Question:
I will finely be moving to Mesquite Texas in October, OK you Texans...
Where does one hunt in that area (Dallas/ Ft. Worth). I here
conflicting stories some say you need to buy in to what's called a hunt
lease other tell me that there's plenty of public land.
Answer:
I just moved to Austin from upstate New York (originally from Missouri).
I heard tales of great hunting opportunities in TX. It wasn't until I
arrived that I discovered the reason. You can expect to pay at least
$400 for a season lease and probably more like $1000 for a good one.
Areas will be fenced high to keep in the deer. They will be well fed
and the herds closely managed to produce trophies. It's legal to hunt
over bait in TX. The opportunities are great, =if= you can afford them.
In NY and MO, I drove into the countryside and asked the first person I
saw if they were a hunter. After about 4 conversations, I met a hunter
who was able to give me a good lead on a free place to hunt. I did that
in 3 or 4 different locations in NY. Every time I tried that in Texas,
the person looked at me liked I'd just asked to drill and pump oil from
their property for free. Well, when in Rome...
You can buy a public hunting license for about $35, but deer hunting is
only a few acres in the far eastern part of the state and is overrun with
hunters on opening day.
