(a) The annual bag limit for Rio Grande and Eastern turkey, in the aggregate, is four, no more than one of which may be an Eastern turkey.(b) Rio Grande Turkey. The open seasons and bag limits for Rio Grande turkey shall be as follows. (1) Fall seasons and bag limits: (A) The counties listed in this subparagraph are in the Fall South Zone. In Aransas, Atascosa, Bee, Calhoun, Cameron, Dimmit, Duval, Frio, Goliad, Gonzales, Hidalgo, Jim Hogg, Jim Wells, Karnes, Kinney (south of U.S. Highway 90), LaSalle, Live Oak, Maverick, McMullen, Medina (south of U.S. Highway 90), Nueces, Refugio, San Patricio, Starr, Uvalde (south of U.S. Highway 90), Val Verde (south of a line beginning at the International Bridge and proceeding along Spur 239 to U.S. Hwy. 90 and thence to the Kinney County line), Webb, Wilson, Zapata, and Zavala counties, there is a fall general open season.(i) Open season: first Saturday in November through the third Sunday in January.(ii) Bag limit: four turkeys, gobblers or bearded hens.(B) In Brooks, Kenedy, Kleberg, and Willacy counties, there is a fall general open season.(i) Open season: first Saturday in November through the last Sunday in February.(ii) Bag limit: four turkeys, either sex.(C) The counties listed in this subparagraph are in the Fall North Zone. In Archer, Armstrong, Bandera, Baylor, Bell, Bexar, Blanco, Borden, Bosque, Briscoe, Brown, Burnet, Callahan, Carson, Childress, Clay, Coke, Coleman, Collingsworth, Comal, Comanche, Concho, Cooke, Coryell, Cottle, Crane, Crockett, Crosby, Dawson, Denton, Dickens, Donley, Eastland, Ector, Edwards, Erath, Fisher, Floyd, Foard, Garza, Gillespie, Glasscock, Gray, Hall, Hamilton, Hardeman, Hartley, Haskell, Hays, Hemphill, Hill, Hood, Howard, Hutchinson, Irion, Jack, Johnson, Jones, Kendall, Kent, Kerr, Kimble, King, Kinney (north of U.S. Highway 90), Knox, Lipscomb, Lampasas, Llano, Lynn, Martin, Mason, McCulloch, McLennan, Medina (north of U.S. Highway 90), Menard, Midland, Mills, Mitchell, Montague, Moore, Motley, Nolan, Ochiltree, Oldham, Palo Pinto, Parker, Pecos, Potter, Randall, Reagan, Real, Roberts, Runnels, Sutton, San Saba, Schleicher, Scurry, Shackelford, Somervell, Stephens, Sterling, Stonewall, Swisher, Tarrant, Taylor, Terrell, Throckmorton, Tom Green, Travis, Upton, Uvalde (north of U.S. Highway 90), Ward, Wheeler, Wichita, Wilbarger, Williamson, Wise, Val Verde (north of a line beginning at the International Bridge and proceeding along Spur 239 to U.S. Hwy. 90 and thence to the Kinney County line), and Young counties, there is a fall general open season. (i) Open season: first Saturday in November through the first Sunday in January.(ii) Bag limit: four turkeys, either sex.(2) Archery-only season and bag limits. In all counties where there is a general fall season for turkey there is an open season during which turkey may be taken only as provided for in § 65.11(2) and (3) of this title (relating to Lawful Means). (A) Open season: from the Saturday closest to September 30 for 35 consecutive days.(B) Bag limit: in any given county, the annual bag limit is as provided by this section for the fall general season in that county.(3) Spring season and bag limits. (A) The counties listed in this subparagraph are in the Spring North Zone. In Archer, Armstrong, Bandera, Baylor, Bell, Bexar, Blanco, Borden, Bosque, Brewster, Briscoe, Brown, Burnet, Callahan, Carson, Childress, Clay, Coke, Coleman, Collingsworth, Comal, Comanche, Concho, Cooke, Coryell, Cottle, Crane, Crockett, Crosby, Dawson, Denton, Dickens, Donley, Eastland, Ector, Edwards, Ellis (west of Interstate Hwy. 35), Erath, Fisher, Floyd, Foard, Garza, Gillespie, Glasscock, Gray, Guadalupe, Hall, Hamilton, Hardeman, Hartley, Haskell, Hays, Hemphill, Hill, Hood, Howard, Hutchinson, Irion, Jack, Jeff Davis, Johnson, Jones, Kendall, Kent, Kerr, Kimble, King, Kinney (north of U.S. Hwy. 90), Knox, Lampasas, Lipscomb, Llano, Lynn, Martin, Mason, McCulloch, McLennan, Medina (north of U.S. Hwy. 90), Menard, Midland, Mills, Mitchell, Montague, Moore, Motley, Nolan, Ochiltree, Oldham, Palo Pinto, Parker, Pecos, Potter, Randall, Reagan, Real, Roberts, Runnels, San Saba, Schleicher, Scurry, Shackelford, Somervell, Stephens, Sterling, Stonewall, Sutton, Swisher, Tarrant, Taylor, Terrell, Throckmorton, Tom Green, Travis, Upton, Uvalde (north of U.S. Hwy. 90), Val Verde (north of a line beginning at the International Bridge and proceeding along Spur 239 to U.S. Hwy. 90 and thence to the Kinney County line), Ward, Wheeler, Wichita, Wilbarger, Williamson, Wise, and Young counties, there is a spring general open season.(i) Open season: Saturday closest to April 1 for 44 consecutive days.(ii) Bag limit: four turkeys, gobblers or bearded hens.(B) The counties listed in this subparagraph are in the Spring South Zone. In Aransas, Atascosa, Bee, Brooks, Calhoun, Cameron, DeWitt, Dimmit, Duval, Frio, Goliad, Gonzales, Hidalgo, Jim Hogg, Jim Wells, Karnes, Kenedy, Kinney (south of U.S. Hwy. 90), Kleberg, LaSalle, Live Oak, Maverick, McMullen, Medina (south of U.S. Hwy. 90), Nueces, Refugio, San Patricio, Starr, Uvalde (south of U.S. Hwy. 90), Val Verde (south of a line beginning at the International Bridge and proceeding along Spur 239 to U.S. Hwy. 90 and thence to the Kinney County line), Victoria, Webb, Willacy, Wilson, Zapata, and Zavala counties, there is a spring general open season. (i) Open season: Saturday closest to March 18 for 44 consecutive days.