We are not in the city limits, but in a 'residential' area (subdivision for legal sake I guess). Our lot is 6 acres but neighbors are 2 acres and another is about 50 or more acres. Far away from any highways.

Hogs have given us a tough time for years and relentless. We are so tired of fighting them - lots of property damage including lawns and just about every landscape thingy my wife tries to plant.

Can I legally pop a few shotgun rounds at them to run them off every now and then? Or even fire into the dirt?

I heard about a "10-acre" rule but even then, this wouldn't apply to us as we and others (not all) are smaller than that.

Thanks for any help.

Sine poena nulla lex.

You must have finished your move then? Let me know if you're settled in and around town next week. I'd like to stop by and check out the new shop!

Agree with skelso. Trapping is your best bet.

TwoMarksHand said:

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Agree with skelso. Trapping is your best bet.

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But shooting them is much more fun...

1.Trap
2.shoot
3. Tannerite
4. ???
5. Profit

Check out local government code 229, specifically .002, and .020. Http://www.arborsia.org/countyfirearms.pdf is also a good reference. SB 741 prevents poa's from restricting firearm use.

Thanks for the feedback but right now I'm focused on the law (criminal felony, misdemeanor, etc). I can work on the traps later, and no worries on an HOA (that's more of a lawsuit issue than criminal). They are doing some major damage.

dr_boogs: we have been here for over 2 years. I hope we're settled in! Are you referring to our portable shed?

T-shirt - thanks for the link but it was a broken link. I think you meant here: http://arborsia.org/CountyFirearms.pdf but this is for Bastrop county. We are in Brazos (any insight to Brazos would be appreciated).

Bastrop County prohibits the discharge within a residence (subdivision of less than 5 acres) but provides the following exemptions:

6.01 b) "if reasonably necessary to protect one's self, other persons, or property from imminent harm, in accordance with state law".

6.01 c) "if necessary to shoot an animal reasonably believed to present, under the circumstances, the possibility of danger to a person or to a person's property."

So it looks like it's good with the law in Bastrop Co. Not sure about Brazos though.

The issue may be legal to you but your method of solution won't work regardless if you can shoot them. There must have been hundreds of threads in the forum about managing hogs. They all say the same thing.

Trapping Sounders all at once is the only way. And that solution probably includes your neighbors doing the same

I'm in Brazos county and have lots of free time. Let me know if you want an extra hunter.

Nah I was replying to Skelso. Good luck!

Thanks for all the advice!

So a few loose ends I need to tie up:

1) Anyone know of the law in Brazos County? (Bastrop's law is okay with shooting in defending property damage)
2) I'll line up a trap, but won't be able to have one for the next couple nights. Until then it is shoot to defend. Are there any preferred weapons (The shooting direction has about 50 acres of dense trees so we should be good there)?

What about buck shot? Limited range and get the job done

Call the County Attorney's Office and ask them. Regulations vary from county to county.

Regarding Brazos County, I have property that is in the CS city limits as well as a nearby larger tract that is in the ETJ. I went to the CS Police Dept last year and asked them about the city' law regarding bird hunting. The cop in charge of that told me if I had over X number of acres, I could shoot a shotgun but nothing larger than 7 shot. No rifles and no buckshot or slugs. She said nothing besides birds could be hunted and that those regs included the ETJ, regardless of acres.
I laughed and said 'good luck enforcing the ETJ'. She said they did it all the time. I didn't believe her.

My AR15 300 AC blackout is the preferred choice. When and where is the question

oklaunion said:

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Regarding Brazos County, I have property that is in the CS city limits as well as a nearby larger tract that is in the ETJ. I went to the CS Police Dept last year and asked them about the city' law regarding bird hunting. The cop in charge of that told me if I had over X number of acres, I could shoot a shotgun but nothing larger than 7 shot. No rifles and no buckshot or slugs. She said nothing besides birds could be hunted and that those regs included the ETJ, regardless of acres.
I laughed and said 'good luck enforcing the ETJ'. She said they did it all the time. I didn't believe her.

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Next time take her/him a copy of the state law regarding annexed land, which has none of the "details" (additional restrictions) quoted to you...

CS78 said:

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Class C misdemeanor (speeding ticket) to discharge a firearm on less than 10 acres in Brazos County. But if your neighbors are on board it'll never be a concern.

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Agreed. No issues in my neighborhood, in Brazos County.

I want to distinguish between discharging a firearm for recreational purposes (hunting birds) and protecting property. It appears that Bastrop County (see above) allows this exception when protecting a person or "property" is in imminent threat, as in the case of our ground/grass/landscaping being destroyed (easy to verify a few thousand dollars worth).

BrazosDog02 said:

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Fire off a couple of rounds at your favorite boar, then go back inside and check nextdoor. That'll tell you if it's gonna be cool or not.

Either way it'll be cool for us, so make sure to screen capture.

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Shoot fireworks off the week before

I may have done this to take care of pigs causing problems just outside of city limits In Brazos Co. I wasn't super worried about the 10 acre Rule (I think was maybe 5 or 7 acres). It was in an area similar to yours. I set up a tree stand so my projectile had a hard downward direction for safety. Smoked some hogs. Neighbors never seemed to care because everyone hated the pigs but they were also incapable of taking care of it themselves.

CS78 said:

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Class C misdemeanor (speeding ticket) to discharge a firearm on less than 10 acres in Brazos County. But if your neighbors are on board it'll never be a concern.

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Can you cite where Brazos County actually implemented this rule? I know it's an option provided under Texas law...

GSS said:

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CS78 said:

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Class C misdemeanor (speeding ticket) to discharge a firearm on less than 10 acres in Brazos County. But if your neighbors are on board it'll never be a concern.

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Can you cite where Brazos County actually implemented this rule? I know it's an option provided under Texas law...

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Not without researching it again. I contacted people a few years back in grimes, Burleson, and Brazos and they all had it in place.

Firearm reg--county

Received this info from Burleson county...the language states the 10 acre "rule" as being in a subdivision. And there is language for discharging a firearm (shotgun) for "dangerous wild animals"...

Thanks @GSS. Still vague and not for Brazos County. Bastrop County seems to be more clear of their "exemptions" for protection of "property". This was written in 2004 (when hogs were just creeping on radar - at least for us).

water turkey said:

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Cross bow and "shhhhhh"

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This

I checked on Burleson county, as I reside there. The info came via the County Attorney's office, they knew exactly what I was referencing.
How much leeway and exemptions counties opt to add-in (if they voted it in at all) is probably quite interesting.