Mornin'

To this point, all of the hunting I have done has been on private land. Once I get to a permanent duty station, how do go about locating public land upon which I can hunt? Do I need to go to the local city hall, or local hunting shops? I appreciate the help very much, thanks!

Get with the local Game, Fish and Parks department. Many of them have state maps of all the public land.

I'd recomend the local county clerk's office. Many counties have plat books available showing land parcels and who owns them, including publically owned land. Local game wardens might be a source of information, too.

I second shulace and wingbone. Start with the local Game and Fish department, then the county clerk's office.
But, don't forget the local bait and tackle shops or sporting goods stores.

The first thing I buy is a State atlas, they're red in color, and show the entire states blm/state land etc...which out west pretty much means you can hunt it!

just goto amazon and type "utah atlas" or whatever state you want and it should pop up.

From there I order the blm maps through that states BLM, they're $4/piece I believe. Depending on the unit you wanna hunt, you may need more than 1 map, sometimes up to 2-4.

Most Military Installations offer excellent semi public hunting land. The hunting here at Fort Leonard Wood is top notch for all seasons and is well managed.

As others have said, get an atlas. I have always liked the gazetteers (sp) map books for finding places to hunt.

I appreciate the help very much, everyone. Thank you.

I am sure I dont have to mention many military bases have hunting opportunities. As for public lands in NY, I would call the Dept. of Environmental Conservation, tell them where you live and you are looking for publc hunting lands. They will send you a nice beefy packet of all the lands in your area. I have lived here my whole life, but when I did that, I was amazed with the areas around- many little known.

Looks like you are in Texas. You can get a APH permit from the TPWD for $48 that lets you hunt land that is leased by the TPWD or selected public land. I know some people that have these and use them and take animals.

Also, look into the public draw hunts. The booklet on these usually comes out in July and you can request it or go online for the online version. I have done several hunts this way and they are a reasonably priced alternative to guided hunts. I'm going on a Rio turkey hunt at Matador WMA next month.

I hope this doesn't get deleted, but here is a link to the TPWD website.

Good luck!

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/

Every topo map I've ever seen showed where public land was located, I used to use them extensively before buying land of my own. If you plan to hunt some of the smaller ones be sure to ascertain their GPS coordinates and carry a GPS and topo map that shows the coordinates with you when you go. Small public parcels nearly always border private land, and landowners can be surprisingly ignorant of where their property lines actually are, be prepared to show that you aren't trespassing. In the event of a conflict call the local GW immediately and show him your topo and GPS coordinates, don't call local police who invariably side with the landowner. Such small parcels often turn out to be sanctuaries for larger bucks since they don't get hunted as much, if at all.