do you like to shoot?  I'm at Quail Creek most often, but also have been to Fossil Pointe to shoot on their long range.  I've also been to most of the other ranges in the Metroplex, at least on the North side of DFW, but prefer shooting outdoors with less of the riff raff
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I belong to a private range south of Burleson. We still have some riff raff though but it's not too bad. It's pretty empty most of the time.
Link Posted: 5/2/2017 10:06:32 AM EDT
[#4]
Have you taken the Hunter's Education class yet? Based on your age, this will be necessary for you to legally hunt so you should go ahead and get that out of the way. That class will help you understand some of the hunting regulations and it will be one less hurdle in your way when you do get your opportunity to hunt.

Best of luck. I'm sure you'll be able to find someone in your area to help you out.
Link Posted: 5/2/2017 10:11:12 AM EDT
[#5]
I'm right there with you OP also in my 30's work in IT and got no place to hunt.

I've seen some ad's on craigslist sporting goods section advertising hog hunts but I just don't know about going that route.

Edit: Have you tried entering the state hunting lottery ? I've entered twice for muzzleloader (thought I would have better odds) but I haven't been picked yet.
Link Posted: 5/2/2017 7:22:45 PM EDT
[#6]
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Quoted:
Have you taken the Hunter's Education class yet? Based on your age, this will be necessary for you to legally hunt so you should go ahead and get that out of the way. That class will help you understand some of the hunting regulations and it will be one less hurdle in your way when you do get your opportunity to hunt.

Best of luck. I'm sure you'll be able to find someone in your area to help you out.
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I checked that box last year!! 
Link Posted: 5/2/2017 7:24:13 PM EDT
[#7]
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Quoted:
I'm right there with you OP also in my 30's work in IT and got no place to hunt.

I've seen some ad's on craigslist sporting goods section advertising hog hunts but I just don't know about going that route.

Edit: Have you tried entering the state hunting lottery ? I've entered twice for muzzleloader (thought I would have better odds) but I haven't been picked yet.
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I found a guy that offered a hog hunt on unfenced land for $200 each guy for the weekend. Which didn't seem bad. But the guy that was going to go with me bailed a few days before we were supposed to go. 
Link Posted: 5/2/2017 7:39:56 PM EDT
[#8]
Be weary of craigslist. I too apply for state park hunts for a chance at exotics and hunting new places. Shooting is really the easiest part of hunting; the before and after is what's important.
Link Posted: 5/2/2017 8:40:04 PM EDT
[#9]
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Quoted:
I found a guy that offered a hog hunt on unfenced land for $200 each guy for the weekend. Which didn't seem bad. But the guy that was going to go with me bailed a few days before we were supposed to go. 
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That's not bad considering what some people charge. I just want to hunt some hogs. I really want to get out and do some NV hunting.
Link Posted: 5/2/2017 9:52:05 PM EDT
[#10]
Well damn I see a few guys wanting to hunt. Maybe we should group buy a lease or something? Lol
Link Posted: 5/3/2017 9:21:26 PM EDT
[#11]
Girl I work with and her boyfriend go out here https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/texas/about-forest/districts/?cid=fswdev3_008440.  Her boyfriend has gotten two turkeys this season.  He can't make it this weekend so she is going by herself if you would like me to put in a word for you.

Dove hunting is rather inexpensive and can be found for $200-$250 a season if you look.  I typically searched Craig's List and would ask if overnight camping was allowed (for me, the camping part is more fun than the actual hunt).  Some would offer a hog and varmint package for slightly more.  Most that you will find will be a middle man between you and the land owners, ridiculous prices in my opinion.
Link Posted: 5/3/2017 10:41:51 PM EDT
[#12]
Also very interested in Texas hog hunts. I'm down in the Bryan/College Station area, but can travel pretty easily for the right opportunity. I'm developing some ins for some land to hunt down here, but if anyone needs a warm body to to chip in for a group, I'm all ears.
Link Posted: 5/5/2017 10:23:20 AM EDT
[#13]
OST

I'm interested in hog hunting too, never hunted before, I also looked into helicopter hog hunting but too expensive wife won't let me do it .
Link Posted: 5/5/2017 10:48:45 AM EDT
[#14]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
Also very interested in Texas hog hunts. I'm down in the Bryan/College Station area, but can travel pretty easily for the right opportunity. I'm developing some ins for some land to hunt down here, but if anyone needs a warm body to to chip in for a group, I'm all ears.
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I'm in the Magnolia area and am in the same boat as the OP:  never hunted before but want to, just don't have a place to go.


