If Crockett is anything like Sam Houston NF you might consider a tree climber.
It's not and neither are the other 2 national forest.
To hunt the 4 WMA's located on the national forest (one on each) you'll have to buy an Annual Hunting Permit (formerly known as the "Type II" license and you'll see/hear a lot of people refer to it as that) when you get your license. If you hunt national forest land outside the 4 WMA's you won't need the AHP.
The AHP is good for about 1 million acres in total mostly east of I-35, and mostly timber company land (but not all). When you purchase the permit they'll send you a booklet of maps and regulations for each area. For instance in some of the counties that have the national forest and a WMA located in it there's more land available thru the AHP to hunt than are included in the WMA. Let's take San Augustine CO. for example. It's comrpises the northern 1/2 of the Angelina National Forest north of Sam Rayburn. That's about 70,000 acres of NF land and of that 25,000 acres is Bannister WMA, and 5,000 acres in the widerness area. However there are several other large chunks of AHP land leased to the state - some of which are 9,000 acres or more inside the same county. Just as an exmaple.
Here's the gateway info site for all national forest and grassnlands in TX.
Any differences in harvest/season dates between the WMA's and the rest of the county they fall in are listed in the TXPW game proclamation deal you get for free with your license.
Here's the info on antlerless permits for each - this is last years dates but you get the idea. Call the District office in Lufkin and ask - the staff will know and they do them for all 4 NF.Antlerless Deer Permits
The U.S. Forest Service will soon be offering a limited number of permits to hunt antlerless deer for the general season November 7, 2009 through January 3, 2010.
Applications for the permits will be available online at
www.fs.fed.us/r8/texas beginning August 17, 2009. Any applications sent in prior to this date will be discarded.
Separate entries must be submitted for each licensed hunter, and only one application per hunter is allowed. Duplicate submissions will be discarded.
Youth participating in the general season public hunts by special permit must apply for �youth only permits� if they are between the ages of 8 and 16 at the time of application. The words �youth only permit� must be on the application, along with applicant�s 2009-2010 hunting license number and specific hunting area.
Hunters are selected by random drawing and only one application per person will be accepted. A drawing will be held in mid-October to select a limited number of permits. Only those chosen will be notified by standard postal mail. Permit availability, areas of issuance and application instructions can be obtained from the Forest Supervisor�s office in Lufkin.
Those interested in applying for a permit may apply online or mail a regular-sized postcard with the words �Antlerless Deer Permit,� the applicant�s name and mailing address and 2009-2010 hunting license number and specific hunting area on the card. All requests must be received online or postmarked by October 2, 2009. Mail cards to:
USDA Forest Service
Attention: Antlerless Deer Permit
415 S. First St., Ste. 110
Lufkin, Texas 75901-3801 Hunting areas include:
Davy Crockett National Forest Alabama Creek WMA (annual public hunting permit and seasonal hunting license required)
Sam Houston National Forest Sam Houston WMA: (annual public hunting permit and seasonal hunting license required) There are no zone divisions in the Sam Houston National Forest.
Angelina National Forest Bannister WMA: (annual public hunting permit and seasonal hunting license required)
Sabine National Forest Moore Plantation WMA: (annual public hunting permit and seasonal hunting license required)
The antlerless deer hunt is coordinated by the U.S. Forest Service, a federal agency, and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, a state agency, in an effort to balance the deer population with the available food and natural cover in the national forests and grasslands.
Hunters are reminded a hunter orange cap and hunter orange vest must be worn when hunting.
National Forest and Grasslands in TX Here's all the contact info....honestly you'll have better luck contacting the TPW biologist responsible for the species (IE deer) and the area (say Houston Co for the Davy Crockett National Forest) if you have any questions on what the deer are doing, regulations etc...than calling the biologist on staff for the US Forest Service....trust me I know.
