50 Years of Success Continues...

The opening of dove season is special. It is traditional in Texas -- friends and families get together to hunt the fast, wily birds, then celebrate afterwards with stories, laughter, dove "poppers" or BBQ, and good memories. There are 330,000 dove hunters in Texas (30% of national total); that take 4 to 5 million mourning doves (33% of national total) and 1.5 - 2 million white-winged doves each year. The annual Texas economic impact is over $300 million, plus an added 3.000+ jobs! 

And though hunting is a very safe outdoor activity, the downside is that dove hunting leads to the most common hunting accident in Texas --"Swinging on Game Outside of a Safe Zone of Fire". That is why we, as hunter education instructors, stress the importance of preventing such incidents. I want to encourage all of you to cover strategies necessary to avoid the "Dirty Dozen" (poor behaviors) below.  Have FUN by being SAFE, LEGAL & ETHICAL this hunting season!

Most Common Dove Hunting Accidents, Violations and/or Poor Ethics/Behaviors.

1. Failure to Control Muzzle – Always point gun in safe direction!
2. Swinging on doves outside of a safe zone of fire - Observe #1 and COMMUNICATE your position with others/fellow hunters.
3. Loaded Shotguns in Vehicles - Unload shotgun and keep action open when not actually hunting.
4. Alcohol Use – Hunting and alcohol, mind-altering drugs, and various medicines (e.g., allergies) do not mix!
5. No Hunter Ed Certification – #1 hunting violation in Texas for all hunting.
   
6. Exceeding Bag Limit – #1 DOVE hunting violation; besides no hunter ed.
7. Unplugged Shotgun - #2 Violation - No more than 3 shells in shotgun.
8. Illegal baiting - #3 Violation - No hunting over feeders or strewn feed.
9. No proper license/endorsement – Have the proper license/stamps.
10. Poor shooting skills - Lack of practice - #1 cause of wounding loss.
11. “Skybusting” – Shooting beyond effective range - #2 cause of wounding.
12. Failure to find downed doves - Not using dogs - #3 cause of wounding.

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TX Hunting, Fishing & Boating Regs
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• Location-based info on hunting

DOVE HUNTING 101 COURSE

Sept 24th - El Paso - Sun Valley Tactical Ranch REGISTER HERE!

• 9 AM - Welcome - Classroom: Biological facts, identification, hunting techniques, hunting ethics & game laws. 
• NOON - LUNCH
• 1 PM - Field: Shotgun range
• 3PM - Travel to private ranch
• 4PM - DOVE HUNT

By Michael Sabbeth - The Honorable Hunter

"I begin with two questions. 1. When hunters describe taking wild game, which word best serves the hunting community: ‘kill’ or ‘harvest’? 2. Will selecting one word over the other reduce the intensity of anti-hunting rhetoric? Words matter.  Words have power. Words can convey confidence and weakness. Words convey values. Words affect persuasion. George Orwell wrote, “Words control the language, and the person who controls the language controls the argument, and the person who controls the argument wins.”  READ MORE

Learn to Hunt Program

“Matthew Hughes, Ph. D., has spent his life enjoying the outdoors and has dedicated his career to helping others get outside. As a sixth-generation rancher, Matt’s appreciation for managing and conserving private lands to benefit all the living things that depend on them, has been deeply rooted in him since his youth. To that end, Matt pursued his bachelor’s degree in Agriculture Development at Texas A&M University, a master’s degree in Sustainable Development at Hawaii Pacific University and a PhD in Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management at Clemson University. He has worked in various levels of government, managing recreation and park facilities as well as volunteering both domestically and internationally. His academic work has largely focused on how various forms of recreation, like hunting and fishing, can help stabilize rural economies. Most recently, Matt worked for Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation overseeing their Stewards of the Wild program, and with Spoke Hollow Outfitters, operating as the lead Huntmaster on both the Stewards of the Wild Mentored Hunts, and several Texas Wildlife Association’s Adult Mentored Hunts. To date, Matt has helped orchestrate over 25 adult mentored hunts, with the help of dozens of volunteers.”

Justin Dreibelbis, TWA Executive Director

NRA's Youth Hunter Education Challenge (YHEC) is comprised of the following events:

• Hunter Responsibility Exam
• Hunter Safety Trail
• Orienteering
• Wildlife Identification
• .22 Rifle
• Shotgun
• Muzzleloader
• Archery

  Volunteer Leaders, Mike Rantala, and Matt Hemsath watch as participant, Mary Steelman, steps up to shoot. Mary won First Place overall - Seniors.

  If you are interested in forming a team and competing in 2023, please contact Larry Patterson (North Texas) or Lee Griffith (South Texas).