CMOS
Link Posted: 5/5/2017 11:12:39 AM EDT
[#15]
OP, aren't you one of the guys that bitch about "greedy " landowners?
Link Posted: 5/5/2017 2:59:54 PM EDT
[#16]
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Quoted:
OP, aren't you one of the guys that bitch about "greedy " landowners?
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Uhh no. I think you are confusing me with someone else
Link Posted: 5/5/2017 3:57:01 PM EDT
[#17]
I'm thankful for guys like you, gives me hope that the pansies won't kill the sport off.  I'm a 30+ year IT person myself, sit behind a damn computer day in and day out.  But every hunting season I could in 43 years I hunt and hunt and hunt.  I wish I had an open spot but I don't.  I wish everyone had a father like I did to show them the ropes, but they don't.  That's what makes people like you special that still seek it out and have the desire and passion.

If this avenue doesn't work - but I think it will, there are a few other things you can do.  You can see out a spot on a lease with experienced hunters - most of whom would be happy to show you what they know.  Lease spots can be found a variety of ways - chambers of commerce where you want to hunt, networking with other hunters such as you are trying to do here, posting up on hunting forums where spots are advertised (such as the Texas Hunting Forum), hell I even found one of my leases thru posting an add on Craigslist of all things.  

You can also try day leasing - if you can find a good one it's an option but you have to be careful on them as a learner because they are fool of well, idiots to be honest.  I definitely wouldn't advocate public hunting land for a beginner.  Guided hunts are a real option though.  Trust me, there are hunts out there that are very much fair chase and not "canned" at all.  But you can spend as much (or more) on a weekend guided hunt as an entire season deer lease spot can cost so probably not the best choice.

Good luck,
Earl
Link Posted: 5/5/2017 7:52:26 PM EDT
[#18]
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Quoted:
I'm thankful for guys like you, gives me hope that the pansies won't kill the sport off.  I'm a 30+ year IT person myself, sit behind a damn computer day in and day out.  But every hunting season I could in 43 years I hunt and hunt and hunt.  I wish I had an open spot but I don't.  I wish everyone had a father like I did to show them the ropes, but they don't.  That's what makes people like you special that still seek it out and have the desire and passion.

If this avenue doesn't work - but I think it will, there are a few other things you can do.  You can see out a spot on a lease with experienced hunters - most of whom would be happy to show you what they know.  Lease spots can be found a variety of ways - chambers of commerce where you want to hunt, networking with other hunters such as you are trying to do here, posting up on hunting forums where spots are advertised (such as the Texas Hunting Forum), hell I even found one of my leases thru posting an add on Craigslist of all things.  

You can also try day leasing - if you can find a good one it's an option but you have to be careful on them as a learner because they are fool of well, idiots to be honest.  I definitely wouldn't advocate public hunting land for a beginner.  Guided hunts are a real option though.  Trust me, there are hunts out there that are very much fair chase and not "canned" at all.  But you can spend as much (or more) on a weekend guided hunt as an entire season deer lease spot can cost so probably not the best choice.

Good luck,
Earl
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Thanks Earl for the thoughtful post.  

I have thought about using THF, Craigslist, or other online means to find a lease...do you have any advice for spotting truly a good hunting option vs someone just trying to make a buck on land that doesn't have critters on it?  The world we live in today makes me a glass-half-empty kinda guy, and I'm somewhat hesitant to trust any random person emailing me about an "awesome lease opportunity" with some game cam photos they got from Google.

