The squirrel hunting season is here! By tradition, the young hunters will be given the chance to make the first kill for this season. Texas Parks and the Wildlife Department (TPWD) of the US have already instituted Sept. 24-25. 2011 as youth-only hunting dates -- older ones should wait until Oct. 1 before they can start their hunting adventure again. All hunters are given the opportunity to hunt anytime between October 1, 2011 and February 5, 2012. The squirrels are allowed to breed afterwards and the hunters are again given one more month to pursue their masculinities (May 1-31, 2012).
The state of Texas acknowledges that squirrel hunting is one of the most effective ways to introduce the youth to hunting as a sport that's why it goes further on by even giving these kids two days when they can exclusively hunt for squirrels on their own. Nonetheless, because the stakeholders are young, the state has already instituted rules and policies to govern their hunting practices. This article will be all about these rules.
TPWD determines the rules and regulations which are meant to be implemented during each hunting season. The department also sets the date during which the hunting will commence and end. Hence, it is also the TPWD that enforces the sanctions and punitive measures against violators. For more information about TPWD, you may want to visit http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us.
Squirrel Hunting in Different Counties
Now, although everyone is allowed to hunt during the open-seasons, all hunters are still limited to 10 squirrels per day. The following counties will follow the Oct. 1, 2011 - Feb. 5, 2012 hunting season: Anderson, Angelina, Bowie, Camp, Cass, Chambers, Cherokee, Delta, Fanning, Franklin, Freestone, Galveston, Gregg, Hardin, Harris, Harrison, Henderson, Hopkins, Houston, Hunt, Jasper, Jefferson, Lamar, Leon, Liberty, Limestone, Marion, Montgomery, Morris, Nacogdoches, Navarro, Newton, Orange, Panola, Polk, Rains, Red River, Robertson, Rusk, Sabine, San Augustine, San Jacinto, Shelby, Smith, Titus, Trinity, Tyler, Upshur, Van Zandt, Walker and Wood.
However, not all counties in Texas follow this provision. Some counties like Brazos, Burleson, Collin, Dallas, Ellis, Falls, Grayson, Grimes, Kaufman, Madison, Milam and Rockwell are open for squirrel hunting every day. The only restriction imposed to hunters is the bag limit which is just 10 squirrels a day.
Unfortunately, there are counties in Texas which do not support squirrel hunting too. These counties do not have open squirrel hunting seasons all throughout the year. These counties are: Andrews, Bailey, Borden, Brewster, Briscoe, Carson, Castro, Cochran, Crane, Culberson, Dallam, Dawson, Deaf Smith, Ector, El Paso, Floyd, Gaines, Glasscock, Hale, Hansford, Hartley, Hockley, Howard, Hudspeth, Hutchinson, Jeff Davis, Lamb Loving Lubbock, Lynn Martin, Midland, Moore, Oldham, Parmer, Potter, Presidio, Reagan, Reeves, Sherman, Swisher, Terry, Upton, Ward, Winkler and Yoakum.
Hunting Costs
Apart from the hunting apparels that a young hunter needs to prepare, he/she also needs to present his/her own Annual Public Hunting (APH) Permit. This permit costs around $48 and is supposed to be renewed every hunting season. He/she needs to pay an additional $7.00 fee for the Youth Hunting License which is a requirement before a young hunter can apply for an APH Permit.
Security Measures
Again, because youth hunting involves "children" who are yet below legal age, it is imperative that they must be accompanied by an adult. However, the adults are strictly prohibited from using the firearm to hunt for himself/herself. The only role that they can perform is to overseer the hunting practices of the young ones in order to make sure that they are safe and that they will not pose any harms to the other hunters.
