Texas hunting and fishing laws

Every hunter, including out-of-state hunters, born on or after Sept. 2, 1971, must successfully complete a Hunter Education Course. The minimum age of hunter education certification is 9 years. Ages 9 through 16 must complete the course or be accompanied. Age 17 and older must complete the course or purchase a deferral and be accompanied.

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The deferral allows a person 17 years of age or older who has not completed a hunter education program to defer completion for up to one year. It may only be obtained once and is only valid until the end of the current license year. Accompanied means by a person at least 17, licensed to hunt in Texas, who has passed hunter education or is exempt, and you must be within normal voice control.

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No minimum age is stated for a Texas hunting license. The Youth Hunting License is valid for any person, resident or non-resident, under 17 years of age at the date of license purchase. Texas has no apprentice license; the hunter education deferral for those 17 and older is the equivalent.

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There is no statewide blaze orange requirement in Texas; it is a public-land rule. All persons on public hunting lands, meaning state land, national forests and grasslands, during daylight hours when hunting with firearms is permitted must wear at least 400 square inches of hunter orange with orange headgear, with at least 144 square inches on both chest and back.

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The public-land hunter orange rule does not apply to those hunting turkey, migratory birds, alligator, or desert bighorn sheep, nor to people inside vehicles, designated campgrounds, parking areas, boat launches, or check stations. Blaze pink is not recognized in Texas.

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No Sunday hunting restriction appears in the agency regulations.

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For game animals and upland birds the period is from one-half hour before official sunrise to one-half hour after official sunset.

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Applies to: Waterfowl

For migratory birds the period is one-half hour before official sunrise to sunset. Special White-winged Dove Days run from noon to sunset.

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Baiting is legal in Texas: it is lawful to bait for game animals, nongame animals, and upland game birds, except for wild turkey in the East Zone and migratory game birds. Baiting is prohibited on most public property. Bait is something that lures any wildlife resource, including salt, grain, minerals or other feed. Black bear is protected and there is no bear season.

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For game animals and birds it is unlawful to hunt with the aid of artificial light of any form that casts or reflects a beam of light onto or otherwise illuminates a game animal or bird. Limited exceptions exist for legally blind hunters and hunters with a documented disability using laser sighting devices. Battery-powered scoping devices with internal light projections are permitted.

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Applies to: Furbearers

Nongame animals such as armadillos, bobcats, coyotes, mountain lions, prairie dogs and rabbits have no closed seasons and may be hunted at any time; a hunting license is required, and TPWD says that if hunting at night you should as a courtesy contact your local game warden. No hunting license is required to hunt feral hogs on private property with landowner authorization.

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Applies to: Big game

Proof of sex for buck deer is the head, skinned or unskinned, with antlers attached, or the tail and unskinned skull cap with antlers attached. For pronghorn it is the unskinned head. Proof of sex must remain attached until the animal reaches its final destination and is processed, with limited exceptions for a taxidermist receipt or a Wildlife Resource Document.

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Applies to: Upland and small game

Turkey proof of sex is one leg including the spur, or a patch of skin with breast feathers and beard attached, for gobblers; for bearded hens it is a patch of skin with breast feathers and beard attached.

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Penal Code section 30.05: notice that entry is forbidden may be given by oral or written communication, by fencing obviously designed to exclude intruders, by posted signs likely to come to the attention of intruders, by purple paint marks at the size and spacing set in the statute, or by visible cultivated crops. Trespass is a Class A misdemeanor when the person carries a deadly weapon.

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Parks and Wildlife Code section 62.012 applies only in counties with a population of 3.3 million or more: no person possessing a firearm may hunt on land owned by another unless he has in his immediate possession the written consent of the owner, containing the hunter's name, identification of the land, and the signer's signature and contact details. Landowners, lessees and agents are exempt.

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