Texas is undoubtedly one of the best hunting states in USA overflowed with different kinds of small and big wild games. Hunting location here includes public hunting places mostly owned or leased by Texas Park and Wildlife Department (TPWD) and other private hunting places owned by private land owners.
Legal hunters will have access to million acres of natural terrain across the state for hunting in state permitted hunting season.
Now, the question is how you can become a legal hunter and what you can hunt in this hunting haven? To know, read on.
Hunter Education:
Hunter education is mandatory hunting in Texas for every hunter in and out of the state who born after 1st September 1971. This education includes three courses-
This hunter education course will cost you 15$. You can use this certificate to hunting in other state and in the same rules applied for any out-of-state hunter who has completed hunter education in other states; they do not need to complete the hunter education in Texas.
Bow hunters will have to complete another mandatory two days course in addition to the hunter education course.
Hunter education is not exempted for anyone including military, police or any other law enforcement personnel.
License for hunting in Texas:
Like hunter education, appropriate license is compulsory for hunting in Texas. Without a valid and the right kind of license any attempt of hunting will be considered as an unlawful act. Therefore, you will get into a big trouble. Texas state laws and also the Federal laws for Illegal hunting are pretty rigid.
Different types of licenses are available in Texas issued by Texas Park and Wildlife Department. These licenses are available to purchase almost 1700 points in all over Texas. Also, one can purchase his license through online.
Hunters will have to collect their suitable license depending on some determinant factors. These factors will determine which license he/she would obtain. The license category in Texas is mainly divided into two broader classes i.e. residence and non residence.
Obviously, a resident pays less than a non-resident hunter to get a similar kind of license. However, according to the Texas Park and Wildlife Department a resident hunter must own any three of the following document to prove him a resident in Texas:
Resident Hunter can have other favorable license options for them. Such as, Senior citizen who is above 65 years is entitled to purchase senior residence hunting license with much lower fees.
Apart from this, hunters can choose which type of license he wants to purchase i.e. life time license, different types of combo license etc. However, life time license cannot be purchased through online. One will have to collect it in person from Texas Park and Wildlife Department law enforcement offices.
Non-residence hunters also have different choices. They can choose from a verity of license options depending on their preferences. Life time license is not available for non-residence hunter.
Although completion of Hunter education successfully is must for hunting, you won’t require showing a course completion certificate for purchasing hunting license.
Permits, certifications and stamps
A hunter will need to acquire special permits for hunting sandhill cranes, migratory game bird, buck pronghorn antelop, deer or turkey during an Archery-Only open season, turkey, pheasant, quail or chachalaca etc.
All the license options, permits, certifications, stamps and their associated fees are given in TPWD’s official website. Click here to know detail detail: http://tpwd.texas.gov/regulations/outdoor-annual/licenses/hunting-licenses-and-permits
Games in Texas
Texas is a very attractive place for hunters because of its enriched wildlife. All most every type of hunting games is abundant in this state. Different varieties of big and small games are spreading all over the Texas.
Detail information is available in Texas Park and Wildlife Department’s website. I will summarize some of the common games you can hunt in Texas.
Deer hunting in Texas
White-tailed deer is the most common wild games you can find in Texas. Millions of white-tailed are roaming around in the hilly lands of this state. To a Texan, white-tailed deer has emotional values along with its aestheticism.
Though, white-tailed deer hunting is legal in Texas, you cannot shoot any kind of them. The TPWD has specific rules and regulation which quarantine certain types of white-tailed from hunting. In some counties, certain types of antlers are restricted to hunt. Those counties defined legal buck
In addition, Texas hunting rules also has specified separate hunting seasons for each category of hunters depending on used weapons.
Find more here about white-tailed deer hunting in Texas: http://tpwd.texas.gov/regulations/outdoor-annual/regs/animals/white-tailed-deer
Hogs hunting in Texas
Hog hunting in Texas
Jevelina or collared peccary is the only type of hog that is available in Texas. They can be found mostly in the arid southern part of Texas. Although, Jevelinas are much smaller weigh only around 60 lbs, sometimes they can be mistaken as feral hogs.
Jevelina has very weak eyesight and poor hearings with a very strong smelling sense. In the south of Texas Jevelina Hog hunting is allowed year round. North Texas has specified hunting season while rest of the state while rest of counties are closed for hunting Jevelina.
Other major big games for hunting in Texas
Apart from white-tailed deer other big games are available in Texas like Mule Deer, Pronghorn, Desert Bighorn Sheep, Squirrel, Alligators etc.
Duck hunting in Texas
Duck hunting in Texas
Duck is another very lucrative hunting game in Texas. Wild ducks are not a permanent resident in Texas. They migrate with other migratory birds during winter from different part of the world.
Each year thousand of hunters gathered around here for hunting ducks during hunting season. According to TPWD, Texas has three duck hunting zones in Texas i.e. South, North and High Plains Mallard Management Unit.
Rules and regulation for hunting duck in different hunting zones of Texas varies. There are certain restrictions are enacted on hunting some duck species.
As ducks are a migratory game bird, a general hunting license isn’t enough for hunting a duck. Duck hunter must have some special permission for hunting ducks i.e. Texas Migratory Game Bird Stamp Endorsement and a valid Federal Duck Stamp and HIP Certification.
To learn more about hunting ducks you can read Texas Waterfowl Digest, free pdf version is available on the web.
Other major small games for hunting in Texas
Different types of small games can be found in Texas i.e. Turkey, Quail, Pheasant, Chachalaca and other migratory game bird Geese, Sandhill Cranes etc.
Hunting Season in Texas
Detailed information about hunting season:
http://tpwd.texas.gov/regulations/outdoor-annual/regs/animal_listing
Country wise hunting season:
http://tpwd.texas.gov/regulations/outdoor-annual/hunting/seasons/county-listing/