Nine Bar Ranch Blog
Hunting in TX With a Disability
Hunting in TX with a disability is only slightly more nuanced than hunting for others—often with more options for flexible hunting methods in favor of hunters with disabilities. Whether you are newly disabled, a disabled veteran, or simply looking into hunting in TX as a disabled hunter for the first time, we’ve got you covered. Read on for information that will help you kick off this season with a bang!
Motor Vehicle Use
At Nine Bar Ranch, we are excluded from vehicle restrictions because we are a private ranch. On public land, though, a paraplegic, single, or double leg amputee is permitted to hunt from a motor vehicle. If worries about long hikes down trails has held you back from hunting, let 2024 be the year you set your concerns aside and do all you can with what you have.
As a disabled person, you can also drive on roads that are not available to able-bodied hunters. Speak to rangers or your local hunting resource for information regarding specific roads that can help you reach hunting locations.
More specifically:
Hunting License Requirements
If you are classified as a disabled veteran, first, let us thank you for your service. We appreciate your sacrifice on behalf of our country.
Whether you are a Texas resident or a non-resident, your service-connected disability resulting in the loss of the use of at least one limb OR a disability of 50% or more qualifies you for a free Disabled Veteran “Super Combo” License.
We encourage all disabled veterans who qualify to take advantage of this small perk!
Hunting from a Blind
While there are hunters who swear by tree stands, disabled hunters may find it impossible to set up and/or reach them. As an alternative, we recommend a strategically placed ground blind. When situated properly and used with absolute stillness, ground blinds can be just as effective. In fact, often hunters report better statistical kills from ground blinds than tree blinds.
Remember, deer see movement very well. Remain completely still, and you have an excellent chance of nabbing a deer during the next season.
Hunting While Blind
If you are legally blind, you are permitted to use laser sighting devices on your firearm. To qualify, you need only present a signed statement from your physician confirming your legal blindness.
As a blind hunter, you must be accompanied by a licensed hunter who is thirteen years of age or older. By hunting with us at Nine Bar Ranch, you will be able to hunt in the same way as all our guests, because the staff here can fill this role for you.
Get In Touch
Do you have additional questions about hunting as a person with a disability here on the ranch? Please contact us today! We treat all hunters with the same respect and support, regardless of age, gender, physical ability, or experience. No matter who you are, you can have the hunt of your dreams at Nine Bar Ranch.
- source: https://bit.ly/3PMxiT9
Rules and Recommendations for Texas Hog Hunting
Feral hogs are an invasive pest species throughout the continental US, with over six million animals estimated to be running rampant. But how did this overwhelming problem with such a destructive, dangerous species begin? How did we arrive at today’s rules and recommendations for Texas hog hunting?
Hogs were first brought to the American southwest in the 1500s by Spaniard Hernando DeSoto. This initial mistake was made worse when Texas ranchers imported Russian boars, or more accurately European wild hogs, in the 1930s. These curious and clever creatures naturally escaped from the game ranches designed to hold them. Eventually, they bred with feral hogs, creating the hybrid hogs we see today.
The herds of wild boar that roam the state present serious problems for residents, farmers, and ranchers. Their natural behavior is upturning the topsoil in search of food, which leads them straight into the fields of our hard-working Texas farmers. Here, they destroy crops as well as the layers of topsoil required to nurture the replacement plants.
Unlike native game you likely hunt seasonally throughout the year, wild hogs are such a huge problem in Texas that the state has lifted virtually every limit and regulation governing hunting them. In fact, despite wild boar populations being spread over 35 states, over one-third of the wild hogs in the country are located here!
To preserve the natural landscapes and cultivated crops here in Texas, as well as protect the human and pet population from the mortally dangerous boar of the wild hog species, the state government encourages and indeed asks that hunters do their part to cull the population as much as possible. Total elimination would be ideal, but it is essentially impossible due to the hogs’ rapid reproduction and high litter numbers.
If you are hunting wild hogs on public land in Texas, you need a hunting license. However, there are no seasonal restrictions, bag limits, or guidelines regarding age or sex of the hunted animals. Texas wild hogs make for delicious eating, as well, which is a huge help to individuals and families in these challenging economic times.
Hunting Hogs on Nine Bar Ranch
The requirement for hunters to have a license to hunt hogs applies to public lands only. If you were to hunt them on private land, such as ours here at Nine Bar Ranch, there are zero state rules or restrictions to limit your hunting. We hunt at the times they are most active, waiting at feeding stations or near the trails they habitually take.
Once you have bagged your game, you can dress it yourself, but we recommend using our game dressing service. We can dress, divide, and package your game meat. We will keep it nice and chilly in our game storage until you’re ready to head home.
To schedule your hog hunt today, please contact us here at Nine Bar Ranch. We look forward to hunting with you soon!