Live-Fire Exercises

Steve Hall, Hunter Education Coordinator, Austin, joined Rangel at the course he held, and coordinated the live-fire exercise approved specifically for use in State Parks.  In this case, the Student Air Rifle Program, provided the perfect tool for such exercises at a facility that limits live fire with the other types of firearms.

Uvalde STRONG!

August 13th Hunter Ed Course

Back (L to R): HE Instructors, Susan Rios, Area Chief - David Rios, Texas Parks and Wildlife Dept. Game Warden, Cooper Wolken; Middle (L to R):  Nano Cardona, Tate Dorris; Front (L to R):  Victoria Newberry, Adela Martinez. GREAT GOING Uvalde Instructors!

Eddie V Gray Wetlands Center - Baytown

"This class was held on Aug 13 and had an awesome day to say the least - had skills trail and live fire exercises and a special guest - Legacy Instructor, John Meekins, Cleveland (R), and Kim Norton Eneks, daughter of the late Gene Norton, Baytown, Hall of Fame Instructor who cultivated the relationship with the Wetlands Center, which I’m grateful to have and look forward to many more years there!"

Area Chief, Brent Beamesderfer (L), Dayton

RMEF COURSE - Houston

Richard Powell and Brittney Yargo provided many ways to involve the kids. This was my 13th with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation - sponsored course. Kirk Waldron, and Joe & Jill Frazier have provided lunch, snacks and door prizes every year and, in this case, for 42 students and their parents. Happy Trails!  Legacy Inst., Duke Walton

Chaparral WMA HE Course

Assistant Hunter Education Instructor, Shelby Green, is shown here teaching a course at the Chaparral WMA near Artesia Wells. She and her brother, Samuel, also an asst. instructor, teach with their mom, Bonita Green, at the Chap (classroom courses) and at their family ranch (field courses) in July & August. Looks like the family that hunts together, also teaches hunter education together! Way to go, Green Family!

Photo:  Coy Freeman instructing students in live fire with .22's. 

A big THANK YOU to all that helped with the August Course! Saturday morning Richard Powell set-up the skills trail. Garrett Lewis registered the students. Due to the mosquito problem, Richard Powell conducted most of the skills trail indoors. Ken Springs did a great job of keeping the students attention and teaching the art of flint lock, muzzleloading. Coy Freeman and Roger Collins did a great job of teaching hands-on .22 rifle marksmanship.  James and Pat Paulette taught Archery. 

- Lewis Massingill, Brazoria

Be a Successful Bowhunter & Steward!

National Bowhunter Education Program (NBEF) knows that bowhunting is not just about the hunt itself. It is the whole experience that makes bowhunting so exciting. Bowhunter education enhances that entire experience. Encourage your friends and family to join the growing number of bowhunters!

Bowhunter education classes help bowhunters, new and experienced, learn to be safe and successful. Some states or urban hunts require verification that a bowhunting course has been successfully completed. Classes are now available online or with an in-person component.

Share BOWHUNTING Photos

Please share your favorite bowhunting photos with us and your fellow NBEF friends! Email your photo to info@nbef.org and include your name (we’ll just post your first name and last name initial), home state and the city/state where photo was taken. A monthly photo content will award a random winner with a NBEF cap. Our photo contest is not based on size or score of the animal taken. In fact, some of the best days afield are when we don’t even draw our bows. Select photos will be posted on NBEF's Web Site, Facebook or Instagram.

INCENTIVE AWARDS

Dawn Davis, Conroe, who teaches at Peet Junior HS, shows off both awards she earned in 2021 - The 2000-POINT "Chuck Buck - signed" BUCK Knife and the 2500-Point HANDGUN Award sponsored by the Texas Hunter Education Instructor Association. Dawn said, "I'm so excited about this school year.  I have some amazing news. I have had so many students want to take my class, that we had to hire another full-time Wildlife teacher and we still have students on a wait list.  I truly believe that it is because of the certifications that I get to offer because of the TX-National Archery in Schools Program.  I just want to thank you all for allowing me to do this.  I will be teaching both Wildlife classes including Hunter and Boater Education and NASP.  That's an average 225 students a semester and 450 for the school year.  How exciting is that! We are the only school in CISD that offers Wildlife 1 and now Wildlife 2. Once again, thank you for this opportunity to teach so many students about the outdoors and more importantly how do it all safely!"   Heidi Rao, SE Regional Hunter Education Specialist, said, Dawn also was the first recipient of the new award created in 2019: the Eddie Kleppinger Next Generation Award. Congratulations, Dawn!  Keep up the great work!

Memories of D. "Terry" Erwin

Former TX Hunter Ed Coordinator

Photo: Terry Erwin helps 6-year-old Ryan Hall at the 1997 Texas Wildlife Expo during the "Youth Duck Calling Contest". Several months prior, Terry and his wife, Burna, became the Godparents of Sarah Hall, Ryan's one-year old sister, and served as friends and mentors for both of them and their parents, Karen and Steve, until Terry's passing in 2020. RIP! 