How do you spot a good deal, or an honest person?
Link Posted: 5/5/2017 8:33:29 PM EDT
[#19]
Hey joe, come on down to Hillsboro/West area this fall and you can hunt dove with me and my cousin! Weeell , more beer than dove, but it's the outdoors and fresh clean air, fire pit and tall tails!!
We do get some dove!
Link Posted: 5/5/2017 8:36:19 PM EDT
[#20]
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Quoted:
OP, aren't you one of the guys that bitch about "greedy " landowners?
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LOL
Link Posted: 5/5/2017 10:16:39 PM EDT
[#21]
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Quoted:
OP, aren't you one of the guys that bitch about "greedy " landowners?
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Be very careful, OP. He lures you in and next thing you know you're running a chainsaw and planting sunflowers for next dove season.
Link Posted: 5/6/2017 1:50:43 AM EDT
[#22]
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Quoted:
Be very careful, OP. He lures you in and next thing you know you're running a chainsaw and planting sunflowers for next dove season.
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Quoted:
Quoted:
OP, aren't you one of the guys that bitch about "greedy " landowners?
Be very careful, OP. He lures you in and next thing you know you're running a chainsaw and planting sunflowers for next dove season.
If all I had to do was smoke a saw and plant some weeds in order to get back into bird hunting, I consider that a fair trade. 
Link Posted: 5/6/2017 5:26:49 AM EDT
[#23]
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Quoted:
Uhh no. I think you are confusing me with someone else
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Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
Quoted:
OP, aren't you one of the guys that bitch about "greedy " landowners?
Uhh no. I think you are confusing me with someone else
Good to know.
Link Posted: 5/6/2017 6:46:14 AM EDT
[#24]
@JoeMal,

Be very wary of Craigslist for hunting. I know no one personally who has ever taken an animal off of a craigslist advertised hunt. No one.

All of them have said that they felt like they were scammed though.
Link Posted: 5/6/2017 7:30:51 AM EDT
[#25]
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Quoted:
Hey joe, come on down to Hillsboro/West area this fall and you can hunt dove with me and my cousin! Weeell , more beer than dove, but it's the outdoors and fresh clean air, fire pit and tall tails!!
We do get some dove!
View Quote
I appreciate that!! I'll keep that in mind
Link Posted: 5/6/2017 8:06:21 AM EDT
[#26]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
Hey joe, come on down to Hillsboro/West area this fall and you can hunt dove with me and my cousin! Weeell , more beer than dove, but it's the outdoors and fresh clean air, fire pit and tall tails!!
We do get some dove!
View Quote
I would take him up on this offer. Jarhead13 is a great guy.
Link Posted: 5/6/2017 7:26:36 PM EDT
[#27]
I found a family year round lease off Craigslist -but it wasn't advertised there it was from a landowner responding to my wanted posting..been there 11 years now and take deer and hogs every one of those years.  Earl

Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
@JoeMal,

Be very wary of Craigslist for hunting. I know no one personally who has ever taken an animal off of a craigslist advertised hunt. No one.

All of them have said that they felt like they were scammed though.
View Quote
Link Posted: 5/6/2017 7:40:33 PM EDT
[#28]
If you get on with a long time THF member, you'd be good.  The first thing you want to do is determine what area you want to hunt.  Next you'll want to be sure that you aren't on or next to a high volume hunting place - either a day lease or a group of hunters that shoot anything that moves.  You do those two things and you should be ahead of the game already.  You'll want to either deal with a good lease manager or a good landowner.  I hunt two places, one run by a lease manager and one (a small family 100 acre lease) I deal directly with the land owner.  I hunt in Young and Jack Countjies - good numbers and size of deer but they can be nocturnal at times.  I never have a problem getting my deer each year though - just not a 130 class buck every year.  You'll want to walk the place before you enter into a lease agreement.  If there are good numbers of deer and hogs there, you will know it.  Just look in areas where there are creek beds, food plots, dirt roads etc - sandy and/or soft clay.  After rains are the best.  You'll be able to see the tracks that the deer and hogs (and everything else) leave.  Hogs literally turn the ground over when feeding when they root around.  There's no mistaking that.  It will look like the land has been plowed. Just not neat rows, the surface layer is just literally turned over.  Hogs move in what is called a sounder and they can literally tear up an entire field in one night.

I've probably just been lucky, in a lifetime of hunting and fishing I have not run into too many people that aren't good, decent and honest.  Sure I've run across a few bad apples but not many at all.  


Earl
 
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
Thanks Earl for the thoughtful post.  

I have thought about using THF, Craigslist, or other online means to find a lease...do you have any advice for spotting truly a good hunting option vs someone just trying to make a buck on land that doesn't have critters on it?  The world we live in today makes me a glass-half-empty kinda guy, and I'm somewhat hesitant to trust any random person emailing me about an "awesome lease opportunity" with some game cam photos they got from Google.

