3% of Texas is public land. Of that 3% not very much is open to hunting. The land that is open is very highly pressured. The chances of being successful are slim at best. I pay $450 a year to hunt a 400 acre lease. There are not great numbers of deer or any monsters out there but that is all I can afford. Maybe in the North you may still be able to stop leasing from becoming a reality. In Texas it is pay the lease, buy your own land, or hunt with the crowds on public land. That is the way it is and will continue to be here. There is no turning back now, Ican promise you that. I have tried asking ranchers if I can hunt thier land and always get the same response. No it is leased. There is no such thing as a free property to hunt here to the best of my knowledge and I looked hard to find it.