Passport to Texas

You can help support Hunters for the Hungry and Fund for Veterans at the time you buy a hunting or fishing license.

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This is Passport to Texas

When licenses go on sale August 15, Texas hunters and anglers may donate to one of two worthy non-profits.

You can make the voluntary contribution of either one dollar, five dollars, ten dollars or twenty dollars to either the Fund for Veterans Assistance, or to help feed Texas families with a donation to Hunters for the Hungry.

Justin Halvorsen is revenue director at Texas Parks and Wildlife, and says donating is voluntary and easy.

It’s through any one of our sales channels. Either online, over the phone, at a retail agent, or any one of our parks and wildlife locations.

The agency keeps close tabs the donations.

And then, at the end of every month, it’ll go into a separate pot, and we’ll send it along to those respective entities [nonprofits].

The program debuted last season and Texans were generous; Texas Parks and Wildlife distributed, $193-thousand to the Fund for Veteran’s, and $106-thousand to Hunters for the Hungry. You may ask: is my donation tax deductible?

That is a great question. And there will be a receipt that gets printed as part of this that specifically says that this is a donation to the Veteran’s Fund or Hunters for the Hungry. And then, really, it’s up to the individual and their tax preparer to make that ultimate decision.

Request an itemized receipt from retailers, and find more information on the TPW website.

That’s our show… Funding provided in part by Ram Trucks. Guts. Glory. Ram

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

This could be you, if you enter Big Time Texas Hunts.

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This is Passport to Texas

The upcoming hunting seasons may still be months away, but you can enter the Big Time Texas Hunts drawing to win one or more of nine premium guided hunt packages now.

These exclusive packages include food, lodging, a professional guide, as well as taxidermy in some cases.

The crown jewel of the program is the Texas Grand Slam hunt package, which includes four separate hunts for Texas’ most prized big game animals — the desert bighorn sheep, white-tailed deer, mule deer and pronghorn.

Other popular guided hunt packages included in the Big Time Texas Hunt program are: Ultimate Mule Deer Hunt, the Premium Buck Hunt, the Exotic Safari, the Wild Hog Adventure and more.

Entries for this year’s Big Time Texas Hunts are available now online for just $9 each online, or for $10 each at license retailers. There is no limit to the number of entries an individual may purchase and all proceeds benefit conservation, wildlife management and public hunting. Deadline for entry is October 15.

Big Time Texas Hunts is made possible with support from Toyota and the Texas Bighorn Society.

Find more details on all nine premium hunts on the Texas parks and wildlife website.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife, I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Front of Texas hunting license

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This is Passport to Texas

Deer season is drawing near. Remember to bring a valid hunting license into the field with you.

Make sure it’s the proper one. We get people that put their old license in their pocket sometimes, and those won’t do them any good.

New licenses go on sale next month. In addition to your firearm, Game Warden Andrew Alexander reminds hunters of other items to carry into the field.

A driver’s license, or [other] form of identification. A pen for writing down the information on your tag and on your harvest log. And also something to cut your dates out with.

Ensure you and your firearm are ready for what’s to come by spending time at a shooting range before the season opener. If you’re new to hunting, learn the regulations.

Once you shoot a deer, the law says tag it immediately upon kill. You’ll find the proper tag. And then, you’re going to need a pen with you. You’re going to fill out the county that you are in, and the ranch that you harvested the animal. Tear it out—you will cut the dates out of it—you’ll tag that animal on the spot. And you’ll also fill out your harvest logs.

A harvest log is on the back of your hunting license.

And what the harvest log allows us to do, with the counties that have the antler restrictions, we’re able to trace those and make sure they [hunters] are only taking what they’re allowed. That’s why the harvest log is so important.

Find regulations and season information on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

The Wildlife Restoration Program Supports our series.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife, I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Hands on Hunter Education

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This is Passport to Texas

Being a successful hunter begins with hunter education.

Anybody who handles firearms or goes hunting or practices shooting sports should take hunter education.

Hunter education is mandatory for those born on or after September 2, 1971. Steve Hall oversees the program at Parks and Wildlife. The course both prepares hunters for the season, and keeps them in good standing with the law.

The number one ticket we write is for no hunter’s education.

Andrew Alexander is a Texas Game Warden out of Bastrop County.

We write a lot of those [citations]. And the main thing we want there is—we don’t want them to pay a fine. We want them to take the course. They have 90 days to take the course and get their certification. Show proof to the judge, and then that citation will be dismissed.

The Texas Hunter Education program is primarily focuses on younger hunters, that’s not true of all states, which is important to understand if you hunt outside of Texas.

All fifty states require hunter education. We’re reciprocal with all of those states. And the ones that get us the most are the Colorado bound hunters who have to take it [if they’re born] on or after January 1, 1949. So, we get a lot of adults in our class that have it to have it to hunt in Colorado that may not need to have it to hunt in Texas.

Find hunter education information on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

The Wildlife Restoration Program Supports our series.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife, I’m Cecilia Nasti.

A white-tailed buck.

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This is Passport to Texas

It’s a bit of a phenomenon. Adults without previous exposure to hunting are expressing interest in learning the skills necessary to harvest big game. Texas Parks and Wildlife responded by developing a mentored deer hunt for adult novices, and offered its first workshop in December. Coordinator, Chris Hall.

The interest was overwhelming. We had it set up to ensure that we gave a quality program and had ample one-on-one time with hunters to address each individual’s needs. And I believe we were successful in what they were trying to get and achieve and where they were with their level of hunting and shooting.

Brad Sheffield, and engineer from Grapevine, took part in the three day program. Day one involved classroom and shooting range work; days 2 & 3 were devoted to putting new knowledge and skills to work.

We went out this morning to go hunting, and I passed on a button buck. And so I decided to see if there was more coming out—and there wasn’t. That was my only chance to shoot him.

Brad had success that afternoon. After waiting two and half hours in the blind, a group of deer came into view.

I was waiting for the doe to get in the right position because she turned around to go the other way, was behind the feeder, and then she finally got in a good spot. And I took my shot and dropped her—just like that.  [Cecilia] And do you think you’ll be doing more deer hunting. Absolutely. I’ll be taking my kids deer hunting as well.

More adult novice mentored hunts are being developed.

The Wildlife Restoration program supports our series.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife, I’m Cecilia Nasti.