How do you spot a good deal, or an honest person?
View Quote
Link Posted: 5/6/2017 10:15:09 PM EDT
[#29]
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Quoted:
I would take him up on this offer. Jarhead13 is a great guy.
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Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
Quoted:
Hey joe, come on down to Hillsboro/West area this fall and you can hunt dove with me and my cousin! Weeell , more beer than dove, but it's the outdoors and fresh clean air, fire pit and tall tails!!
We do get some dove!
I would take him up on this offer. Jarhead13 is a great guy.
Thank you very much 827!!  
That's the nicest thing anyone has said about me since I sucked the venom out of a friend's butt cheek!!!
Link Posted: 5/8/2017 9:59:07 AM EDT
[#30]
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Quoted:
If all I had to do was smoke a saw and plant some weeds in order to get back into bird hunting, I consider that a fair trade. 
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Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
OP, aren't you one of the guys that bitch about "greedy " landowners?
Be very careful, OP. He lures you in and next thing you know you're running a chainsaw and planting sunflowers for next dove season.
If all I had to do was smoke a saw and plant some weeds in order to get back into bird hunting, I consider that a fair trade. 
Trying not to scare him away with discussion of the...uh...other services required.
Link Posted: 5/8/2017 10:43:09 AM EDT
[#31]
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Quoted:


Trying not to scare him away with discussion of the...uh...other services required.
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Link Posted: 5/8/2017 11:52:54 AM EDT
[#32]
Once you get your Hunter's Ed and hunting license, check out Boar Creek Ranch east of Corsicana (maybe 2 hrs southeast of you). My Dad and I went last year and got two pigs. It was our first hog hunt, and the guides and owner were really great. They even skinned and butchered our pigs for us for an extra fee. They have weekend rates and provide awesome meals during your stay. Most of the hunting is done at night in blinds about 30-50 yards from feeders. Night vision isn't necessary but helpful. They have red lights lighting up the feeders if you don't have night vision. Scope is recommended, though, given the low light visibility limitations. They even have blinds set up for bowhunting a little closer in to the feeders.

As you probably already know, the vast majority of Texas land is privately owned. There are some public hunting lands available, but many of them require you to apply to hunt them as part of a lottery system. Many hunters try to find a hunting lease, which can run several thousand dollars each year with use and hunting restrictions, while others pay for day or weekend hunts at places like Boar Creek Ranch, for instance.
Link Posted: 5/19/2017 10:09:05 PM EDT
[#33]
Hunting in Texas is a rich man's sport.  Unless you fart and have C notes popping out, forget about it.  Given I'm a 25+ year IT industry veteran, I know that ain't likely.  I used to hunt when I was a young man, but things were different back then and 1000 miles from here where charging for leases isn't customary.

Public land is extremely limited.  There is very little of it in Texas and most of it is highly restricted.  What little is allowed to be hunted on is grossly over utilitized.  To the point it is generally pretty unlikely you'll see any wildlife and it is often unsafe due to hunter overcrowding.

Private leases, even for hogs are so high that you might as well just go to H-E-B to buy your bacon because even if you got it processed for free, any hog you actually shoot is going to cost you far more than buying it already cured and packed.

That said...  given that they apparently get what they are asking for...  I can't blame land owners for charging that they do.  Supply and demand.  That's how it works.  Plus I have to admit they are right that there are too many dickheads who ruin it for the rest of us by being slobs, unsafe, and not cleaning up after themselves, shooting at stuff they shouldn't, making a mess and generally being jerks.  Those people are the ones that are to blame for the situation being what it is. Well, that and there are too many richy-rich types who can drop a couple of grand a person for a weekend without batting an eye.

Someday I'll have the $$$ for my own land.  But by then I may be too old to enjoy it.  Alas.
Link Posted: 5/20/2017 10:31:39 AM EDT
[#34]
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Quoted:
Hunting in Texas is a rich man's sport.  Unless you fart and have C notes popping out, forget about it.  Given I'm a 25+ year old IT industry veteran, I know that ain't likely.  I used to hunt when I was a young man, but things were different back then and 1000 miles from here where charging for leases isn't customary.

Public land is extremely limited.  There is very little of it in Texas and most of it is highly restricted.  What little is allowed to be hunted on is grossly over utilitized.  To the point it is generally pretty unlikely you'll see any wildlife and it is often unsafe due to hunter overcrowding.

Private leases, even for hogs are so high that you might as well just go to H-E-B to buy your bacon because even if you got it processed for free, any hog you actually shoot is going to cost you far more than buying it already cured and packed.

