Aussie hunter moving to Texas
 

G'day everyone, Steve Johnson here. My wife and I will shortly be moving from the Northern Territory in Australia to the States. Hoping that I will be able to continue my passion hunting hog but I am also getting more and more interested in elk/deer. New scenery after all so I would be an idiot not start learning a thing or two about the new land that will be supporting me. If you great people out there know a secret or two about hunting elk/deer in Texas then go ahead and hit me up. I'd appreciate it. Meanwhile I will be reading all these great posts :)

Steve.

Elk in TX are classified as livestock. Most of them only exist on game ranches. There are a few in west TX that are "free ranging" but they are all on private property and will cost you big $$$ to go after. Better to go to either NM or CO for elk.

Deer hunting in TX is really good but most of the state is privately owned. Big deer equate to big $$$ but you can hunt does for very little or even no cost. I take a couple of does a year. The whole state has a lot of hogs though.

Regarding those does you take. ...Deleted by CalHunter...

What in blazes are non-typical does??? I will say your post is a non-typical post, thank goodness.

I take it you're quoting that "guy" above. I immediately placed him on a certain "list." I seriously doubt he is going to be long for this forum based on his initial couple of posts. I won't waste my time on his crap and I suggest you do likewise.

For the OP, welcome to the forum.

Texas? For God's sake why? lol

Flag's is right. Everything you might want to hunt in Texas has a price tag on it. Many choose to buy into a hunting lease. People who can't afford that tend to hunt from the road.

If it has to be Texas. There is some really good fishing and traveling again like Flag's said, to Colorado or New Mexico is not a bad idea.

Did you hunt hogs with dogs in the North territories? The dogs here as you may know are a little different. Some of the hog hunters here have connections in Oz, and maybe you could hook up with a hunting crew to get you going once you move here.


Good luck!

I didn't say that. I clearly said you can hunt does for little or nothing. I shoot a couple of does a year and can take as many hogs as I want and none of it costs me a dime. Big bucks and the exotics can cost quite a bit but I fill the freezer for free.

If you're going to try and quote me at least get it right.

"Elk in TX are classified as livestock. Most of them only exist on game ranches. There are a few in west TX that are "free ranging" but they are all on private property and will cost you big $$$ to go after. Better to go to either NM or CO for elk.

Deer hunting in TX is really good but most of the state is privately owned. Big deer equate to big $$$ but you can hunt does for very little or even no cost."

par·a·phrase
ˈperəˌfrāz/
verb

verb: paraphrase; 3rd person present: paraphrases; past tense: paraphrased; past participle: paraphrased; gerund or present participle: paraphrasing

1. 1.
   express the meaning of (the writer or speaker or something written or spoken) using different words, especially to achieve greater clarity.
   "you can either quote or paraphrase literary texts"

Are you trying to run this guy off flags? :confused0024:

Are you trying to be obtuse? You said I told him everything has a cost. Not true since you can get does and hogs pretty much for free. Do elk cost in TX? Yes. Do big bucks cost in TX? Yes. But does and hogs don't. That's my point. Not everything costs to hunt in TX. Most things do but not everything, which is what you said. I clearly told him that there are better places to go after elk besides TX, but they sure ain't in MI. And since he specifically mentioned hogs I also noted that they are just about every where and I can hunt hogs within 3 miles of where I sit right now for free. Can you? Didn't think so.

And then you take childish cheap shots at TX, which is a pretty good state. Want to compare it side by side to MI and see where they stand? My bet is MI comes out behind TX in every category except LIB DEMs and union members in residence. And you qualify as both, don't you?

If you reread the OP's beginning post, he asked about hunting elk and deer specifically in Texas and also mentioned that his "passion" is hog hunting.

And if you reread Flags' answer, you would note that Flags gave him specific information in answer to the OP's query about those 3 specific species in Texas. In fact, Flags even advised him on how he could inexpensively hunt does if he was inclined to hunt deer for meat in the freezer. And Flags advised him about 2 nearby states (one is even contiguous) that would have much better elk hunting.


You may see Flags' answer as being pessimistic (your discernment is your prerogative) but Flags gave the OP an honest and informative answer. It's the sort of useful information a hunter would want to help make their best decision.

Cal, that's just Mickey being Mickey. He has a long history on these forums of spouting off at posts I make. I just consider the source, which I have no respect for, and move on.

To the OP, if you get to TX, shoot me a PM and I'll help you out. Funny you didn't see Mickey offering to help the guy did you? But then Mickey doesn't quite understand southern hospitality.

I still fail to see how this post caused so much turmoil.

Maybe you should reread what you posted and what Cal posted because it was exactly as he stated. Comments you made were incorrect just as flags and Cal stated. Add turkeys, bobcats, and coyotes to hogs and doe deer since I've also hunted them for free down in south Texas!

So you say.

Welcome to the Good Old USA....and Texas,hope You meet up with Flags and enjoy Your visit enough that You stay!

It was your 2nd post but you already knew that since you're the one who posted it. And in case that was difficult to discern, I even quoted the end of your 2nd post to respond to. Expressing confusion based on the wrong post doesn't advance your argument or position very much. But then, you already knew that as well. :happy0001:

Yes I say and I don't care to be called a liar, which it sounds like that comment was meant to mean!

...Edited by Champlain Islander...

Thank you for your informative response. I will definitely look into elk in both CO and NM and check out the options. I think does would make a good place to start for me anyway. Been hunting hog my whole life like my father. Have not had any real experience with hunting and tracking larger beast. Exciting times. Can't wait to get over there :rock:

Hey mate, thanks for all the information. The reason for Texas is family ties.

It would be great to meet the hog hunting guys on here if you could point me in their direction! I would also never say no to a fishing trip ;). Pulled some pretty solid barramundi in my time.

In regards to hunting with dogs my family made the decision to go without. There are obvious advantages of taking out the doggies but there are a few reasons why we don't. For one, there is a heap of deadly snakes where I live which can put down a large dog easily. Secondly, the hunting that I enjoy is the feeling of doing it on my own.. using my own instincts you know? And thirdly, I would rather not put the hog through the mental anguish before killing it that dogs subject them to. It can get pretty messy.

Cheers.

Good luck SteveJohnson1 on the move and welcome to the site.

Ditto that CI!!!

Scroll down and take a look at the Hogs & Exotics Forum! There are some neat videos of night hunting on it.

If you do a web search, Jim Shockey and others are even hunting hogs with air guns.

Nothing new there. In Europe they have been taking big game with airguns for a long time and have even used them as military arms. As a matter of fact the Lewis and Clark expedition took an air rifle along with them because they had no idea what kind of resources they would find to replace flints, black powder etc... One of those little tidbits of history that has gotten lost along the way.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girandoni_air_rifle

Very interesting flags!

I guess the technology has grown from my 1960's Daisy Eagle BB gun.

Actually air rifle technology has advanced way before your 1960's Daisy. Take a look at the article I linked. In the 1700s they had air rifles capable of killing men and big game. The problem they faced was making consistently airtight reservoirs for the air. Remember they didn't have high strength plastics and epoxies back then. The fact they could make them at all is pretty impressive, at least to me.

The information about the history of air guns is kind of amazing. Back in the day...at age 12 I was given my Daisy Eagle complete with a 4X scope. All the kids in the development had BB guns and we had a bunch of fun shooting up about everything we could put together. My favorites were the model planes, ships and other military stuff we all made.