Passport to Texas

Getting experience shooting.

Hunter Education for Safety in the Field Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

If you’re a hunter, or considering becoming one, completion of a hunter education course is a must.

13-Overall, what a person learns in Hunter Education is the safe, knowledgeable, responsible habits that hunters and shooting sports participants would need to responsibly handle a firearm from the home to the field and back again.

Steve Hall oversees hunter education at Texas Parks and Wildlife.

39-The centerpiece for hunter education is the ten commandments of firearm safety. And those apply whether you’re handling them around the gun safe at home, how to store them properly, transport them properly. And then when you’re in the field, it’s called hunter safety. For a reason. There’s other kinds of things that come into play when you’re in the field like where the other hunters are at, what kind of shooting you’re doing; do you know beyond the line of fire of a
shot? Is it on a hillside that you’re shooting and you don’t know what’s ion the other side? So there are lots of things that come into play. And then they all kind of center around knowing your firearm, knowing how to handle it safely, but also knowing the capability of those firearms as well.

Hunter education classes take place year round across the state. Find hunter education classes near you, or take it online, when you log onto the TPW website.

The Wildlife and sport fish restoration program supports our series.

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

Texas Outdoor Annual App

Outdoor Annual App--Don't go in the Field Without It Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

The Texas Outdoor Annual is a handy printed and online guide filled with valuable information for hunters and anglers. And now it’s an app.

08- Smart phones and tablets have become more popular among the general population, and our hunters and anglers are also using those devices.

Tim Peterson-director of creative and interactive services at Texas Parks and Wildlife-says the new app takes the guesswork out of which regulations apply to your location.

28-If an angler’s sitting in a particular water body or lake, or near or water body or lake, they can use the GPS function in the APP, locate the lake that they’re at or near, and they can see bag limits and exceptions for that particular lake. In addition, same goes for hunting. Same goes for hunting. If a hunter is in a blind, they can pull out the APP, and using the GPS functionality of their device, they could see which county they were in, and they would see the bag limits and season dates for that particular county.

The app is free and available for download for apple and android devices. The Outdoor Annual app strives to provide hunters and anglers up-to-the minute information for a successful experience

Find information on where to download the app for free on the Texas Parks and Wildlife Website.

The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program supports our series, and is funded by your purchase of fishing and hunting equipment and motorboat fuel.

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

Outdoor Annual APP

On the Road with the Outdoor Annual Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

People who buy hunting and fishing licenses rely on a printed booklet called the Texas Outdoor Annual.

04-And inside the printed booklet they’ll find hunting and fishing regulations.

You’ll find those regulations on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website, too.

04-[But] our website is hard to take with you if you’re in the blind and you do not have cell service.

Developing efficient ways to access information is among Tim Peterson’s priorities. He’s director of creative and interactive services at Parks and Wildlife. Making an electronic version of the outdoor annual, with simple, intuitive navigation–accessible in cell-challenged locations–necessitated creation of an app.

22- Well, as you know, smart phones and tablets have become more popular among the general population, but we’ve also noticed that our hunters and anglers are also using those devices. And we are offering it, really, as another way for them to learn about regulations while they’re in the field, and also be able to do
searches based on location.

The FREE Texas Outdoor Annual app is available for download for both apple and android devices wherever you get apps. Tim returns tomorrow to tell us about one
of the many features of the app.

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

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

Out on a Big Time Texas Hunt

Hunt BIG with Big Time Texas Hunts Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

As 95% of Texas is in private hands, it’s not uncommon to spend big bucks for leases to hunt big bucks. Not everyone can. Yet, most of us can spare nine dollars for a chance to win a Big Time Texas Hunts package.

13-These are premier guided hunts for a lot of the wildlife species across the state. Everything from mule deer to alligators to wild hogs–and, of course, really nice whitetail deer also.

Justin Dreibelbis, director of private lands and public hunting at Texas Parks and Wildlife, says hunters can enter for as many hunt packages as they wish online for nine dollars each or at license retailers for ten.

24-They’re all premier guided hunts. It’s all inclusive: you have lodging, food, and guides that understand the area, terrain and animals you’ll be hunting. And a couple of really exciting packages that we have. One is the Texas Grand Slam; it’s four separate hunts for mule deer, pronghorn antelope, whitetail deer, and desert big horn sheep, which not many people get to hunt.

Some packages allow winners to bring hunting companions who are at least 8 years of age.

08-Actually, their companions get to hunt as well. However, on the Grand Slam Hunt, they have a non-hunting guest that can accompany them.

Entries are nine dollars online and ten dollars at license retailers. Submit entries by October 15. Find complete details on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration program supports our series.

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

Big Time Texas Hunts Grand Slam

Big Time Texas Hunts 2015 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

For nineteen years and counting, hunters from Texas and beyond have supported conservation projects in the state by submitting entries to Big Time Texas Hunts.

05—Big Time Texas Hunts is a pretty special program because it is essentially a conservation fundraiser.

Hunters, 17 years and older, submit entries for a chance to win one of nine premier guided hunt packages. Justin Dreibelbis, director of private lands and public hunting, says the deadline for submissions is October 15.

09—I can assure people out there that this money is going directly back into wildlife conservation on our wildlife management areas and for public hunting and research across the state.

After program expenses, about $400-thousand dollars goes back into wildlife conservation, research and public hunting in Texas. He says there’s a new hunt this year that will stir some excitement.

19—Our Ultimate Mule Deer Hunt. This hunt will be taking place at the newly acquired Yoakum Dunes Wildlife Management Area in Yoakum County. And the lucky winner will actually be hunting during the rut, which is a special hunting opportunity up there in the panhandle, too, for some really, really nice mule deer bucks. So, this is the first time we’ve had the mule deer hunt available.

Entries are nine dollars online and ten dollars at license retailers. Hunters may submit multiple entries to win any of the Big Time Texas Hunt premier guided hunting packages. Find details on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration program supports our series.

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