Article by:
Jim Foster
Writer / Photographer
JimFosterOutdoors.com
The cold chilled my face and made its way through my jeans. This was in spite of layers of garments made especially to ward off such weather. My mare was high stepping through cinch deep snow and thoughts of Rocky Mountain game seemed far away. Camp and a warm fire were foremost on my mind, and something else - Texas.
Texas winters can be rough but don’t last a long time - there are usually breaks in the cold with a warming sun, blue skies, happy camps with good food and hot coffee, along with good companions.
And – hunting in Texas is not just confined to the colder months, plus, there’s a lot more of it.
Species of dove like the Mourning Dove, the White-Winged Dove, and the low flying White-Tipped dove give shotgunners a run for their money as well has raising the stock prices for many ammo companies.
Waterfowl hunters can start their seasons in the early fall months and continue well into another year with liberal limits. The variety of waterfowl species is alarming to the visitor who believes that in Texas there is one thing - desert.
Yes Virginia, the desert is there, and lots of it and mountains, offering hunters desert mule deer, whitetail deer, scaled quail, javelina, turkey, dove, and, for the lucky at the draw, a desert bighorn sheep.
Like they say on television, but wait, there’s more.
Texas can be proud of their populations of Rio Grande Wild Turkey with hunting seasons in the spring and fall, plus a growing population of the Eastern sub-species in the piney woods of east Texas.
When you add in a lengthy white-tailed deer season throughout most of the state the attractions doubles and triples the hunting possibilities.
There are other game animals to hunt in Texas but for year round hunting there is always Feral Hogs and Exotics of all varieties.
If it’s really large game then try a hunt for the free ranging Nilgai of South Texas. Take a big gun and a good pair of boots. Other Exotics are available throughout the state. It’s all in Texas.
So when someone asks the question, Why Texas? Tell them the answer is simple.
Why not Texas?