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Shooting a deer in state water #6458596 09/19/16 04:07 PM
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Mike Honcho Offline OP
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While duck hunting down in lower laguna madre I have seen lots of deer with all 4's in the water. I've heard of guys getting them legally. Is this accurate. I read statutes and chp 62 mentioned this topic. Trying to get some clarity on the situation. Friends and I want to plan a hunting trip if it is legal, since I saw some good deer last year by one of my duck spots.


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Re: Shooting a deer in state water [Re: Mike Honcho] #6458599 09/19/16 04:08 PM
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popcorn



Re: Shooting a deer in state water [Re: Mike Honcho] #6458622 09/19/16 04:22 PM
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Re: Shooting a deer in state water [Re: fouzman] #6458661 09/19/16 04:43 PM
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that gets interesting


Originally Posted By: cameron00
If I send my neighbors a text and ask them to give me feedback on my lawn and plant rye into a giant dong pattern, I'm probably going to get some less than positive feedback. Same goes here.
Re: Shooting a deer in state water [Re: jshouse] #6458686 09/19/16 04:58 PM
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I know the O'Conners ain't happy with what they consider is tresspassing based on treasure hunting articles I've read. That's further up the coast than where you're talking about though.

I have no clue why a deer is worth taking that kind of risk. But knock yourself out.


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Re: Shooting a deer in state water [Re: Mike Honcho] #6458707 09/19/16 05:16 PM
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It's not worth the risk if the legality isn't there. I know 3guides with air boats that run hunts this way and do very well between Baffin and South Bay.


“Two things that define an individual what you do when you have everything, and what you do when you have nothing."


Re: Shooting a deer in state water [Re: Mike Honcho] #6458716 09/19/16 05:27 PM
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Mike Honcho Offline OP
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That's an interesting topic on txbowhunting. I definitely don't want to get crossways with anyone, and I understand what is legal isn't ethical and vice versa. I'm talking about a deer actually crossing chest deep or deeper in a public waterway


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Re: Shooting a deer in state water [Re: Mike Honcho] #6458753 09/19/16 05:57 PM
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Man I may be out in left field, but I swear I read somewhere once that it was against the law to shoot deer crossing waterways.

Seems like weather if it was legal by the letter of the law or not it would at least be unethical/off color to the adjoining property owners. How would you like it if you had property on a small creek or river and had folks in johnboats paddling up the river shooting deer off the river banks... weather they had 4 feet in the water or not. I wouldn't do it.


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Re: Shooting a deer in state water [Re: Mike Honcho] #6458815 09/19/16 06:38 PM
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I did not buy some land in West Texas that had a river running through it. The property owned both sides of the river. The real estate agent stated that I would only have trouble with hunters opening weekend and Thanksgiving, as the law said they could float down the river and shoot any deer that was in the waterway. I asked if he was sure the law allowed that? He said yes he was sure that was the real reason that the land was up for sale. That even when he pointed out a pool of blood on his property to the GW the hunters said that they shot the deer in the river and it ran up the bank and died on his property that is the reason for the blood. The GW, said nothing really that he could do.


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Re: Shooting a deer in state water [Re: Mike Honcho] #6458839 09/19/16 06:56 PM
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That's extremely unethical in my opinion, however if I remember correctly any navigable body of water is state owned lands.


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Re: Shooting a deer in state water [Re: Mike Honcho] #6458856 09/19/16 07:10 PM
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Yes any navigable body of water. And that does not mean that you have to be able to drive a motor boat down it. A canoe that you have to get out and drag every now and then makes the waterway navigable.
But also it is from "high water mark to high water mark", so if the river is low than you could shoot a buck standing on the bank and still be with-in the legal limits of the law.


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Re: Shooting a deer in state water [Re: Mike Honcho] #6458895 09/19/16 07:37 PM
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Sometimes it's hard being me! But somebody has to do it.
Re: Shooting a deer in state water [Re: Mike Honcho] #6459625 09/20/16 02:10 AM
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95% of the area we hunt waterfowl is bordering public land. So I wouldn't have any issue taking a deer from public lands. Unless I go to Baffin and that's out of the way would I be near private land


“Two things that define an individual what you do when you have everything, and what you do when you have nothing."


Re: Shooting a deer in state water [Re: Mike Honcho] #6459660 09/20/16 02:34 AM
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In that area it probably isn't legal. There was a case from the corpus court of appeals 8-10 years back where a guy was appealing a conviction for hunting without landowner consent. He appealed up arguing that he was inadvertently trespassing as he thought he was on the tidelands public property. Court upheld the convictiOn on grounds that even if he was on state property the property wasn't listed in the aph book so he didn't have the states permission to hunt it so he was still hunting without landowner permission

Re: Shooting a deer in state water [Re: kk66] #6459945 09/20/16 01:25 PM
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Originally Posted By: kk66
In that area it probably isn't legal. There was a case from the corpus court of appeals 8-10 years back where a guy was appealing a conviction for hunting without landowner consent. He appealed up arguing that he was inadvertently trespassing as he thought he was on the tidelands public property. Court upheld the convictiOn on grounds that even if he was on state property the property wasn't listed in the aph book so he didn't have the states permission to hunt it so he was still hunting without landowner permission


This is what I would think would happen if taken to court every time.


