Texas Hunting Laws and Regulations Overview
Like many areas of law, hunting regulations in Texas are subject to the state and local authority of government. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Code ("TPWC") sets out statewide restrictions on hunting, and makes allowances for local authorities of counties or municipalities to set further restrictions. TPWC section 1.101 et seq. provides that the purpose of the code is to "insure adequate wildlife resources of this state for the benefit and enjoyment of present and future generations of the citizens of this state by providing for and enforcing a system of control and regulation of the hunting, possessing, taking, capture, transportation, importation, exportation, breeding, or sale of wild animals and birds, or of their parts or products." In addition to TPWC , the Texas Game Laws, found in Texas Penal Code laws section 62.002 et seq. "for the further protection and conservation of wild birds and animals of the state, and to provide penalties for the unlawful taking, killing, pursuing, hunting, capturing, trapping, netting, snaring, or in any manner interfering with any wild birds or animals of the state as may be defined in this chapter." See Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 62.001 et seq. Numerous agencies are charged with enforcing the state’s wildlife regulations, including the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the Texas Game Wardens, and the federal government, in conjunction with inspectors from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Texas hunting season and bag limits are set out on the Parks and Wildlife website.
Legal Shooting Hours Explained
As defined in 2 TAC § 53.4, legal shooting hours are "from one-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset." Legal hunting hours are broken down by Wildlife Management Unit (WMU) and sub-parcel. In essence, sunrise for hunting purposes is 30 minutes before the official sunrise time (the time the sun is above the visible horizon), and sunset for hunting purposes is 30 minutes after the official sunset time.
Primarily, legal shooting hours are relevant for dealing with situations where deer are harvested and the Take of the deer needs to be reported. Under 5 TAC § 48.621, in order to legally harvest deer, a Take must be reported to Texas Parks and Wildlife within 7 days; however, if the deer is taken from a property that is not your property and you are hunting on some form or another of a permit, the time in which to report a Take is only 3 days. In these situations, Legal shooting hours are relevant as legal shooting hours in which the Take occurred only extend 30 minutes after sunset therefore a Take could not validly or legally occur outside of that specified time slot.
Shooting Hours by Game Species
Legal shooting hours for deer are one-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset, except as noted below:
- Archery Only Season: No Restrictions
- Youth Only Season: Liberty of choice to the youth hunter
- General Season: Sunset to Sunrise
- Late Season (South Texas only): Same as General Season
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) provides the following information regarding shooting hours for other types of game:
- Turkey (Spring only): One-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset.
- Migratory Birds, which includes ducks, teal, geese, brant, rails (including coots and Moorhen), gallinules, snipe, and cranes: One-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset, except from November 9 through January 29 (for the Central Flyway) and November 9 through January 6 (for the High Plains Mallard Management Unit), during which times shooting hours are 30 minutes after sunrise to 1/2 hour after sunset
- Sora Rail: One-half hour before sunrise to sunset
- Sandhill Crane: One-half hour before sunrise to sunset for specific license holders only
- Resident Nuisance Canada Goose: One-half hour before sunrise to sunset
- Resident Nuisance Goose" One-half hour before sunrise to sunset
- Common Snipe: 30 minutes before sunrise to sunset
Daylight Savings Time’s Effect on Shooting Hours
Turkey and Deer Seasons are Drawing to a Close:
Unequal Impact of Changing Daylight on Shooting Hours
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, as are most state and federal agencies, is risk-averse. The department is responsible for managing an array of recreational and consumptive activities, including hunting and fishing, but also birdwatching, trail use, and numerous scientific and conservation initiatives. Inevitably, when an activity is involved that results in injury or property damage, the department can be put under an intense light. With this in mind, we asked Ms. Janet Colson, a policy analyst for the department’s law enforcement service, to comment on legal shooting hours. Ms. Colson explained that shooting hours are established by the department to account for the varying day length during various seasons. "Legal shooting hours" are from one-half hour before sunrise to one half-hour after sunset. Throughout most of the year the difference between sunrise and sunset is pretty constant—from about 7 am to 7 pm, in central Texas—but this time period varies significantly in winter and summer months. For instance, in January (at its extreme) mornings are still dark at 7 am, but twilight begins at 5:57 am, making legal shooting hours run from 5:27 am to 6:27 pm—a narrow window of just over 11 hours. By contrast, the same period next July will have a sunrise of 5:54 am and a sunset of 8:49 pm, allowing for legal shooting hours of 5:24 am