Texas Hunting Leases

The odds of winning a Lotto Texas drawing usually exceed a million to one.  But, the odds of being drawn for one of the positions offered in special drawn hunt categories by TP&W are much better.  Last year, 44,298 applicants vied for the opportunity to hunt some of the state’s managed wildlife areas and habitat.  This year, 5,700 hunters will be selected for hunts that include white-tailed deer, mule deer, pronghorn, javelina, alligator, exotics, feral hog and spring turkey.

In years past, the process for applying for these opportunities was somewhat antiquated.  Using a large TP&W booklet, a hunter had to flip back and forth through pages in order to determine what hunts they wanted to apply for.  After that, the process involved cutting out applications and mailing checks before the deadlines listed.  The application fee for most of drawings is $3 per adult and there may be other fees as well. 

Today, TP&W has modernized its process to take online applications and have added a nifty search feature by species and area to make it easier to apply.  In looking through the choices, I did not see the highly prized “Big Time Texas Hunts” linked here.  To access these hunting opportunities, one must go to the dedicated website and apply.  By applying online, you save 1$ off the regular application price of $10.  Not to mention the hassle of using “snail-mail”.  These hunts will be available sometime in mid-August (See the Big Time Hunts Video).

Kids are not forgotten with this program either.  There are eight free youth-only hunt categories for hunters between the ages of 8-16.  These, like all hunt positions, are randomly selected in a computer drawing from all correctly completed entries received by the specified deadline.

With the online application process, TP&W has dramatically improved its public hunting program for hunters and the many opportunities available to them.  With that, the chances of winning a “hunt of lifetime” just got a lot easier to go for.