If this is true it really sucks....

[Texas Grown]

I got a feeling, after many private property owners across the state get wind of this, there will be some amendments to this new law. IMHO, it was designed to stop some who were deer hunting in river beds near private property or developments. Guess the legislature just decided nobody was going to hunt it on either side of anti or pro. But the way it's designed, where if your arrow, slug, or bullet can hit the bank, is ludicrous. These are just my opinions.

Edit: TP&W will have to follow this law also. That means that some of the draw hunts, state parks, and some of the public lands that butt up to the "navigable" rivers and streams, will have to modify or do away with some of the hunts. This is not good for hunters or hunting, in general. It's infringing on everyone's rights to hunt that was just passed not long ago.

[Texas Grown]

TVC, look up "navigable" under TP&W. There are two definitions.

Here's a link to the bill:

https://legiscan.com/TX/text/SB1236/id/2819525

[sqiggy]

I still don’t understand why some are upset. On our lease, we have about a mile of river frontage. For as I know, we have never had a problem of somebody hunting the river bed. Mainly because it’s a long way from the nearest boat ramp. Maybe somebody will enlighten me.

[boy wonder]

I lived in a sub division with private access to the Brazos river and hunted in the river many times. While I never shot anything, I did guide some family members to their first deer. There were never any issues outside the occasional air boat or other floaters coming by, just normal river activity. I strongly disagree with this law! What’s next, regulating the number of acres that you can hunt on (a bullet can travel a long way)?

[flywise]

Having already glossed over one item in this thread….

This if the law:

a person may not discharge a firearm or shoot an arrow from any kind of bow if:

(1) the person is located in or on the bed or bank of a navigable river or stream at the time the firearm is discharged or the arrow is shot from the bow;

I searched river bed, river bank and just bank in the entire Parks and Wildlife Code and could find no definition.

When I teach the Penal Code in the police academy, the rule on definitions is to first look in the section of the law you are reading. It will say, “In this section” this word or phrase means whatever.

If not there, search the actual chapter that the law is in. It will say “In this chapter…..”.

If not there, then you go to the definitions section of the law, which, for the Penal Code is 1.07.

If not there… You go to the dictionary.

Maybe someone is better at searching the TPWD than me, but I couldn’t find a definition. If that is true then it would mean the dictionary definition.

The definitions, I looked up online, say things like the land at the edge of a river, the land along the edge of a river or the slopes leading to a river.

SO they make is clear as mud, I guess ill just take my chances

[bbbuck]

I’ve hunted the river bottoms for years. The rule was you stay in the river, shoot in the river and hopefully kill the deer where they drop in the river, otherwise you had to get permission to retrieve them. Free public hunting as long as you don’t go above the median where the river flows. The key was to go deep in like 3 miles to get away from others walking sometimes over knee deep water. Texas hunters just lost precious public hunting land in a state that has little to offer public land wise.

[SmTx]

We like to gar fish and shooting a big ole gar in the head sure makes getting it in the boat easy. Special interests win again for the select interested

[Leon County Slayer]

There seems to be parts that will be very difficult for them to enforce unless they add a lot of clarification. I am not a lawyer.

[glen]

The law is to stop people hunting in rivers where both banks are private. It is because people were floating rivers and killing deer up on the banks and also because many rivers are now developed and idiots were shooting up not knowing houses were up there. Blame it on the idiots doing it

[RiverRat1]

Sounds like people were taking advantage of "navigable" waterways. Does anyone really think it was ever a good idea to float down a river where a person owns zero land and shoot game on the banks? One can blah blah that's public land but really? Should have never been legal to hunt in the first place IMO. Hunt real public lands.

Sure it sucks if you lost a honey hole. I did the same thing but for fishing but I wouldn't get upset because I knew I was taking advantage.

[DapperDan]

Question…. Can you use a boat to navigate to a public spot and hunt where the land adjacent to the river is public? I bow hunt on public and have a kayak I was going to utilize this year.

[glen]

DD- Yes you can use a watercraft to access WMAs, Corps of Engineer land, and Nat Forests.

[bloodtrailer28]

Bs 10

[Greenheadless]

For clarification, shooting things on the bank of a navigable river, well, for the most part, that was already illegal, so nothing changed there.

[DapperDan]

DD- Yes you can use a watercraft to access WMAs, Corps of Engineer land, and Nat Forests.

Thank you for that clarification.