MAINE

"When I was asked to honor a colleague that dedicated much of his life to hunter education, I was honored. I was also a bit nervous, as this seemed like a great responsibility and I didn’t want to “screw it up.” I met Steve Hall at the IHEA conference in Florida, and as my first attendance of the conference, I didn’t know that many folks in attendance. During the week, he spoke to me about Terry and about his final wishes and I was touched by the opportunity to participate. Once back in Maine, I began to think of places that would be fitting. My initial thoughts were to those “iconic” places in Maine, but I wanted to make sure that wherever I chose had a special meaning to myself personally.

My wife and I and our four children ages 3, 7,9 and 11, left Southern New Hampshire in 2006 leaving behind a great job and a comfortable living in search of a life more connected to the woods and waters and the wild places in Maine. I spent 15 years serving as a camp director for Maine’s leading conservation education camp in Bryant Pond, and more recently took the position of the Hunter Education Director for MDIFW in October of 2021.

My kids cut their teeth here and we have harvested moose, deer, bear, turkeys, and countless species of small game here, and I have guided numerous others doing the same. This mountain changes our lives, and I hope to also become a part of this mountain when my days are up. Until then, Tyler Mountain provides me with countless adventures, memories, and hardships that make us stronger. There’s nowhere else in Maine that I could think to be more fitting, and I hope that this small glimpse into our story provides some sense of peace and comfort to those that Terry shared his life with. Thank you for this opportunity and thanks for your trust in being a part of this special memorial."  Respectfully,

Ronald Fournier, Rec. Safety Supervisor, Maine Dept. Inland Fish. & Wildlife

OHIO

"Terry meant a lot to me as a “new” coordinator.  Terry and I did not always agree on things but the respect he showed me was always appreciated. Anytime I ever had a question about something we were considering, I would post it on the IHEA Listserv. Almost without fail, Terry would be the first to respond.  Always quick to send me copies of materials used in Texas or Texas hunter education items for instructor functions.  I think of Terry often.  His impact on hunter education in the U.S. and the world will be felt for generations. I know how important hunting education was to Terry.  He made education his life work. I decided to spread Terry’s ashes in front of the new training center at our recently opened and renovated Delaware Shooting Range & Training Center.  I hope that the work we do at this range and training center will honor Terry’s memory and all the hard work he put into hunter education.  As I sit at my desk this morning and think about Terry, I do have a couple of regrets.  First, I was unable to attend the IHEA conference in Texas where I know that Terry and all of the staff did an outstanding showing off your great state.  Second, I did not learn until much later what a tremendously talented wood worker Terry was... 

... I would like to wish Terry’s family all of the best and for them to know that Terry had a huge impact on me and so many others."

Matt Ortman, Hunter Education Coordinator - Ohio Division of Wildlife

THANKS Matt - Truly heartfelt!

WYOMING

Whiskey Mountain Conservation Camp

"This facility is used to host Becoming and Outdoor Woman, youth and family conservation camps and Project Wild teachers. Our camp is at the base of the Wind River Mountain Range near the Fitzpatrick Wilderness. It is in the middle of the Whiskey Mountain State Wildlife Habitat Management Area which is managed as a wintering ground for the Whiskey Mountain big horn sheep herd. The Torrey Valley, where the camp is located, has a lot of prehistorical significance for the Mountain Shoshone peoples.  Within the valley petroglyph carvings can be found all around on public and private lands...

HQ Administrative Support Available!

Kevin Vo - Hunter Ed Administrative Asst

512-389-4999 - General Hunter Ed Hotline

512-389-8140; Kevin.Vo@tpwd.texas.gov

Email Support: Instructor@tpwd.texas.gov

BUSY SEASON is HERE!

Please give 4 weeks' notice when ordering supplies and contact your regional specialist for assistance (see below for contact info.)

Digital tagging is now available as an option with select 2022-23 resident Super Combo licenses, including the Super Combo, Senior Super Combo and Lifetime Super Combo.

With any one of these digital licenses, you can digitally tag your deer, turkey and oversized red drum harvests. See how it works by watching our video Digital Tagging 2022-2023 Hunting Season. Our press release also has more information about digital tagging.

Digital tagging is currently available only to Texas residents that purchase one of the Super Combo licenses online – get yours today! 

You can now use a digital image of your license as proof for hunting any legal game that doesn’t require a tag, like dove. Accepted proof of your hunting license includes: a digital photo, an emailed receipt, or your license accessed in the Outdoor Annual app or in the My Texas Hunt Harvest app.