(ii) Bag limit: four turkeys, gobblers or bearded hens.(C) In Bastrop, Caldwell, Colorado, Fayette, Jackson, Lavaca, Lee, Matagorda, Milam, and Wharton counties, there is a spring general open season. (i) Open season: from April 1 through April 30.(ii) Bag limit: one turkey, gobblers only.(iii) Except as provided by § 65.10 of this title (relating to Possession of Wildlife Resources) for turkeys harvested under a digital license issued by the department pursuant to § 53.3(a)(12) of this title (relating to Combination Hunting and Fishing License Packages), a valid license with digital tags under §53.4 of this title (relating to Lifetime Licenses), or a valid digital license under § 53.5 of this title (relating to Recreational Hunting Licenses, Tags, and Stamps), all turkeys harvested during the open season established under this subparagraph must be reported within 24 hours of the time of kill via an internet or mobile application designated by the department for that purpose.(4) Special Youth-Only Seasons. Only licensed hunters 16 years of age or younger may hunt during the seasons established by this subsection.(A) There shall be a special youth-only fall general hunting season in all counties where there is a fall general open season.(i) open season: the weekend (Saturday and Sunday) immediately preceding the first Saturday in November and from the Monday immediately following the close of the general open season for 14 consecutive days.(ii) bag limit: as specified for individual counties in paragraph (1) of this subsection.(B) There shall be special youth-only spring general open hunting seasons for Rio Grande turkey in the counties listed in paragraph (3)(A) and (B) of this subsection. (i) open seasons: (I) the weekend (Saturday and Sunday) immediately preceding the first day of the general open spring season; and(II) the weekend (Saturday and Sunday) immediately following the last day of the general open spring season.(ii) bag limit: as specified for individual counties in paragraph (3) of this subsection.(c) Eastern turkey. The open seasons and bag limits for Eastern turkey shall be as follows. In Bowie, Cass, Fannin, Grayson, Jasper (other than the Angelina National Forest), Lamar, Marion, Nacogdoches, Newton, Polk, Red River, and Sabine counties, there is a spring season during which both Rio Grande and Eastern turkey may be lawfully hunted. (1) Open season: from April 22 through May 14.(2) Bag limit (both species combined): one turkey, gobbler only.(3) In the counties listed in this subsection:(A) it is unlawful to hunt turkey by any means other than a shotgun or lawful archery equipment;(B) it is unlawful for any person to take or attempt to take turkeys by the aid of baiting, or on or over a baited area; and(C) except as provided by § 65.10 of this title for turkeys harvested under a digital license issued pursuant to §53.3(a)(12) of this title, a valid license with digital tags under §53.4 of this title, or a valid digital license under § 53.5(a)(3) of this title, all turkeys harvested during the open season must be registered via the department's internet or mobile application within 24 hours of the time of kill. The department will publish the internet address and information on obtaining the mobile application in generally accessible locations, including the department internet web site (www.tpwd.texas.gov). Harvested turkeys may be field dressed but must otherwise remain intact.(d) In all counties not listed in subsection (b) or (c) of this section, the season is closed for hunting turkey.31 Tex. Admin. Code § 65.64
The provisions of this §65.64 adopted to be effective July 14, 1997, 22 TexReg 6308; amended to be effective October 2, 1997, 22 TexReg 9687; amended to be effective August 16, 1999, 24 TexReg 6305; amended to be effective July 13, 2000, 25 TexReg 6545; amended to be effective July 26, 2001, 26 TexReg 5422; amended to be effective June 3, 2002, 27 TexReg 4712; amended to be effective July 11, 2004, 29 TexReg 6330; amended to be effective July 10, 2005, 30 TexReg 3997; amended to be effective September 1, 2006, 31 TexReg 5342; amended to be effective July 18, 2007, 32 TexReg 4421; amended to be effective August 23, 2009, 34TexReg5701; amended to be effective September 1, 2011, 36 TexReg 3332; amended to be effective July 15, 2014, 39 TexReg 5417; Amended by Texas Register, Volume 40, Number 29, July 17, 2015, TexReg 4700, eff. 9/1/2015; Amended by Texas Register, Volume 42, Number 26, June 30, 2017, TexReg 3402, eff. 9/1/2017; Amended by Texas Register, Volume 43, Number 22, June 1, 2018, TexReg 3609, eff. 9/1/2018; Amended by Texas Register, Volume 46, Number 28, July 9, 2021, TexReg 4169, eff. 9/1/2021; Amended by Texas Register, Volume 47, Number 02, January 14, 2022, TexReg 0100, eff. 1/18/2022; Amended by Texas Register, Volume 47, Number 33, August 19, 2022, TexReg 4997, eff. 9/1/2022; Amended by Texas Register, Volume 48, Number 30, July 28, 2023, TexReg 4122, eff. 8/15/2023