Angelina National Forest
111 Walnut Ridge Road
Zavalla, TX 75980
936-897-1068
Davy Crockett National Forest
18551 Hwy 7 East
Kennard, TX 75847
936-655-2299
Sabine National Forest
5050 Hwy 21 East
Hemphill, TX 75948
409-625-1940
Toll Free 866-235-1750
Sam Houston National Forest
394 FM 1375 West
New Waverly, TX 77358
936-344-6205
Toll Free 888-361-6908
Caddo/LBJ National Grasslands
1400 US 81/287
P.O. Box 507
Decatur, TX 76234
940-627-5475
Forest Supervisor�s Office
National Forests & Grasslands in Texas
415 S. First St., Ste. 110
Lufkin, TX 75901-3801
936-639-8501
TDD: 936-639-8560
Annual hunting permit information. Again last years dates and they likely won't roll over until closer till Sept. 1 when the new licenses roll out.Annual Public Hunting (APH) Permit - $48
�Issued to an individual and valid for a 12-month period from September 1 through August 31 of the following year.
�Provides access to over 1 million acres of land for hunting, fishing, camping, and other uses.
�Offers more than 200 different areas, including approximately 140 special dove hunting units.
�Many areas are open year-round for authorized activities by permit holders.
�Hunt deer, feral hogs, squirrel, turkey, dove, waterfowl, quail, and other legal game.
�The APH Permit waives any applicable daily hunting permit fees on the listed areas.
�Youth under age 17 may hunt free with a permitted adult.
�The APH Permit provides entry to TPWD Wildlife Management Areas at times when they are open for general visitation.
�Go to the Walk-in Hunts main page for more details.
�Only permit holders receive a map booklet listing available areas, facilities, rules, and schedules.
�APH Permits are available at TPWD offices and all license vendors (a place which sells hunting and fishing licenses), or by calling 1-800-TX-LIC-4U (menu choice 1 for license sales) and paying by Visa, Discover or MasterCard). If the permit is purchased at a TPWD office, the map booklet and supplement will be provided immediately at the time of purchase; otherwise, the publications will be mailed to the purchaser within two weeks of purchase.
U.S. Forest Service
Limited Draw Hunts which require an application and a fee to paid to enter and to hunt in most cases.Computer Drawings for Supervised Hunts
�Drawings are held to select a limited number of participants in high quality supervised hunts for white-tailed and mule deer, pronghorn antelope, exotics, feral hogs, javelina, turkey, alligators and guided hunt packages.
�Requires submission of a completed application and fees prior to an established deadline.
�Application fees (required for adults only) are $3 per person for most drawn hunts and $10 per person on certain packaged hunts.
�Selected applicants will be awarded a 1-4 day hunt with $80-$130 hunt permit fee assessed for adults. No permit fee for youth hunters.
�Some drawn hunts have weapons restrictions (archery, muzzleloader, or shotgun only).
�Some drawn hunts are reserved exclusively for hunting by supervised youth only (no application or hunt permit fees are charged).
�Application deadlines for the categories of Computer Drawn Hunts are as follows:
�Alligator, Youth Only Alligator - August 5, 2009
�Pronghorn Antelope, Archery Deer, Archery Mule Deer, Archery Exotic, Private Lands Hunts (Pronghorn, Buck, Antlerless, Spike) - August 12, 2009
�Gun Deer (Either-Sex, Antlerless/Spike, Management Buck, Youth Either Sex, Youth Antlerless/Spike, Youth Management Buck, Gun Mule Deer) - September 3, 2009
�Exotic Only, Javelina, Youth Javelina, Guided Deer, Guided Gemsbok, and Guided Waterbuck - October 6, 2009
�Guided Bighorn Sheep, Guided Scimitar-horned Oryx, Guided Exotic, Feral Hog, Spring Turkey, Youth Feral Hog, Youth Spring Turkey - November 4, 2009
Any other questions just ask.
The average "deer hunter" who hunts on the national forest/WMA's in TX spends less than 4 days afield......
I almost wish I could sticky this post because it seems like it gets asked about once every 2-3 months. TPW would LOVE for you to come up and kill some deer and pigs.