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Re: Shooting a deer in state water [Re: Mike Honcho] #6460155 09/20/16 04:04 PM
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It took a while but the answer is not whether you can shoot a deer in state waters.
It is illegal to hunt deer from a boat or airplane in Texas.
Texas state citation codes 20 and 21.

So I guess if you can swim to the spot or walk on water it is OK.

Re: Shooting a deer in state water [Re: Mike Honcho] #6460246 09/20/16 04:45 PM
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So if I am floating down the brazos river in a canoe and step out on a sandbar to shoot a deer on another sandbar, it would be legal.


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Re: Shooting a deer in state water [Re: huntwest] #6460288 09/20/16 05:07 PM
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Originally Posted By: huntwest
It took a while but the answer is not whether you can shoot a deer in state waters.
It is illegal to hunt deer from a boat or airplane in Texas.
Texas state citation codes 20 and 21.

So I guess if you can swim to the spot or walk on water it is OK.


You meant 2020 and 2021, and I'm still not sure those cover water or land below the high tide mark. You can use a boat to access a public hunting area, but you cannot hunt out of it.

Re: Shooting a deer in state water [Re: Mike Honcho] #6460330 09/20/16 05:31 PM
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sounds pretty questionable. especially since deer are not creatures that inhabit water. trying to kill one in the water in an effort to shoot deer where it would otherwise not be legal to hunt them sounds pretty un-ethical. and probably not legal. usually on any state or public property there is a written statement of what can be hunted there and during what times and by what means. if its not on that list, its not legal.


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Re: Shooting a deer in state water [Re: Mr. T.] #6460480 09/20/16 06:40 PM
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Originally Posted By: Mr. T.
So if I am floating down the brazos river in a canoe and step out on a sandbar to shoot a deer on another sandbar, it would be legal.


As long as you are shooting inside the gratient boundary.......


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Re: Shooting a deer in state water [Re: fouzman] #6460556 09/20/16 07:22 PM
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Originally Posted By: fouzman
Originally Posted By: huntwest
It took a while but the answer is not whether you can shoot a deer in state waters.
It is illegal to hunt deer from a boat or airplane in Texas.
Texas state citation codes 20 and 21.

So I guess if you can swim to the spot or walk on water it is OK.


You meant 2020 and 2021, and I'm still not sure those cover water or land below the high tide mark. You can use a boat to access a public hunting area, but you cannot hunt out of it.


Yes that is what I meant sorry. I did a phone friend on this and couldn't read my notes. He just said you could not deer hunt out of a boat. He is double checking himself but he said that as far as he knows the only recognized navigable waterway in the state that can be deer hunted by the public is the Red River portions entirely in Texas and the Canadian River portions totally Texas. These require a type 2 permit.

Re: Shooting a deer in state water [Re: Mike Honcho] #6460654 09/20/16 08:18 PM
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To me, this is just way to complicated and risk of hassle with GW or worse - harassment/shooting by landowner.

Re: Shooting a deer in state water [Re: huntwest] #6460805 09/20/16 09:42 PM
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Originally Posted By: huntwest
Originally Posted By: fouzman
Originally Posted By: huntwest
It took a while but the answer is not whether you can shoot a deer in state waters.
It is illegal to hunt deer from a boat or airplane in Texas.
Texas state citation codes 20 and 21.

So I guess if you can swim to the spot or walk on water it is OK.


You meant 2020 and 2021, and I'm still not sure those cover water or land below the high tide mark. You can use a boat to access a public hunting area, but you cannot hunt out of it.


Yes that is what I meant sorry. I did a phone friend on this and couldn't read my notes. He just said you could not deer hunt out of a boat. He is double checking himself but he said that as far as he knows the only recognized navigable waterway in the state that can be deer hunted by the public is the Red River portions entirely in Texas and the Canadian River portions totally Texas. These require a type 2 permit.



Thanks for the info. We set up around the spoils and very close too the laguna atascosa refuge hence the nilgai and wt population. There is an island that many times on deer will swim across and be there while we are hunting. Since it's public land and not taking deer that come off private property. I figured why not. So would this be a Type 2 situation. Also the refuge is usfw. But not sure what neighboring islands are.


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Re: Shooting a deer in state water [Re: Mike Honcho] #6461282 09/21/16 02:27 AM
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Type 2 is listed in then book.

Re: Shooting a deer in state water [Re: Mike Honcho] #6461438 09/21/16 03:57 AM
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If you are interested in doing the right thing, talk to a Cameron County Game Warden and Laguna Atascosa Law Enforcement. It is easy to go to the "Boat Barn" to talk to the State guys and the Refuge Headquarters. In that the Feds might have a claim, I sure as $%^& would want to know I was not on Federal land.

https://www.fws.gov/uploadedFiles/LA%20NWR%20Firearms%202015.pdf

Reference the map link, are you talking about the island north of the Harlingen Ship Channel and east of the Intercoastal? Honestly, if it were legal I suspect you would see hunters as there isn't any unfound country left.


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