Daily bad limit vs. Possession limit

I am having a conversation with a coworker who also hunts and we have come to a disagreement. I know there are some experienced vets on here that can clear it up for us.

My understanding of limits are that you can personally only shoot 15 dove daily...period. But the since the possession limit is 3 times this amount you can personally carry 45 if you are hunting with other people.

My coworker believes that you can bag 15 dove per hunt and that you can hunt up to 3 times per day since the possession limit is 45.

Which is it guys?

You are right.
You can have 3 limits if you've hunted for three days.

Don't get caught out there on the first day with ANYTHING more than 15 dove, it's VERY expensive.

You friend is wrong. Daily bag limit 15. If you possess more than 15 birds, be prepared to prove you shot the other birds on other days. Below is a good recent link and discussion on this, see BDB's post.

http://texashuntingforum.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/6827528

your friend is 100% completely bass ackwards wrong.

Daily bag limit is 15. It's exactly what it says. If you hunt in the morning and get 15 birds, you are (legally) done for the day. If you hunt in the morning and get 10 birds, you can go back out that afternoon for 5 more birds. You are allowed 45 total in your possession, which is 3 days worth of hunting. If you hunt for 2 days, and have 45 birds, you are in trouble.

He's jerking your chain .

Could be, but I think there is a bigger chance he is not. Possession limit use to be 2 x daily bag limit. And you would be surprised how many people thought that meant you could shoot 15 in the morning and 15 in the afternoon. You shoot a limit in the afternoon, first thing a GW will do is ask you how many you shot in the morning. I'm sure they bust many with this question, many hunters simply do not know, they made the mistake of just listening to someone at work.

15 per day limit period. My understanding for "in possession" includes what you have in the freezer/fridge/possession of.... Obviously thats a tough one to enforce but again that is my understanding? You can get more if they are eaten given, given away, etc but at any given time if a GW were to investigate for some reason and you were in possession of more than that 45 bird limit per hunter per household/residence whatever then you are in violation?

The 3x daily bag possession is what you are carrying to a final destination. In other words your home freezer. There is no possession limit at your home.

yes sir you are correct. things get fuzzy on some of these reg's or they all start to blur together. Or you get old and forget like me


No person shall possess more than one daily bag limit of freshly killed birds while in the field or while returning from the field to one's hunting camp, automobile or temporary lodging facility (see Documentation above). For the first day of any season the possession limit is the daily bag limit.

The possession limit shall apply at processing facilities and until the birds have reached the personal residence of the possessor and are finally processed (cleaned for consumption). A person may possess additional migratory birds after they leave the field, if the additional birds they possess are tagged with a wildlife resource document from the hunter who killed them. Migratory birds finally processed at the permanent address of the possessor are not considered part of the possession limit.

This. Has to be the most misunderstood dove killing law. Also legal shooting hours ending at sunset and not 30 minutes after...

Legal Shooting Hours: From one-half hour before sunrise to sunset.

Technically you aren't even allowed to clean them in the field unless you leave a wing attached, but many hunters do illegally.

Regarding possession limits, I've camped out for doves and ducks many times and shot daily limits. You have to keep them separate (we use plastic shopping bags) and "tag" them with a wildlife resources document. You can also write the information on a sheet of paper.

On a typical weekend like the opener this year we would shoot limits Friday. Three people would each have a bag with fifteen doves and a tag with all the appropriate information from that day. On day two, repeat. Day three, repeat. Head home on Sunday, clean 135 birds from three days and three people. Except for cleaning at the final destination, all individual hunter's limits of birds are separate all the time. Anything less than that is illegal, no questions asked.

If you're duck hunting and have birds in a pile, that's illegal. They need to be separated by hunter.

We are spending Fri, Sat, Sun, and Mon (if there are birds) on the lease.
We are taking bacon, peppers, toothpicks, and a grill to make sure we do not have possession limit issues on the way home.

Your friend is wrong, however you wrote “But the since the possession limit is 3 times this amount you can personally carry 45 if you are hunting with other people.”, this is also not right, the limit/possession is per person regardless if you are by yourself or with a group. The comments above regarding possession for an up to 3 day trip are correct.
However, I Iike NAK’s plan a lot

I have done that.
Cooking WHILE still shooting.
Not sure it's legal but it was tasty.

Not correct for dove. See link below and scroll down to "Species Identification".

https://tpwd.texas.gov/regulations/outdo...s/general-rules

Wow, you're right. Thanks Guy. And yes, as others have said, cooking some while in hunting camp certainly solves some issues.

Many years ago when the duck limit was five and the possession limit was twice the daily bag limit, three of us ate fifteen ducks so we could hunt a third day. Thankfully some were teal and there was a hungry retriever.

If anyone needs help disposing of their dove....I am willing to go camp to camp and grill them and eat them for you...


You are welcome.