That said...  given that they apparently get what they are asking for...  I can't blame land owners for charging that they do.  Supply and demand.  That's how it works.  Plus I have to admit they are right that there are too many dickheads who ruin it for the rest of us by being slobs, unsafe, and not cleaning up after themselves, shooting at stuff they shouldn't, making a mess and generally being jerks.  Those people are the ones that are to blame for the situation being what it is. Well, that and there are too many richy-rich types who can drop a couple of grand a person for a weekend without batting an eye.

Someday I'll have the $$ for my own land.  But by then I may be too old to enjoy it.  Alas.
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Well there's a real pick-me-upper of a post.  


CMOS  
Link Posted: 5/20/2017 11:27:25 AM EDT
[#35]
Another way to get rolling is the Texas Annual Public Hunting permit. Adds about $50 to your hunting license fee, but you get hunting access to public and private land all over the state. I grew up hunting like this. It isn't as Gucci as a lease, but it's cheap and I always had a lot of fun.
Link Posted: 5/20/2017 12:25:44 PM EDT
[#36]
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Quoted:
Well there's a real pick-me-upper of a post.  

CMOS  
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Glad I could make your day.
Link Posted: 5/22/2017 10:24:39 AM EDT
[#37]
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Quoted:
Hunting in Texas is a rich man's sport.  Unless you fart and have C notes popping out, forget about it.  Given I'm a 25+ year IT industry veteran, I know that ain't likely.  I used to hunt when I was a young man, but things were different back then and 1000 miles from here where charging for leases isn't customary.

Public land is extremely limited.  There is very little of it in Texas and most of it is highly restricted.  What little is allowed to be hunted on is grossly over utilitized.  To the point it is generally pretty unlikely you'll see any wildlife and it is often unsafe due to hunter overcrowding.

Private leases, even for hogs are so high that you might as well just go to H-E-B to buy your bacon because even if you got it processed for free, any hog you actually shoot is going to cost you far more than buying it already cured and packed.

That said...  given that they apparently get what they are asking for...  I can't blame land owners for charging that they do.  Supply and demand.  That's how it works.  Plus I have to admit they are right that there are too many dickheads who ruin it for the rest of us by being slobs, unsafe, and not cleaning up after themselves, shooting at stuff they shouldn't, making a mess and generally being jerks.  Those people are the ones that are to blame for the situation being what it is. Well, that and there are too many richy-rich types who can drop a couple of grand a person for a weekend without batting an eye.

Someday I'll have the $$ for my own land.  But by then I may be too old to enjoy it.  Alas.
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Cost-wise, hunting expensive compared to supermarket prices even if you're not paying for land or access to it.  That's the miracle of large scale food production in the US and it's true all over the US, not just in TX.  I don't want to add up what I'm paying per pound for venison, but I'm sure it's more than buying it in a nice restaurant after fuel, corn, protein, feeders, cameras, guns, ammo, cammo, pop ups, etc.  

But that said, it's still not a rich man's game exclusively unless you're looking to reliably hit large white tail bucks any more than salt water fishing is a rich man's game because you need a $100,000 boat to get offshore and back in a day.  I met some folks for the first time on Saturday night and spent a couple hours chatting with them.  They invited me to hunt dove and duck this year on their 170ac for no other reason than they're really nice people.  I'll tell you this - all the time I've spent in CA, NV, and ID, I've only been invited to hunt one time.  In TX it's several invitations a year to hunt anything between squirrel and axis.

Get out of the basement and meet people like I did and you'll see that texans are awesomely friendly.  It's the main reason I like living here.
Link Posted: 5/25/2017 9:48:41 AM EDT
[#38]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
Hunting in Texas is a rich man's sport.  Unless you fart and have C notes popping out, forget about it.  Given I'm a 25+ year IT industry veteran, I know that ain't likely.  I used to hunt when I was a young man, but things were different back then and 1000 miles from here where charging for leases isn't customary.

Public land is extremely limited.  There is very little of it in Texas and most of it is highly restricted.  What little is allowed to be hunted on is grossly over utilitized.  To the point it is generally pretty unlikely you'll see any wildlife and it is often unsafe due to hunter overcrowding.

Private leases, even for hogs are so high that you might as well just go to H-E-B to buy your bacon because even if you got it processed for free, any hog you actually shoot is going to cost you far more than buying it already cured and packed.

