Dove Hunting questions (GW's wanted)

[Blood Trail]

I'm confused about a regulation I read in the new hunting book. the question is in regards to dove limit (page 65). It says you can have up to 30 in your possession. A guy at Academy told me that you could have 15 dove breast in a cooler and 15 feathered birds on your person. So does that mean that I can shoot 30 birds in a hunt as long as I have 15 on ice?

Can anyone (esp. GW's) shed some light on this?

[Sippy]

no, bag limit is per day... possession limit is what you can have on you/in camp total per person... 15 a day or 30 a weekend pretty much

[hero_moneybags]

No. The limit is fifteen birds per day. The logic behind the 30 bird possession limit is that many people will stay out at their hunting location for a weekend and it doesn't make any sense to force someone who is out camping for the weekend to have to drive back into town and divest themselves of their daily bag before heading back out to hunt the next day.

[GR5]

30 in possession EXCEPT for opening day

[scotty]

But, once you are at home and the birds are finally processed, they are no longer part of your possession limit. In other words, three days into the season you can have 45 birds in the fridge/freezer at HOME. And so on. But not at camp.

[mitchbcs]

But, once you are at home and the birds are finally processed, they are no longer part of your possession limit. In other words, three days into the season you can have 45 birds in the fridge/freezer at HOME. And so on. But not at camp.

this brings up another thought... Does it say this in the book or does it say possession. At HOME they are still in your possession.

I you shot 15 deer and successfully got them home and in the freezer without getting caught poaching or going over your tag limit, some one susspected you as a poacher and the GW came to your house. What would happen? While looking at these deer what if he found 100 dove breasts that you were saving for a big family cook out?????

I know its two different species but the possission rule seems pretty black and white in the letter of the law huh??????

kinda makes a fella wonder??????

[ClayW]

this brings up another thought... Does it say this in the book or does it say possession. At HOME they are still in your possession.

I you shot 15 deer and successfully got them home and in the freezer without getting caught poaching or going over your tag limit, some one susspected you as a poacher and the GW came to your house. What would happen? While looking at these deer what if he found 100 dove breasts that you were saving for a big family cook out?????

I know its two different species but the possission rule seems pretty black and white in the letter of the law huh??????

kinda makes a fella wonder??????

Easy... Those birds belong to the rest of the 10 family members. I've always been told the same thing regarding the possession vs bag limits

[scotty]

• Possession Limit: For all wildlife resources taken for personal consumption and for which there is a possession
limit, the possession limit shall not apply after the wildlife resource has reached the possessor’s permanent residence
and is finally processed.


From the online hunting annual.

[jpbruni]

30 in possession EXCEPT for opening day

^^^
This!

J.P.

[mitchbcs]

• Possession Limit: For all wildlife resources taken for personal consumption and for which there is a possession
limit, the possession limit shall not apply after the wildlife resource has reached the possessor’s permanent residence
and is finally processed.


From the online hunting annual.

Cool

[Swampa]

no, bag limit is per day... possession limit is what you can have on you/in camp total per person... 15 a day or 30 a weekend pretty much

x2

[SKLOSS]

30 in possession EXCEPT for opening day

yeah dont forget this little bit of info. you'll get nailed if you do. and if you put your birds in a cooler to prevent spoilage before cleaning, be sure to put them in a ziplock bag with your name on it.

[Tubby]

permanent residence/cold storage facility. If you have a "dedicated" cold storage facility at your camp. Freezer, not just a walk in cooler it can be deemed as the game bird's final destination. It's a lot of hoops to jump thru to make this happen, but if you need it to happen, shoot David Sinclair an email.

Back to the original question. 15 "bag" limit, 30 "possession". Bag limit is your daily limit. Day 1 = 15 birds TOTAL. Day 2 - 15 in the cooler from the day before and 15 more in your hunting bag. Total of 30. You aren't at your final destination, so you have to stop hunting.

You can hunt every day @ 15 birds a day, process and store them at your permanent residence then hunt again the next day. 15 birds a day for every day of the season if they're properly stored at home.

If you're hunting and shoot your 15 bird limit that morning, you cook them for lunch, you can NOT hunt the evening hunt. A bag limit is a DAILY limit. If you're hunting the 2nd day and bring your birds from the previous day to cook and eat, that does not effect your daily limit for that day hunting.

[tvc184]

this brings up another thought... Does it say

.......kinda makes a fella wonder??????

As with all laws, general definitions often do not apply. Each law will define that a word or phrase means in that particular law.

As example is that the dictionary definition of "premises" can mean grounds such as merely walking on a person's property. Under Chapter 46 of the Penal Code, "premises" means inside of buildings, not the grounds or parking lots as it says in the law....

(3) "Premises" means a building or a portion of a building. The term does not include any public or private driveway, street, sidewalk or walkway, parking lot, parking garage, or other parking area.

So you can't merely know the common use of a word IF it is specifically defined in the law as it is with premises or under the TPWC under Possession Limit.

Under "Possession Limit", it is as previously stated...

Possession Limit: For all wildlife resources taken for personal consumption and for which there is a possession limit, the possession limit shall not apply after the wildlife resource has reached the possessor's permanent residence and is finally processed.

[Smart]

this brings up another thought... Does it say this in the book or does it say possession. At HOME they are still in your possession.

I you shot 15 deer and successfully got them home and in the freezer without getting caught poaching or going over your tag limit, some one susspected you as a poacher and the GW came to your house. What would happen? While looking at these deer what if he found 100 dove breasts that you were saving for a big family cook out?????

I know its two different species but the possission rule seems pretty black and white in the letter of the law huh??????

kinda makes a fella wonder??????

• Possession Limit: For all wildlife resources taken for personal consumption and for which there is a possession
limit, the possession limit shall not apply after the wildlife resource has reached the possessor’s permanent residence
and is finally processed.


From the online hunting annual.

If you get stopped by Federal game wardens this will not be the case for migratory birds. This quoted above is the Texas law but does not supercede Federal law where it applies to migratory birds. Federal possession stops at consumption.

It's an extremely gray area but a Fed will ding you for it if he ever wanted to check your freezer at home.....

You can however gift a possession limit to people who live in your home...