to 11:19 pm—a 19 hour, 55 minute window! Of course even though there are 16 hours of legal shooting hours in July, hunting season is not open for wild game such as deer and turkey, so it is not a practical concern. As both seasons reach their end, however, the disparity may present problems as changeable day length reacts with the shifting seasons of the turkey and deer breeding cycles . For instance, the spring turkey hunting period runs from March 15 through May 14, but in much of Texas legal shooting hours will shift from a maximum of 12.5 hours in March to only 10.7 hours by May’s end. This is counterintuitive from what most hunters would consider the "best" time of the morning-early in the season, when gobbling is at its best, and near the end of the season when hen numbers have dropped and gobbling calls elicit the most predictable responses. Evenings are not optimal for hunting turkeys as they tend to go to roost, again, early in the season and become less vocal as the season progresses by May. The state’s enhancement tag program for native whitetail deer is still in effect until August 31, 2012, and is not generally available to the average hunter, but white tail season opens again on October 1, 2012. By October 31, sunset is at 6:29 pm, meaning a legal shooting window that starts at 6:59 am and ends at 6:29 pm, resulting in 11.58 hours of shooting hours. By the end of that month, each evening will end at 5:43 pm, meaning only 10:43 hours of shooting time. This is likely to have a significant impact on how hunters target their mornings and evenings. In our experience, gray, late fall mornings are often the best time for spotting and hunting deer, when movement of deer has all but ceased and their black eyes shine like pearls through thick foliage. Late afternoon hunts, by contrast, will be challenging as diminished daylight means legal shooting hours for the evening will end at only 5:43 pm. This means that while driving to the bow hunt of a lifetime, it will be nearly dark already, and only the lightest colored horn buck will be identifiable enough for taking a shot. Careful watching of the calendar and clock will be necessary for the serious hunter.
Punishments for Breaking the Shooting Hour Rules
Beyond the ethical considerations, failing to obey the shooting hours can lead to some real legal consequences. These hours are not open to interpretation. Ignorance or blatant disregard of them can cost you.
As a state crime, violating game laws can lead to criminal misdemeanor or felony charges depending on the severity of the crime. There are actually several tiers of offenses that range from Class C to Class A misdemeanors and up to felony charges. Penalties include fines or jail time or both, and although most penalties are not extreme, it is still possible to pay a fine of up to $10,000 or be imprisoned for up to 10 years in more serious instances.
Violating the shooting hours is a Class B misdemeanor, meaning that you may be fined up to $2,000, get up to 180 days in jail, or get both a fine and jail time. If you are caught killing or hunting in closed seasons or over bait or with prohibited equipment or methods, the crime is then elevated to a Class A misdemeanor. In most cases, you may not be fined more than $4,000, face not more than one year in jail, or experience both a fine and jail time.
Felonies include specific incidents of hunting protected wildlife, hunting game animals without required permits or licenses, or committing multiple offenses. The penalties are paid primarily from civil restitution values and can reach up to the tens of thousands.
Carrying a rifle, shotgun, bow, or crossbow on a public road after dark is a Class C misdemeanor. A Class C misdemeanor is the lowest and is generally a fine only and no jail time.
It is obvious that there are serious consequences of violating shooting hours, but what is perhaps more important from the ethical perspective – people may not know how critical these shooting hours are for wildlife conservation.
Where to Find Up to Date Texas Hunting Regulations
The Texas Parks & Wildlife Department’s website (www.tpwd.state.tx.us) contains a host of information on hunting in Texas, and is regularly updated to reflect current legal shooting hours for each game animal broken down by county. The Department has published the Texas Parks & Wildlife Code, and compiles all of the game laws in one publication. It also has information on special permits that are necessary based on age, sex targets, etc.
As with most statutes and regulations, legal shooting hours are not intuitive. There are thirteen different definitions of ‘legal shooting hours’, and the hours for any given game animal can be different depending upon where you are in Texas. The Texas Parks & Wildlife Commission has jurisdiction over ‘wild game’ species, whereas the Texas Animal Health Commission oversees domestic livestock . That means that the definition of ‘legal shooting hours’ for white-tailed deer is (1) 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes past the sunset unless otherwise defined by statute, rule, or proclamation and (2) ‘legal shooting hours’ for exotics mean you can hunt all day, when there is enough light cast over the land to see to make an accurate shot, unless the live stock fence prohibitions apply on the property.
The Department’s website also lists information on nonresident hunting licenses and price, special hunting and late season permits, and when they all expire. If you plan to hunt in Texas, the Texas Parks & Wildlife website is a great starting place to learn more about hunting in our state.