That said...  given that they apparently get what they are asking for...  I can't blame land owners for charging that they do.  Supply and demand.  That's how it works.  Plus I have to admit they are right that there are too many dickheads who ruin it for the rest of us by being slobs, unsafe, and not cleaning up after themselves, shooting at stuff they shouldn't, making a mess and generally being jerks.  Those people are the ones that are to blame for the situation being what it is. Well, that and there are too many richy-rich types who can drop a couple of grand a person for a weekend without batting an eye.

Someday I'll have the $$ for my own land.  But by then I may be too old to enjoy it.  Alas.
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This is what I've found as well but I married well and have met some folks that between them(in laws and daughter's boyfriend)they have most of south TX covered with ranches that produce tremendous sums of cash. They also hunt the land themselves.

What I don't understand is why they have a rule if you've never hunted you're not hunting here.

I'm gun safe, hit the range every week, grew up dove hunting. This isn't a request to hunt, just a why question. Thanks.
Link Posted: 5/25/2017 10:58:57 AM EDT
[#39]
Ask the poster above you. 
Link Posted: 5/25/2017 11:50:14 AM EDT
[#40]
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I've seen some of your posts in the precision forum and a few other places; you seem like a good guy. We should go to the range a few times so we can feel each other out then I'll see what I can do. I can't offer deer but possibly hogs and predators/varmits at the moment. At the very least I can give you some pointers on getting started. I didn't really start hunting until I was almost 30, almost seven years later it's what a lot of my gun friends and the membership here know me for.
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What an offer (minus the "feeling each other out" part).  OP, go this route.  Buy the BBQ lunches.  Make friends.  That's how we share the sport.
Link Posted: 5/25/2017 12:39:30 PM EDT
[#41]
Link Posted: 5/25/2017 1:12:42 PM EDT
[#42]
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Quoted:


This is what I've found as well but I married well and have met some folks that between them(in laws and daughter's boyfriend)they have most of south TX covered with ranches that produce tremendous sums of cash. They also hunt the land themselves.

What I don't understand is why they have a rule if you've never hunted you're not hunting here.

I'm gun safe, hit the range every week, grew up dove hunting. This isn't a request to hunt, just a why question. Thanks.
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I've guided quite a few people with zero to limited hunting experience. The problem is excitement and not thinking things through. Shooting at the range you always have a safe backstop and non living/moving targets. Once you take people out of their element with live targets even some of the more experienced shooters can get squirrelly and you have to watch them.
I could go into further detail but that's the gist of it.
Link Posted: 5/25/2017 8:19:13 PM EDT
[#43]
Thanks all for keeping this alive. Goes to show there's more to this place than GD. 

Although the kneepads worry me
Link Posted: 5/26/2017 9:17:30 PM EDT
[#44]
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If all I had to do was smoke a saw and plant some weeds in order to get back into bird hunting, I consider that a fair trade. 
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OP, aren't you one of the guys that bitch about "greedy " landowners?
Be very careful, OP. He lures you in and next thing you know you're running a chainsaw and planting sunflowers for next dove season.
If all I had to do was smoke a saw and plant some weeds in order to get back into bird hunting, I consider that a fair trade. 
No kidding. Nothing better than an afternoon of shooting dove or a morning of chasing pointers.
Link Posted: 5/26/2017 9:39:47 PM EDT
[#45]
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Quoted:
No kidding. Nothing better than an afternoon of shooting dove or a morning of chasing pointers.
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Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
OP, aren't you one of the guys that bitch about "greedy " landowners?
Be very careful, OP. He lures you in and next thing you know you're running a chainsaw and planting sunflowers for next dove season.
If all I had to do was smoke a saw and plant some weeds in order to get back into bird hunting, I consider that a fair trade. 
No kidding. Nothing better than an afternoon of shooting dove or a morning of chasing pointers.
On Wednesday I got so stir crazy I spent a couple hours wondering around lake Lavon.  All I found was chiggers. 
Link Posted: 5/27/2017 11:38:22 AM EDT
[#46]
Thanks cl.

For the life of me all I could think was the blood factor(gutting&cleaning) but sometime yesterday I got away from thinking about safety and more into "jumping the gun"/firing out of turn issues.

I remember a conversation with an aqaintance and he told me that one year he had to lay out for the season for some reason and when he went out the next year he had buck fever so bad he blew his first shot and didn't get another.
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