I recently received in the mail the “2010-2011

Applica­tions

for Drawings

on Public Hunting Lands” from Texas Parks and Wildlife. If you applied for a hunt last year, you also should have received the booklet. The hunts take place on selected wildlife management areas, state parks, federal lands and on some private ranches.

TPWD offers a variety of access permits in a continuing effort to provide public hunting opportuni­ties on land under its control. Each type of permit is tailored to address

specific preferences of sports­men

while generating proper manage­ment

of the wildlife resources.

Special Permit recipients are selected by drawing. A limit is placed on the number of hunters who may

Hunters may apply in partici­pate.

the annual computer drawing for only one area listed in each hunt category. Each adult applicant age

17 or older is charged an applica­tion

fee of $3 per hunt sought, except for the Private Lands hunts and Guided Hunt packages that each have a $10

applica­tion

fee.

The Special Permit hunt categories are alligator, archery exotic, archery deer, archery mule deer, crossbow deer, exotic only, feral hog, javelina, gun deer (antlerless/spike), gun deer (either sex), gun mule deer

(buck only). and gun prong­horn

Other categories include private

lands prong­horn,

private lands deer

(either sex and antler­less/

spike),

management deer (either sex) and spring turkey.

Probably the most applied for category is gun deer, either sex. Thirty-four parks and wildlife management areas will hold this hunt, including nearby Colorado Bend and Inks Lake state parks.

This year, the TPWD offers several categories for hunting by supervised youth (8-16 years of age). During these hunts, only the youth authorized will be able to hunt, however a nonhunting adult listed on the application card must supervise.

Every hunter born on or after Sept.

2, 1971, must successful­ly

complete

a Hunter Education training course.

Minimum age of certifica­tion

is 9

years, and the cost is $15.

If you did not receive a booklet, you can request one by writing TPWD at 4200 Smith School Rd., Austin, TX 78744, or by calling (512) 389-8221.

The booklet and applica­tion

forms

also may be downloaded from the

tx.us. TPWD site at www.tpwd.stat­e.

Under the hunting category, click “Drawn Hunts.”

To apply, completed applica­tion

cards must be submit­ted

by the

deadline date for each hunt with the

appropri­ate

fees. The number of

hunters per applica­tion

card depends

on the hunt category and ranges from one to a maximum of four.

The odds of getting drawn vary from about 10:1 to about 1,000:1. The greatest odds are for the pronghorn hunts, where the chance of being selected for an antelope hunt is about the same as winning the lottery. The greatest chance for getting drawn

would be for an antlerle­ss/

spike only hunt.

I have applied for one or more of the hunts for many years, and my hunting party was drawn only twice. Over 20 years ago we were picked for a javelina hunt on the Black Gap Wildlife Management Area. Our party of four killed only one javelina.

Several years ago, my son and I were drawn for an antlerless hunt on the Walter Buck Wildlife Manage­ment Area. We were not successful.

In check­ing

the success ratio listed

for each hunt category in the booklet, hunter success ranges from zero to 100 percent.

The deadline to apply for some of the hunts is just around the corner. The archery, crossbow and Private Lands hunts deadlines are Aug. 12. The deadline for gun-only hunts is Sept. 2.

If you feel lucky and would like to go on a hunt without paying a large lease fee, apply for one or more of the hunt categories.

Former Soil Conservation Service employee and longtime writer Mat Taylor offers his outdoors column for Dispatch Record readers. He can be contacted at (254) 518-2262 or via

e-mail at mntaylor@wild­blue­.

net.