The other thread got me thinking about hunting in city limits. If I read this right, as long as you are on more than 10 acres with a shotgun and the land was not part of city limits prior to 1981, you can hunt it. Is this correct?


Sec. 229.002. REGULATION OF DISCHARGE OF WEAPON. A municipality may not apply a regulation relating to the discharge of firearms or other weapons in the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the municipality or in an area annexed by the municipality after September 1, 1981, if the firearm or other weapon is:
(1) a shotgun, air rifle or pistol, BB gun, or bow and arrow discharged:
(A) on a tract of land of 10 acres or more and more than 150 feet from a residence or occupied building located on another property; and
(B) in a manner not reasonably expected to cause a projectile to cross the boundary of the tract; or

You need to read 229.003/.004 as well.

And NONE of your projectiles leave the property ( good luck), and this only means you won't be charged with a crime.

You keep doing it when the city cops show up and you'll get arrested, because they aren't going to sit there and argue with you over some minor code.

It's minor because I don't think cops in say, Sugar Land, Richmond, Rosenberg, Pearland, etc (all around Houston) would know what that is. Nor will they immediately know how large the property is.

It is a big deal, I agree and it's great that you can still hunt on 10+ acre parcels that are somehow in the city limits or ETJ. What I was saying is that, if your shooting dove in a 10.5 acre vacant "lot" outside of the city but in ETJ near houses, a school, or apartments (which is likely why this would even be an issue - I can't imagine it would be an issue on a 300 acre piece of land...) then when the city cops come to talk to you they might not understand this regulation.

In your case I can't believe it was ever an issue, where it starts to become an issue is on properties that back up to or are adjacent to residential or commercial areas and people call the cops because they hear shooting and are "scared."

Deats said:

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You need to read 229.003/.004 as well.

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I live in a town of 25k, so I don't think they apply. I would obviously discuss it with the chief first.

Thanks for breaking it down into simple terms.

This is exactly what I meant.

We dove hunted this property in high school numerous times. The GW snuck out of the woods 8 ft away one time, checked our birds and our plugs and that was it. On a separate occasion, two patrol cars rolled up when we were just shooting clays. It was in the city limits and surrounded by residences. Nobody got a ride to jail and no tickets.

Unless you are in Collin or Denton counties. Thanks Ken Paxton, you ****ing crook.

Probably should carry a copy of the municipal code in your backpack in case the law shows up.

stick with a bow

beefiedoubleoh said:

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stick with a bow

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Doves are way too hard to hit with an arrow

Some trivia on 229.002:

It was initiated by a Ft Worth area TX legislator, who had his favorite dove hunting area annexed. It was picked up by TSRA, and a committee hearing was scheduled.

TSRA rep needed to help the committee with language, and asked for help. Of ALL of the cities in TX, College Station had the best ordinance on the books, and the text of the state law is a very close copy. I had heard from friends that hunting in the city limits of CS was allowed, but always assumed they were BS-ing. Nope, same acreage restrictions, and similar distance requirements, were in place for CS.

The rollback to 1981 was a pleasant surprise, and about the last thing the committee discussed. I had been assuming it would protect annexed land going forward from the date of the bill.

The OP didn't mention it, but with 50+ acres, handguns and rifles are allowed, with all the similar caveats.

GSS said:

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OnlyForNow said:

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And NONE of your projectiles leave the property ( good luck), and this only means you won't be charged with a crime.

You keep doing it when the city cops show up and you'll get arrested, because they aren't going to sit there and argue with you over some minor code.

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What's minor about a TX state statute? We "regained" the right to hunt on 300 acres that had been annexed, with the city having NO provision for discharge of firearms. And it was just luck that the Legislature went with the rollback to 1981 (tied to the Ag protection law).

And a little common sense (and direction) can prevent headaches on the "no projectiles cross property lines", at least as it applies to shotguns and safety.

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You're absolutely correct but it's also correct that it's probably unwise to argue with cops when you're holding a firearm. Especially in this environment.

The Harris Co. Sheriff's Dept. has a training facility & firing range about 2.5 miles as the crow flies from my neighborhood and there's some properties south of Lake Houston closer than that which meet the 10ac requirements where you can hear gunfire at times. You should hear the pearl-clutching SAHMs flip out over "gun shots heard in the neighborhood."

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You should hear the pearl-clutching SAHMs flip out over "gun shots heard in the neighborhood."

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Silencers & pellet guns 4TW. I know the issue is shotguns at dove season, but for other hunting or backyard plinking near neighbors, suppressors and pellet guns solve many noise issues. Still need to worry about back stops and such, of course.

techno-ag said:

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You should hear the pearl-clutching SAHMs flip out over "gun shots heard in the neighborhood."

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Silencers & pellet guns 4TW. I know the issue is shotguns at dove season, but for other hunting or backyard plinking near neighbors, suppressors and pellet guns solve many noise issues. Still need to worry about back stops and such, of course.

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But these shots are miles away and th SAHMs lose it.

Dude in the neighborhood took a couple pics of some well-fed coyotes along a flood control ditch that separates the neighborhood from about 3500 undeveloped acres (which itself abuts another 1000 acres of state and county parks) and the usual suspects were freaking about about their children not being safe, etc.