Panola Mountain State Park Hunt questions

[Fishin & Hunting]

I have decided since I have enough points, I will put in for the Panola Mountain state Park Hunt. Took the drive today to look things over, but was told by park employees I couldn't get off the trails. Other questions about the hunt went unanswered. Was told that once selected for the hunt, I would be given a list of days when I could scout off the trails, and then they would answer my questions.

If you have done a previous hunt at Panola, can you tell me how it went, can you gut your deer on site, are you given your own private area to hunt, and is there anything I should know before hand?

 

[ucfireman]

If it were me I would just wander the woods like I wanted to. What are the chances of a ranger actually getting out in the heat and looking for you not being on the trails.
And if they do, what would they do? Tell you to stay on the trail?
I doubt they even know anything about the hunt, I would think DNR is the ones who will orchestrate the hunts not the park staff. Could be wrong.

Good luck, and post of your experience.

 

[JB0704]

It's been about 7 or 8 years since I was there, but, they had a place to gut the deer where the biologists were pulling the jaw bones. No private areas.......it's actually a relatively crowded hunt but lots of deer anyway. I just figured out where everybody else wanted to go, then I went somewhere else.

 

[eavega]

I went three years ago. No pre-selected 'private' areas, but you are allowed to scout once selected. You will be allowed to drive down the different greenways/roadways. There are restricted areas where you are not allowed in order to preserve the environment. When I went to scout there was deer everywhere, but it seemed that when the hunters got into the woods all together, the deer got spooked. I thought I had found a really good spot when I scouted, but on over the three days of the hunt I only saw one during shooting hours, and apparently another hunter that had set up about 150 yards away from me (without me knowing) saw her first. Even on the hunt days, I bumped deer every morning getting to my stand, but nothing wandered out during daylight. Just like @JB0704 says, go where other folks are not. I was told that lots of hunters set up near the Mountain, so I went the other (south) and was in a crowd. Lots of deer everywhere, except during shooting hours...