Getting In On Texas's Incredible Fall Bird Hunting

NO STATE HAS the wide variety of bird hunting opportunities that Texas does.

From the shallow Lower Laguna Madre to the peanut fields in the Panhandle, the state is loaded with a wide variety of birds and hunting styles that would appeal to anyone with an interest in shotgunning, shooting and super fine table fare.

Let’s take a look at the chronological options available within the bounds of this great state.

Dove: No doubt about it, doves are the most popular and abundant game bird in Texas. In fact, there are more doves killed in Texas than populate most states.

Beginning September 1 and extending into winter, dove hunting is fun whether you’re pursuing whitewings in Uvalde or mourning doves in the fields of East Texas.

Early Teal: The first hint of cool snaps send blue-winged teal down into the reservoirs, marshes and fields of Texas. Shooting can be fast and furious and allow waterfowlers to whet their appetite before the general waterfowl season kicks off six weeks later.

Early Canada Geese: Relatively few hunters are aware that in recent years Texas Parks & Wildlife Department officials instituted an early Canada goose season to coincide with the early teal season. Canada goose numbers are rising in Texas, especially in the eastern third of the state, giving hunters a unique opportunity for a big game bird.

Quail: Although quail numbers have fallen drastically in Texas and everywhere in the country, they are still abundant in many areas, especially during wet years, and parts of their range has had abundant water this year. Texas hunters can bag bobwhites, scaled (blue) quail and the gorgeous Gambel’s quail.

Gambel’s quail have the signature head feather and are considered one of America’s most beautiful game birds.
(Photo: USFWS)

Turkey: Coinciding with the deer season in the eastern two-thirds of the state, Texas hunters can get in on fall turkey hunting. Most fall turkeys are taken incidental to deer hunting, but savvy spring hunters know how to lure them into shotgun range in autumn. In most areas of the Hill Country and South Texas as well as parts of the Panhandle, opportunities abound.

Duck: Texas has incredible duck hunting opportunities in the general season over a wide variety of ecological regions. From shooting mallards in the timber in northeast Texas to hunting pintails on the marsh flats of the Middle Coast there is much to offer. Texas is the top duck state in the Central Flyway for wintering ducks and Texas hunters have plenty of affordable hunting options on reservoirs, wildlife management areas and federal refuges open to the public.

Cinnamon teal are not common in Texas but they do show up and thrill hunters lucky enough to bag one.
(Photo: USFWS)

Geese: Goose hunting is a long-standing tradition in Texas. Although snow and specklebelly numbers aren’t what they used to be in Texas, there are still areas with huge concentrations and huge opportunities.

Top spots include the Middle Coast and Panhandle, which also has an ample Canada population.

Chachalaca: In Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr and Willacy County along the Mexico border, lives Texas’s most overlooked game bird the chachalaca.

According to Texas Parks & Wildlife Department officials, this native, non-migratory game bird is similar in size and form to a female Ring-necked Pheasant and is named for the raucous, ear-splitting chorus a flock makes. The loud cha-cha-lac-a call is most commonly heard during the morning hours.

Secretive and often difficult to spot in their native habitat, this unique gamebird offers a challenging hunting experience for the outdoorsman. Legal hunting seasons begin in early November and extend through mid-February. The daily bag limit is five birds.

Pheasants: Ring-necked pheasants are not native to Texas (or America for that matter), but there are huntable populations in 37 counties in the Panhandle region.

According to Texas Parks and Wildlife (TPW) records, the first pheasants in the High Plains and Northern Rolling Plains of Texas immigrated from western Oklahoma in 1939 or 1940. Private releases of birds during the 1930s and 1940s by private landowners in the Panhandle of Texas also helped to establish populations of ring-necked pheasants in several areas of the region.

Texas hunters are allowed to take three cocks a day with a possession limit of nine. The pheasants we are talking about here are true wild pheasants. There are numerous places with great stocked birds across the state, but these are free ranging, breeding birds.

Sandhill Cranes: If you want to have a truly different hunt, try the largest game bird in Texas. It’s so good on the table some call it the “sirloin of the sky.”

Hunters can pursue these birds in three different zones, but be cautious as they look quite a bit like the endangered whooping crane. Sandhills are loud, beautiful, boisterous birds that sound like a plane crash when hitting the ground and have been known to pluck a retriever’s eye out.

Many counties in Texas have fall turkey seasons.
(Photo: Chester Moore)

The Right Gun

Choosing the right gun for the hunt is crucial.

The CZ 1012 Synthetic Bottomland is a great choice for many of these wingshooting opportunities.

With one of the most iconic camo patterns of all time, the 1012 Bottomland is a bird-hunting machine. Using the same uber-reliable inertia semi-auto system that was used to set a clay shooting world record in 2019, this auto-loader is built for abuse. Whether it’s in a duck boat or a grueling 12-hour torture test, the 1012 is specifically designed to run a wide variety of ammunition while receiving minimal maintenance.

For wingshooters who love over/unders and specifically like pursuing dove, quail and pheasant the CZ Redhead Premier is a great option.

The flagship of their over/under line, the reliable Redhead is a true all-purpose shotgun, it’s just as comfortable to shoot at a sporting clays event as it is when chasing quail in the Brush Country.

With a silver receiver and ejectors that kick out the spent shells automatically, the Redhead Premier is packed with features that can’t be found on another shotgun in its price range. 12 and 20 gauges have three-inch chambers and five flush-mount choke tubes. The 16 gauge has a 2 ¾-inch chamber and fixed IC/MOD chokes. All Redhead Premiers have a mechanical safety with barrel selector, Turkish walnut stocks and independent auto ejectors.

Social Distancing In the Field

In a year dominated by a new term—“social distancing,” one can argue that the best place to do it is in the field.

In a state that deemed hunting and fishing as “essential’ during the crisis, wingshooting opportunities abound. We should enjoy them to the max and conserve species and habitats so others can do the same in the future.

Synthetic Bottomland Springs into Action

The latest evolution in CZ’s semi-automatic shotgun line, the 1012 uses a gas-less inertia operating system. Instead of redirecting gas from the barrel to run the action, the 1012 uses a spring within the bolt to store energy during the shotgun’s recoil. This spends the energy a split second later to rotate and unlock the twin lugs from the barrel extension and withdraw the spent shell.

The major advantage of an inertia system is the less stringent maintenance schedule. Unlike gas guns that need periodic cleaning of the piston and magazine tube, the 1012’s needs are vastly fewer.

During testing, CZ pushed 1012s to 5,000 rounds without a drop of oil or cleaning of any sort, while experiencing zero parts breakage or malfunctions. In normal field use, the occasional cleaning and oiling should be more than enough.

Additionally, the gas-less system itself is tuned to run a wider variety of shells — from light-recoiling target loads up to the smoking hot three-inch magnums currently on the market.

For more information, visit CZ-USA.com.

— TF&G Staff Report

< PREV

Return to CONTENTS Page

NEXT >