Prepping For Public Land Bowhunting

THE ARCHERY-ONLY SEASON for whitetailed deer in Texas provides a great opportunity to get into the woods before hunting pressure skyrockets.

Veteran hunters know that once gunfire sounds in the woods, deer act differently. So, although bowhunting is extremely challenging, it has the advantage of contending for less pressured deer.

Public lands in East Texas offer incredible opportunities to score on a whitetail. In many cases, virtually no one will be in the woods with you. Here are some facts, figures and tips for public land bowhunting in Texas:

There is plenty of public land for bowhunters in the eastern third of the state for those who buy a $48 Annual Public Hunting Permit. The permits are available through all license vendors. Most areas receive little pressure during bow season and have great potential for deer hunting.

Be on the lookout for units designated as archery only. Some of these areas are stacked with mature bucks that have figured out it’s safer to dodge archers than rifle-toting hunters on adjacent private leases.

Four national forests provide hundreds of thousands of acres of hunting. Some of them are managed by Texas Parks & Wildlife through their Wildlife Management Area (WMA) program. These also may be hunted by public land permit holders.

All hunters and those accompanying them must wear daylight fluorescent orange when hunting, except when hunting fur-bearing or predatory animals at night or turkey or migratory birds. A minimum of 400 square inches of fluorescent orange must be visible (144 square inches on both the chest and back, and a daylight fluorescent orange cap or hat.)

All those camping or hunting in the Angelina, Davy Crockett, Sabine or Sam Houston National Forest or the Caddo National Grasslands must camp in designated campsites or developed recreation areas during the general gun season.

Hunters using the WMAs within the national forests must have the annual hunting permit to hunt deer, turkey, small game, waterfowl and feral hogs.

Wildlife management areas in the national forests and grasslands in Texas include the Alabama Creek WMA in the Davy Crockett National Forest, Bannister WMA in the Angelina National Forest, Caddo WMA in the Caddo National Grassland and the Moore Plantation WMA in the Sabine National Forest. The entire Sam Houston National Forest is a WMA.

According to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Official Hunting Guide and the Public Hunting Lands Map Booklet, regulations vary in different locations. The annual booklets are issued to individuals who obtain a WMA permit, and the booklets list rules for national forest lands within the WMAs.

Baiting is illegal on public lands in Texas unless designated in the specific case of some public draw hunts in state parks. That means public land bowhunters need to have a good understanding of natural foods.

The Texas Agricultural Extension Service based out of Texas A&M University said it is important for hunters to know that white-tailed deer are ruminants like cows, but their diet selection is radically different.

“Cattle are grass-roughage eaters, have a relatively large rumen relative to body size, and depend heavily on grasses for their diet.

White-tailed deer are concentrate selectors, which means their diet must be higher in nutritive value and more rapidly degraded in the rumen. Therefore, white-tailed deer rely primarily on forbs and browse (leaves and twigs of woody plants), which are usually higher in crude protein and digestibility than grasses. Grasses comprise only a very small part of the overall diet of the white-tailed deer. 

Most rutting activity in East Texas happens from October 21 to January 5 according to Texas Parks & Wildlife Department officials. Peak breeding dates were November 22 in the northern portion and November 12 in the southern part of the Piney Woods.

TF&G Hunting Editor and master bowhunter education instructor Lou Marullo said the number one mistake he sees young hunters make in regard to shooting is not practicing with broadheads.

“It is extremely rare to find a bow that shoots with field points exactly like it would with broadheads of the same grain,” Marullo said. “All you have to do is look at the physical differences and see that there are some serious aerodynamic differences. A number of broadhead makers claim their products match up to field points, but there are simply too many variables.

“It’s an absolute must to get out there and shoot with broadheads before going hunting. Even if you are just off an inch or two that could mean the difference between taking a big buck and suffering the heartache of losing an animal,” Marullo said.

“For shooting broadheads at a target, there are many options on the market nowadays. However, I am old-fashioned in this regard,” he said. In my opinion, the most versatile and practical bow targets on the market are 3-D targets. I have owned Delta and Mackenzie 3-D deer targets and have found they will last for years, if you treat them right.

“When it comes to shooting broadheads, I have found 3-D targets with the removable core or vitals to be the best option although there are some good ones out there that are specific for broadheads as well.”

Snakes are out in force during October and can be found in South Texas in particular, throughout the entire deer season.

Be cautious walking over deadfalls and use extreme caution while blood-trailing deer at night. Copperheads, cottonmouths and rattlesnakes tend to be more active after hours.

Timber rattlesnake numbers in the Piney Woods seem to be on the rise so don’t balk at the idea of rattlers on your lease.

—from TPWD

 

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