Buckshot for deer? It's not a slug.

Agree that I don’t think it’s a consistently effective method but just trying to understand what is and is not allowed per the regulation. Buckshot is plenty lethal for hogs and coyotes at ethical ranges

It all goes back to definition of a navigable water way.

The high water mark is always bugged me but Im probably jaded as I’m a land owner and always push for LO rights. You could float the llano river and shoot deer below the high water mark, regardless where homes where.

Nothing worse then owning a river property and some one camping on your land, and throwing a party all night just 50 yards down hill from you property. Or having shot gun shells pepper you house roof.

In some states like Colorado you cant even touch the bottom of the river bed, with oar, anchor or foot, damn sure arent hunting it

legislation like this is because of FU in your face bad apples, with no common courtesy that push the limits so bad, a deep pockets LO has enough.

Is this just for game animals?

Pigs and coyotes count?

look at the deeds. The river channel is all that is public, not the land below low water mark.

pretty sure land owners still owns the land to/alongside the channel/riverbed. channel/river bed to high water mark is more of an easement, as its still deeded private

The public access is within the gradient boundary. On the Pease it is at least 100 yards wide and in many cases as much as 200 or so. So, the law will work this way: A person owning land "adjacent" to this land can hunt it with a rifle. Anyone else can access it, use it for any legal purpose but has to hunt with a shotgun, shotshell only.

It would be a hard pill for me to swallow if I actually owned land and had to allow the general public to have free usage of my property to do anything legal on it they wanted to. If they truly own it, I see the rub. Unless someone is floating, (as in the Co. law) the state shouldn't be allowing usage of it. I'm always on the side of private land owners, they bought it, it's their land. I always thought the land within the gradient boundary was not privately owned but public. I'm still not sure on ownership, but know I won't hunt the Pease with a rifle, but could hunt the Red on my lease.

The river bottoms are public up to high water mark on the rivers. I have spent a lot of time on the Devils and Pecos with a GW.

It is already hard and expensive to hunt in Texas with most of the land being private. To further reduce public hunting acreage is just not a good thing. On the flip side... I have spent a lot of time on the Devils and some on the Pecos rivers. If a land owner tries to be kayaker/camper friendly, his land will be trashed and pooped on big time so I get what is likely the reason behind the law. My GW cousin patrols those areas and a large part of the infractions are dummies trashing pristine wilderness. Why people want to shoot themselves in the foot by disrespecting public land or adjacent land owners property I do not understand. Stupid people doing stupid things long enough are part of the reason for stupid laws we all end up subject to.

Actually they are 'public' up to the Gradient Boundary.


Depending on terrain and water levels....this varies and could be quite difficult to distinguish (accurately).

Gradient Boundary is located midway between the lower level of the flowing water that just reaches the so-called “cut bank,” and the higher level of the flowing water that just does not overtop the cut bank. The cut bank is located at the outer edge of a stream’s bed, separating the bed from the adjacent upland and confining the waters to a definite channel.

Illustrated:




So 'trespassing' might be an easy and unintentional thing to do.

With respect to hunting such public property, it also presents a boundary assessment issue as it is illegal to intentionally shoot across a property line and everything above the GBL is private property even though it appears to be river bank.

Your 'high water mark' would be much easier to distinguish.....but alas, is not the law.

I look at as if, I’m on the water I’m on public waters but if I’m on any bank, I’m on someone else’s property that they pay property taxes on. Just my opinion on how I conduct myself.

Same for me.

A few exceptions (for me) would be an emergency of some type requiring I go to the bank or a situation where you had to portage around something.

The thing about the Pease, you walk it, can't float it to hunt. I've walked 4-5 miles right down the middle of it, mostly on dry ground. 14" rubber boots will get you across anything you'll encounter. But several times per year it comes up, flows wide bank to bank then drains like a bath tub a day or so later leaving a very wide, dry, flat area within the gradient boundary. The areas within the gradient boundary had the appearance of a bank, with high berms covered in grass, bushes and even some trees. Land owners that own land adjacent to this public land get to hunt it with a rifle. The rest of us, SOL.

According to the diagrams and definitions of Gradient Boundary, he does not. It would suck if he did have to pay property taxes on land that the general public can use for any legal means. If he owns it, and pays property taxes on it, how can the state tell him he has to allow any person to hunt it with a shotgun, camp on it, walk through it, etc. We're not talking an easement for egress, the public can use it for any legal means. And to add to my earlier post, the rest of us are not totally SOL, just don't get to use a rifle as the adjacent land owner can. The only way to truly know would be to read legal descriptions that have measurements to a point where the boundary is along the river and see where the point falls as it relates to the river.

go pull up taxes plat on an area you hunt on the pease. Onx works to a degree due to where they pull their data.

go pull up taxes plat on an area you hunt on the pease. Onx works to a degree due to where they pull their data.

from my research many land owners own stream beds due to a 1929 law known as the Small Bill, the state relinquished to the adjoining landowners certain property rights in the beds, doesnt mean they can stop navigation but some have rights into the stream bed.

There are US and State Supreme Court decisions that define area within the gradient boundary as public, as shown in the diagram above. If it wasn't public, how did I legally hunt it, and can continue to use it?

I'm done hunting it given the new law. As for pulling up tax plats, I never felt the need to do that since the law was on my side and I could hunt it.