Hi Jonathan and welcome!

I've been told LBJ Grasslands is probably the best place near Dallas to hunt for turkey, as several of the guys that visit this board have done so.  But, since Texas doesn't have a lot of public land (90+% of Texas is privately owned) the hunting can be a challenge.  Texas Parks and Wildlife also has draw hunts, but these may be too far for you to travel.

All though I absolutely do not want me or anyone else to wound or kill any wildlife and not consume it, this is one time that I for one understand and do not object to the wholesale killing of these hogs. I have seen what damage they can do and have heard horror stories from land owners. If you kill them and don't want the meat, The buzzards and varments will thank you------------Kill them all !!!!!!!!!!

Caddo National grasslands by permit - deer and turkey. Some of the guys on this site have done pretty well out there

Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge - bowhunting by permit (outstanding non typicals but difficult to get in)

Lake Lavon and Lake Lewisville by permit - duck hunting

Fishing - numerous lakes.  Lake Fork, east of DFW west of Quitman, is one of the premier largemouth bass lakes in Texas.

Hunting in Texas from the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department

I have never hunted during muzzle loader season and don't understand some of the terminology, but if I understand it correctly, breech muzzle loading firearms are not classified as a muzzle loader authorized for use during deer season in Texas.

If someone understands and can clarify the wording and terminology used to define a muzzle loading firearm, please contribute to either affirm my thoughts or correct them.

Means and Methods - Firearms

Trenton777:

Because public land is on National Forest property, there are STATE and FEDERAL rules and regulations.  You must have a valid state hunting license as well as the Annual Public Hunting Permit to hunt on U.S.F.S. lands AND obey the additional restrictions which apply to the national forests.

In order to understand both, you need to visit the Texas Parks and Wildlife web site and the U.S.F.S. web site.

You may hunt from Sept 1 through Aug 31 of the following year and may take any species which is in season for the specific county in which you are hunting.  For instance, the Sam Houston National Forest covers three counties, Walker, San Jacinto and Montgomery.  All three counties have the same open seasons for exactly the same species so you can't accidentally kill an animal in one county and then traverse over a county line in which the animal is not in season.

There is no hunting allowed at night without specific permission by the game warden covering the area you want to hunt so make sure you receive prior approval if you want to hunt hogs or fur bearing animals at night with artificial light.

I hope this helps.  If you have any other questions, please feel free to email me directly and I can answer most of your questions or provide a source to get your question answered.

Here are some of the guns that will be available at our banquet

Danny,

Five things I hope will help:

First, getting a lease usually takes time.  Get to know the people who interact with ranchers like foresters, wildlife biologists (TPWD or otherwise), ag salesmen, or even oilfield landmen.

Second, unless you have deep pockets you'll probably fill a slot on an existing lease.  Get to know those guys as much as you can before you sign.  I've had real good success hunting with others on leases, but as many on this board will attest to there are some real horror stories because everyone is not as ethical or safe as you'd like.  Expect to pay about $1,500/gun minimum for a decent place.  There are exceptions, but generally speaking its not going to be cheap.

Third, since the cost is so high most leases in Texas are overhunted.  Find out how big the lease is and how many hunters will be on the lease, what the bag limits are, and what the guest policies are.  Before I signed I'd call the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department biologists and get his opinion on the hunting pressure.  What works with hunter density in ETX usually will not work in WTX.

Fourth, I'd also get Google Earth or some other capacity to look at the lease to see what's around it as far as water, cover, topography, and the size of offset ranches.  Sometimes a smaller lease next to a big ranch is a real honey hole.  But, these days with high fencing and the like those are few and far between.

Last, there are a number of guys that hunt public land on this site, but most of those are bow hunters.  I wouldn't hunt there with a gun though - at least for the first week of the season, and around Thanksgiving.