Sam Houston National Forest in Texas

[Texas Gil]

Great information. I got it now. Thanks

 

[nkbj]

I hunted there in the late 60's when a student at San Jacinto College in Pasadena.
Plenty of deer back then. With all the people in Texas, will there be room enough?
Back then I would still hunt while the dog hunters chased the deer everywhere.
There were still Red wolves and some big cats in there. Brings back memories.
Houston and the Prince hamburgers. When I went to buy some powder it was
back of an Ice house on shelves with a case of dynamite on the floor. America
was so free back then. I think population is bringing out the freaks who are
causing the reduction in freedoms. We do not need open borders--sorry.

Oh my gosh. You mean the Prince's drive-in at the corner of Federal and Market, south of I-10?

 

[Texas Gil]

When I say trails I'm talking game trails. Avoid ANYTHING that would attract humans, think outside the box. The orange army is going to hit gates, hiking trails, pipelines, powerlines, signs, and creek crossings like a punching bag. I can't pin point you to any specific area except to say avoid the bigger parts of the forest, like FSR 208, 204, and the Stubblefield area. These areas have the highest pressure.

Drive down other roads, paved or unpaved, look for game trails where they cross the roads. Start there, just don't actually walk their trail. Go in about 50 yards to the left or right of it, and find scrapes, rubs etc... or food sources. If the game trails are there and there are a lot of them though, the deer will cross that area eventually.

I hunted the pipeline that runs just north of Kelly's Pond last year. From kellys pond north to where the pipe line crosses hwy 1375. Found lots of trails in the grass and jumped several deer . i was off the pipe line about 100yds . I could see where they crossed the pipeline and on the out where i parked a deer literally jumed the walking trail back to my car. ... never had a shot. I mostly sat on the edge of the pipe line watching the open areas only. After getting your input i believe i should have been in the woods off the pipeline watching a good trail from a tree stand and NOT the pipeline!!! Am i getting it?

 

[Travis186]

I hunted the pipeline that runs just north of Kelly's Pond last year. From kellys pond north to where the pipe line crosses hwy 1375. Found lots of trails in the grass and jumped several deer . i was off the pipe line about 100yds . I could see where they crossed the pipeline and on the out where i parked a deer literally jumed the walking trail back to my car. ... never had a shot. I mostly sat on the edge of the pipe line watching the open areas only. After getting your input i believe i should have been in the woods off the pipeline watching a good trail from a tree stand and NOT the pipeline!!! Am i getting it?

I'm not saying you can't hunt the pipeline, and that there won't be deer there. The forest is loaded with deer, every inch of it. What I'm saying is pipelines, gates, creek crossings, etc... are people magnets. Even if there are deer there, they're going to be highly spooked and at this point in the season, very nocturnal. Your probability of filling a tag gets much higher once you move away from the people and hunt where the pressure is less.

 

[Texas Gil]

Not planning to hunt the pipeline. I will use your suggestions and my experience with the pipeline. I’ll be looking for areas between the human traffic points. Hopefully once I scout some I’ll hit some deer trails and intersecting trails and pick a ambush spot. You’ve been a big help
Thankd

 

[Texas Gil]

Not planning to hunt the pipeline. I will use your suggestions and my experience with the pipeline. I’ll be looking for areas between the human traffic points. Hopefully once I scout some I’ll hit some deer trails and intersecting trails and pick a ambush spot. You’ve been a big help
Thankd
[/QUOT
Question, do you set up in a ground blind or elevated stand?

 

[Travis186]

I hunt out of a climber as high as I can comfortably get without freaking out, which is about 25-30'. Higher the better. It allows you to see down into the pockets of brush and it will elevate your chances of success exponentially. The ghosts we hunt known as Sam deer aren't so ghostly when you can finally see more than 15 yards in front of you. Higher in the tree also allows your scent to usually get dissipated or pushed far way by the common light and variable winds instead of sinking down to the ground. I have yet to be winded by a deer that I know of, but have been spotted even that high up.

Here is a good example. In this picture you can't see it but I'm about 60 yards off a thick transition line. Doe bedding off to my left, and bucks usually cruise that transition and scent check it. 25' in the air vs on the ground in that spot. It's just another one of those highly overlooked spots that has nothing about it that would attract anyone. No gate, no signs, no pipeline, no creeks... just bedding, game trails where they cross the road, food sources etc...

 

[Eterry]

We'd been hunting a WMA between Rusk and Palestine and decided to try the Sam. Omg it's huge. You better be good at a compass or have a GPS, or both. I thought I was far enough from the road to hang a climber stand, hunted that afternoon and the next morning it was gone. Found the lock shot off and their 30-30 shell.

The draw hunts are over for the most part, but you can still hunt standby on many hunts, maybe some near you. Check out TPWD website for standby and set your calendar for next year draw hunts. I've done well on draw hunts.
Good luck.

 

[Texas Gil]

We'd been hunting a WMA between Rusk and Palestine and decided to try the Sam. Omg it's huge. You better be good at a compass or have a GPS, or both. I thought I was far enough from the road to hang a climber stand, hunted that afternoon and the next morning it was gone. Found the lock shot off and their 30-30 shell.

The draw hunts are over for the most part, but you can still hunt standby on many hunts, maybe some near you. Check out TPWD website for standby and set your calendar for next year draw hunts. I've done well on draw hunts.
Good luck.

Thanks, I will hunt the late season again this January. Next season the general.
Good idea on draw hints.

 

[Texas Gil]

I hunt out of a climber as high as I can comfortably get without freaking out, which is about 25-30'. Higher the better. It allows you to see down into the pockets of brush and it will elevate your chances of success exponentially. The ghosts we hunt known as Sam deer aren't so ghostly when you can finally see more than 15 yards in front of you. Higher in the tree also allows your scent to usually get dissipated or pushed far way by the common light and variable winds instead of sinking down to the ground. I have yet to be winded by a deer that I know of, but have been spotted even that high up.

Here is a good example. In this picture you can't see it but I'm about 60 yards off a thick transition line. Doe bedding off to my left, and bucks usually cruise that transition and scent check it. 25' in the air vs on the ground in that spot. It's just another one of those highly overlooked spots that has nothing about it that would attract anyone. No gate, no signs, no pipeline, no creeks... just bedding, game trails where they cross the road, food sources etc...

Thanks for taking the time. You’ve been very helpful.